Debates of Oct. 23rd, 2024

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we want to cut taxes and housing costs.

On that subject, the Prime Minister created a $4-billion so-called housing accelerator that gave hundreds of millions of dollars to big city politicians across the country. Toronto got the money and construction went down 20%. Winnipeg got the money and construction went down 15%. Vancouver got the money and construction went down 19%. Ottawa got the money and construction went down 10%.

When I was the housing minister, we built 194,000 homes. Why will he not follow my common-sense example?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when the member opposite was Stephen Harper's failed housing minister, he built six affordable housing units across the country, so we will take no lessons from the Conservatives on housing. They would rather pick fights than invest in the kinds of changes that are improving density and zoning, using public lands and accelerating red tape so that people can get more affordable housing built quicker right across the country.

It takes actions and investments to build up this country. That is exactly what we are doing in responsible ways. All he is offering are fights with the provinces and municipalities and cuts to services Canadians rely on.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just accidentally told the truth. He said he is “accelerating red tape”. He sure is doing that, but he is not accelerating his math lessons. He has always admitted that he is bad with numbers.

I have documents from Stats Canada's website, which is part of his government, that show that in 2015, there were 194,461 housing completions and the average rent was only $973 for a one-bedroom, half of what it is today. Given that I delivered so many affordable homes, why will the Prime Minister not follow my common-sense plan to build the homes and not the bureaucracy?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it says something about the level of confidence the previous prime minister had in the member when Stephen Harper used to say that the federal government had no responsibility on housing and then asked him to be the housing minister. That is perhaps why he delivered only six affordable homes over the course of their years in government.

The reality is that we have stepped up to invest in densification, in cutting red tape and in creating more housing starts right across the country, working with municipalities and provinces to solve this housing crisis, while all he offers is cuts and breaks for wealthy landlords.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal Prime Minister who said a year ago that the federal government has no responsibility for housing. Of course, he said that after he had completed the doubling of housing costs. Then, speaking of housing ministers, he went on to appoint the guy who had lost track of a million people coming into the country, who had allowed a 300% increase in population growth against the warnings about housing from his own department. Tomorrow, the Prime Minister plans to reverse and swallow himself whole on immigration. Will he complete the job by firing his housing minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have continued to step up and invest in housing by working with provinces and municipalities right across the country because, of course, we know that previous governments, of Conservative and Liberal stripes, underinvested for many years in housing, which is why we are in the situation we are in, a situation not dissimilar to many advanced democracies around the world. That is exactly why we have stepped up to put money on the table for municipalities as they change their densification rules and zoning laws to accelerate the process of building housing, and continue to solve this housing crisis that Canadians are facing from coast to coast to coast.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, in light of the facts that were just presented, does the Prime Minister acknowledge that Ottawa is fuelling and stoking division as it attempts to demolish Quebec's efforts to uphold its own values, secularism first and foremost?

What is happening in these schools is serious. Does he realize that his will to fund the challenge against Bill 21 on secularism and take it all the way to the Supreme Court is a serious intrusion that is sowing division?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our government will always defend the fundamental rights of all Canadians. It is a principle that drives us as a party, but also drives us as a country.

We are very concerned about the children who are going through unacceptable and painful experiences at school. That is why we expect the Government of Quebec to address this. In the meantime, we will always defend the fundamental freedoms of all Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, that vagueness is troubling. The Prime Minister should be making it very clear that the government condemns the oppressive and violent indoctrination of children in schools, no matter what cause may seem to justify such behaviour.

This government's attitude, its obsession with multiculturalism, its willingness to challenge the secularism law, and other institutions, including people who are paid to promote division, are very dangerous.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I will be even more clear. What has been reported about the children at that school is completely unacceptable. However, it is also unacceptable to use extreme cases, exceptions like this one, to attack Quebec's diversity and to attack the different backgrounds that tie our country together.

We will always stand up for cultural diversity and coexistence at home, and we will defend the rights, freedoms and protection of children every step of the way.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is admitting that his immigration policies have been totally incompetent. In fact, the ratio of new people to new homes reached its highest level in recorded history last year after his then immigration minister, now housing minister, ignored the warnings of his own department. According to a new Concordia University report, rent is expected to rise to $7,500 in Vancouver and $5,500 in Toronto if the trajectory continues. Will he reverse course now?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, one of the great advantages of Canada in the world, of Canadians in the world, is that we continue to be a country that understands immigration is a source of opportunity and growth and richness for this country. One of the other great advantages we have is an immigration system that is able to adjust to different realities. In the years after the pandemic, there was a need for more temporary workers and a desire for more international students, and we let more in, working with the provinces and with businesses across the country. As we see the situation shift as the labour market shifts, we are making changes to the immigration system so we can keep its support.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing compassionate about inviting people without a place for them to live or health care for them to have or jobs that provide them with paycheques.

The Prime Minister has destroyed our immigration system through his own personal incompetence and destroyed a 150-year common-sense consensus between Liberals and Conservatives on that subject. He cannot fix what he broke on immigration, housing or anything else, because he is busy fighting his own caucus. Why will he not call a carbon tax election so we can restore Canada's promise that anyone who comes here and works hard can have a good life, a safe street and a warm home?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the work we are focused on is on the middle class and people working hard to join it, and we have delivered over these past years. In these times of global strife and pressures, that is exactly what we are doubling down on: investing in building homes, investing in strengthening our immigration system so it can match the challenges we are in right now, and moving forward on putting more money in people's pockets even as we create strong jobs and growth for the future.

The Bank of Canada just reduced interest rates, because inflation is now down to low inflation once again. We are managing this country responsibly. We are continuing to invest in its future.

Government Priorities

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canada makes every single one of us a promise: If we work hard, we get a good life. That promise, like everything else after nine years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, is broken. Now, he has broken countless promises, but this one is different. This was not his promise to break; it belonged to all of us. Now that he has destroyed immigration, the housing market and the cost of living, will he call a carbon tax election so we can bring home Canada's promise?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, we see the Leader of the Opposition pushing a brokenist vision of Canada that is simply not aligned with the reality.

Yes, Canadians are struggling, like people are all around the world. Years of high inflation, disrupted supply chains and global conflicts have weighed heavily on everyone around the world. However, Canadians continue to see opportunities. Canadians continue to see investments by a government that believes in them, whether it is investing in green jobs of the future or investing in programs and supports like dental and child care that make a difference, which the Conservatives continue to vote against.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, “brokenist” is not even a word. He is even breaking the English language. Oh my goodness.

So, the Prime Minister broke the housing market by doubling the costs. He broke the cost of food by jacking up the carbon tax and increasing prices 36% faster than in the United States. He has broken our immigration system. He is breaking the bank with his doubling of the debt. Even his own caucus members think everything is broken. Why do we not have a carbon tax election to decide?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, while the Leader of the Opposition is focused on exploiting the struggles of Canadians, which are very real, he is not offering a single solution to support them.

He is offering to take away the Canada carbon rebate, which is putting more money in their pockets and fighting climate change successfully while it grows the economy. He is offering to cancel the dental care program, which has helped close to a million Canadians access dental care already. He is planning on cancelling the child care, which has brought child care costs down to $10 a day in so many parts of the country and created spaces everywhere. He stands against the programs and supports for Canadians, while at the same time, he says Canada is broken.

Foreign Affairs

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the global community is shocked. This week, Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir called for Gaza to be emptied of Palestinians. He also called for expanding illegal settlements in Gaza. In fact, his colleague Minister Smotrich said that starving civilians is justified. It is shameful.

Enough is enough. What will it take for the Prime Minister to impose severe sanctions on Netanyahu and his extremist ministers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the violence in the Middle East needs to end. It cannot continue to see civilians killed, innocents wiped out and communities destroyed. We need to make sure there is a ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon. We need to see the path once again toward a two-state solution where a peaceful Israel lives alongside a peaceful Palestinian state. That is Canada's position.

That continues to be what we fight for every single day to bring a global consensus together to protect lives, to get humanitarian aid in, to release hostages and to end this conflict once and for all.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am going to ask all members, including the member for Hamilton Centre, to not speak out when they do not have the floor.

The hon. member for Edmonton-Strathcona.

Health

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that was an appalling answer. The Prime Minister needs to sanction Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu.

There are 650,000 Albertans who do not have a family doctor. In Edmonton, hospital wards are 155% overshot, but instead of addressing this crisis, Danielle Smith and the Alberta Conservatives are going to uberize the problem. Enough is enough.

Can the Prime Minister tell us when Albertans will deserve health care? When will the government finally stand up for public health care in this country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I agree entirely that Conservative governments across this country have weakened our public health care system, and that is why we are continuing to demand investments in public health care, investments that will create more family doctors and reduce wait times. We have put money on the table for provinces willing to step up and actually deliver clear data and results to Canadians.

We are going to continue to defend Canada's public health care system from those Conservative ideologues, premiers and politicians who want to weaken our health care system and not deliver for Canadians.

The Economy

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents have been working hard to pay their bills as global inflation has driven up the cost of living. The Conservative Party hates it when Canada is actually succeeding, and they continue to gaslight Canadians into thinking our country is broken even though the government has been providing relief to Canadians through dental care, $10-a-day child care, free diabetes medication and much more.

Can the Prime Minister update all Canadians about today's good news and set the record straight?