The hon. member for Hamilton Centre.
House of Commons Hansard #379 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was documents.
House of Commons Hansard #379 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was documents.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes
The hon. member for Hamilton Centre.
Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Madam Speaker, today, November 29, marks the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, so I offer to the House, and all Canadians committed to justice and peace, the following reflection:
Every bombed village is my hometown,
And every dead child is my child.
Every grieving mother is my mother.
Every crying father is my father.
Every home turned to rubble
is the home I grew up in.
Every brother carrying the remains
of his brother across borders
is my brother.
Every sister waiting for a sister
who will never come home
is my sister.
Every one of these people are ours,
Just like we are theirs.
We belong to them
and they belong to us.
Stop the genocide. Long live Palestine. Long live Gaza.
Stéphane Lauzon Liberal Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC
Madam Speaker, I had the pleasure of celebrating not one but two 90th anniversaries in my riding. The Lions Clubs of Lachute and Buckingham have both reached this important milestone in their history. The Buckingham Lions Club was founded on December 4, 1934, followed by the Lachute Lions Club a few days later, on December 11, 1934.
Lions Clubs are charitable organizations that help the less fortunate members of the community and young people. They improve the quality of life of the general population by supporting a wide variety of causes, including those providing support for blindness, deafness, health, education, youth and seniors. Their service is driven by such values as altruism, generosity, friendship, and commitment.
I want to congratulate all members of the Lachute and Buckingham Lions Clubs on their respective 90th anniversary and give them my heartfelt thanks for their commitment to helping vulnerable members of their community—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes
The hon. member for Oshawa.
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Madam Speaker, repeatedly, we are witnessing the NDP-Liberal government's troubling tendency to prioritize the rights of criminals over those of victims. That is why I introduced the pro-victims' rights bill, Bill C-320, in March 2023. Thankfully, the bill passed unanimously through the House and is now at the Senate committee stage.
Lisa Freeman, a constituent of Oshawa and the inspiration behind Bill C-320, recently learned that the axe murderer who brutally murdered her father while on parole will be subject to a closed-door review by the Parole Board of Canada, with no hearing. Ms. Freeman's rights have been completely disregarded under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, and she has continually been denied the rights afforded to registered victims, leading to repeated revictimization, not by the perpetrator, but by the very institutions that should be safeguarding her well-being.
If the NDP-Liberal government refuses to recognize the need to prioritize victims' rights over those of criminals, it is time for an election so that a Conservative—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes
The hon. member for Milton.
Adam van Koeverden Liberal Milton, ON
Madam Speaker, today is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and today, I am reaffirming my support for Canada's recognition for Palestinian statehood. Canada recently voted in favour of two UN resolutions to signal our deep concerns over the expansion of Israeli settlements into the occupied Palestinian territories and to express our unwavering support for Palestinian refugees, who are in urgent need of assistance. UNRWA is critical in that regard.
Canada remains committed to the pursuit of lasting peace in the Middle East. A two-state solution is critical to that endeavour, which includes the creation of a Palestinian state where Palestinians and Israelis live side-by-side in peace, security and dignity. The Netanyahu government has made it clear, with its words and actions, that it rejects a two-state solution, while illegal settlements and violence in the West Bank are on the rise.
Canada does not recognize permanent Israeli control over the West Bank, East Jerusalem or Gaza. We must see progress toward Palestinian self-determination. We need a ceasefire and sustained humanitarian aid. All hostages must be released. Peace in the Middle East is possible, and the recognition of a Palestinian state is an important step toward it.
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Madam Speaker, this week, I attended the launch of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence at Ottawa City Hall, hosted by GRAN advocates, Interval House of Ottawa and the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women. We joined together to light buildings in purple, including City Hall and the Peace Tower, to symbolize our determination to end violence against women.
For the dedicated organizations and volunteers leading these efforts, activism is not limited to 16 days. It is 365 days a year. Our national action plan to end gender-based violence and our feminist international assistance policy provide funding to frontline organizations doing the hard work to support survivors and make real change. At a time when demeaning language and objectification of women is becoming normalized, we stand in solidarity to say that this is not normal. Together, we can end gender-based violence.
Dave Epp Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON
Madam Speaker, the collective western history of wealth creation has largely followed the history of energy densification. What do I mean? First, we cooked our food and kept ourselves warm with wood and then charcoal, followed by coal, fossil fuels. We now have today's options of nuclear and there are tomorrow's possibilities of hydrogen, etc. Each progressive fuel is denser and has less of an environmental impact.
The current government's focus on punishing our oil and gas production sector, coupled with a punitive carbon tax on consumers, is misplaced and bad environmental policy. Do members know what year the world consumed the most coal? It was last year, and this year we will break that record.
LNG has half the GHG emissions of coal, and the world wants cleaner-burning, affordable Canadian LNG. Instead of using the wealth generated by clean LNG to fund our own energy transition, the government has given Canadians a carbon tax, which makes us all poorer, and it has virtually no impact on the world's GHG emissions. We would axe the tax and sell the world cleaner fuels that would lower global—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes
The hon. member for Surrey Centre.
Randeep Sarai Liberal Surrey Centre, BC
Madam Speaker, last week, I was proud to announce funding to two excellent organizations in Surrey that are helping our veterans. BC/Yukon Legion Foundation and the Legion Veterans Village received $9 million to help our veterans who are facing homelessness with access to housing and wraparound services. While the opposition talks about program cuts, our government is there for our veterans and the groups that support them.
Just last month, PacifiCan announced $3.8 million to HealthTech Connex, a bioscience company based in Surrey that has developed NeuroCatch, a brain-imaging device that leads to more accurate diagnoses of concussions and head injuries. Thanks to federal funding, HealthTech Connex will increase its sales and operational capacities to create 40-plus highly skilled jobs. This is a tremendous illustration of our government's commitment to continuing to strengthen Canada's economy at home and around the world.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Madam Speaker, after nine years of this Liberal government, we find that the mess it has made at our borders is alarming.
The Liberals are creating chaos, and Canadians are paying the price. The Liberal Prime Minister decided to fling Canada's doors wide open in 2016, with no controls whatsoever. This has resulted in a broken immigration system, growing tensions at the border, and now threats from the U.S. involving crippling tariffs for Canada if the government does not do more to secure its borders.
Criminals have taken over, with human smuggling rings charging $5,000 per person for illegal crossings. This government has failed in its fundamental duty to protect our borders and keep Canadians safe.
Canadians deserve better. They deserve a strong prime minister who will take meaningful action to defend Canada's interests. Ensuring the safety of Canadians cannot wait any longer. It is time for the Liberal government to deliver the only thing Canadians want now, and that is an election.
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Madam Speaker, last night, the leader of the NDP voted to put his pension over his country, propping up the Liberals once again. Do members remember when he ripped up the NDP's coalition deal with the Liberals, saying that they were, “too weak, too selfish, and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people”? It was nothing but a stunt.
The truth is that the NDP leader supports everything the Prime Minister does. He supports the carbon tax, having voted for it 24 times, which makes it harder for Canadians to eat, heat and house themselves. He supports the Liberals' inflationary deficits when he votes to fund waste, such the Prime Minister's arrive scam app. He even supports their hug-a-thug policies, which have led to crime and chaos in our streets.
It is time to stop the madness. Every day the Prime Minister remains in power it is because of the leader of the NDP. Canadians deserve better than this weak Prime Minister and the government's second-string NDP cheer squad. It is time for a carbon tax election.
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party of Canada has absolutely no shame. It is unbelievable but true. Conservatives voted against a tax break for the holiday season. Now, this is the real burner on this issue. This is what the Conservatives said in their platform for the last election: “To help families and help our hard-hit retail stores recover, Canada’s Conservatives will implement a month-long GST holiday”. The the leader of the Conservative Party then tweeted, “We will remove GST for the month of December”.
It is incredible. How do each and every one of them say, on the one hand, that they are going to get rid of it, and then, when it comes time to vote, one by one, they stand in their place and vote against giving a tax break to Canadians? I say shame on each and every one of them. By the way, how do we define hypocrisy?
Lisa Marie Barron NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Madam Speaker, we hear the Liberal government time and again expressing concern about the escalating dangers of nuclear weapons, but where are the necessary actions?
Things are only getting worse. In the past week alone, Russia expanded its nuclear doctrine and tested a new missile against Ukraine. North Korea advanced its missile program with outside support, and Belarus became a nuclear host state. What was Canada's response? There were vague statements of concern while it clung to outdated deterrence policies.
However, there is a solution, which the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This treaty has 98 nations already on board. It addresses the humanitarian devastation of nuclear weapons.
It is time for Canada to engage. At minimum, we need to send an official observer delegation to the meeting of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in March 2025. Many NATO allies have already done so. Why has Canada not? New Democrats have always advocated for urgent nuclear disarmament and will continue to work towards a safe and peaceful future.
Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC
Madam Speaker, if faith moves mountains, then solidarity and brotherly love makes us climb them.
On November 8 and 9, Jérémie “Jay” Fortin, an infantry sergeant in the Armed Forces, from the municipality of Saint-Valentin, walked 100 kilometres carrying 100 pounds on his shoulders in less than 24 hours. The goal was to raise money for the Cancer Research Society in honour of his brother Jason, who is currently battling the disease.
The challenge started in Rivière-à-Pierre and ended with a 400-step climb to the Plains of Abraham. This exceptional accomplishment represents the fight against cancer, while the 100 pounds represent the burden that cancer patients have to carry and the many challenges along the way. Jay ended the course surrounded by friends, family members, his brother Jason and a lot of love, raising $40,000 along the way.
I want to congratulate Jay and thank him for being so inspiring.
Rob Moore Conservative Fundy Royal, NB
Madam Speaker, at their busiest time of year, the Prime Minister has just buried small businesses under a mountain of complicated bureaucracy. Only Liberals could dream up a policy where Pokémon cards are GST-exempt but hockey cards are not, where train and Lego sets for kids are GST-exempt but train and Lego sets for adults are not and where physical video games are GST-exempt but downloadable games are not. Small businesses are being told to make these ridiculous assessments or risk paying hefty fines to the CRA.
Canadians are calling for real tax relief. The Liberals are defending an indefensible policy, but they are under strict orders not to step outside the party line. One Liberal MP, who was threatened into silence, said, “It says a lot about where our government is at right now and it says a lot about some of the shackles that have been put around MPs.” Canadians know this says a lot about how bad things are after nine years of the Liberal Prime Minister.
When will he finally call a carbon tax election—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes
The hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
There we have it, Madam Speaker. The party that has been preaching for years about axing the tax did not have the ability to axe the tax yesterday.
Yesterday, we saw a GST holiday passed in the House for Canadians during the hardest time of the year when it comes to stretching their wallets. However, we should not be surprised that the Leader of the Opposition, who, by the way, ran on axing the GST for one month in 2021, was suddenly able to control all of his members. As a matter of fact, one Conservative recently said, “Everybody is being watched. What we say, what we do, who we talk to.” I feel sorry for Conservatives. The reality is that they are unable to vote on behalf of their constituents.
We made a significant advancement yesterday in helping Canadians with affordability. Unfortunately, when the time came to axe the tax, Conservatives were nowhere to be seen.
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
Madam Speaker, Statistics Canada just released data showing a sharp decline in per capita GDP last quarter. This is the sixth consecutive quarterly decline. This is a made-in-Canada, per capita recession caused by a government that stubbornly refuses to listen to everyone, from the Bank of Canada to private sector economists.
When will the government start listening to the experts, heed common sense and start cutting taxes on investment, energy and income to save Canadians from this collapsing economy?
Peter Fragiskatos LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing
Madam Speaker, GDP per capita is one measure, and the Conservatives continue to raise it, so let us focus on it for a moment. Our country's GDP is in fact growing. On that measure, though, specifically, we exceed GDP per capita by leaps and bounds compared to the U.K., France and Japan. That is World Bank data and IMF data.
On the issue of tax cuts, which the Conservatives love to talk about, yesterday they had an opportunity to cut taxes for Canadians, all Canadians, and they said no. They showed who they are.
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
Madam Speaker, last month, National Bank said, “GDP per capita has fallen by around 4.0% cumulatively since 2022, which is unprecedented outside a recession.” Now the economy is threatened with 25% tariffs, which the Canadian Chamber of Commerce says could shrink Canada's GDP by another 2.6%. The bigger decline in GDP would come from the government's policies, not from potential tariffs. That is because of the tax hikes on investment and income.
When will the government reverse course and start cutting taxes on investment and income to save Canadians from this collapsing economy?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Innovation
Madam Speaker, it seems like the member was not in the House yesterday.
His question is interesting. The real question that Canadians have on their mind, all those watching, is why the Conservatives would vote against a tax cut. Imagine that, a tax cut. What Canadians are talking about is affordability. Yesterday, Conservatives had the opportunity to show Canadians that they are their voice in Ottawa, but what we saw is that they are the voice of their leader in Ottawa, voting against a tax cut at a time when families need—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes
The hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills has the floor.
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
Madam Speaker, that was a tax cut on consumption, not investment and income.
The U.S. border patrol has released alarming data. CBS Boston reported on November 11 that a total of 155 suspects on the terror watch-list were encountered at the southern U.S. border in 2024, but double that number were encountered on the northern border and arrested, 361. Now Canada is threatened with 25% tariffs because of illegal border crossings.
What is the government's plan to protect our borders, our trade and Canadians from tariff—