Debates of Oct. 29th, 2024

Reference to Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would caution the member. It is beneath hon. members to cast wild aspersions.

The reality is, as stated by the vehement Conservative supporter, former leader of the NDP, Thomas Mulcair, that this is strictly a political ploy by the Prime Minister to gag the Leader of the Opposition from criticizing the government. The fact that the Liberals would utilize foreign interference for political reasons is disgusting.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, following up on the comment by my Conservative colleague, we have heard from experts who have said that it will not prohibit the leader from speaking on this issue. The member says that his leader would be gagged. If that is the case, why has the leader been silent? If the Conservative leader has all this freedom that he supposedly requires to hold government to account, why is he not using that freedom? Why has he been deafeningly silent when it comes to Indian interference in our government and possibly in his own political party?

Like the leader of the NDP said, he needs to put Canada ahead of politics and ahead of party.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is not surprising that the NDP comes running to the rescue of the Liberals whenever they need help.

The reality is, as Thomas Mulcair said, the member's former leader, that this is nothing but a political ploy. I will end with what the Conservative leader said, “name the names.”

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we are debating the privilege of this place and the documents that need to be handed over to the RCMP to do the investigation on a fund where over $400 million have gone missing or have been allocated to companies in severe conflict of interest. This is Liberal corruption at its height. The sponsorship scandal was not to this level.

Does the member have anymore comments that he would like to share about this horrendous scandal called the green slush fund?

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member is right that the sponsorship scandal was a paltry $40 million compared to the $400 million that is the SDTC, or the green slush fund. It is no surprise that the NDP is coming to the defence of the Liberals once again in order to support and enable their corruption, as has been the case in this nine-year NDP-Liberal government.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, before going into more detail about the subject of today's debate, I would like to remind the House about what the Prime Minister said when he came to power in 2015. He made all kinds of promises about doing things differently. People tend to forget.

When the Prime Minister came to power in 2015, people said it was really a new era of hope, promises and dreams for Canadians. We all remember that. He walked in here acting like some sort of saint. He was a saint of a man. He was picture perfect. It was the dawn of a new era. The Prime Minister said he would act for the good of Canada and Canadians. However, it did not take long for him to fall back into old Liberal habits, but multiplied by 10 or 20. In fact, it is immeasurable. We have lost count of all the scandals and the money involved.

It was clear that, once again, there were systems in place to to enrich the Liberals' cronies. We saw examples of their friends profiting from the federal government's largesse. Let us not forget that we are talking about taxpayers' money. I heard someone speaking earlier about the sponsorship scandal that happened back in the day. That was a $40‑million scandal, one that led to the Liberal government being defeated by the Conservatives, because the public was so upset by the scandal. However, considering what we have been living under for the past nine years, that was nothing. It is hard to imagine, but the sponsorship scandal was small potatoes compared to everything we have seen over the past nine years.

Unfortunately, some people seem to have gotten used to it. We are currently dealing with a $400‑million scandal, but so many billions of dollars have been wasted over the past nine years that people feel like $400 million is not such a big deal. We are talking about $400 million. That is 40% of a billion dollars, but today's billions are yesterday's millions. To some, $400 million may not sound like a lot of money, but I think it is.

Let us come back to what the Prime Minister promised. At the time, he said he would do a lot for the environment, that the Liberals would really change the way things were done. That is how we ended up with this green fund thing. Instead of helping the environment, it helped friends of the Liberal Party of Canada. That is what happened. That has been proven. That is the scandal. We are not making this up. It is not a Conservative Party fabrication. It has been demonstrated and proven.

The Liberals are asking why we Conservatives are not letting this go, why we keep talking about this. What should we do? Should we simply drop it and say that their friends received $400 million, but we will move on, it is no big deal, it is just taxpayers' money and we do not care? That is not how things work for people with morals.

The green fund is officially called Sustainable Development Technology Canada, or SDTC. As we know, the Auditor General found that this fund was being used as a slush fund for Liberal friends. There is a recording of a senior official speaking out against the Prime Minister for inappropriately awarding contracts worth $390 million.

The Auditor General also found that SDTC gave $58 million to 10 ineligible projects that, in some cases, could not demonstrate an environmental benefit or the development of green technology. Another $334 million was paid out in 186 cases to projects in which board members had a conflict of interest. The Auditor General made it clear that the blame for this scandal falls on the Liberal government, which did not sufficiently monitor the contracts that were given to Liberal insiders.

The Speaker ruled that this Liberal government violated the order of the House requiring the government to turn over the documents related to this scandal to the police so that it can pursue a criminal investigation.

Last week, a journalist summarized this situation in the National Post. I will tell the House what he wrote. He was informed that the Liberals are still refusing to be transparent with Canadians. Here is what he wrote: “Withholding the information is significant because it appears to fly in the face of the Speaker's ruling...that the government likely had no right to do so”.

The article goes on: “The Liberal government is still providing redacted documents and withholding others on the so-called 'green slush fund' from the House of Commons nearly one month after [the] Speaker...scolded it for doing just that. In a letter tabled in Parliament Monday, Commons Law Clerk Michel Bédard told MPs that he had recently received new documents from three government departments relating to Sustainable Development Technology Canada”.

The article goes on to say that, “In all three cases, information was withheld.... In June, three opposition parties banded together to pass a Conservative motion ordering the public service, the auditor general and SDTC to provide all documents on the latter to Bédard. The motion did not provide for any information to be redacted or withheld. The 'unprecedented' motion then called on Bédard to provide the documents to the RCMP.... 'The House has clearly ordered the production of certain documents, and that order has clearly not been fully complied with,' [the Chair] said in a Sept. [26] ruling.”

The article continues: “Because of that, [the Speaker] found he 'cannot come to any other conclusion but to find that a prima facie question of privilege has been established' and suggested the issue be sent to a committee for further study. In other words, [the Speaker] found the government had likely violated the Commons' 'absolute and unfettered' constitutional power to call for information.... In a report published in the spring, Auditor General Karen Hogan concluded that one out of six projects funded by [SDTC] that she audited were ineligible and that the organization had serious governance issues. On the day her audit was published, the government announced it was abolishing the fund and folding it into the National Research Council.”

This part of the article from the National Post published on October 21 provides a nice summary of what we have been saying for the past two weeks now. We are not letting this go because there is a clear, specific scandal and we have a government that is hiding and wants to keep hiding the information and is not sharing it with the police. The government can say what it wants, but there are enough facts to prove there is a scandal. Now we have to take this further. That is where we are.

What is more, testimonies at the Standing Committee on Public Accounts about SDTC revealed a lot of information about Liberal corruption. A whistle-blower told us the following:

I think the Auditor General's investigation was more of a cursory review. I don't think the goal and mandate of the Auditor General's office is to actually look into criminality, so I'm not surprised by the fact that they haven't found anything criminal.

...

The true failure of the situation stands at the feet of our current government, whose decision to protect wrongdoers and cover up their findings over the last 12 months is a serious indictment of how our democratic systems and institutions are being corrupted by political interference. It should never have taken two years for the issues to reach this point. What should have been a straightforward process turned into a bureaucratic nightmare that allowed SDTC to continue wasting millions of dollars and abusing countless employees over the last year.

...

It's because I think the current government is more interested in protecting themselves and protecting the situation from being a public nightmare. They would rather protect wrongdoers and financial mismanagement than have to deal with a situation like SDTC in the public sphere.

If only this latest scandal involving $400 million in taxpayers' money being redirected to Liberal insiders was an anomaly for the government, then Parliament could move on to something else. I am saying that, but I am not so sure. As I said earlier, $40 million was missing in the sponsorship scandal when the government ended its term in office. We are at $400 million for this scandal alone, not to mention the billions of dollars that were wasted in other scandals.

The Auditor General has her work cut out for her because it never stops. Every time she looks into something, she ends up writing a scathing report.

I do not think that the Auditor General has published even one report in recent years that said that there was nothing to see and that everything was fine. There is always a problem. Last week, she confirmed that her office was launching an investigation on GC Strategies. Does everyone remember that? As I was saying earlier, memory has a way of fading quickly in our Parliament and around the Hill. However, we remember GC Strategies and the little ArriveCAN app.

The Auditor General is starting her investigation because, as we know, the Liberal government has given the people behind GC Strategies $100 million since the member for Papineau became Prime Minister. Many of those contracts were sole sourced, which means that government representatives awarded multi-million contracts directly to that company.

For the ArriveCAN app alone, GC Strategies pocketed $20 million in taxpayer funds when it should have cost just $80,000. We talked about that at great length last spring, and it is not over. Accordingly, the Auditor General agreed to audit all payments received by GC Strategies as well as all Government of Canada contracts awarded to the company outside the ArriveCAN fiasco. Oddly enough, ArriveCAN was just one among many other contracts that the company received since this government took power in 2015.

GC Strategies and its partners became multi-millionaires under the Liberal government. They admitted that they were paid up to $2,600 an hour for recruitment and that they invoiced the government as many as 1,500 times a month. It must be something to have a company like that, a company that can invoice the government 1,500 times a month and hire a full-time employee to do nothing but send out invoices. If no light bulbs went on in anyone's head at that point, this country has one heck of a problem.

GC Strategies was founded in 2015, as I said, and started receiving contracts within a few weeks. We have the dates. It was a few weeks after this government came to power on November 4, 2015. In the past year alone, more and more revelations have come to light about the unethical behaviour of those folks. They bragged about their close ties to government officials and were hauled before the bar of the House of Commons to answer questions after refusing to appear before a committee.

Earlier this year, the RCMP raided the home of GC Strategies founder Kristian Firth as part of the investigation into the ArriveCAN app. Canadians deserve a government that will treat their tax dollars and the public purse with respect. Only common-sense Conservatives will continue to fight to get to the bottom of how the Prime Minister gave millions of dollars to this shady company.

This brings me to the green fund scandal, the slush fund, the $400 million that was given to friends. The Auditor General is about to begin her investigation into GC Strategies, which, over the past nine years, with the new company, has been awarded $100 million in contracts, oddly enough, including $20 million for the notorious little ArriveCAN app.

This also leads us to rethink everything that has happened over the past nine years. Here is what history will remember about this Prime Minister's record: a legacy of scandals. At least, that is what I will remember. If I were to write a book, it would be the story of scandals, plural. The title would be something that talks about this Prime Minister's legacy: scandal after scandal after scandal.

I want to go back in time. Let us think of the Aga Khan's island. The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner issued a report. I think this was the first time ever that a Prime Minister was the subject of a Ethics Commissioner report in which he was directly blamed.

Then, the Prime Minister fired the justice minister, Ms. Wilson-Raybould, because she did not help SNC-Lavalin circumvent the law. We spent weeks and months talking about the SNC-Lavalin scandal in the House. A lot of people seem to have forgotten that, but Ms. Wilson-Raybould has not, and neither have I.

There was the WE Charity scandal. That amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. WE Charity is the organization that used government money to directly help the Prime Minister. I am not going to go into the details, but that is another one.

Another scandal that kind of slipped under the radar happened during the pandemic. At the time, as the Conservative Party's procurement critic, I was responsible for monitoring procurement files related to what was going on in the midst of the pandemic.

What the government did was take Canada's PPE stockpile and send it to China. At one point, when I said we were going to need that stuff, people told me I was racist. I do not know what that has to do with it, but whatever. We sent our PPE to China. What happened next? Two or three weeks later, we ran into problems. We needed PPE, but we no longer had it because we had sent everything to China.

What did the government do next? They made new friends. Who could forget Tango Communication Marketing and the Brault family, the sponsorship scandal and the $80-million contract to bring masks in. When the masks arrived, they were garbage. People could not even use them. What did the government do about it? They said, oh well, the money has already gone to the Chinese. The second scandal we heard about after that is that it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to destroy the $80 million worth of masks that were never used. The scandals just keep piling up.

Among the government's friends is former MP Frank Baylis, who offered to supply 10,000 ventilators for $226 million during the pandemic. Everyone said we did not need 10,000 machines. After all, we do not have 10,000 emergency rooms in hospitals to operate them. On top of that, the market cost to build those machines should have been $100 million less than that. In committee, Mr. Baylis was asked how he justified charging Canadian taxpayers $226 million for machines that should have cost $125 million at most. The committee heard all kinds of answers, including that it had to do with administrative costs or the cost of keeping staff on. It was nonsense, and everyone knows it. Despite that, the money was paid out, and taxpayers footed the bill.

We could talk about McKinsey, which suddenly started getting over $100 million in contracts for things like writing phony reports that served no purpose. We tried to understand why, but we could never grasp the point of it all. Even though an extra 100,000 employees had been added to the public service and experts were at the government's disposal, ready to offer it advice and submit proposals on various policies, the government chose to give the money to its friends, the McKinsey gang.

There has been no shortage of scandals. Eventually, they all blend into one mind-boggling mess. As I said earlier, memories fade, unfortunately. Today, this is where we are, after nine years of this government. When the Prime Minister took office, he told us that he was going to be perfect, the best in the world, that Canada was back, and that everything was going to be great. After nine years of this government, it is hard to fathom how we reached this point.

The country's debt has doubled. The interest alone costs $50 billion a year. Now we have another scandal in which $400 million was given to friends for a program that was supposed to help the environment. This is like the election promise to plant two billion trees. The Liberals claimed to be so green that they were going to plant two billion trees. People who heard that on the news said it was a good idea. I do not know how many trees they have planted so far, but it is nowhere near two billion.

Back to the green technology program. Conservatives are in favour of green tech. Conservatives support investing in green tech to protect our environment. However, instead of doing things that help people, as the Prime Minister promised in 2015, the government gave $400 million to its friends, who did nothing with that money. That is money wasted.

We know that we are going nowhere with this government, and that is why we are at the point where this government must go. I have another 10 pages of scandals. It gets old after a while, but we have a duty to remind everyone of all of this. If we do not do it, no one will, and people will forget. That is why we are here today, to keep the pressure up and to stay the course. We must never accept corruption. We must never accept the idea of giving out millions of dollars, maybe even billions over the course of nine years, left and right to Liberal friends. When we ask why things cost more, we cannot accept “because that is how things work” as an answer. This needs to stop.

I can confirm that a Conservative government will restore order in this country. It could be in the coming weeks or in the coming months at most, or so I hope. A Conservative government will put a stop to giving people millions of dollars. When we ask the government why this is happening, we can no longer accept the answer that that is just how it is and that we need to move on. This needs to stop. Let us hope that there will be a change in government soon.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member talked about so many things. Why does he not speak about the state of the economy today? Inflation is down to 1.6%. Interest rates have been cut, reduced four times, to 3.75% and are expected to go to 3% or less by July 2025. Rents are coming down and renting is becoming more affordable. The consumer confidence index has increased to a 30-month high. Why does he not talk about that?

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague would like me to say that the interest rate is dropping and so things are improving.

Over the past year or two, the Bank of Canada and everyone made a tremendous effort to tighten their belts and pay more interest because this government doubled the debt and completely abandoned the economic sector.

Cancer Research

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network is a bold collaboration bringing precision medicine to Canadian cancer patients. In 2016, the Terry Fox Research Institute's founding president and scientific director, Dr. Victor Ling, told me they have the road map to cure cancer; all they need is $150 million from the federal government.

In budget 2019, we invested $150 million to create the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. Canada's brightest minds are now working with a common vision to revolutionize cancer research in Canada. This week, they are here to talk to parliamentarians about their work, and tomorrow night, we will be at a reception with Terry Fox's brother Darrell, Dr. André Veillette and others to share the good news about their progress.

Terry Fox said, “Anything is possible if you try. Dreams are made possible if you try.” Because of this team Canada of cancer research, the dream of a world without cancer is closer than ever.

Mental Health

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on World Mental Health Day, Mental Health Research Canada released its landmark collaborative national report, titled “A Generation at Risk: The State of Youth Mental Health in Canada”. This report brings together research and lived experiences to help us better understand the youth mental health crisis.

Three key take-aways are declining mental health, service gaps and access barriers, and collaborative action. While 19% of youth accessed mental health services last year, an additional 9% are still in need of care but not receiving it. The report outlines key recommendations to improve youth mental health, including enhancing prevention, improving the quality of mental health services and expanding access.

I give a special thanks to the organizations involved in the report, including Aire Ouverte, Jack.org, Kids Help Phone, the National Association of Friendship Centres, the Strongest Families Institute, the Youth in Mind Foundation, youth wellness hubs and, of course, Bell Let's Talk. I thank them all for their continued support in building a future of better mental health for all.

Asylum Seekers

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to house asylum claimants, the City of Ottawa is proposing glorified tents called “sprung structures”. Their proposed locations are far away, about 20 to 25 kilometres, from other support systems needed for asylum seekers.

We have to treat people with dignity, and herding them into the proposed structures is not the way to accommodate them. Hence, I firmly oppose the City of Ottawa's proposal to accommodate asylum seekers in Barrhaven using sprung structures.

The city should use federal funds in a more productive way, like upscaling existing buildings that provide actual homes, security, privacy and dignity. There is a significant decrease in the number of asylum seekers. Using funds to create more livable places today means they will be available as affordable housing tomorrow.

Raymond Tessier

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 40 years, four decades or 14,610 days: whichever way we count it, that is a lot of time to dedicate to a cause.

It requires an unshakeable sense of conviction, and that is exactly what Raymond Tessier has embodied over the course of his career as a Saint‑Eustache city councillor. Since 1984, when he was first elected to the Saint‑Eustache city council, Raymond Tessier has truly exemplified dedication to the common good. His close connection with the people, his ability to listen and his determination to take action make him a well-respected and highly appreciated leader and a pillar of our local democracy.

By tying for the record with my colleague from Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, Raymond Tessier is also proving that political involvement has no limits, as long as it comes from the heart. I am certain that Raymond's desire to improve the quality of life of his community helped him make his mark and influence future generations for the better. I thank my friend Raymond for his dedication and passion.

Association pour aînés résidant à Laval

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Association pour aînés résidant à Laval, or APARL, an organization in Alfred-Pellan that has enriched the lives of Laval seniors, celebrated its 50th anniversary with a wonderful event organized by and for seniors in my riding.

Over the past five decades, APARL has been a place of social integration that provides the services and resources needed to help seniors overcome isolation, maintain their independence and stay in their homes. I am deeply grateful for the work done by the entire team and all of the volunteers. Through their dedication, they have met the diverse needs of seniors with care and respect, making APARL a place where everyone feels valued and supported.

I want to congratulate APARL on this important milestone and extend my best wishes for many more years to come.

2024 Saskatchewan General Election

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, last night, there was a general election in my home province of Saskatchewan, and I would like to congratulate the Saskatchewan Party, led by Premier Scott Moe, on its victory. To all those who knocked on doors, volunteered to run as candidates and went to the polls and voted, their participation in our democracy is what it means to be a proud Saskatchewanian. Elections do not run themselves and democracies cannot happen without the people.

I would like to congratulate Alana Ross, Eric Schmalz, Darlene Rowden, Todd Goudy, Terri Bromm and Kevin Kasun on their recent election victories. I would also like to thank Fred Bradshaw, Joe Hargrave, Nadine Wilson and Delbert Kirsch for their many years of service.

I look forward to working with each and every one of my provincial counterparts, both new and old faces, to continue to serve the people of Saskatchewan.

Breast Cancer

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and each year, 28,000 Canadians are diagnosed with breast cancer and thousands more live with its lasting impact. Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Canadian women. As a two-time survivor of breast cancer, first diagnosed at age 42, I know first-hand about the importance of early detection. That is why I have long advocated for reducing the screening age from 50 to 40 in Canada so that women do not have to wait for mammography testing but rather have a choice.

I encourage all provinces to follow the lead of the United States, Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Yukon, which have already reduced mammography screening to age 40. The Liberals agree and so does the Canadian Cancer Society that we need new national benchmarks to ensure that women across the country have access to early screening and detection.

I am proof that early detection saves lives, so I encourage all women to get their mammogram. It could make all the difference in their lives as well.

Democratic Institutions

[Wilson Miao, Liberal, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, almost two years ago, we learned that several countries, including China, Russia and India, were trying to interfere in democratic processes in Canada. Last June, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians tabled a report alleging that certain parliamentarians were unwitting or witting participants in foreign states' efforts to interfere in Canada's democratic process. These are serious and worrying allegations that have sowed doubt in our democratic institutions.

Since that time, all opposition leaders, except one, have chosen to obtain their security clearance to be able to act on foreign interference within their parties. The public inquiry into foreign interference has made it clear that every member of this chamber has a responsibility to combat foreign interference in our democracy.

I have a simple question for the leader of the Conservative Party: When will he get his security clearance and put the safety of Canadians before partisan politics?

Jasper Wildfire

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Jasper wildfire investigation has uncovered damning evidence that reveals the Liberal government was grossly negligent in protecting Jasper. To cover up his government's failures, the Prime Minister appointed a minister for Jasper's recovery. The Jasper wildfire investigation ordered the minister to testify 20 days ago, but we have learned that he is refusing to testify until December. If the minister in charge of Jasper's recovery takes two months to show up at committee, how long will it take him to rebuild Jasper?

For years, multiple Liberal environment ministers were warned by experts that Jasper was a tinderbox ready to ignite. As warning letters piled up, so did the deadfall in Jasper National Park. However, instead of taking action, the Liberals ignored experts and allowed Jasper to burn. The Jasper wildfire investigation has revealed one thing for sure: The Liberal government has nothing more than fake environmentalists.

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, by now we all know that Conservatives prefer to ignore the truth and spread fear, so it should come as no surprise to any of us that the Conservative leader continues to refuse to get top secret security clearance and a briefing by intelligence officials. He prefers to speculate on what could be true and claims that learning the truth would prevent him from speaking on the topic. Is it because he has problems with the truth? Is he not able to tell the truth? Maybe he is afraid of the ugly truth that he could learn about his own party and about his own leadership race.

Canadians should be alarmed that the Leader of the Opposition continues to ignore the risks to our national security within his own party. We all want to know what he is trying to hide.

Food Security

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal-NDP carbon tax is fuelling an affordability crisis Canada has not seen in generations. According to Food Banks Canada, a shocking two million Canadians use a food bank in a month.

To be clear, it is not just the unemployed or people with limited income who need to use a food bank; nearly one in five food bank users has a full-time work. This increase in usage is causing havoc for food banks themselves, and nearly 30% are running out of food. People who were donating nine years ago are now the ones standing in line. I have spent most of my life in rural Ontario, and never has food bank usage been this high. Worst of all is that nearly one-third of food bank users are children.

Despite record-high food bank use, the NDP-Liberals continue to increase the cost of groceries by increasing the carbon tax by 23% on their way to quadrupling the tax. Food insecurity is real and many Canadians are desperate.

The Prime Minister must call a carbon tax election. Will he?

Housing

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal government, rents have doubled, mortgage payments have doubled and the amount needed for a down payment has doubled. The dream of home ownership has slipped away from Canadians.

That is why common-sense Conservatives have announced that we will axe the federal sales tax on all new home sales under $1 million. That means that for a $800,000-house, there will be a one-time savings of $40,000, and then $2,200 of annual mortgage payment savings.

People agree this is great. Eric Lombardi, a housing advocate, said that he is glad to see this and that it is a much-needed change. Richard Lyall of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario said, “We commend [the Conservative leader] and his party for putting forward this plan.”

Home ownership should not come with a GST-sized surprise. Only Conservatives will build homes and make sure they are more affordable. Conservatives will axe the tax, build the homes and bring it home to Canadians and their families.

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, members were elected to the chamber to represent all Canadian communities and to uphold our nation's sovereignty. Democracy belongs to everyone. However, the Conservative leader seems to fight only for Conservatives rather than for all Canadians, despite aspiring to become the prime minister.

Obtaining a security clearance, staying informed and making decisions based on evidence rather than ideology is the responsible approach. However, the Conservative leader is still the only party leader who refuses to get his security clearance and to act on foreign interference in his own party.

I ask the leader of the Conservative Party why he will not get his security clearance. Whom is he trying to protect? What does he have to hide?

Indigenous Affairs

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because, unlike what lawyers for the Liberals are arguing when they fight first nations in court, we in the NDP believe in first nations' right to clean drinking water.

Canada shamefully argues that first nations are to blame for the lack of clean drinking water. Its lawyers even said, “Canada doesn't stop you from helping yourself.” On the one hand, Liberals in Parliament say that all first nations deserve clean drinking water, while on the other, Liberal-hired lawyers say in court that these are not statements that should be taken seriously.

If we cannot take Liberals' words seriously, let us look at their actions. It has now been 1,338 days since the Liberals promised to eliminate all long-term boil water advisories, with no end in sight. In my riding, Shamattawa First Nation and Tataskweyak Cree Nation are fighting the Liberals over that failure. The tap water in Berens River has been brown since May and is a danger to people's health, including people on dialysis.

It is time for the Liberals to call off their lawyers, recognize first nations' right to clean water, and deliver it.

Employment Insurance

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Mouvement autonome et solidaire des sans-emploi, or MASSE, is on Parliament Hill today to launch the 2024-25 edition of its report on unemployment, the “Dossier noir de l'assurance-chômage”. This document paints a picture of the problems encountered by the unemployed. Through their stories, they share the many ways the system has failed them. It is an unfair, outdated federal program that the Liberal government has repeatedly promised to reform, yet it has done nothing. After 10 years, it is time for the government to take concrete action for workers.

MASSE, the Conseil national des chômeurs et chômeuses, or CNC, and Quebec's major labour organizations are leading a major campaign under the theme “Employment insurance must protect us” to demand that the injustices and inequities of employment insurance be corrected. The Bloc stands with them in solidarity.

Housing

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberals are not worth the cost of housing. Rent has doubled. Housing prices have doubled. We used to pay off our mortgage in 25 years. It now takes 25 years to save for the down payment.

Thankfully, Conservatives have a plan. We will axe the GST on new homes. On an $800,000-house, this will save $40,000. This tax cut will spark 30,000 additional homes' being built every single year. The Canadian Home Builders' Association said, “today's announcement by the Conservative Party of Canada...will make a big difference”. The West End Home Builders Association said, “removing the GST for new homes under $1 million may be the most significant housing policy commitment in the past two decades”.

NDP-Liberals puff up with fake pride with every fake photo op they have on housing. Common-sense Conservatives will get the houses built for all Canadians.

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we recognize that foreign interference is a serious issue. We are not alone; Canadians from coast to coast to coast understand and appreciate how important the issue is.

The Conservative Party and the leader of the Conservative Party are putting the leader's self-interest and the interests of the Conservative Party of Canada over the interests of Canadians. I find that very shameful.

The leader of the Green Party, the leader of the NDP, the leader of the Bloc party and the Prime Minister all have the security clearance. Only the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada has chosen not to get the security clearance. What is it that the Conservative leader is hiding? Is there something in his past that Canadians should know about? I believe that the leader needs to step up and get the security clearance today, or tell Canadians what he is scared of.