Mr. Speaker, what is fascinating is the spectacle of watching—
House of Commons Hansard #362 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was privacy.
House of Commons Hansard #362 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was privacy.
Government PrioritiesOral Questions
The Speaker Greg Fergus
Order. I would ask the hon. member not to speak without first being recognized by the Speaker. I want to insist on that.
The right hon. Prime Minister can start over from the top.
Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating to see the lengths to which the Conservative leader will go to avoid the issue of national security, to avoid the issue of safety of Canadians, to avoid talking about issues of foreign interference, because he cannot say why he refuses to take the security clearance that would allow him to access top-secret information focused on keeping his members safe and keeping our democracy safe. We know that foreign governments interfered in the last leadership campaigns in the Conservative Party. He wants nothing to do with it.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is coming unglued. He is flailing around, spreading conspiracy theories and demonstrable disinformation in order to distract from the fact that not only did he double housing costs, double gun crime and double food bank use, but now 24 of his own MPs want to fire him. We cannot go on like this with a Prime Minister who admits he cannot even sleep at night because he is so in knots. Will he let his 24 dissident MPs vote freely on a non-confidence motion so we can have a carbon tax election?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I am confused about what happened. The Conservative Party used to be about the defence of Canada, but Conservatives dropped defence spending to below 1% last time they were in office. They are supposed to be about law and order, but they stand against stronger measures on gun control. They are supposed to be about national security, but the leader of the Conservative Party refuses to get the necessary security briefings to keep our democracy safe and to distinguish in the conspiracy theories that float around what is fact and what is fiction. Why will he not trust our national security agencies?
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, as of today, Quebec will allow advance requests for MAID. Finally, patients diagnosed with a serious and incurable illness that will lead to incapacity can submit a request to their doctor.
However, doctors are still worried about the lack of legal protection because this government is cowardly and refuses to amend the Criminal Code. The Liberals are playing a dangerous game, one that is hurting both patients and doctors worried about potential lawsuits.
Will the Prime Minister show some humanity and amend the Criminal Code without further delay to allow advance requests, as proposed in Bill C‑390?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, MAID is a deeply personal and sensitive choice that involves individuals and their families at an extremely difficult time in their lives.
Potentially expanding eligibility to include advance requests is a very important decision. We are therefore launching a national conversation and will not initiate legal proceedings against Quebec's Bill 11.
We remain committed to working with Quebec and all provinces and territories to carefully assess what responsible next steps can be taken.
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, this is not a time for talk, but for action. Need I remind the House that this government is a minority government that could fall at any moment.
It makes no difference whether or not the Liberals hold consultations—which have already been held, by the way—or whether they agree not to take legal action against the Government of Quebec. The next government will be a Conservative government. Members know it, and it is pointless to pretend otherwise. Members also know that the Conservative religious right represented in the House opposes medical assistance in dying.
Why is the Prime Minister putting the fate of the sick in the hands of Conservatives?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I agree completely with my Bloc Québécois colleague when he points out the serious risk that the Conservatives pose to the freedoms of Canadians across this country. However, we must not hurry through an issue as fundamental as medical assistance in dying.
We have to protect the rights of the most vulnerable and their capacity to make free and informed choices. That is why we will take as much time as necessary to work with the different provinces, assess the issue, and ensure that we make the right choice for Canadians.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, after nine years of releasing violent gun criminals and leaving our borders open to smugglers, the Prime Minister has presided over a 116% increase in gun violence, yet he was out boasting about it on Twitter. The Toronto Police Union, the largest police union in Canada, said his words were “out of touch”. They were offensive to victims and brave officers.
Given that his approach has doubled gun crime, why will he not accept our common-sense plan to lock up the gun criminals, scan the cans and stop the crime?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, when the Conservative Party's plan on guns is to unfreeze the market on handguns and re-legalize assault-style weapons across this country, nobody can take them seriously on the issue of guns.
However, they are talking about national security now, and safety, which begs the question: why will the leader of the Conservative Party not get the necessary security clearance to get the necessary security briefings to show Canadians he is capable of taking national security seriously?
Public SafetyOral Questions
The Speaker Greg Fergus
I ask the members to not carry on loud conversations, in particular the hon. member for Waterloo, across the way, while she has not being recognized.
The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, it has never been easier for a criminal to get a handgun, in addition to which he has allowed it to be legal today to own a handgun. He has brought in an amnesty on his own gun ban, re-legalizing all the guns he said he was going to ban. Four years after he held that big press conference with a scary-looking black gun on the front of his podium, a made-in-Hollywood-style cartoon, gun crime is actually up dramatically.
Why does he not actually ban the criminals, secure the borders and stop the crime?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, slogans furnished to him by the gun lobby do not keep Canadians safe. Canadians know that significant, common-sense gun control measures, which we have put forward, are what is making a difference in keeping Canadians safe, and we will continue to do that.
However, we are now at least talking about security issues, so Canadians may be wondering why it is that the leader of the Conservative Party continues to refuse to get the appropriate clearances from our national security agencies so he can take the issue of foreign interference, including against his own party, seriously.
Public SafetyOral Questions
The Speaker Greg Fergus
As I mentioned before, I am going to ask all members please not to have conversations across the way, including the member for Dufferin—Caledon.
The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, there has been an 800% increase in crime near Maison Benoît Labre since the Prime Minister allowed that centre to host a hard drug consumption site. The families who live in the community are frightened by the chaos this Prime Minister has caused.
Section 56.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act gives him the power to shut down this consumption site. Will he do it?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the opioid and addictions crisis is having a profound impact on Canadians across the country. Our approach is rooted in science, facts and research, as well as compassion and the work we can do on the ground, hand in hand with the organizations, provinces, municipalities and experts. We will continue to take an approach based on public health, not on criminalizing people who are suffering from addiction. That is what will save lives.
Judy Sgro Liberal Humber River—Black Creek, ON
Mr. Speaker, our government has always been clear that ensuring a woman's freedom of choice should be protected. However, many Canadians are rightfully worried that a Conservative government would not protect this fundamental right. It is alarming that women's rights and freedoms are under attack by the Conservative Party.
Can the Prime Minister tell us how our Liberal government will continue to protect a woman's right to make decisions about her own body?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the member for Humber River—Black Creek is right. Yesterday, we announced that we are holding pregnancy crisis centres accountable for preventing women from making informed choices. While we are protecting women's freedom of choice, the Conservative Party is trying to roll it back.
Any party leader who allows their MPs to introduce anti-choice legislation, and actively recruits anti-choice candidates and takes their money, cannot say that they are pro-choice. It is time the Conservative Party ends its filibuster and allows this House to vote on reproductive rights.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, after nine years, nine million Canadians live in food insecurity according to Food Banks Canada. That is 23% of our population. That is twice as high as the rate in the United States. Food prices have risen 36% faster in Canada than in the United States, and that gap has happened at the same time as the implementation of the carbon tax and all the government greed. Now the Prime Minister wants to quadruple the carbon tax and starve even more people.
Why not have a carbon tax election so Canadians can vote to axe the tax?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the Canada carbon rebate puts more money back in the pockets of the middle class and people working hard to join it. The Parliamentary Budget Officer recognized that eight out of 10 Canadians are better off with the Canada carbon rebate than the price on pollution costs them in their jurisdictions.
The Leader of the Opposition is proposing to take away money from vulnerable families across this country at a time they need it. The Leader of the Opposition is also refusing to get the security clearance necessary to keep Canadians safe by getting the briefings from our security agencies that talk about foreign interference.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, if the carbon tax made people better off, we would not see a doubling of food bank use under the Prime Minister. He cannot blame the rest of the world. Food prices have risen 36% faster in Canada than in the United States of America in the same time period, and that gap grew as the carbon tax came in year after year over the last half-decade. If we tax the farmers who make the food, the truckers who ship the food and the grocers who sell the food, we tax all who buy the food.
If he really wants to quadruple that tax, why not have a carbon tax election so that Canadians can decide?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the Canada carbon rebate puts more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians right across the country, and it is top economists, scientists and the Parliamentary Budget Officer who have declared that.
At the same time, we know the Leader of the Opposition will not listen to experts. He will not even listen to our national security experts, who are trying to let him know about threats to his own MPs. I have asked them to figure out a way to share at least some information with him, despite the fact that he has refused to get a security clearance, because the responsibility of the Prime Minister is to protect all Canadians, including, apparently, Conservative MPs.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, that was more division to distract.
Here we have two million people lining up at food banks. One-quarter of Canadians live in food insecurity, a level twice as high as in the United States. Food prices are rising 36% faster in Canada than in the U.S., coinciding with the carbon tax coming into force. Now the Prime Minister wants to quadruple it. Fifty-six per cent of food banks say they are literally rationing food. We have food rationing in a first world country.
Before he starves more people, why can we not have a carbon tax election and axe the tax?