Debates of Nov. 26th, 2024

Government Priorities

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, instead of panicking and falling back on slogans, like the Leader of the Opposition does, we rolled up our sleeves and are getting to work. We are working with all the premiers, pulling together in a team Canada approach, because that is how we defend Canadian jobs from coast to coast to coast.

I spoke with Donald Trump yesterday evening. We talked about how important it was for us to not only work together to solve some of the challenges we are facing as a continent and as countries, but also work to grow our economies and protect our workers on both sides of the border. This is the responsible, methodical approach we are taking as we move forward, while our opponent falls back on slogans and fear.

Health

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister spoke with the incoming president and, moments later, Mr. Trump put out a tweet slapping a 25% tariff on Canada. That worked about as well as the Prime Minister's efforts on buy America and softwood lumber, which continue to be penalized even though the previous Conservative government got both of those things lifted.

Let us move over to drugs. The Prime Minister's disastrous legalization and liberalization of drugs has the Americans worried, in addition to costing 47,000 deaths in Canada. Where is the plan to stop the drugs and keep our border open to trade?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Leader of the Opposition is just making stuff up. I clearly spoke with the President of the United States an hour and a half after he put out his suggestion on tariffs.

The reality is that we are going to continue to work constructively with the incoming administration to protect Canadian jobs, to protect Canadian growth and to take the responsible approach, which is not steeped in partisanship, but that pulls together the team Canada approach that stands up for Canadians, instead of throwing our arms up and saying that all is broken, like the Leader of the Opposition does.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that is even worse. The statement went out promising tariffs before they even had a chance to speak. It is kind of like the Prime Minister backing down on buy America and backing down on softwood lumber.

Now let us move to the tariffs the Prime Minister wants to impose on our economy. Quadrupling the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre would cripple our economy. New tax increases on work and energy would do likewise, sending hundreds of billions of dollars south of the border.

Now that Canadians are facing this economic crisis, will the Prime Minister at least cancel his plan to hike taxes so we can save jobs?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we see once again the Leader of the Opposition flailing and inventing stuff to try to fit his preferred attacks into his priorities. The reality is that we are going to continue to work constructively with the incoming administration to do what Canada and the U.S. have always done, which is to create prosperity together and protect jobs on both sides of the border as we grow the economy.

When it comes to drugs, we have taken serious steps on that, and we will continue to. If the Leader of the Opposition is suggesting he wants to recriminalize marijuana, let him just say that.

Seniors

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as the past few days and hours have shown, we are about to go through a time of major insecurity in Parliament over issues related to trade, protectionism and a rather aggressive diatribe of words. This should be a time to reassure and unite people and to project a sense of security, especially economic security. This effort should begin with the most fragile and vulnerable members of society.

Does the Prime Minister want to consider adjusting his plan to hand out cheques so as to give retirees a sense of security?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know how much Canadians are struggling. That is why we are going to give everyone a tax holiday in the coming months on groceries, children's clothing and many more items that people regularly buy.

We are also looking at ways to recognize the heavy burden that workers across the country have carried over the past few years by protecting the economy, investing in their future, and supporting their loved ones. We want to recognize the work and the challenges faced by hard-working Canadians.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, other workers came before today's workers. I am talking about people who worked their whole lives, who have paid taxes all their lives, who have nowhere else to turn. The government is handing out cheques to people who do not need them and denying cheques to those who need them most.

Does he not think that if he lowers the amount for the cheques he gives out, and gives that money to the pensioners who need it, everyone here would likely agree with this massive improvement to his plan?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians are struggling in different ways. That is why we are investing in more child care spaces and in a Canada child benefit that increases every year, for example. We are also helping seniors by providing a dental care program. In 2015, we increased the guaranteed income supplement by 10%, and we increased old age security for seniors aged 75 and over.

We also want to be there for other groups of Canadians, like those who work hard and yet are still struggling. That is why we are going ahead with this measure.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump's threats of tariffs could threaten hundreds of thousands of Canadian mortgage-paying jobs. The only thing a bully responds to is strength. Where is our plan to fight back? Where is the war room? Where is a concrete plan to bring our issue before CUSMA?

Why is the Prime Minister not fighting like hell for Canadian jobs?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, rather than panicking, we are engaging in constructive ways to protect Canadian jobs, as we have before. I do not think the idea of going to war with the United States is what anyone wants. What we will do is stand up for Canadian jobs, as we have before and as we will continue to do. We will stand up for the prosperity we create when we work together, stand up for the challenges we are facing and protecting Canadians from. There is work we can do together. That is the work we will do seriously and methodically, but without freaking out the way the leader of the NDP seems to be.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot afford for the government to ignore this problem. It needs to take it seriously because Canadians cannot afford another letdown.

Trump's attacks were no surprise. We knew they were coming. However, the Prime Minister chose to turn a blind eye and say that everything was fine. Thousands of jobs are at stake.

Why did he fail to react to Donald Trump's threats?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, seriously defending Canada's economy means not giving in to panic or fear. It means standing up for the principle that we in North America are most successful when we work together. We are going to work with the U.S. administration to address the challenges and differences we both face as nations. We are going to work together to create prosperity for our workers and defend our workers, as we have done in the past and as we will continue to do in the future. Now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to work hard, and that is exactly what we are doing.

The Economy

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, we need a Canada first plan to fix what the Prime Minister has broken. The first time he went head-to-head with Trump, the Prime Minister was forced into accepting humiliating concessions on agriculture, steel tariffs and buy American. That was when Canada had a stronger position, thanks to a decade of low-tax, pro-job Conservative policies.

After nine years of economic vandalism, the Prime Minister has put Canada in an extremely vulnerable position. Per capita GDP is now lower than it was nine years ago; Canada has the most indebted households among our trading partners. We have the worst housing inflation, and food prices have risen 37% faster here than in the U.S. Now that he is negotiating from a position of weakness, why should Canadians expect any—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Export Promotion and International Trade.

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Export Promotion]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear: We will always be there to protect Canadian workers and Canadian businesses. We have been there for Canadians before, when we renegotiated NAFTA. I remind the member opposite that it was the Conservatives who wanted us to capitulate during that time, but we stood strong. That is a testament to the facts: Canada-U.S. trade was at an all-time high last year of $1.3 trillion. Canada places the highest priority on trade and the integrity of our shared border. We look forward to working with the incoming administration.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was forced to accept humiliating concession after concession. Now he has kneecapped Canada's economy: He has slapped on a massive carbon tax here, but the U.S. does not have one at all. He is raising taxes on investing in Canada while the U.S. is fighting to attract investment there. He has imposed a production cap on Canadian energy, meaning that Canada will produce less of what the U.S. needs to buy. He has under 60 days left to act.

It is time for the Prime Minister to put aside his partisanship, his ideology and his ego. Will he strengthen Canada's position by cancelling his carbon tax and all tax hikes on jobs and investments?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. Their strategy last time was to capitulate. On this side of the House, as the Prime Minister said, our plan is to be serious and methodical.

We have been engaging with our U.S. partner on three key things. First is security of the borders, the north and the Arctic. Second is a resilient supply chain when it comes to semiconductors, critical minerals and energy. Third is putting forward a growth plan for North America. On this side of the House, we will fight for Canadians, we will fight for industry and we will fight for our country.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, everywhere we look, we find more evidence of economic carnage. Now we are up against the biggest economic and security superpower, and the government has no plan.

We need a Canada first plan to fix what the Prime Minister broke. When he took office, our GDP per capita was 81% of the U.S.'s. Now it has fallen to 73%. It is a made-in-Canada problem, and it is not about vibes. It is driven by higher taxes, higher spending, higher regulation and the government's economic vandalism.

Now that it is faced with the threat of tariffs, when is the government going to stop the vandalism and start fixing the crisis so that Canadians have a chance?

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

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservative Party of Canada wanted us to back down during the last round of NAFTA negotiations, we stood up for Canada. We stood up for Canadian workers. We stood up for the steelworkers in Canada. We stood up for Canadian auto workers. We stood up for our farmers and agricultural workers.

The Conservatives want to know what the plan is; we plan to do it again and to get a win-win for Canada and the United States.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals themselves backed down last time, and Canada has become poorer than Alabama since then. That is not a record anybody should be proud of.

Our productivity gap with the U.S. costs every Canadian $32,000 a year. Average returns on investment are 35% higher in the U.S. than in Canada. Our government's plan is to quadruple the carbon tax. They doubled housing prices. They increased taxes on work and investment.

With the threat of crippling tariffs, will the Prime Minister end all the tax increases so that Canadians stand a chance?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have an excellent relationship with the United States, a relationship that is mutually beneficial. We do enormous amounts of trade with the United States, and the United States depends on Canada for much of its energy supply.

The Conservatives want to know what the plan is. Our plan is to continue to work with the United States in order to protect Canadian jobs and to protect the Canadian economy, making it grow for everyone.

Government Priorities

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this Prime Minister, we need a plan to put Canada first and to put an end to his economic vandalism.

The Prime Minister has broken the immigration system. He is incapable of protecting the border. He has ruined our economy with a huge debt, and, on top of that, our young people have lost all hope of ever buying a home.

What is the Prime Minister's plan to put Canada first and to protect the future of all young Canadians?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. The last time they proposed a strategy, they wanted us to capitulate to the Americans.

We on this side of the House plan to do things seriously and methodically. As the Prime Minister said, we have been speaking with our American counterparts for months now. We are talking about security-related issues, including border security, Arctic security and northern security. We are talking about the resilience of our supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals and energy. We are putting forward a growth plan for North America.

We will always be there to defend Canadian workers, Canadian industry and, of course, Canada.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what we know is that after nine years, this Prime Minister has failed spectacularly and often.

What is his plan to put Canada first? He failed at the border. He failed on softwood lumber. He created chaos in the immigration system. He wanted to erase the identity of our passports. He is responsible for the higher grocery prices, which increased 37% faster than in the United States.

What is the Prime Minister's plan to put Canadians first?