Debates of Nov. 27th, 2024

Resumption of Debate on Government Business No. 43

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Madam Speaker, just to be very clear, I was sitting right behind the member who was giving his speech. All he was doing was adjusting to actually find the piece of paper he was looking for. He found it, and he is ready to present it. That is from somebody who was close.

I would challenge the clerk; we actually saw what was happening right in front of us. The member was looking for the document he needed. I just challenge you, Madam Chair, that you—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

There are no challenges to the Chair that way. I just want to remind the member that it is not proper to challenge the Chair. I actually am sitting in front of the member as well. Before I continue, I will allow other points of order.

The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby has the floor.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is very straightforward. When a member concludes their speech and sits down, that is it. Other members cannot come in and try to cajole them to change their mind and get up again. It is a little bit of a disservice to Parliament, how the Conservatives are acting right now.

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

Madam Speaker, I just want to point out that the convention here is that we take people at their word. I clearly saw the member still on his feet. He was leaning over. I had the perfect vantage point. I was just a little behind the hon. member. I could actually see behind the table. He had not made contact with his chair at all. It might have looked like it. He was looking for the document that contains the rest of his speech.

I think the most reasonable thing to do is for the member to have the opportunity to continue speaking. He was reaching for the document. The most reasonable thing to do is to take the member at his word and allow him to finish.

I know that the member for Winnipeg North does not often get a chance to speak, but I am sure he will have an opportunity in a moment. Then he can ask his question.

I think the conventional thing to do would be accept the member for Calgary Forest Lawn at his word and allow him to continue.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I just want to remind hon. members that I am in the Chair.

I see that the hon. parliamentary secretary is rising on the same point of order.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, just so we are perfectly clear, the member who is right across from me sat down and I stood up. Other members said, “No, no, there is this.” I was ready to ask my question, and you were just about to recognize me to ask a question, when there was an interruption across the way. The member had clearly sat down. I stand prepared to ask my question as I did minutes ago.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies has already risen on this point of order, but I will allow him to interject one more time. Then members will allow me to speak.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Madam Speaker, I was not allowed to finish. When I said “challenge”, I was going to challenge you to look at the video to see that he did not sit, because he did not actually sit. I was sitting right behind him and saw that he was looking for a paper and trying to find a document.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I did look at the video, and he did sit. The hon. member had unlimited time, and he indicated that he was done with his speech.

Questions and comments, the hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I am shocked that the Conservative Party of Canada, under the leadership of the leader of the Conservative Party, has decided to vote against a tax break for the holiday season on a number of products, a way to assist Canadians in every region of the country. The Conservatives are doubling down. Instead of giving that tax break during the holiday season, they are telling 80% of my constituents, in fact millions of Canadians, that they will also get rid of the carbon rebate, which is going to take more money away from constituents.

Why is the leader of the Conservative Party being the grinch of Christmas and not allowing Canadians to at least have some relief during the holiday season?

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

Madam Speaker, that member is right: We are going to axe the tax for good for everybody.

The minority of Canadians who get this phony cheque will not need a rebate anymore because we will not take the money from them in the first place. As the Liberals' own Parliamentary Budget Officer said, a majority of Canadians pay more into this scam than they get back in phony rebates.

We are going to keep the money in Canadians' pockets. That is going to lower the cost of gas, groceries and home heating. We are going to fix the economy too, because we know the tax blows a massive hole in our GDP and drives investment out of Canada. It has already done this.

That is what we are going to do. Instead of penny-pinching over Pringles, we are going to axe the tax for good to bring the cost of groceries down.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Madam Speaker, I think that when a government is in free fall as the government is now, its first instinct is to panic. It starts improvising out of necessity. What could it possibly come up with next?

We are being invited to take part in a complete sham, a real PR stunt that does not even help the people who are struggling the most. Right now, the most vulnerable people are those who are more likely to buy products that are not taxed anyway.

Does my colleague agree with me when I say that we are really just contributing to the pervasive cynicism? Even if the measure will essentially only help the wealthiest, those with money, the government can pat itself on the back by telling itself that people will be talking about it around the dinner table at Christmas.

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

Madam Speaker, the member is right. This will help the people who are better off in society. They are the ones who will be able to eat at restaurants and might get more GST taken off. What it does not do is help the struggling Canadians the Liberal-NDP government has forced into food bank lines to get cheaper groceries and help them get the cost of their gas down. The only real way to do that is to have a carbon tax election now so that common-sense Conservatives can axe the tax for good, and not only for gas, groceries and home eating, but for new homes being built. That is going to help bring down the cost of everyday living for Canadians.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Madam Speaker, it is important for everyone to understand what is happening in the House tonight. Remarkably, we are debating a confidence motion, one that has been publicized well over the last number of weeks. A re-engagement between the NDP and the Liberals has been enacted with the agreement to conduct two elements: One is this temporary tax trick, and there was another guarantee, an agreement to give out $250 cheques to Canadians. However, it was limited to just some Canadians; it was not for all Canadians.

It is clear that the Conservative Party and the NDP Party have opposed these measures, but now we are learning Liberal members also oppose the $250 cheques, and that is what is missing in the legislation. As a matter of fact, one Liberal member, the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, was quoted as saying, “These comments—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

We had already clearly said today that this was out of the scope of the discussions.

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I would like you to find out who that was. That type of language in the House of Commons is clearly unparliamentary. What we heard from the video was completely inappropriate.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I will take it under advisement. I did not hear what happened online.

I was listening to the hon. member, and I was trying to tell him that questions about political partisanship are out of the scope, as was said earlier today by the Speaker during question period.

I would like the hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn to answer the question so that we can move on.

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

Madam Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right. Out of all newspapers, the Toronto Star talked about how it is not just Canadians who know this is a cheap gimmick to buy votes; the Liberals themselves know about that. The MP for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek was brave enough to say that he was “threatened with ‘consequences’” for opposing this proposal for $250 cheques.

The reason it is a trick is that, at the same time as it is going to issue these cheques, the Liberal-NDP government will jack up the carbon tax once again. That is where this trick comes from. It is trying to buy votes, giving out these little lollipops so that people can ignore the fact that the Liberal-NDP government has doubled housing costs and raised the carbon tax scam that has made everything more expensive, which sent more than two million Canadians to food banks. All these things are just a major distraction and nothing more.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, when this member first—

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Just moments ago, you ruled that my question was out of order because I was asking my colleague about what is clearly dissent by members of Parliament for a portion of the bill that has been stripped out. You ruled that the question was out of order. Madam Speaker, on what basis did you rule it to be out of order?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I agree with the hon. member that the question itself is not out of order. I overreached in thinking it was a more partisan kind of attempt to bring the question, but the hon. member did get the answer.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Madam Speaker, I did not get to finish my question.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn referred to it and made mention of it. I did overreach in reacting to the hon. member as I did and telling him that the question was out of order.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Madam Speaker, is that an apology?