Debates of Nov. 7th, 2024

The Environment

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows how much I respect him, but he still belongs to a party that wants to team up with the Conservative Party to bring down the government and prevent us from putting a cap on greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas sector and from passing a bill on accountability for the protection of nature.

I would also like to remind him that, when we took office in 2015, Canada was not even protecting 1% of its marine and coastal areas. We are at almost 16% today. We will be at 30% by 2030, as we promised at COP15 in Montreal.

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

For the second time today, I am going to ask the hon. member for Miramichi—Grand Lake to please not take the floor unless recognized by the Chair.

The hon. member for Jonquière.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has six years left to reach its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% below 2005 levels.

According to the environment commissioner, Canada had barely reduced its emissions by a laughable 7.1% by 2022. At this rate, every forest will have burned to the ground and every glacier will have melted before the federal government wakes up. A mere 7.1% is not even one-sixth of the much-vaunted target.

Do the Liberals really want to leave the future of the planet in the hands of the Conservatives and the oil and gas companies?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, let me remind my colleague that, when we took office in 2015, Canada was expected to miss its 2030 target by at least 30%.

We flattened that curve. In 2022, we were at 7% below 2005 levels. In terms of pollution, the difference between the two is equivalent to putting an extra 69 million vehicles on Canada's roads.

It is all thanks to our plan. Our plan is working, but more needs to be done. I will be very happy to work with my colleague so that Canada can do more to fight climate change.

Veterans Affairs

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberals are not worth the cost of housing, and veterans who fought for our country are feeling the pinch more than anyone. Sadly, veterans are three times more likely to become homeless, and a recent study indicates that there are four times more homeless veterans than the government claims. There are as many as 10,000 homeless veterans, in fact. That is 10,000 too many.

How can the government that caused the problem and will not even admit the extent of the problem be trusted to fix the problem?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of sending our citizens to war includes the cost of taking care of them when they come home. That is why we have moved forward with programs that are designed to ensure that communities have the capacity to provide housing to those who have put their lives at risk in order to protect our country overseas and at home.

I recently was able to work with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness to scale up a program that has ended functional homelessness for veterans in three communities across the country so that they can expand it to 26 additional cities. We have also worked very closely with community organizations across the country.

What is disappointing is that when it came time to put our position on the record, the Conservatives voted against this program.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the number of homeless veterans just keeps going up, so obviously the photo ops and press releases are not getting the job done.

The Veterans Association Food Bank in Calgary reports that in the last six months alone its numbers have tripled in what it is spending to keep veterans housed, clothed and fed.

Veterans served our country and they deserve better than the homelessness and hunger that they are getting from the NDP-Liberal government. Veterans, like all Canadians, cannot afford the cost.

When will the Prime Minister call a carbon tax election so that veterans can finally get the respect they deserve?

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we are not going to take any lessons from the Conservatives. They shut down nine Veterans Affairs offices. We opened nine, plus another one in my hometown of Surrey Centre. They laid off 1,000 Veterans Affairs officers who were there to help veterans get the services they need. We reinstated those services. We have created services to help those veterans get the what they need, and we will continue to do so going forward.

Housing

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this government, the cost of housing and mortgages has doubled, and homelessness is up. This Liberal failure was supported by the Bloc Québécois during two confidence votes.

The Conservatives will axe the GST on the sale of certain homes, and the Corporation des propriétaires immobiliers du Québec, the Quebec landlords' association, has said that the Conservative leader's proposal is one more idea for reducing housing-related costs and called it a step in the right direction.

Will the “Liberal Bloc” axe the GST on housing, or is it going to just keep funding programs that do not get any results?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, as the member is well aware, we are making investments to build affordable housing. For example, we signed an agreement with Quebec under the housing accelerator fund to build 8,000 social housing units. The Conservative Party is against that. When given the opportunity to remove the GST on new apartments, the Conservatives opposed it.

The Conservative Party leader's strategy is to cut, cut, cut measures that support construction. That is unacceptable.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, cities like Toronto are on the front lines when it comes to responding to the housing crisis. That is why, last year, we announced a half-a-billion dollar federal investment in Toronto through the housing accelerator fund to unlock over 53,000 new homes over the next decade.

Last week, the Conservative leader announced a plan that will impact home building in Toronto by making dangerous cuts to housing investments. People in my constituency of Davenport cannot afford these kinds of enormous Conservative housing cuts.

My question is for the Minister of Housing. How can we stop these Conservative cuts and solve the housing crisis for Canadians?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I want to offer a couple of points.

First, I want to thank my colleague for her advocacy for her community to receive funding through the housing accelerator fund, which is delivering hundreds of millions of dollars for housing in Toronto. What is fascinating is the Conservative strategy, which is now to forbid their MPs from advocating for their communities. On this side of the House, we have community advocates who will stand up so that their communities get the funding they need.

Second, we know that actually building homes takes investments. That is why we are putting money into the system to help build affordable housing, to help reduce barriers to construction.

Third, the Conservative strategy is to cut billions of dollars from housing. That simply is not going to work.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

If the member for Kingston and the Islands wishes to have a conversation, I would ask him to please have it off-line.

Public Safety

[Jamil Jivani, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's failed gun policies are putting Toronto at risk. This year, there were 126 more shootings in Toronto compared to last year. The Peel Regional Police reports that it is seizing one illegal firearm every 36 hours.

The Liberal MPs who were elected from the Toronto area should be here making noise about these problems, but they are silent. Why are they silent? Because they have decided to back the Prime Minister's failed policies.

When will they stop choosing the Prime Minister over the people?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, our position as members of the Liberal Party and my position as a Toronto MP is simple: Let us keep the citizens of our cities safe. How do we do that? By ensuring that we have less gun violence on our streets. How do we do that? By shoring up our borders to prevent guns from crossing the border, the specific border services that the Conservative party cut when it was in power prior to 2015.

We also recognize the important impact on domestic violence that gunfire has. When we keep guns out of the homes of people in cities in Canada, we are ensuring that domestic violence does not have a pernicious impact on women. That is how we keep Canadians safe.

[Jamil Jivani, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want my friends and neighbours in Toronto to take note that the Liberal justice minister is looking back at things that happened over 10 years ago, while he has been here for nine years and takes zero responsibility for crime getting worse. Imagine getting elected to serve his constituents, sitting here for nine years and cannot take a single bit of responsibility for a problem that he should be trying to fix.

It is very clear: Crime is worse. The Liberal MPs elected to serve Toronto are failing to do their job. When will they stop choosing the Prime Minister over the people?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, our government works very effectively with law enforcement professionals across the country, including the Peel Regional Police that my colleague referred to, the City of Toronto and the York Regional Police. We have invested money that the Conservatives cut in the RCMP and border services to prevent illegal guns from entering the country.

We are very surprised that the Conservative Party would turn back gun control legislation designed to protect Canadians by making it legal again to have assault-style firearms on the streets of the country.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberals are not worth the cost, corruption or crime. Since 2015, when they formed government, violent crime has skyrocketed by 50%. Sadly, during their reign of error, they have also allowed an evil monster, Paul Bernardo, to be transferred to a medium-security institution.

On November 26, this child rapist and serial killer is scheduled to have a parole hearing.

Will the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister finally get tough on crime and assure Canadians that Paul Bernardo will remain behind bars, where he belongs for the rest of his life?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, it is important for all members in the House not to use the names of some of the most notorious killers in the country and give them the exact publicity that they crave. This individual is locked up in a federal prison behind two very high fences with a lot of razor wire. I saw, for myself, the secure federal correctional facility that this individual is in.

My colleague also knows that the parole board is independent and it would be absolutely inappropriate to prejudge its work. However, I have confidence that it will do its work properly for public safety.

Sport

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, this summer, millions of Canadians tuned in to CBC to cheer on team Canada at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. Canadian athletes pushed limits, set new records and showed us the unifying power of sport. Many trained at the Canadian Sport Institute Atlantic in Halifax West.

Canada's athletes give it their all to represent our country, so we are going to keep supporting them with more pay for more athletes as they train to represent Canada.

Could the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity tell us how we are going to support these athletes so they can keep representing Canada with pride and excellence?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, the Paris 2024 games were extraordinary. Canadians cheered on our Olympic and Paralympic teams, as records were broken, medals were won and history was made.

The journey from playground to podium is long and hard, and our athletes train for years. Our Liberal government is proud to support over 1,900 athletes through the athlete assistance program and we are also proud to be increasing this program to provide more money for more athletes. An additional $7 million a year means a 23% increase in the living allowance and an additional 30% allowance for Paralympic athletes.

By investing in Canadian athletes, we are inspiring the next generation and building a stronger, united Canada.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, homelessness is growing among seniors for the first time ever. Canadian seniors who live on fixed incomes are being hit hardest by skyrocketing rents, driven by unregulated corporate greed.

The Liberals have sat by while private investors jack up their rents and squeeze our parents, grandparents and veterans out of their homes.

When will the Liberals stop caving to corporate landlords and private long-term care investors to protect seniors?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concern about the plight of some of Canada's most vulnerable, those without a roof over their head. In order to address those challenges, we need to ensure that we build out the affordable housing stock so people can find a place that is safe and that they can afford.

That is why we are moving forward with billions of dollars of investments to help build affordable housing in our country at a pace not seen in many decades. It is why we put money on the table to support non-profits to buy up existing affordable housing in the market to ensure that it remains affordable forever. It is also why we have restored, after decades of cuts, more investments in co-operative and affordable housing.

We will continue to do what it takes to ensure every Canadian has affordable housing.

Veterans Affairs

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will soon pause to remember the brave men and women of Canada's armed forces who served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice.

Whether in Flanders, on Juno Beach, the hills of Korea or the sands of Afghanistan, they fought for Canada, for our democracy and the freedoms we all enjoy today.

I am proud to wear this country's uniform. I believe in our democratic institutions. I believe all members of the House are duty-bound to accept and hold high the torch passed from those fallen in the defence of Canada.

I respectfully ask government members if they all can say the same.