Debates of Nov. 20th, 2024

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the Prime Minister has doubled housing costs. In fact, 80% of people in Canada now believe, for the first time ever, that home ownership is just for the very rich. The cities that have received money from his so-called housing accelerator have had the worst results. In Vancouver, housing starts are down 18%. In Toronto, they are down 21%. In Ottawa, they are down 14%. In Guelph, they are down 65%.

Why does the Prime Minister not follow our common-sense plan to cut out the bureaucratic middlemen and gatekeepers, and instead use the savings to axe the sales tax and build the homes?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on housing, the Leader of the Opposition's own MPs have been asking us, for example, about the $31 million we are sending to Kelowna in the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country, a Conservative riding. This is money that is going to make a real difference in their communities.

However, the Leader of the Opposition is preventing his MPs from standing up and advocating for their communities. This place is supposed to be a place where members are the voices of their communities here in Ottawa. Instead, he is sending them to be his voice in their communities. That is not how it works.

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians elect MPs to be their voice in Ottawa. Despite more than 18 Conservative MPs advocating for their communities to receive money through our government's housing accelerator fund, the Conservative leader imposed a gag order preventing them from pushing for this essential funding.

Can the Prime Minister explain to the House—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order.

Colleagues, the member is close to the Chair and I cannot hear the question. I am going to ask the hon. member to start his question from the top. Let us not waste more time on any more interventions from the Chair so we can get through question period expeditiously.

The hon. member for Brampton Centre, from the top, please.

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is Conservatives cannot stand the truth. Canadians elect MPs to be their voice in Ottawa. Despite more than 18 Conservative MPs advocating for their communities to receive money through our government's accelerator fund, their leader imposed a gag order preventing them from pushing for this essential funding.

Can the Prime Minister explain to the House what the Conservative leader's cuts to this program would mean?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I ask the hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton to please keep his counsel until he is recognized by the Chair to speak.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Brampton Centre, like most of us in this House, understands how important it is to be a community voice here in Ottawa and not Ottawa's voice in the community. I say most of us in this House, but apparently not those in the Conservative Party of Canada, because the Conservative leader has decided to prevent his own members of Parliament, in communities across the country, from speaking up for their communities. He is muzzling his MPs, forcing them to be the leader's voice in their communities instead.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we want to put money directly into the pockets of home buyers.

The Prime Minister doubled the cost of housing across Canada and tripled rent in Montreal, after nine years of paying tons of money to local bureaucracies to prevent construction. Nearly one-third of the cost of a home here in Canada is taxes. By eliminating the taxes, we can build more housing for less.

Will the Prime Minister agree to my plan to remove the GST on new builds?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am listening to the Conservative leader criticize our housing accelerator fund, but at least 18 of his members have directly contradicted him by asking the federal government to invest in their communities to accelerate housing construction, increase densification and eliminate red tape.

Conservative members know how important it is to invest in housing, but the Conservative leader is preventing them from speaking and is offering only cuts and austerity, which will not help anyone.

Public Safety

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, by passing Bill C‑83, the Prime Minister allowed Paul Bernardo to leave a maximum-security prison for a medium-security one.

Now we find out that the Liberal government has decided to bar the families of Paul Bernardo's victims from testifying in person at the parole hearings that could release this monster back onto our streets.

Why is the Prime Minister and his government stopping the victims from speaking out against Paul Bernardo's release?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition leader knows full well that this decision was made not by the government, but by an independent agency. That does not stop him from instrumentalizing people who have suffered terribly just to score some political points.

If he actually cared about national security, he would not have been part of a government that made cuts to security personnel and police, he would not be planning to put more guns in our streets and he would have chosen to receive a security briefing to keep Canadians safe.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister decided to pass hug-a-thug Bill C-83, which allowed Paul Bernardo to leave maximum security for more luxury and freedom in a medium-security penitentiary. Now we learn that the Liberal government is blocking the family members of Paul Bernardo's victims from testifying in person at his parole hearing, where his release will be considered.

Under subsection 6(1) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the minister could intervene to allow the victims to speak up. Why does he keep protecting Bernardo from the victims rather than the other way around?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows full well that these are decisions taken by the arm's-length Parole Board and that the minister is engaged on this issue, but that will not prevent him from instrumentalizing the grief and anguish of families who are victims of crime for his own narrow personal gain.

If he actually cared about public safety and national security, he would not have proposed a cut from police services and border agencies, he would not be proposing to put more guns on our streets and he certainly would have accepted the national security briefings that would allow him to keep his own party safe.

Families, Children and Social Development

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today is National Child Day, and families in my riding are receiving their Canada child benefit cheques. This program has supported over six million children. However, families are worried that the Conservative leader will cut this support. The Conservative leader raves about wanting to cut housing projects, child care, pharmacare and much more. Can the Prime Minister please explain to the House how dangerous these cuts would be?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Kitchener South—Hespeler for her advocacy.

Today, millions of families across the country are receiving their Canada child benefit cheques to help with everyday expenses. As a reminder, the Conservatives voted against the CCB. At the same time, the Conservative leader now threatens to cut those cheques along with vital programs like dental care.

He is gaslighting Canadians, claiming his Conservative cuts will somehow make life better for Canadians receiving those programs right now. It is time for him to admit the truth: His real priority is only cutting services and not supporting families.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today, people in B.C. are reeling from a bomb cyclone. Just weeks after another atmospheric river, their homes are damaged and power is out. The climate crisis is here, but the Liberals keep letting Canadians down. Instead of acting, they are handing out billions of dollars to rich oil and gas CEOs. The Conservatives cannot even agree if climate change is real; they will cut the supports that communities need to stay safe.

Why are the Liberals tossing handouts to some of the biggest polluters while everyday Canadians bear the brunt of the climate crisis?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we made a commitment as part of the G20 to cut inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and we did that two years ahead of all other G20 partners. At the same time, we put a cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector that is going to continue to protect us. At the same time, we brought in a price on pollution that puts more money back in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians while cutting emissions and inspiring and encouraging innovation. Unfortunately, the NDP has not been clear even on something as simple as the price on pollution. On this side of the aisle, we stand up for protecting Canadians from climate change.

Electoral Reform

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister recently admitted his biggest regret was breaking his promise on electoral reform and claimed he did not know how he could have done things differently. Well, he could have supported a citizens' assembly on electoral reform instead of blocking the most basic initiative to have everyday Canadians, informed by experts, explore better options. Not only did Green, Bloc and NDP MPs all vote in favour, but 39 MPs from his own party did too.

He could still do things differently right now and call a citizens' assembly. Will he do it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I can understand my colleague's despair, as he sits across from the Conservatives, who have ceased to be their communities' voices here in Ottawa and instead are choosing to be their leader's voice in their communities. Each of us in this place has the responsibility to advocate for our communities and to speak up, being chosen by members of our communities to defend their interests, and Conservatives have forgotten that. They are now the Leader of the Opposition's voice in their communities, not saying anything that he has not stamped and approved, and are frightened they are going to see consequences if they dare to step out of line. That is not democracy.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of Judith Suminwa Tuluka, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would like to add that she is the first female prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I also wish to draw the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Andrew Furey, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I think everyone in the House recognizes that members' statements are an important opportunity for members to pay tribute to people in their ridings, constituents and organizations, but also to highlight events or situations of concern.

This week, on several occasions, some extremely sensitive subjects were presented during members' statements. At times, it was impossible for us to concentrate on delivering our statements properly because the background noise was literally deafening.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask you to keep a close eye on this. No one member's statement is more important than another's. All members' statements should be received with the same level of silence and respect by the House. It is up to you, with all due respect, to ensure that there is silence when members are giving their statements. I ask you to pay attention to this, because this week has been particularly difficult.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I thank the hon. member for Drummond. He raises a very good point.

Once again, it requires the full co-operation of all members of all political parties to demonstrate respect for one another. We have to listen and let members give their statements in the House. The same goes for points of order.