Debates of Oct. 2nd, 2024

Disaster Assistance

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is always astonishing to hear the Leader of the Opposition talk about the impacts of the extreme weather events related to climate change, while he opposes any climate action at all. He has no plan to fight climate change, which means he has no plan for affordability and no plan for the future of the Canadian economy. We have a price on pollution that is putting more money back in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians, where it applies. It is bringing down emissions and creating growth and jobs. That is what Canadians need.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister pretends that we can put out forest fires with taxes. Clearly, that has not worked.

Rather, the Prime Minister should have listened to his own officials, who had said that the mass buildup of fuel in the Jasper valley as a result of dead trees needed to be addressed through controlled burns and other clearing methods. This would be preparation so that we would have the ability to fight the fire if and when it ever started. All of this is documented in email correspondence and, now, testimony at a parliamentary committee.

Instead of taxing Canadians into poverty, why did he not fight forest fires?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Jasper is one of the most fire-smart communities in the country. Over the past years, residents and leaders within Jasper have been exemplary in making sure they were doing everything they could to protect their community. This fire was a treetop fire. It jumped from treetop to treetop and threw flaming pine cones kilometres ahead of it, which is what set the burn. It is a result of climate change, climate change that he does not want to fight.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that kind of erratic screaming and hollering about flying pine cones is not going to tackle the problem of forest fires. It is true that the people of Jasper were fire smart. The problem is that the government in Ottawa was fire stupid. It was warned. The government was warned repeatedly over seven years that it needed to clear the dead wood to prevent the spread of a future fire.

Why, instead of bringing in a crippling carbon tax, did the Prime Minister not clear away the wood and stop leaving a tinderbox to explode?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, one of the jewels of Canada's natural beauty burned because of climate change, and the Leader of the Opposition's focus is trying to blame Ottawa for that. That is completely irresponsible and shameful, but we have all seen that from the Conservative leader, who would rather try to rile people up and point fingers than actually solve any of the challenges that Canadians are facing, either today with affordability, or tomorrow with climate change. That is not leadership.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the House what is not leadership. It was not leadership when, in February of this year, email correspondence within the government confirmed that it had cancelled a controlled burn specifically for political optics. It did not want to do controlled burns. It did not want to do the same kind of forest management and maintenance that indigenous people had done for thousands of years and that had been recommended by both people on the ground and officials in the department.

The reality is that the Prime Minister did not do his job. He should be accountable and explain why he let the valley go up in smoke, and why he used a carbon tax to hide behind it all.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in this era of droughts, rising temperatures and climate change, there are certainly reasons for which most reasonable people could imagine why the opting for a mechanical removal of underbrush, instead of setting it on fire, might be a better option.

The Conservatives continue their attack on experts and on science, as well as continue to refuse to understand that, but if we do not act in fighting against climate change with everything we have, then there will be no economy of the future. There will be no Jasper to rebuild. There will be no future for Canadians.

International Trade

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Prime Minister, one that will allow him to keep trying to stay in the job. Bill C‑282, the supply management bill, has been in the Senate for a year and a half. The bill contains just one section. The unelected, illegitimate Senate seems to be leading the Prime Minister around by the nose.

It is his senators, the ones he appointed, who are standing in the way. Will he instruct them to respect democracy and our choices as elected representatives?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, time and time again, including when we voted for this bill, we assured farmers, producers and all Canadians that we would always protect supply management. That is what we are doing. That is what we will always do when renegotiating any future free trade agreements. We will protect supply management.

The Senate is independent, and it is doing its job. We are going to allow democracy to function without interference. However, we have always been clear. We will defend supply management.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I always believed the Prime Minister had a hard time understanding the concept of independence.

I think the problem with all that is that the two bills that we will be discussing between now and October 29 come from the Bloc Québécois. Everyone here has already voted in favour of these bills. When something is an issue, money and time are no problem. The only majority that this Prime Minister has is a majority of his MPs at risk of losing their jobs.

Will he get on board, do what democracy demands and muster up what little leadership he has left?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have always worked for Canadians. We are going to continue doing the necessary work. While the Bloc Québécois tries to pick fights and play political games, we will go on keeping our commitments for the good of Canadians, dairy producers, seniors, and people who count on a government that is not there just to collect a salary or a pension, or be part of the opposition, but to fight every day for Quebeckers and all Canadians.

Forestry Industry

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is voting to keep the most centralizing and costly government in history in power. This government is bad for Quebec and tramples all over Quebec's jurisdictions, notably with a radical Liberal order that will kill thousands of jobs in the forestry sector.

Quebec's environment minister said the Bloc Québécois has not defended these jobs strongly enough in Quebec's regions.

Will the Prime Minister call an election so that a future Conservative government can reverse the orders and defend jobs in Quebec's regions?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, every day in the House, the Leader of the Opposition continues to prove that he does not understand that we cannot have an economy unless we also protect the environment at the same time. That is exactly what we are doing, working with the forest industry and the Quebec government to ensure that we protect endangered species, but that we also protect jobs and good careers, not just for today, but for decades to come.

International Trade

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he is not protecting jobs or the environment. In Mauricie and the Outaouais, 280 workers are going to lose their jobs, in part because after nine years and three U.S. presidents, this Prime Minister has not managed to resolve the softwood lumber tariffs issue, when Mr. Harper managed to do it in 80 days.

Will the Prime Minister call an election so that Quebeckers can elect a government that will get an agreement and protect forestry jobs?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, during the NAFTA renegotiations, when aluminum worker and steelworker jobs were in jeopardy across the country, we stood our ground to negotiate in the best interest of Canadians, while the Conservatives encouraged us to take whatever the Americans were offering, because we had to avoid upsetting the Americans at all costs.

We are here to keep our commitments, not to give in. We are here to fight for Canadian workers and the Canadian economy. We will continue to do so.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he agreed to give in. He signed an agreement without protection for the forestry sector.

It is the same thing with spending. This is the most costly government in history. It has doubled the national debt. However, the Bloc Québécois is keeping this Prime Minister in power by voting confidence in him 180 times and by voting for $500 billion in inflationary and centralizing spending that led to the recruitment of 100,000 additional federal public servants.

Why does this “Liberal Bloc” government keep collecting money from Quebeckers, hoarding it in Ottawa and wasting so much of it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are well aware of the cost of austerity and Conservative cuts. They experienced that during the Harper years. They chose a government that had confidence in Canadians and would invest in Canadians. That is exactly what we are doing.

That is why we are putting money in Canadians' pockets with our strong fiscal record in the federal government, a record that the Conservative Party denies, while it is proposing cuts to services and, of course, tax cuts for the wealthy. That is not what Quebeckers and Canadians want.

Small Business

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's small and medium-sized businesses keep our country's main streets alive, create well-paying jobs and make the dream of entrepreneurship a reality. These businesses need to thrive so that they can continue to be the foundation of our communities and our economy.

Can the Prime Minister tell Canadians what measures have been taken to support small and medium-sized businesses?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member for Ottawa—Vanier for her leadership and hard work.

Yesterday was a very good day for small and medium-sized businesses in Canada. Thanks to the Canada carbon rebate for small businesses, we announced that nearly 600,000 Canadian businesses will receive more than $2.5 billion before the end of the year. This means that Ontario's small businesses will be able to invest in their operations, create good jobs and strengthen our economy. While the Leader of the Opposition would like to take these cheques away from Canadian businesses, we are standing up for entrepreneurs, who are working hard and driving our economy forward.

Government Accountability

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, carbon tax Carney, at the moment of his appointment as the head of the economic task force of the government, said he wanted to do something and not be something. What has he done? He is now sending out fundraising letters to raise cash for the Liberal Party. He has asked for $10 billion in corporate welfare to help his multinational corporation take over the pension funds of Canadians. He has gotten his pal a $2-billion loan.

Did the Prime Minister, yes or no, clear all of these actions of carbon tax Carney with the lobbying commissioner?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things we are seeing right across the country is experts and people who have succeeded in all sorts of different backgrounds stepping up to push back against the cuts and little vision that the Conservative Party has been putting forward. The fact is that the Leader of the Opposition is offering cuts to services that Canadians are relying on and offering tax breaks to the wealthiest, like Conservatives always do. We are there to invest for every generation. It is no wonder that Canadians from all backgrounds are stepping up to be part of pushing back against the Conservative leader.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, you have said that the Prime Minister is violating the rules of the House by refusing to hand over SDTC documents on a corporate welfare scandal of $400 million that the Auditor General says involved 186 conflicts of interest, where bureaucrats, top officials in the Liberal government, were giving millions of dollars to their own companies.

Will the Prime Minister hand over the information to the police, and if not, what has he got to hide?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader just mentioned both the police and the Auditor General. Let me say what they have said. Both the RCMP and the Auditor General have raised concerns about how this motion jeopardizes their independence in serving Canadians. The Conservative Party wants to play politics with Canadians' charter rights. We will not support that.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's idea of a charter right is the right for a top government executive to take $400 million of other people's money, give it to their own company and then hide the criminal evidence from the police. Canadians have the charter right to know where their money went.

Will the Prime Minister accept the Speaker's order and the vote of the House to turn over the documents to the police so that we can put the bad guys in jail and get back the money that was stolen?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives have demonstrated that they are willing to upend the independence of institutions like the RCMP and the Auditor General for political gain. That is what they are proposing to do. They want to direct investigations. They want control over judicial processes and their details. The reality is that this is banana republic-style behaviour that the Conservative Party is pushing.

We will always stand up for Canadians' charter rights and the independence of our institutions.