Debates of Dec. 12th, 2024

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control of spending and his cabinet.

This week the Prime Minister's fake feminism was on spectacular display. He is smashing Canada through the $40-billion fiscal guardrail and pushing his female finance minister off the glass cliff to make way for carbon tax Carney. He did it with his justice minister, he did it with the Treasury Board president and now he is doing it to the finance minister, after crushing the $40-billion safeguard she put in place.

Just two days ago, he stood in a room full of equality stakeholders and advocates and said, “I am and always will be a proud feminist”. It is beyond insulting that he says that as he actively plots to destroy the $40-billion fiscal guardrail and replace his female finance minister with an unelected stooge, while blaming the women around him for his poor choices. It is pure hyper hypocrisy.

This fake feminist Prime Minister is not a feminist. He is an opportunist, and he is not worth the cost.

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

I would just like to remind members about a ruling that I made before about people who are outside of Parliament, to make sure that they are judicious in their choice of words, especially since they cannot be here to defend themselves.

Affordability Measures

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey Newton, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to highlight the affordability measures our government is implementing to help Canadians save more of their hard-earned money. Starting on December 14, the new GST and HST tax break will allow Canadians to keep more money in their pockets during this holiday season.

Additionally, we celebrated a significant milestone in affordability and health care this week, the one-year anniversary of the Canadian dental care plan. Since its launch, over 1.2 million Canadians have received vital dental care. Before the CDCP, one in four Canadians skipped dental visits due to financial constraints. Cost should never be a barrier to health care in Canada, and we remain committed to ensuring accessible care for all.

I wish all my constituents and all Canadians a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

John Horgan

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about my friend, my former MLA, my constituent, a proud resident of Langford, and the 36th premier of B.C., the Hon. John Horgan.

On Sunday, I will be attending the memorial service for John, where we will gather to honour the lasting legacy he leaves for his family, his community and our beautiful province. I had the privilege of knowing John for almost 20 years, and I have a lot of fond memories of our relationship. He was an excellent purveyor of dad jokes, often repeating them, again and again. Among my favourites was his quips that, in our region, we have to drive west to get to East Sooke, drive east to get back to the west shore and drive north to get to South Cowichan.

The relationship we enjoyed did not change when he was premier. Even when he was at a busy community event surrounded by people, he would always make sure to point me out, saying, “Hey, there's my MP.”

John was one of a kind. I will sincerely miss him.

50th Anniversary of the Association coopérative d'économie familiale de la Rive-Sud

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Association coopérative d'économie familiale de la Rive-Sud in Longueuil, or ACEF Rive-Sud, is celebrating 50 years of contributing to the community as an organization focused on protecting consumer rights and promoting financial literacy.

Since 1974, the ACEF has helped thousands of people manage their personal finances while advocating for responsible consumption. Through consultations, workshops and awareness-raising initiatives, the ACEF has emerged as a key player in promoting financial autonomy and debt prevention. With a committed and caring team, the Longueuil ACEF stands out by its compassionate and personalized approach. It offers critical support when people are at their most vulnerable.

This anniversary is an opportunity to salute the ACEF's tireless workers and volunteers and to recognize its profound impact on the lives of countless families. Today, as we celebrate its half-century of solidarity and dedication to community service, we hope the ACEF will continue to inspire and support people on the path to a more secure financial future.

To all ACEF members, I wish you a happy 50th anniversary.

The Economy

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control of spending and his cabinet. Next week's fall update is teeing up to be yet another dramatic disaster because, at this point, we are not even sure who the finance minister is going to be by Monday.

The Globe and Mail reports that tensions between the Prime Minister and the finance minister have never been worse and are getting more intense by the day. She wanted to run a gigantic $40-billion deficit, what she called her guardrail. The Prime Minister is pushing her through that guardrail and over the fiscal cliff. We have now learned that he wants to humiliate her further by firing her and replacing her with carbon tax Carney. Even Liberal MPs are calling out all this chaos by saying that the federal budget is “not an unlimited pot” and “we...need to show fiscal restraint.” That is a little late after nine years.

This week, the Prime Minister has lost control of immigration, the border, spending, inflation, the debt and even his ministers. Meanwhile, common-sense Conservatives on this side are fully united behind our leader and are ready for a carbon tax election.

Tax Relief

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this holiday, our government followed through on its promise to put more money back into the pockets of Canadians. With a tax cut for everyone, we are making sure that businesses can succeed and that families can have a little less stress this holiday season.

What is the Conservative leader's response? Instead of supporting Canadian workers, the Conservatives are prepared to cut essential services such as child care, health care and pensions, services that Canadians depend upon every day, while doing nothing to reduce costs for families. Canadians deserve better than what the Conservatives are proposing. Our tax cut announcement is a perfect example of how our government is ensuring that workers and families can afford what they need and help save for what they want, while Conservatives shout empty promises.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control of spending and his cabinet, and the fiscal feud over the $40-billion guardrail is worse than we ever thought. New reports show that the Prime Minister is set to replace Canada's first female finance minister with his old boys' network pal, carbon tax Carney. Canadians are on the bus, watching in terror as the Prime Minister yanks her out of the driver's seat so that Carney can send us smashing through the guardrail and over the cliff.

Does the finance minister still have her hands on the wheel, and will the deficit be below that $40-billion guardrail?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that the first question from the Conservatives relates to the economy and the finance minister. Let us talk about the work she has been doing on behalf of Canadians.

Yesterday, we had a 50 basis points interest-rate cut announced by the Bank of Canada. That was the fifth time in a row, leading the entire G7, that we have seen the interest rates come down from the Bank of Canada. On Saturday, we have further great news for Canadians, which is a GST tax cut on basic essentials for every Canadian from coast to coast to coast. That is on groceries and things they will buy for their kids for Christmas. That is great news for Canadians, under the leadership of the finance minister.

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

Mr. Speaker, even the bank officials admitted that they had to cut rates because the economy is performing so poorly under the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister.

Canada's phantom finance minister has been pulling the strings for a while. Carbon tax Carney has been forcing radical new spending and forcing the finance minister to smash through her $40-billion guardrail. Now that Canadians are fed up and angry, the Prime Minister is going to blame the finance minister, dump her and replace her with Carney in a classic example of an incompetent boss blaming subordinates.

Does the finance minister not realize that she is about to join a long list of cabinet ministers who have had their careers and their reputations ruined by the Prime Minister?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am equally delighted that the member is talking about the Bank of Canada because what has the actual Bank of Canada governor said recently? He said, “CPI inflation has been about 2% since the summer, and is expected to average close to...target over the next couple of years.”

With respect to inflation, what has Tiff Macklem actually said? He said, “We're no longer trying to get inflation down. Government spending is not pushing against us getting inflation down, we've got it down.” That is the handiwork of the finance minister and the government, generating economic growth and being prudent with fiscal management. That is about inflation being on target for 11 straight months.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the minister had just read a little further, he would have read that this is not because of anything the government has been doing, except causing our economy to slow down and underperform. That is why the bank has taken this step.

A guardrail is something we are supposed to stay far away from. If we even brush up against it, that is a sign we are way off track. If we smash through it, we go flying off a cliff. Now, even Liberal MPs are terrified and are ringing the bell, trying to get off before they smash through the guardrail. One of them said, “I think that if we state that we have a $40-billion guardrail, we [better] stay within those numbers”, and another is begging for a fiscally responsible framework.

Will the Prime Minister allow a free vote, or will he force his Liberal MPs to stay on that bus as it goes—

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

The hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

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

Mr. Speaker, allow me to reference not just what the domestic Bank of Canada is talking about. Let us talk about what the IMF is stating. The IMF is projecting that Canada will have the strongest economic growth in the G7, on average, in 2023 and 2024. Canada is expected to maintain its position as the country with the smallest deficit as a share of GDP among G7 countries and still, by far, the lowest general government net debt as a share of GDP in the G7.

What is up? It is Canada's growth and leadership of the G7. That is what is up, and we are proud of it.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control of spending and of his ministers. I hear there is some sort of spat happening over there. The Minister of Finance promised to cap the deficit at $40 billion, but the Prime Minister pushed her to spend more.

Will the Prime Minister, a fake feminist, admit that he has already replaced the first female finance minister with the unelected Mark Carney, who is already pulling the strings?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. When it comes to the economy, Canadians have seen what the Liberal government has delivered. The key interest rate was just cut to 3.25%, which will help families, small businesses and retailers. On top of that, Canadians will soon get a GST break. I know it is Christmastime. I know the Conservatives. Their hearts are in the right place. Let us celebrate this interest rate cut and let us celebrate Canadians and our business owners.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have seen everything now. An incompetent Prime Minister pushes his Minister of Finance to blow through an already stratospheric $40-billion deficit, blames her for his failure, and then replaces her with an unelected man. Meanwhile, he struts about on Equal Voice and declares himself a feminist. This is sheer hypocrisy.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit that he has turned his minister into a puppet minister by forcing her to break her promise to keep the deficit below $40 billion?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

Order.

The hon. Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I can see that the members opposite have learned their lesson. I need not even repeat it.

How can a member of the official opposition, a woman from Quebec, attack our Minister of Finance, a woman who introduced the Canada child benefit, who brought in—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

I do not like to interrupt members when they are asking a question or responding to one, but I must ask the members for Louis-Saint-Laurent and Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier not to speak until they are recognized by the Chair.

I would ask the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to restart her answer.

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Gaspésie—Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative men on the other side can shout all they want, it does not bother me at all. That is all part of being a woman who stands up to men.

It is shameful that, on the opposition side, a woman from Quebec, a work colleague, has the nerve to attack our Minister of Finance, a woman who introduced the Canada child benefit. We implemented a program to help women with child care. We implemented programs to help children—

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Salaberry—Suroît.

International Trade

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, important votes usually take place here in the House but, today, that work is being done in the Senate.

Senators are voting on an amendment that would kneecap Bill C‑282 and prevent it from protecting supply management. Unelected representatives will vote on whether or not they should respect the will of elected officials from all parties to protect our farmers in trade agreements.

Did the Prime Minister contact each of his Senate appointments to tell them to vote on the right side, the side of democracy?