Debates of Nov. 19th, 2024

Public Safety

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, our government has invested a lot in protecting our border and will continue to do so. We reversed the cuts that the previous Conservative government made to the Canada Border Services Agency. We gave the RCMP the tools it needed to work with its U.S. partners to keep the border secure.

I am very proud of the operation that the RCMP carried out a few weeks ago with its U.S. partners. Thanks to that operation, several human traffickers and drug traffickers are now facing criminal charges.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, to get government contracts, the Liberal minister from Edmonton said that he was indigenous, but he is not. He said that he was not the Randy who was involved in the ongoing operations of the company that was applying for government contracts, but text messages show that he was. He also said he was not directing his company from the cabinet table, but we now know that is not true. These things are not true, not true and not true.

We do not know which minister the Liberals are going to stand up, but what we want to know from the minister is this: Do they think this behaviour is appropriate, and do they think that he should remain in cabinet?

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister has already responded to those questions, but what I find really interesting is that today marks a thousand days since Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine began, and we have not heard a single question about this from the Conservative members of Parliament. This is unsurprising from them, given the fact that, when it comes to their support for Ukraine, it has been wavering over the past year. On this side of the House, we stand for Ukraine. Do the Conservative members of Parliament?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the minister showed up for work, but she must have been late enough to not hear our statement, in which we of course expressed our support for Ukraine.

Let us focus on the facts. The facts are that the Liberals' cabinet colleague is involved with cocaine traffickers and that their cabinet colleague is pretending to be indigenous in order to disenfranchise indigenous-owned companies and indigenous people. That is who they are in league with.

The minister cannot seem to tell the truth to save his own life, so Randy or other Randy or pretend indigenous Randy, none of them should be in cabinet. Why will they not fire this fraudster?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

For the second day in a row, the hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, in the very last part of his question, is using language which just cannot pass in this place. Will the hon. member just simply withdraw that word? Then we can move on.

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

Mr. Speaker, the word “fraudster” is withdrawn.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I thank the hon. member.

The hon. Leader of the Government in the House of Commons has the floor.

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

Mr. Speaker, I guess the member opposite was not paying attention to my answer, because I said we were halfway through question period and I had yet to hear a question from the members opposite about the war of aggression by Russia on Ukraine.

Let us look at the facts. This time last year, Conservatives were holding up and voting against the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, an agreement that Ukraine had asked us for as an ally. When it comes to meaningful action, they do everything they can to hold back support from Ukraine, and we are seeing that today too.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I ask the member for Battle River—Crowfoot to please not take the floor when not recognized by the Chair.

The hon. member for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock has the floor.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, reports continue to reveal one false statement after another about the employment minister's claim of indigenous heritage. The fact that he is still in cabinet has laid bare the reality that truth and reconciliation mean nothing to Liberals. We found out today that the company co-owned by the minister, GHI, is in fact greenlit to bid on government contracts. This is the same company that falsely claimed to be wholly indigenous owned while inventing this fictional other Randy and sharing a mailbox with an alleged cocaine smuggler.

Will the Prime Minister just end the charade and fire the minister?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, it seems apparent that the Conservatives only want to talk about reconciliation when it is an allegation. They do not want to talk about reconciliation when we are talking about investing in first nations housing or helping indigenous people ensure their opportunities to have economic success or procure from the government in Canada. Why do they not want to talk about that? Their record is shameful. In fact, they have continually cut services for indigenous people when they were in power. We will do the opposite.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, during committee and just now, the Minister of Indigenous Services refused to defend her colleague, the pretend-indigenous Minister of Employment. The Minister of Employment pretended to be indigenous so that his company could steal contracts from indigenous communities and businesses. While the Prime Minister continues to be the defender of the pretender, even his cabinet colleagues are losing faith.

This question is for the Minister of Indigenous Services: Will she stand up and defend her cabinet colleague, or should he be fired?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, just moments ago I was speaking with the national chief about the shenanigans that are happening at INAN committee as the Conservatives attempt to undermine the study of the water legislation that so many first nations have poured their heart and soul into. They are preventing it from getting to this place and hopefully eventually to Senate. They talk about standing up for first nations people, but when they have the chance to be allies, they completely drop the ball.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of living is up, and Canadians cannot keep up. Meanwhile, oil and gas CEOs pollute our planet and gouge Canadians, all while raking in billions in profits. The Liberals have let Canadians down.

This past week in Victoria, Common Horizon hosted a Make Them Pay town hall, calling on the government to make rich CEOs pay what they owe.

Will the Liberals listen to Canadians and finally put an excess profits tax on big oil and gas?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I would say that the government has been listening to the voices of Canadians, who are concerned about climate change. They are also concerned about building an economy that will thrive in a low-carbon future. We have put into place a plan that is cutting carbon emissions, which were accelerating under the Harper government. It is just a shame that the NDP has abandoned its commitment on climate change and is walking away from the price on pollution. There are over 100 million tonnes of excess emissions because of a decision they made to collaborate with the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. On this side of the House, we believe climate change is real and we are going to fight it.

The Economy

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, nobody believes the fauxgressive Liberal government, because they bought a pipeline. However, back to the question at hand. Just 10 kilometres from this place, the Ottawa Food Bank is overwhelmed. Last month, like food banks across the country, it saw a higher number of visits than ever before. The cost of living is up, and more and more people who never thought they would need a food bank need one now. The Liberals have let people down, and the Conservative cuts are only going to make things worse. It is our NDP plan to remove the tax on grocery items, diapers and kids' clothing, which will finally bring some relief.

Will the Liberals finally act for Canadians?

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, when I visit food banks and speak to volunteers here in Ottawa and across the country, they share with me not only the pride and the importance of what they are doing but also the importance of the Canada child benefit and how it impacts the families they serve. It is not only the Canada child benefit but also moving forward with the national school food programming, ensuring that kids at school have access to food when they need it. I will not be lectured by the Conservative MPs when time after time—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Kings—Hants.

Housing

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it has been widely reported that Conservative MPs have written to the Minister of Housing, advocating—

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I will ask the hon. member for Miramichi—Grand Lake to please not take the floor unless recognized.

The hon member for Kings—Hants can start again.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it has widely been reported that Conservative MPs have written to the Minister of Housing, advocating that their communities should receive federal housing money, and that is exactly what MPs should do. However, what is shocking is that the Conservative leader has banned them from advocating for their communities and imposed a gag order on them for even talking about these initiatives. This is just because he wants to cut housing funding.

Can the Minister of Housing encourage Conservative MPs to find their voice or provide them a witness protection program so they can keep communicating, and can he explain what the Conservative leader's cuts would do to homebuilding in this country?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I will start by thanking my hon. colleague for advocating on behalf of his communities; that is indeed the role that members of Parliament play. In fact, his advocacy has helped secure millions of dollars for communities such as Wolfville, East Hants, West Hants and Kings County.

I was shocked to learn that the Conservative leader planned to cut these investments, which are going towards building more homes in my province of Nova Scotia. By the way, it is working, with a 23% increase in home starts this year. However, I was more stunned to see Conservative members of Parliament abiding by their leader's instruction, refusing to advocate for their communities. If they need witness protection, I would be happy to speak to the Minister of Public Safety on their behalf.

Public Safety

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, eight-year-old Tori Stafford was brutally and viciously murdered by Terri-Lynne McClintic and her boyfriend in a sexually motivated killing. Currently, McClintic lives in a townhouse-style jail in Ontario in medium security. That jail also houses a mother-child program. When I visited there, I was appalled to see that there were children in that jail at that security level in the townhouse-style complex.

How could the Liberal government allow child killers in the same jail as children?