Debates of Oct. 25th, 2024

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that it was the Liberals who fought tooth and nail for an extension of the Rainbow Railroad refugee program that was started under the former Harper Conservative government, and all the while, they allowed countless people in upstate New York to illegally cross the border. That is the record of the government's broken immigration system.

If the minister wants to talk about queer youth or any Canadian, the reality is that the government's inflationary crisis is what is putting people out on the streets.

The Liberals have broken Canada's immigration system. Will they allow for a carbon tax election to allow Conservatives to fix their mess?

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, immigration is key to the economic growth of Canada. This country is full of incredible stories of immigrants, one of whom is speaking right now. They are of a country that has welcomed people from around the world.

The government has always taken a very responsible approach to immigration to make sure that Canada continues to grow. That is exactly the kind of responsible approach we are demonstrating. It was in the work we did to bring in immigrants to keep Canada moving forward during the pandemic, and it is in the work we are doing now to keep up with the pace of Canada's population growth, the housing we need and the infrastructure Canadians deserve.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, is that a responsible approach to immigration?

The former immigration minister bragged about increasing international student permits from about 400,000 to 500,000 knowing that shady universities were abusing these students and that they were living under bridges in Toronto. That is the record of the government. The government, with the responsible approach the member talked about, also dropped security clearance certificates from its own background checks for temporary residents.

There is nothing responsible about the government. Will the Liberals allow for a carbon tax election so that Conservatives can fix Canada's broken immigration system?

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it is always rich to hear from the Conservatives when they talk about fake colleges. I hope the member opposite is calling her premier, Danielle Smith, to make sure that fake colleges are not getting credentials. I hope the members from Ontario are calling Doug Ford to let him know that he should not be accrediting fake colleges.

On this side of the House, we will always make sure to take a responsible approach. Immigration is important for Canada, and we did so during the pandemic. Moving forward, we are making sure to make the necessary readjustments so the Canadian population and economy grow on a responsible path.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am reading the Prime Minister's immigration plan at the moment, the plan he submitted to the House yesterday. What is in this plan? Nothing, it is a blank page.

After nine years, the Prime Minister has not only broken the immigration system, he has forgotten his plan. The Prime Minister's regrets lack credibility, just like his hastily photocopied, off-the-cuff plan. Will the Prime Minister admit that he has pushed the immigration system to the breaking point, causing lasting damage to Canada's housing market, health care system and jobs?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Before asking the parliamentary secretary to answer, I must remind members that they are not to show documents held in their hands, which are then considered props.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the new immigration levels plan is a transition plan that responds directly to our country's changing needs. That is what Canadians want and that is what they asked us to do. These reductions are needed to enhance our economic and social prosperity, while ensuring that newcomers are able to succeed.

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

Mr. Speaker, what do you call someone who sets the house on fire and then calls the firefighters after they have watched it burn to the ground? Are they a hero or a pyromaniac?

That is exactly what the Prime Minister did, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, when it comes to immigration. He invited the whole world to come to Canada. He watched as the cost of housing and food doubled and then he expressed regrets when he saw the damage he had done. It is too little, too late, and it is not credible.

When will he call an election so that we can fix everything that he has broken?

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, after the pandemic, we had to increase our immigration levels to help our economy and businesses recover. Our postpandemic measures reflected what Canada needed at the time. The new plan reflects what Canada needs today. By slowing down demographic growth in the short term, we will achieve growth and prosperity in the long term.

Justice

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are appalled by the mistreatment and poor education at Bedford school. Obviously, more needs to be done for secularism in our schools.

However, while we want to do more, the federal government wants to do less. Even though it is clear that Bill 21 does not go far enough, Ottawa wants to challenge it. Bill 21 protects children's right to a secular public education. After what happened at Bedford school, does the government finally understand that to attack Bill 21 is to attack children's rights?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, the first important thing to remind everyone, including anyone who may be listening, is that respecting children's dignity and safety is really everyone's concern and everyone's responsibility.

As far as jurisdiction over education is concerned, it is the Government of Quebec's responsibility.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what happened at Bedford school involved adults violating the principle of secularism in our schools and prioritizing their own will over the children's well-being. It is children, not adults, who are the priority in our schools.

Attacking Bill 21 is the opposite. Bill 21, specifically clause 4, protects the right of every individual to receive secular public services. It is Bill 21 that protects children's right to receive a secular public education.

Do the Liberals realize that that is what they are attacking?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague opposite that school is a place where children should be able to learn, grow and develop their critical thinking skills. What is unacceptable is for children in Quebec to be treated the way they apparently were at Bedford school.

We also said that it is the Quebec government's jurisdiction and its responsibility to deal with this issue.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up.

The Prime Minister has destroyed our immigration system through his and his minister's incompetence. He cannot fix what he broke on immigration, housing or anything else because he is busy fighting his own caucus.

The Prime Minister is admitting his policies have been totally incompetent, stating immigration has “grown at a rate far beyond what Canada has been able to absorb.” Will the Prime Minister admit he is destroying Canada's immigration system and accept his own personal failure?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have answered that question already in the House several times.

The real question for me today is, how does the member feel about the anti-abortionists she sits with every single day in her caucus, with a leader who will not march in pride with the LGBTQ community, with a leader who will not stand up for the rights of the most vulnerable in this community and with a leader who attacks the most vulnerable people in this community on a daily basis? How does the member sleep at night?

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada had one of the most well-respected and functioning immigration systems in the world before the Liberal government. However, the current immigration minister has stated that the growing population impacting housing is where we have a “serious issue we need to address”. The former immigration minister, now housing minister, has stated the immigration system is “really disconcerting” and it is “a system that has gotten out of control.” This is an admission of his own incompetence.

Will the Prime Minister fire the former immigration minister, now housing minister, or, if not, will the housing minister resign in disgrace?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the members opposite need a reality check.

When the leader of the Conservative Party was part of the Conservative government, do members know what the Conservatives did on immigration? I was the critic when they froze the parents and grandparents program, and when that did not resolve the problem, they cancelled it, saying people could not sponsor their moms and dads to come here. When it came to overseas immigrants coming to Canada, the Conservatives hit the delete button, deleting hundreds of thousands of potential people being able to come to Canada because they could not deal with processing times.

They should not lecture us on broken immigration systems.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

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

The Prime Minister has destroyed our immigration system through his incompetence, and he is too busy fighting his own caucus and clinging to power to fix what he has broken. He has now admitted that his policies have failed, but he also took his former immigration minister and put him in charge of the housing crisis. Instead, why does the Prime Minister not simply fire the minister for his incompetence?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, what is shining through right now in this debate on immigration is the far-right Canadian Alliance-Reform Party roots of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Our government is proud of the fact that we have provided over 54,000 Afghan refugees with safe refuge here in Canada. Over 300,000 Ukrainians have come here following Putin's illegal war in Ukraine. When my family fled Soviet Hungary in the 1950s, Canada had its doors open to people who were arriving here to flee from violence and persecution. I really fear that under a Conservative government, with this far-right, xenophobic immigration concept, families like my mom's will be sent away.

Housing

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member speaks of some of our history. It is true that Canada had a 150-year consensus on immigration, but the government has destroyed it.

If the government and the Prime Minister were so sure of themselves, they would not have admitted they have failed. The same minister that was responsible for that has now been put in charge of housing, and that has not gone much better. Housing costs have doubled, and young Canadians have given up completely on their dream of home ownership.

Everywhere the minister goes, incompetence follows. When will the Prime Minister fire him?

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we will always defend immigration and make sure that immigration remains an integral part of the Canadian success story. We will also always defend a woman's freedom and right to choose.

What I have not heard from any members on the Conservative benches is an affirmation that they will also defend a woman's right to choose. We know, after hearing from one of their former members, that they have been plotting. They are trying to hide the fact that they want to take away a woman's right to choose. That is unacceptable, and we will fight it every single day for all Canadians.

Health

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, women and gender diverse individuals are fearful of a growing anti-choice movement that has been emboldened by Conservative MPs. While the Liberals have allowed access to abortion to be chipped away, the Conservative leader voted five times for legislation that would take away the right to choose.

Access to abortion is access to health care, so will the Liberals enforce the Canada Health Act to ensure everyone has access to full, safe, trauma-informed abortion care?

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree that abortion is health care and that we should have equal access across the country.

What concerns me is the growing anti-abortion caucus on the Conservative side. We have heard evidence of this, and its power on the Conservative leader is growing. We have heard it from the member for Peace River—Westlock and the former Conservative from Richmond—Arthabaska. He was in a recent documentary. He said, “I left the Conservative Party for reasons of values and convictions” because there was “an increase in the number of pro-life MPs inside the [Conservative caucus].”

Seniors

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government needs to enforce the Canada Health Act on abortion.

Canada's most vulnerable seniors are seeing hundreds of dollars less every year because the Liberals have created yet another GIS clawback. With grocery bills and rent soaring, every single dollar matters, especially for seniors. Clearly, the Liberals are taking their lead from the Conservatives, who cut pensions and increased the retirement age. Seniors deserve respect and dignity, but with the Liberals and the Conservatives, it is either lose or lose.

When will the Liberals end their cruel and callous clawbacks?

[Terry Sheehan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we have been there for seniors from the get-go.

The first thing we did was to reverse the Conservatives' increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67. We brought it back to 65. We enhanced the GIS, taking hundreds of thousands of seniors out of poverty. We have enhanced the CPP, while the Conservative leader questions its greatness. We are always going to be there for seniors, now and into the future.