Debates of Oct. 30th, 2024

International Trade

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, every party voted to protect supply management with Bill C‑282. Every party has demonstrated with the farmers to call on the Senate to stop blocking the bill. Everyone is urging senators Boehm and Harder to do their job. Now it is time for the Prime Minister to shoulder his responsibility towards our farmers. He is the one who appointed the senators who are blocking the bill and it is his fault that we are stuck with them.

Will he finally ask these two lords to pass Bill C‑282 without delay?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have always been very clear on the fact that we would protect supply management.

That is what we did against the Trump administration and that is what we have continued to do. We made a promise to always protect supply management in any free trade negotiation we undertake in the years to come. We are defending supply management and we expect the Senate to pass this bill to ensure that supply management will always be protected in Canada in the future.

We perfectly agree with the Bloc Québécois on this.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Those are fine words, Mr. Speaker. Now, not only has he appointed the senators blocking Bill C‑282, but one of them is actually his buddy. Peter Harder brags about it on his Senate page. He says that when the Prime Minister was in opposition, he called the senator several times asking for advice and favours, six months before rewarding him with a seat in the Senate. It was the Prime Minister himself who called him.

If the Prime Minister is able to call him for advice, surely he can call him and tell him to do his job.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the Senate's independence and the important work it does in considering bills and making recommendations. Over the years, we have appointed outstanding senators who are responsible and diligent in their work.

That said, we still expect the Senate to take into consideration the wishes of the House and the decisions made by the House, which voted unanimously to protect supply management in any free trade agreement negotiations. That is what we remain committed to doing.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, nine years after this Prime Minister promised to end chronic homelessness, it has increased by 38%. Fortunately, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness says that my Conservative plan to scrap the GST on the purchase of housing is, and I quote, smart.

If the Prime Minister really wants to fix the housing crisis that he created, will he listen to the people who work to end homelessness, accept my common-sense plan and scrap the GST on new housing?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, to fight against homelessness, I recommend that the Conservative leader call his friends, the Conservative premiers of Saskatchewan and Ontario, to tell them to accept the money we are putting on the table to fight against homelessness and be done with the encampments that are making people so vulnerable.

That being said, it is interesting to see the Conservative leader absolutely refuse to answer such a simple question. Why is he refusing to get his security clearance to protect our institutions, our democracy and his own colleagues in the Conservative Party of Canada?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the West End Home Builders' Association stated that my common-sense Conservative plan to axe the sales tax on new homes under a million dollars is “the most significant housing policy commitment made in the past two decades. Removing the GST shows leadership to cut crippling levels of taxation on new housing, puts money directly back into the pockets of Canadians while combatting the housing crisis.”

Why will the Prime Minister not listen to the people who build homes so that we can reverse the crisis he caused? Why do we not axe the sales tax on new homes today?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what shows leadership is taking seriously the safety of Canadians. The RCMP has concluded that the Government of India was involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil, as well as being involved in extortion, in violence, in drive-by shootings and in home invasions, and the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada refuses to get his security clearance so that he can keep Canadians safe, or even keep his fellow MPs safe. That is why I have asked our security services to find a way to share some information with him so maybe he can do at least a part of his job.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to see the Prime Minister do any of his job after nine years, such as reversing the housing price increase he caused. Let me quote British Columbia's Victoria Residential Builders Association, which said:

Reducing government costs, including GST, would have a significant impact on housing affordability.

[The Conservative leader]'s suggestion is welcome news, and long overdue if the federal government wants to get serious about housing affordability for Canadians.

This common-sense plan would stimulate 30,000 new extra homes built every year, so will he accept my common-sense plan to axe the tax and build the homes?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, with the Conservatives, we always need to look at the fine print underneath the easy slogans, and the fine print on this one is that it would be cutting billions of dollars of investments in housing right across the country at a time where we need to be building more housing more quickly. Cuts are not the solution.

If he wants to take something seriously, perhaps he should take seriously the issue of national security because, for inexplicable political, childish and who knows what reasons, he refuses to get his security clearance, which would allow him to keep his own MPs safe, to keep Canadians safe, and to keep our democracy and its institutions safe.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, nine years after promising he would get rid of chronic homelessness, it has actually risen by 38%. Now there are 1,400 homeless encampments in Ontario. It is almost as bad as it is in NDP-governed British Columbia.

However, there is good news. The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness heard about my common-sense plan to axe the GST on housing, and its founder said, “This is smart.” Those who are fighting to end homelessness like my solution of axing the sales tax on new homes.

Will he accept my plan to axe the tax and build the homes?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, like I said, if he wants to be helpful on the issue against homelessness, maybe he could give a call to his fellow Conservatives, the premiers of Saskatchewan and Ontario, to agree to accept the money we are putting on the table that they could match to support people living in encampments and fight homelessness effectively on the ground. He will not do that.

What else he will not do is get his security clearance so that he can actually protect his fellow MPs and protect Canadians in this democracy. He refuses to get the security clearance necessary to keep Canadians safe. That is not the kind of leadership Canadians—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

Public Service of Canada

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, systemic anti-Black discrimination is widespread in the public service. In fact, the Treasury Board Secretariat found that the Canadian Human Rights Commission discriminated against Black employees. Instead of supporting these workers, right now the Liberal government is fighting these workers in court.

Will the Prime Minister stop fighting Black employees in court and settle the Thompson class action lawsuit?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in extending the UN International Decade for People of African Descent, this government has done more to recognize systemic bias, systemic discrimination, unconscious bias and anti-Black racism than any other. There is always more to do, which is why we have stepped up with the Black entrepreneurship program. It is responding to the needs of Black communities to access more capital to create the prosperity they so need to be able to create for their communities. We are continuing to invest in anti-Black racism initiatives and continuing to stand with the Black community. There is always more to do, and we will do it.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, abortion is health care. One in three people who can get pregnant will need abortion care in their lifetime. For close to a decade, the Liberal government failed to remove barriers, letting Conservative premiers cut access to abortion, and the Conservative leader secretly voted five times to take away the right to choose. Canadians want to see access to reproductive health care protected.

Why have the Liberals not enforced the Canada Health Act to protect equal access to health care, including abortion?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, my daughter is in the gallery today, so I wanted her to hear me as long as everyone else does.

This government is unequivocally pro-choice. We will always defend a woman's right to choose, full stop. That is why we have pulled back funding from provinces that have not been delivering access to abortion in their jurisdictions and why we will continue to enforce the Canada Health Act.

It is the Conservative Party, with its dangerous attack on women's rights, that should have people worried right across the country. At a time when we have seen Roe v. Wade overturned and attacks on women's rights, the Conservative leader cannot stand up to defend women's rights.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would like to remind the right hon. Prime Minister, and all members, to please not mention people in the gallery. It is against the rules of this place.

The hon. member for Saint-Laurent.

Women and Gender Equality

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while our government has always protected women's right to choose, the anti-choice lobby controls the Conservative caucus and leader, according to a former Conservative MP. Anti-choice organizations that support Conservative MPs use misleading tactics to deter women from obtaining the full range of reproductive care through so-called pregnancy crisis centres.

Can the Prime Minister tell Canadians what our government is doing to protect women at these centres?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Saint-Laurent for her hard work and her defence of women's rights.

We have heard too many women say that they were shamed at these centres, and that is unacceptable. That is why we introduced a bill yesterday to force these centres to be more transparent. Otherwise, they could lose their charitable status.

Unlike the Conservative leader, the Liberals will always defend a woman's right to choose and obtain the health care she needs, including the full range of reproductive health care and services.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says that he opposes taking the GST off of new homes. He wants to keep the taxes high and housing prices rising. His solution is to fund more bureaucracy. What has that done? Well, that has doubled housing costs and it has caused a 39% increase in homelessness rates.

I have an idea. Why do we not let Canadians decide? If he will not have a carbon tax election, why not have a housing tax election, and allow Canadians to decide on more bureaucracy through him or axing the sales tax through me?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians watching today will see that the Leader of the Opposition is refusing to stand up to take a strong position in protecting women's rights unequivocally in the House. He cannot because his MPs will not let him. At the same time, he is refusing to protect his MPs by not getting the security clearance necessary to get fully informed on threats to our democracy from foreign powers.

Why will he not get the security clearance necessary to take international interference seriously?

Government Priorities

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's tinfoil-hat conspiracy theories and misinformation will not distract. We stand up for women's rights every day on this side. It has been our 20-year-long policy in the Conservative Party that there will be no restrictions on women's reproductive choices or on abortion. He knows that, but he does not want to discuss the issue that we disagree on. Housing costs have doubled under him. His solution is to spend billions more on bureaucracy that drives them up further. We want to help women and men own a home, so will he vote for a housing tax election?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would be interested to see the leader of the Conservative Party do a very simple thing in his next answer: Switch the order of the statements he just made.

Any time he talks about unequivocally standing up for women's rights in this House, crickets from the Conservative backbench. That is because, consistently, members of the Conservative Party of Canada move forward measures that restrict and restrain women's rights, and that limit women's rights to a full suite of reproductive services. Conservative Party members do not stand up for women's rights, so nor does the Conservative leader.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of women's rights, just yesterday, the Prime Minister's former parliamentary secretary, Celina Caesar-Chavannes, came out publicly and said that she was abused, intimidated and mistreated by this Prime Minister, and that he used her for his fake feminist agenda, and that he treated her like garbage.

It is terrible the way he exercises hypocrisy: housing hypocrisy by doubling costs and tax hypocrisy by raising people's prices while flying around the world. How about putting an end to the hypocrisy and calling a carbon tax election?