Debates of Oct. 22nd, 2024

Government Priorities

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, like all of us in the House, knows that Canadians are facing challenging times. His solution, however, is to offer them cuts, to offer them no programs that they can rely on, and to vote against things like dental care, pharmacare and investments in a green economy, which is going to create jobs and careers long into the future. He wants to harm Canadians, where we are focusing on delivering for them. He wants cuts to programs and services, while we are busy investing in Canadians and their futures. That is the choice Canadians get to make.

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

Mr. Speaker, time is running out. Four million retirees in Canada, and one million in Quebec, are waiting for their buying power to actually improve, and not just as part of a slogan.

Tens of thousands of supply-managed farmers are waiting for their business model to be protected in perpetuity.

Will the Prime Minister seize the opportunity to make a difference and improve the lives of four million retirees in Canada, one million in Quebec, and tens of thousands of farmers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague well knows, we will always defend supply management. We will always protect our farmers from one end of the country to the other.

With regard to seniors, he says he wants to see action and not just words, but we took action when we lowered the retirement age from 67, where the Conservatives had set it, to 65. Unfortunately, the Bloc Québécois voted against that.

We took action when we increased the GIS by 10%, but the Bloc Québécois voted against that.

We offered a dental care program to almost one million Canadians and the Bloc Québécois voted against that.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is playing fast and loose with the facts, but the time for action is just a few days away.

In a paralyzed Parliament, and with a paralyzed government, we are proposing something that is good for people. This proposal could actually stabilize Parliament for a few weeks. Parliament really needs this.

Is the Prime Minister going to let his government be eaten up from both inside and out, or will he make a difference for millions of people?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, I completely agree that it is important to be there for seniors in need. That is why our government has taken many measures over the years to invest in seniors and to be there for our seniors. We remain open to working with everyone in the House to provide even more for seniors.

Grocery Sector

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, more and more people are becoming vulnerable and falling into poverty. One study reports that, month by month, 40% of Quebeckers are just $200 away from bankruptcy. The situation has reached such a crisis point that the expression “tightening one's belt” is literally coming true. Twenty per cent of people are eating less just to save a little money. That is just plain wrong. It shows the Liberals' lacklustre results in forcing the CEOs of big companies to control their prices.

When are they going to stand up and force these big companies to control the price of essential food items?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP is well aware that we took steps to increase competition among the major grocery chains. For example, we provided direct assistance to help families in need with their grocery costs. We are in the process of introducing a school food program that will save families across the country hundreds of dollars a year. We will continue to be there to support Canadians. We will continue to be there to invest in programs that will help them while the Conservatives keep on threatening to impose austerity measures and cuts.

Indigenous Affairs

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, last week, first nations leaders respected the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society by voting to guarantee all first nations children would be protected from Canada's discrimination in child and family services. The Liberals had offered a weak funding plan with an expiry date. Discrimination must stop now and forever.

Will the Prime Minister finally respect the Human Rights Tribunal, stop discriminating against first nations children and offer first nations an agreement that upholds their rights?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, reconciliation means walking as true partners to indigenous peoples. We of course will continue to be there to invest in supports for indigenous peoples. It means that we will continue to work with them in the ways that make sense.

I will highlight that the Chiefs of Ontario and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation are continuing to look for ways to move forward with the government to support kids who have been affected in care.

We will continue to be there to work in partnership with indigenous leadership and communities to deliver the supports so deeply needed by so many young people.

Finance

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed what Canadians already know. The incompetent finance minister cannot do math. She is going to blow through her own deficit this year by $7 billion. That is higher taxes and lower standards of living. One in four Canadians are already skipping meals, and the Liberal-made misery is only going to get worse.

Why not call a carbon tax election now so Conservatives can fix the budget?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am so glad to hear the Conservatives talk about the PBO, because just a few weeks ago the PBO did a report on the sustainability of the federal finances. I am going to quote what the PBO said, “Current fiscal policy in Canada is sustainable over the long term.” In fact, according to the PBO, the federal government could even, “permanently increase spending...by 1.5 per cent of GDP.”

The only fiscal threat to Canada is the Conservatives, who would cut health care, child care and the national school food program.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that PhD in wackonomics has no clue. The incompetent finance minister, not knowing how to do math—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, I try to encourage as much freedom as possible in terms of the way people express themselves here. I am going to ask hon. members to, as much as possible, refrain from using language that is directed at particular members and is considered insulting to those members. I have spoken about this in a previous ruling.

I am going to ask the hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn to start his question again, but to rephrase it so that he does not use that kind of language.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that sounds like Liberal wackonomics. The incompetent finance minister, not knowing how to do math, ensured 50% of Canadians cannot afford basic necessities like food. She will give cushy contracts to rich Liberal insiders, while telling the two million Canadians she sent into a food bank that they can solve their Liberal-made misery by cancelling their Disney+.

The minister knows higher deficits lead to higher taxes and lower standards of living. She just does not care. Why not call a carbon tax election now so Canadians can fire these economic arsonists?

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

I am going to come back to members on this matter, but I am going to encourage all members to please keep their counsel when they are not recognized by the Chair.

The hon. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for your remonstration, but speaking for myself, puerile playground insults from the maple syrup MAGA do not bother me one bit.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

Order. This is precisely why we should be very mindful of our language, because things will be said on all sides, which is going to be disturbing to the order of the House.

I am going to come back to this matter, and I will ask the Deputy Prime Minister to start her question again without using those words.

The hon. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

As I said, Mr. Speaker, I can handle it, but what makes me really mad, what I cannot handle is seeing crocodile tears from those Conservatives. The only time they care, notice, vulnerable Canadians is for a partisan photo op. We know they do not care, because they are opposed to a national school food program, which is feeding 400,000 Canadian kids. They are opposed to dental care, which is helping a million people. We care about Canadians; they just care about themselves.

Carbon Pricing

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, taxes are up, costs are up, crimes is up and time is up. The costly NDP-Liberal coalition has doubled the cost of housing, and the majority of Canadians are unable to keep up with their grocery needs.

Canadians have had enough, but the NDP-Liberal coalition only wants to drive up costs by quadrupling its carbon tax. Will the Prime Minister finally call a carbon tax election so that Conservatives can offer Canadians some relief?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, under the Conservative leader, slogans are up, rhymes are up and parroting talking points so that a member can get a shiny gold star in caucus seems to be up. I cannot imagine diminishing myself when I have the opportunity to represent my community in the House, or to cheapen the arguments that we can put forward on the floor of the House.

If the Conservatives care about helping people, why do they not actually support the policies that help build homes for people who cannot afford them? Why do they not actually help advance policies that will let families put food on the table, whether that is child care, a middle-class tax cut or the Canada child benefit? Every time we put measures forward to help Canadians, they vote against it and stand up with this nonsense.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians who are lined up at food banks are not buying their pathetic rhetoric.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer has already confirmed, once again, that the carbon tax is costing Canadians more than they receive in rebates. For families in Saskatchewan, the quadrupled carbon tax is $2,000.

Will the Prime Minister finally give Canadians the carbon tax election that they so desperately need?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, let me provide a few facts to the hon member.

The fact is that the PBO confirmed that the vast majority of Canadians get more money back than they pay. The fact is that over 300 economists say that carbon pricing is the best way to reduce emissions, which is best for the economy. The fact is that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that her family gets more money back with the carbon rebate. The fact is that Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said that he looked at all alternatives to the carbon price and they were all too expensive.

We are reducing emissions while we are addressing affordability. On that side of the House, they have no plan to address climate change. They are actively denying the reality of climate change. They have no plan for the economy. Shame on them.

Housing

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk facts.

The young Quebeckers listening to us today are seeing their dream of owning a home evaporate. In just five years, house prices in Quebec have risen by 74%. In concrete terms, that means an extra $1,000 a month. This situation has been fuelled by the Liberal government's chronic deficits, which it ran with the enthusiastic support of the Bloc Québécois.

Could the Prime Minister please stand up, look Canadians in the eye, and tell them why he has made life worse for young people?