Debates of Oct. 24th, 2024

Down Syndrome Day

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, through my many years of volunteering with Creating Alternatives and the Down Syndrome Foundation, I have witnessed first-hand the profound impact of inclusion and the importance of celebrating each individual's unique abilities.

These experiences have deeply touched my heart and inspired me to put forward Motion No. 123, which calls on the government to recognize March 21 as national Down syndrome day. By doing so, we will align with the United Nations, but also honour and celebrate the incredible contributions that individuals with Down syndrome make to our communities. Their love, positivity and unwavering spirit enrich the lives of everyone around them.

I am confident that my colleagues on both sides of the House will join me in supporting this motion. Together, we can affirm our commitment to recognizing and celebrating the abilities and contributions of all Canadians, regardless of the challenges they may face.

Francophone Immigration

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

Mr. Speaker, ensuring the vitality of francophone communities outside Quebec is a priority for our government. Immigration is an essential and powerful tool for achieving that goal.

Thanks to the immigration targets planned for 2025‑27, francophone permanent residents will account for 8.5% of all permanent residents admitted to Canada outside Quebec in 2025, 9.5% in 2026 and 10% in 2027. These targets reflect our commitment to ensuring the growth of francophone and Acadian minority communities and are consistent with our francophone immigration policy.

I am proud to be part of a government that helps our communities grow and prosper. This is good news.

Immigration

[Paul Chiang, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today the Minister of Immigration tabled the 2025-27 immigration levels plan, a plan that will pause population growth in the short term to achieve well-managed, sustainable growth in the long term.

Our government has been taking concrete action, including the recent reforms to the international student program to ensure system integrity, and the results are showing. Many university and college cities are experiencing rental downturns, at least partially due to the cap on international students. In Vancouver and Toronto, rent went down 11 % and 8.1 %, respectively.

We are committed to achieving long-term growth and ensuring a well-managed, sustainable immigration system where everyone has a fair chance to succeed.

Anti-Semitism

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal government has allowed anti-Jewish hate crimes to increase by 400%. Members of the Jewish community make up just 1% of Canada's population, but are the targets of 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in Canada.

Synagogues have been firebombed, Jewish schools have been shot at, Jewish-owned businesses have been vandalized and Jewish-founded hospitals have been barricaded. Calls for death to Jews are coming from radical Hamas-loving, Jew-hating, terrorist sympathizers on the streets in front of Jewish seniors' homes. Jewish Canadians did not ask to be targeted with acts of hate and violence, and this escalation of hate and fear is just not the Canadian way. Enough is enough.

When will the Prime Minister finally stand up for Jewish Canadians and take this disgusting rise in anti-Semitism seriously so that every Jew, no matter where they live, work and go to school, can live safe and free from hate?

Foreign Interference

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am astonished by the blatant disregard the Leader of the Opposition has shown for the well-being of Canadians. His willful ignorance of critical security threats facing our nation is deeply concerning.

Recently, RCMP investigations have shown alarming evidence of agents from the Government of India engaging in serious criminal activity in Canada, including homicides, extortion and threats to the South Asian community. Our citizens are under credible and imminent threat, yet the Leader of the Opposition continues to peddle empty slogans, refusing to do the substantive work to address these threats. His dog whistle politics are putting Canadians at risk every single day.

Will the Leader of the Opposition put aside his selfish interests, obtain the necessary security clearance and protect the integrity not just of the democratic process but of his own party and all Canadians?

Opioids

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, not surprisingly, the NDP-Liberal so-called safe supply fiasco has torn a hole in yet another Canadian community.

Hydromorphone seized by the Sarnia police has gone up by 170% in the first eight months of this year, and a local addictions doctor has said that diversion is to blame. The government talks about evidence, but when the evidence tells it something it does not want to hear, it just ignores it.

Every city touched by so-called safe supply has suffered. In Vancouver, 50% of all hydromorphone seizures were diverted from so-called safe supply. In London, the street price of hydromorphone dropped by 90%. In Port Coquitlam, children are accessing government-supplied opioids. This is homicidal humanitarianism. The evidence is right there, and the NDP-Liberals do not care.

Common-sense Conservatives want Canadians suffering from addiction to survive and thrive, not suffer and die. We will restore their dignity and bring them home drug-free.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and their time is up. The NDP-Liberal government is refusing to turn over documents to the RCMP showing that Liberal-appointed managers used the green slush fund to pay nearly $400 million to companies that they themselves owned. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the corruption.

In northern B.C., residents are losing their logging, oil, gas, mining and other natural resource jobs because of the radical NDP-Liberal environment minister. Meanwhile, the same radical NDP-Liberal environment minister and the Prime Minister take $400 million that they take from us in carbon tax and pay off their NDP-Liberal friends.

Why will NDP-Liberals not end the cover-up and give proof to police so that Parliament can get back to work for Canadians?

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, national security should be the responsibility and the priority of every single member of the House.

We have seen over the last number of months and years the alarming rate with which foreign governments have sought to interfere with the democratic processes in our country and to damage our democracy. Every single one of us in the House bears a responsibility and obligation to ensure that we are well prepared and well-informed in the face of these threats. Canadians know that our leaders having a security clearance is table stakes, but apparently not the Leader of the Opposition.

I know first-hand that the top secret clearance process is detailed and precise. It is something that gives our national security agencies absolute confidence in our integrity and our ability to be trusted with sensible and sensitive information. I simply cannot understand why the Leader of the Opposition refuses to get his security clearance.

As the Prime Minister said yesterday, if he cares about our country and he cares about Canadians, he will get the clearance, take the briefing and protect the country. Why will he not?

Labour

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, at this very moment, there are thousands of workers rallying for respect and for their collective bargaining rights at the legislature in Alberta.

Members of CUPE local 3550 were stripped of their rights to strike by the Alberta government after they voted 97% in favour of job action.

Education assistance, administrative staff, librarians and student support staff are the backbone of our education system. They make our schools run; they support our teachers; and, most important, they help our children. However, they are not being treated with the respect they deserve. These workers, mostly women, as 94% of local 3550 members are women, work difficult, stressful jobs while making poverty wages. Now their most basic rights are being denied.

Workers are tired of subsidizing funding cuts with poverty wages. Today and every day, I stand with the dedicated workers of CUPE local 3550 and all workers across Canada and Alberta.

50th Anniversary of the École de Technologie Supérieure

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to mark the 50th anniversary of the École de technologie supérieure, or ÉTS for short, founded in Montreal back in 1974.

Over these many years, the school has become a trusted institution and alma mater to 25% of all of Quebec's engineers. It has taken the top spot in Quebec for the highest number of bachelor of engineering graduates. A member of the Université du Québec network, ÉTS now has over 11,000 students, 290 professors, and 77 chairs, groups, and research units. In short, it is an academic incubator of international renown. By training the future engineers destined to meet present and future technological challenges, the ÉTS is ensuring Quebec's prosperity.

The future looks bright for the ever-expanding engineering profession in Quebec. Imagine what lies ahead. I wish the École de technologie supérieure continued success and a joyful 50th anniversary.

Carbon Tax

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberals, even Liberal MPs now acknowledge that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost, the crime, the corruption and, now, the chaos.

Instead of trying to fix their mess of doubling housing costs or the record number of food bank visits, Liberal MPs are in full panic mode trying to save their own jobs.

After 24 Liberal MPs told the Prime Minister yesterday that he had become so toxic that he needed to resign, the immigration minister called his own colleagues ”garbage”. It got so bad during the caucus meeting, Liberals were fleeing to the bathrooms to text journalists about how angry they were, yet the Prime Minister is completely out of touch and is still forging ahead with his plan to quadruple the carbon tax.

It is now clear that everything in the country is broken because the Liberal Party is broken. The solution is simple. If the Liberals cannot get their act together, just call a carbon tax election. The Conservatives on this side are fired up and ready to go.

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know why the Leader of the Opposition will not get his security clearance.

Why does he not want to learn about ways that governments like India work to disrupt our institutions? It cannot be those weak excuses that he would be muzzled, because every other leader in the House has received their clearance and has not been prevented from speaking on the matter at hand.

The Leader of the Opposition has a choice. He can get the clearance, take the briefings and protect the country or he can turn a blind eye to the actions of governments like India, which try to undermine our democracy.

Will he stand up for Canadians or will he stand with governments like India? The Leader of the Opposition has choice, party over country. Canadians want to know.

Liberal Party of Canada

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP Prime Minister, it is clear that he is not worth the cost, the crime, the corruption or chaos.

The Liberal caucus is revolting, because even in once-safe Liberal seats voters are angry. They are angry that the Prime Minister raised their prices and devalued their paycheques with his inflation. They are angry that their grocery and home heating costs keep going up because of his carbon tax. They are angry that their cars keep getting stolen, their parks are full of dirty needles and homeless encampments now line their streets.

Therefore, will the Prime Minister put an end to the anger, spread some much-needed joy and call a carbon tax election so that Canadians can decide?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadians have had a tough couple of years as a result of the rising cost of living and global inflation. However, Canadian households are right to ask who is actually fighting for them.

I can tell them that it is not the Conservative caucus members who do not want to forgive interest on student loans. It is not the Conservative leader who wants to take away the Canada child benefit. If they do not believe me, then they should look at his voting record. It is not the Conservative caucus members who want to make sure that Canadian women do not have access to free birth control.

In the next election, people are going to ask themselves: Do they want a Liberal government who cares about them or a Conservative leader who cares about himself?

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it has not been a tough couple of years, it has been a tough nine years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister. Now taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up.

It is not just Conservatives saying that; it is Liberal MPs too. They cannot do it anymore. They cannot convince voters that taxes are going down when in fact they are going up. They cannot convince their voters that home prices are becoming more affordable when they keep getting more expensive. They cannot convince their voters that crime is down when it just keeps getting worse. Now they are trying to convince the Prime Minister to resign.

However, since he will not, will he do the next best thing and call a carbon tax election so that Canadians can decide?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share some facts. I stand here as the Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Youth and I wonder if this ministry will even exist if the Conservatives were to gain power.

Here are the facts. The Conservatives will cut services to survivors of gender-based violence. They will cut critical supports for women entrepreneurs. They will cut life-saving support for grassroots organizations. They will cut pharmacare and contraceptives for women.

We on this side of the House stand for women and gender-diverse people. They do not. Those are straight facts.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, that is baseless and false. We are going to cut the carbon tax, eliminate it, and defund the CBC and put that savings back into the pockets of taxpayers.

However, consider where we are. It is actually kind of amazing. Liberal MPs are so frustrated that they are not allowed to speak in caucus that they are actually confiding in Conservatives. They have to sneak out to the bathroom to have therapy text sessions with journalists, and cabinet ministers call their own colleagues garbage because they are speaking out against the Prime Minister's terrible record.

He is losing control. He is losing confidence. He lost the plot a long time ago. Therefore, for the love of all that is holy, will he finally call a carbon tax election?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, what would the Leader of the Opposition, the leader of the Conservatives, do if if he was the prime minister? He would cut things like the Canada summer jobs program, something that exists in every one of our communities, which is so important to employers and so important to kids. Do members think that we would be able to maintain our progress on clean water? He would cut funding to first nations dependent on a real, fair and equitable solution.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

We just have to take a little break so that everyone can reflect on the fact that no one is permitted to speak without first being recognized by the Speaker.

The member for Mégantic—L'Érable.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know why the Prime Minister was all smiles yesterday as he was leaving his chaotic caucus meeting, where 24 members called on him to step down. It is simple. It is because the Prime Minister knows he can count on the support of the 33 Bloc Québécois members to keep him in office. The Bloc has been supporting this Prime Minister even though he has doubled the cost of housing, inflated the cost of food, caused an increase in violent crime and created the worst immigration crisis in the history of Canada.

Will the Prime Minister turn around and look behind him, hear the message from his backbenchers and Quebeckers, and call an election now?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, the depths to which the Conservative Party will sink and its hypocrisy are immeasurable. Members will recall that, during his first term in office, the leader of the Conservative Party got all worked up here in the House about people with diabetes. However, he voted against the bill to provide free medication to people with diabetes. The Conservatives are the masters of talking out of both sides of their mouths.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should take a look around. Twenty-four Liberal members called on the Prime Minister to step down this week. This Prime Minister doubled the national debt, the cost of housing and mortgage payments, and he has allowed crime to spiral out of control.

The incompetence of the Prime Minister, who is supported by the Bloc Québécois, is ringing alarm bells for Liberal supporters, who want a change of leadership. The Prime Minister even sent one of his ministers to say that the opponents within the party, his own MPs, are garbage. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the garbage. When will he call an election? We want one now.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague is talking about housing and incompetence. One, two, three, four, five, six: that is the number of affordable housing units that the Conservative leader built across Canada in his entire term as minister responsible for housing.

He is looking for those six affordable housing units and he cannot find them. He is trying to figure out where else he can look. Can he appropriate some from a property owner, entrepreneur or this government? No, there are just six affordable housing units. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for years now, the Bloc Québécois has been the lone voice in Ottawa pointing out that federal immigration targets were steering us right into a wall. For years, the government has been lecturing us, saying that there is no such thing as integration capacity and that to claim otherwise amounts to immigrant-bashing, that Quebec has not exhausted its integration capacity, it is just not willing to accept immigrants.

Today, the government has finally done a spectacular about-face and dropped its immigration targets. Why did it wait until all of Canada was in a full-blown crisis before finally listening to Quebeckers?