House of Commons Hansard #370 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was conservative.
Randy Boissonnault LiberalMinister of Employment
Mr. Speaker, I do not know the person referred to in today's article. I have never met that person. I have had no dealings with her whatsoever. Those are the facts.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, apparently the person he does not know is himself. He says that he is not the Randy in the text messages, but his own business associates say there is no other Randy. He says that he said that he was indigenous in order to get grants and contracts that were meant just for indigenous people. Now he admits he is not indigenous at all. Now, while his company has the same address as a place that has had two cocaine busts, he says he does not know the person involved in that address either. Does this minister even know who he is?
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Order.
The hon. Minister for Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages can take it from the top.
Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB
Mr. Speaker, I do not know person referred to in the article today. I have never met her. I have had no dealings with her whatsoever. The article states that fact, and that is the fact.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, after the Prime Minister took his private jet, burned 105 tonnes of jet fuel and emitted 300 tonnes of greenhouse gases to go down to Brazil, he claimed that Canadians who are opposed to his carbon tax are just confused by disinformation. No, Canadians are not stupid. They know that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has calculated that 100% of middle-class Canadians pay more in the tax than they get back. The Prime Minister already also said, though, that this will be the subject of the next election.
I could not agree more, so why do we not have a carbon tax election now?
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, once again, it would be nice if the Leader of the Opposition was not spouting disinformation and misinformation in the House. At the end of the day, eight out of 10 Canadian families, the vast majority of Canadians, get more money back. It is those who actually live on the most modest incomes who are the best off as a result of the price on pollution. I would also say that it is a price on pollution. It is about addressing climate change, something that the organization across the way simply has no idea how to do and does not care.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the coming hours will be critical for our agriculture sector. Senators Peter Boehm and Peter Harder have literally sabotaged Bill C‑282. They amended it to prevent supply management from being protected in existing trade agreements.
Just think. Donald Trump wants to reopen the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, and these two guys want to serve him up supply management on a silver platter.
The Senate could vote on this amendment as early as tomorrow, so every party leader must speak out, starting with the Prime Minister. Will he ask the two senators to reject the amendment and save supply management?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are asking senators to support Bill C‑282 in its original form because we believe in supply management and our Canadian dairy farmers, poultry farmers and other farmers, to ensure their economic well-being.
We agree with the Bloc Québécois and we are asking the Senate to pass this bill in its original form.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, their excuse is that senators are independent, but the Prime Minister is the one who appointed them, including the two who are sabotaging Bill C-282. One of the two even used to advise the Prime Minister. What is more, the two even argue over which of them will get to sponsor government bills. I would hardly call that independent.
Let us be serious. The Prime Minister can and must demand that the Senate pass Bill C‑282 as it was passed here in the House. We are talking about the future of supply management. That is serious. Will all the party leaders in the House demand that senators vote against this amendment?
Marie-Claude Bibeau LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the entire House, Canadians and farmers are well aware that a Liberal government will vote in favour of the unaltered version of this bill.
My colleague's question is a good one. Will the leader of the Conservative Party ask the Conservative senators to vote in favour of the unaltered version of this bill?
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, people are struggling while CEOs are lining their pockets. Rents have doubled, and grocery prices are really out of control. It is clear that the Liberals have let Canadians down. The Conservatives want to cut everything, including the Canada child benefit and dental care. Who is going to pay the price? Quebeckers will.
We in the NDP will take the tax off basic necessities, like food, and electricity, Internet and cellphone bills.
Will the Liberals take the GST off the basic necessities?
Jean-Yves Duclos LiberalMinister of Public Services and Procurement
Mr. Speaker, our colleague is absolutely right that it is important to support the middle class and all those working hard to join it. That is why it is so sad to see the Conservatives vote against the Canadian dental care plan, which the NDP also worked very hard to bring in.
One million Quebeckers now have their Canadian dental care plan card. We are looking forward to moving forward in 2025 to register more Canadians and Quebeckers between the ages of 18 and 64.
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Mr. Speaker, working and now middle-class families are cutting back on their groceries. They are getting less and getting gouged at the till by greedy CEOs. Liberals let this happen and are letting families down.
Conservatives will cut and cost families even more. They will take away important services like dental care, costing families thousands of dollars a year.
The NDP's tax-free essentials plan removes the GST from grocery items to bring families relief. Will the Liberals take the tax off grocery items so Canadians can get a break?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, I would agree with the member that what we are going to see from the Conservatives is cuts. They are going to cut dental care. They are going to cut the Canada child benefit.
Canadians at home know that on this side of the House, we will always stand for the middle class. We will always stand for those who are working hard to join the middle class. We will fight for Canadians as we have done on groceries. We will build more homes. We will create economic opportunities. We will fight for workers. We will create jobs. We will create opportunities and possibilities for this country so the middle class can thrive.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
On a couple of occasions, I have caught the voice of the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby. I am going to ask him to please not speak when he is not recognized by the House.
Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, it seems like every time the employment minister finds rock bottom, it keeps getting worse.
First, he said he was not the Randy involved in his company, but we know there was only one Randy at his company. He said he was not involved with his company while in cabinet, and text messages reveal that he is. He said he was indigenous to profit from government contracts, stealing from first nations communities.
Now there is new news of coordinating business activities with drug smugglers and convicts. This is the behaviour of a low-life fraud, not a federal cabinet minister. Simple question: How does that guy still have his job?
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Order.
The hon. Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages.
Randy Boissonnault LiberalMinister of Employment
Mr. Speaker, despite the innuendo, here are the facts. I do not know the person in question. I never met that person in question. Those are simply the facts. The article even says that I have never met the person in question.
Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. He flaunts the ethics rules. He claims a false identity. He gets caught in a web of lies. That is what the Prime Minister rewards after nine years.
With each passing day, we find out more about the employment minister's scams and schemes. We learn that he is just a phony and a fraud. Canadians want to know, indigenous communities he stole from want to know, and Liberal backbenchers want to know when the Prime Minister is going to fire that cabinet minister.
Randy Boissonnault LiberalMinister of Employment
Mr. Speaker, I do not know the person in the article from today. I have never met the person in the article from today. Those are the facts. The Conservatives may not like it, but it is actually in the article that I do not know the person in question. I never met them.
Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal minister from Alberta is a fake and a fraud.
He said he was not the Randy involved in his company, but we know that there is only one Randy. He said he was not involved in his company at the cabinet table—