Debates of Oct. 3rd, 2024

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, if there is one thing that has increased in recent years, it is the Canadian government's investment in affordable housing.

Before the member's arrival in the House of Commons, her Conservative leader, the chief insult-hurler, created a total of six affordable housing units during his entire time in office. In contrast, in her riding alone, 305 affordable housing units have been built in the past few months, with many more to come under the historic $1.8‑billion agreement that we signed with the Government of Quebec.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. Canada has fallen behind our trading partner and neighbour, the United States, in terms of economic growth and productivity in particular. Why does Texas have a more robust economy than all Canadian provinces combined, when it has 10 million fewer people?

The current government's reckless spending and lack of fiscal restraint have taken their toll on the Canadian and Quebec economies. Canadians want change. They want to regain control over their lives. The only way to do that is to call an election.

Will you do that?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Once again, as I mentioned earlier, all questions should be directed through the Chair. I am sure the hon. member did not mean to ask me that question.

The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague and all Quebeckers that the last time the Conservatives were in power, the Harper government did not balance budgets in this country. Not only did it run deficits year after year, but it also lowered taxes for the wealthiest Canadians and cut services for everyone else. Quebeckers remember that.

They also remember all the cuts the Conservatives made to science. The census comes to mind, for example. Mr. Harper decided the census was no longer needed to provide services to the public. Quebeckers will not forget these examples. The Conservatives are a one-trick pony. The only thing they know how to do is austerity.

Seniors

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the House has spoken. Yesterday, it demanded that old age security be increased for people 65 to 74. It demanded that the government give a royal recommendation to Bill C‑319. This bill is the only way to permanently protect all seniors' income. It is also the only way to permanently abolish the age discrimination that seniors are experiencing.

Will the government finally listen to the will of the House, listen to the will of seniors and give a royal recommendation to Bill C‑319?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, the Eastern Townships are one of the most beautiful regions in Quebec, if not Canada. We are proud to say that in the riding of Shefford alone, in Granby and the surrounding area, 13,300 Canadians have signed up for the Canadian dental care plan. They are very happy about it. My colleague voted against that. Why?

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Labour and Seniors has spent the week lecturing all and sundry, but he is in no position to lecture anyone. He is the one depriving almost 30,000 people in his own riding of a 10% increase in their OAS. He, the Minister of Labour and Seniors, is the one leading the Liberal fight against the will of the House to support people aged 65 to 74. He is even willing to risk an election to avoid having to improve pensions.

Will he look the 30,000 seniors in his riding in the eye and explain why he believes they do not deserve a penny more?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, there are not 30,000 people aged 65 to 74 in Gatineau, but never mind. The seniors who live in Gatineau are very happy, because when it came time to support them during the pandemic, when it came time to support the most vulnerable seniors in Gatineau and elsewhere, the Liberal government was there for them with the necessary support measures. We will continue to do so. The Bloc Québécois will continue to vote against them.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, is that what the Quebec Liberals are really about? They get all worked up when delivering their speeches about seniors in Ottawa, but in reality, they are abandoning the seniors in their communities. The Minister of Labour and Seniors is depriving nearly 30,000 retirees in his riding of Gatineau of a 10% increase in their old age security pension. Similarly, the Quebec lieutenant is abandoning nearly 15,000 seniors in his riding of Québec, while the Prime Minister is withholding income from nearly 10,000 seniors in his Montreal riding.

Frankly, with members like that, would it not be better to call an election?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, members will recall that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to do what was necessary in the House. We had to provide support measures such as boosting the GST/HST credit, enhancing measures for seniors and improving health care. We had to spend money to support seniors. Members will recall who it was who supported Canada's seniors. It was the Quebec members of the Liberal Party of Canada, not the Bloc Québécois.

Government Accountability

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

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

Here is what we know so far. The Liberals stacked the SDTC board with their close friends. That board makes decisions as to which companies get grants worth millions in tax dollars. The Auditor General uncovered a massive scandal. The Liberal insiders funnelled almost $400 million to their own companies. They got rich and taxpayers got the bill.

Now the government is refusing to hand over the documents to the RCMP for a potential criminal investigation. What does it have to hide?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, again the House leader for the Conservatives is completely false in what he is stating in this place.

What is true is that the Conservatives have put forward a motion that would blur the line between the independence of the legislative and judicial branches of government. Both the RCMP and the Auditor General have raised their extreme concern with what the Conservatives have put forward. Every Canadian should be concerned about the fact that the first instinct of Conservatives is to suspend the charter rights of Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the charter is there to protect people from the government, not to protect the government from accountability by the people. While millions of Canadians are suffering from higher taxes, higher prices and doubled housing costs, all caused by the government, the Speaker has ordered that the House of Commons can deal with no other business until the corruption motion is dealt with. It still will not hand over the documents, preferring that Parliament grind to a halt.

While millions of Canadians are lining up at food banks, Liberal insiders are lining their own pockets. When will the government hand over the documents, and when will the government get Canadians their tax dollars back?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. colleague's erratic and unhinged behaviour is because he knows that he is being completely false in what he is putting forward to this place. What the Conservatives are putting forward is to trample the charter rights of Canadians.

Both the RCMP and the Auditor General have raised their extreme discomfort, and every single Canadian should be extremely alarmed by the behaviour of the Conservative members of Parliament who would put their own political interests ahead of the rights of Canadians.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I just want to remind all members to make sure their language does not skate too close to the line. I made this point yesterday during question period as well when the question was asked from the other side.

The hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets has the floor.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up, time is up and conflict of interest is up at the Liberal green slush fund. The Auditor General found that 82% of the transactions approved by Liberal insiders went to their own companies, totalling almost $400 million. The House demanded that the government turn over the documents to the RCMP, and the Prime Minister is refusing.

How many more millions of misappropriated tax dollars is the Prime Minister hiding by refusing to turn over the documents?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives do not want to share the uncomfortable truth that they are trying to use the extraordinary powers of this place to circumvent the judicial oversight that is required by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect Canadians. The only thing they are interested in doing is pursuing their naked pursuit for partisan gain while they trample the charter rights of Canadians. Every Canadian citizen and resident should be extremely alarmed that, instead of protecting their rights, the Conservatives are looking for their own political gain.

Indigenous Affairs

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, since Orange Shirt Day, there have been countless examples of residential school denialism, including from Conservative candidates in both New Brunswick and B.C. We know that the leader of the Conservative Party supports this kind of rhetoric, having fundraised with residential school denying think tanks.

Survivors have a right to be protected from hate speech. Will the government support my bill and protect survivors from residential school denialism once and for all?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Winnipeg Centre for her work in bringing forward the bill that would recognize residential school denialism as a hate crime. I look forward to working with her.

We know that as we marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, it was a painful reminder that we need to do better to educate Canadians on the impacts of residential schools, as well as on the hurtful acts of denialism that take place in many parts of the country.

Marine Transportation

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been three years since the tugboat Ingenika sank, killing Troy Pearson and Charley Cragg, and it has been two years and three transport ministers since the government promised strengthened marine personnel regulations to protect workers like Troy and Charley. Every single day, workers are going to sea without the protections that the government promised.

How can the minister justify continued delays when workers' lives are on the line?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, safety is always our top priority. When the Transportation Safety Board issues a report, we always carefully consider its recommendations. This in fact was also the case with the MV Ingenika.

We are working now to implement recommendations and strengthen safety measures. We are working every step of the way with industry, with unions and with experts.

Justice

[Ben Carr, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was International Wrongful Conviction Day. In grade 7, I wrote a paper on David Milgaard, a prairie kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The injustice of his case was appalling. Immortalized through the Tragically Hip song Wheat Kings, it captured the attention of the nation.

Too many innocent people have suffered over the years. In fact, just today again in my hometown of Winnipeg, a wrongfully convicted man was exonerated. As Gord Downie reminded us, we “can't be fond of living in the past”.

Can the Minister of Justice explain how Bill C-40 would help strengthen our legal system to protect against wrongful convictions in the future?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, my thoughts are with Clarence Woodhouse and the suffering he has endured unjustly for decades, and I want to recognize the suffering of all of those people who have endured an injustice.

The bill that the member is referencing, David and Joyce Milgaard's law, would create real change. It would create an independent commission to review potential miscarriages of justice. It would revolutionize access to justice in Canada.

For all innocent people who have been wrongfully convicted and are still awaiting justice, help is on the way. I am sorry for all of Clarence's suffering. His story proves why we need to work harder for a better, fairer and more equitable justice system for all.

Government Accountability

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, carbon tax Carney took on a role as the de facto finance minister for the NDP-Liberals and almost immediately got $2 million for his buddy who owns Telesat. Then he landed discussions for his trillion-dollar company Brookfield to get its hands on $10 billion of Canadians' pension money, and then he started sending fundraising letters for the Liberals. After nine years of the NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up for their corruption.

Will the Liberals simply co-operate with an investigation by the lobbying commissioner?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, while Conservatives continue to try to smear a Canadian who is recognized around the world for his work, I want to go back to their weird admiration of Alabama.

Do members know that Alabama has the third-lowest life expectancy in the United States? Do members know that the life expectancy in Alabama is a full decade lower than in Canada? Do members know that Alabama has some of the most restrictive rules around a woman's getting access to an abortion or contraceptives? Is that what the Conservatives admire about Alabama? Is that why they are talking about upping Alabama and are saying that it is better than Canada? I wonder why they are so interested in Alabama.