Debates of Nov. 26th, 2024

Taxation

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Oxford has the floor.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned from the government's own immigration documents that nearly five million people will have their temporary visa expire next year. The Minister of Immigration was asked for his plan in committee yesterday, but he had no plan.

Can the Prime Minister correct his minister and tell us his plan to enforce and ensure that nearly five million people will leave Canada when their visa expires next year?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, let us examine the latest round of hysteria from the Leader of the Opposition. We are talking about 4.9 million documents, sometimes many that apply to one person. They are tourists. The vast majority of the people leave the country, including artists who come to this country, such as Bruce Springsteen and others.

When someone's visa expires, they are expected to leave. If they do not, they will be removed. At the same time, the Leader of the Opposition is walking around with the member for Edmonton Mill Woods promising not to deport people.

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, again, there is no plan from the minister. After nine years of breaking our immigration system, his plan is to ask people nicely to leave. We are now staring at 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods, which will crush our Canadian workers and cripple our economy.

We need a Canada first plan that fixes the immigration system and ensures that the five million people will leave when their visa expires next year. When will we see the plan?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, again, we see the Conservatives' “roll over first” program. They are talking about people who are here who do routinely leave the country. They come in as tourists. It includes a vast array of people. He is answering an OPQ question that the Conservatives posed to us. We were very precise in the answers we gave. Sometimes it is not five million people; it is a number of documents attached to the same person.

Let us park the hysteria. Let us talk about real things. Let us talk about the managed, planned immigration that is actually doing very well in this country according to Canadians.

Public Safety

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is a good time to tackle organized crime in our cities and at our borders. We need to hit criminals where it hurts: their wallets.

This morning, the Bloc Québécois introduced Bill C-420 to create a registry of criminal organizations. Most importantly, we propose reversing the burden of proof when it comes to the proceeds of crime. We propose letting law enforcement freeze or seize gang members' property unless they can prove that that property was not obtained through crime.

Will the government support us? What does it think about that?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we are always ready to support good ideas that aim to assist our law enforcement agencies in their fight against organized crime. Provisions already exist in the Criminal Code that allow law enforcement and the courts to seize property and bank accounts that are the proceeds of crime. However, if my colleague has other suggestions, we would gladly look into what we can do to constantly support the important work done by police forces.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is easy, we just have to reverse the burden of proof. Let me reiterate today that the federal government has every interest in demonstrating that it takes the problem of organized crime seriously. The Americans are watching us.

Our Bill C-420 makes it easier to lay charges against criminal gang members. It provides new tools to police officers for seizing the proceeds of crime before they disappear. Bill C‑420 makes crime more dangerous and less profitable. It sends a strong message to organized crime, both on our streets and at the border.

Will the government support us?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleague for underscoring the fact that it is important to support law enforcement and prosecutors and ensure that no one profits from crime, especially organized crime. We recognize the important work that the RCMP does with its partners such as the Sûreté du Québec, the Ontario Provincial Police and municipal police forces. Provisions in the Criminal Code already exist.

The Attorney General and I will always consider good ideas for making improvements and supporting police forces across the country.

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, we need a Canada first plan to fix what the Prime Minister has broken in the Canadian Armed Forces. Under the Prime Minister, our warships are rusting out, our fighter jets are worn out, our army has been hollowed out and our military is so short of soldiers, sailors and aircrew that our troops are burnt out. We are short 15,000 troops. Even his own defence minister has described the state of our military as being in a “death spiral”. Defence procurement has gotten so bad under the Liberals that they cannot even supply the ammo and munitions that Canada and our friends need.

Why has the Prime Minister turned Canada into an unreliable ally?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, all of us remember the last time the Conservatives talked about a Canada first defence policy, and we also remember what they did. They gutted the defence budget, reducing defence spending to less than 1% of our GDP for the first and only time in Canada's long history. In the last nine years, as we have doubled defence spending, the Conservatives have voted against every single dollar, just as they voted against support for Ukraine. Standing up for the Canadian Armed Forces may require the Conservatives to stand up to their leader.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

We know, Mr. Speaker, that the minister loves to fudge the numbers. In reality, the former Conservative government bought five C-17 Globemasters, 17 new Hercules, 15 Chinook helicopters and 100 Leopard tanks; modernized the Auroras and Halifax-class frigates; and fought alongside our American allies against ISIS and the Taliban.

Will the Prime Minister reverse his $2.7-billion cut to our armed forces, finally invest in our troops and put Canada's interests first?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we also remember that when the conflict in Afghanistan ended, the Conservatives gutted the defence budget, taking $2.5 billion away from it, and reduced it, for the only time in our history, to less than 1%.

I have had many conversations with members of the Canadian Armed Forces and they have never told me that what they need is another vacuous slogan. What they say is they need real investment in ships, in planes, in infrastructure and, most importantly, in our people. Every time we have come before the House and asked for money for those investments and those people, Conservatives have voted against it.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister destroyed our armed forces by making bad decisions and constantly wasting procurement resources.

One thing that he could do today is announce that he is cancelling the $1 billion in cuts to the Department of National Defence's budget and present a real plan to reallocate that money to priorities that would help rebuild the Canadian Armed Forces and strengthen North America's military security.

After nine years of waste and extremely poor decisions for our national defence, does the Prime Minister have a Canada first plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence very clearly outlined our plan to support the Canadian Armed Forces and our plan for investment.

We know that when it comes time to stand up for our allies and for what we care about in the world, the Conservative members of Parliament stand down. When it came to supporting Ukraine last year with the Canadian free trade agreement with Ukraine, what did they do? They voted against it. They delayed it in the House of Commons too.

On this side of the House, we stand for the values we care about and stand up for the people we care about. We do not just sit down and stand down because our leader told us to.

The Economy

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the holiday season is fast approaching. As we know, this is often a very expensive time of year for Canadians.

Although our government's measures have kept our economy in an enviable position relative to other G7 countries and have succeeded in lowering inflation and interest rates, many households are still struggling to make ends meet. At least, that what we are hearing in our constituencies.

Could the minister tell us why the Conservative leader should allow his caucus members to speak for their constituents and vote in favour of our plan to put more money back in Canadians' pockets?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche. Unlike the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, who is always thinking about cuts and austerity, on our side of the House, we want to support Canadians from coast to coast to coast. That is why we announced the GST break.

We want to make sure that Canadians get the chance to really save money. This tax break will help them buy diapers, prepared foods, Christmas trees, toys, books, even restaurant meals. We will always be there to support Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the desperate Liberal-NDP government is bribing Canadians with a pricey gimmick. This temporary two-month tax trick takes pennies off potato chips yet adds more than $6 billion on top of the Prime Minister's inflationary deficit. Even the Prime Minister admits that every extra dollar he puts into these handouts fuels inflation further.

Instead of pennies off Pringles, could he call a carbon tax election now so that common-sense Conservatives can axe the tax for good?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, this Liberal government reduced taxes on the middle class on two occasions and the Conservatives voted against it. Now we are giving a tax break, a tax holiday, to all Canadians at a time when they need it most, and the Conservatives are calling it a gimmick. The Conservative leader is trying to play the grinch who stole Christmas.

We know that this is good policy. It is good for Canadians. It is good for the economy. It is good for our small businesses. It is just bad for the Conservatives.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, while scurvy makes a comeback, the member is bragging about taking taxes off of candy and booze. While two million Canadians are visiting a food bank in a single month and one in four Canadians is skipping meals because of the Prime Minister's carbon tax scam, which is making Canadians poorer, the finance minister says they are just having a “vibecession” and that she can fix it by taking pennies off of cheese puffs.

If the Liberals really want to feel the vibe of Canadians, they can call a carbon tax election so we can axe the tax for good instead of taking chump change off of chips.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian mothers and fathers want to understand why the Conservatives want to take away their $10-a-day child care. Young Canadians who want to buy a first home want to understand why the Conservatives want to take away investments that will build 750,000 new homes. All Canadians want to understand why the Conservatives oppose a tax break, a tax holiday, for all Canadians that will leave more money in their pockets.

It is time the Conservatives come clean. They are against policies that help Canadians. They are against policies that will help our economy. They are just in it for themselves.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government's latest tax gimmick is not fooling anyone. People everywhere are upset by the Liberal approach.

Here is what one Montrealer had to say: “These two measures offer nothing of substance. There is no long-term vision. It is likely to have a minimal impact on a relatively small number of people, and it will cost a whopping $6.3 billion.... I wonder how that decision was made.” Can anyone guess who said that? It was the member for Honoré-Mercier, the former transport minister and political lieutenant for Quebec.

Does the current political lieutenant for Quebec agree with his predecessor, who is showing common sense?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, these Conservatives always put partisanship first and Canadians last.

Once again, the Conservatives are against helping Canadians. We know the tax break will leave more money in Canadians' pockets. Conservatives do not want that. They did not want us to cut taxes for the middle class, and now, they do not want us to take the tax off everyday items. It does not make sense.

Mental Health and Addictions

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Addictions Awareness Week. It is a time for all of us to raise awareness and challenge stereotypes toward addiction. On this side of the House, we know addiction is a health condition and deserves to be treated like one in order to save lives.

Can the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions share some of the ways our government is helping those in need?

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, since 2017, our government has committed over $1 billion to support the work with provinces and territories to save lives and address those who struggle with addiction. We know that doing this work with community organizations, local health care providers and communities, whether they are municipalities or indigenous communities, is the way that we make it through to save lives and meet people at their hardest moments.

We know we need more harm reduction and prevention. We know we need treatment services, recovery and after care. We are there for Canadians. We need to open the door to those who struggle with addiction so they are not alone.