House of Commons Hansard #390 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was confidence.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Although the preamble to that question dealt with the administration of government, the question itself did not. The chair has made it clear that we are not doing that.
The hon. member for Thornhill.
Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control. The Prime Minister's own deputy quit just hours before her economic statement, all of a sudden saying Canadians “know when we are focused on ourselves” and describing a new-found disdain for “costly political gimmicks”. Those are her quotes. This is after her own political rival, Mark Carney, wrote the fall economic statement full of things she did not want to present. The old boys' club is not in charge but Canadians are. It is time for credible leadership in the seriousness of this moment, not the fake feminism of the phony Prime Minister.
It is time for Canadians to decide, so will anyone or everyone over there finally agree?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, we are looking forward, today, to presenting the fall economic statement. It is going to have a series of important measures for Canadians. At a time like this, it is important that all of us band together, united as Canadians, to make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect the Canadian economy, to protect Canadian jobs and to stand up for Canada.
Melissa Lantsman Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, they cannot even stand by each other. Hours before delivering the fiscal update, the former finance minister resigned. She lost confidence in the Prime Minister. Last night, the failed housing minister and the worst former immigration minister in the history of this country also resigned.
There were a couple of Randys, and now they are up to nine ministers who need to be replaced. The Prime Minister has lost control of the government. The party of backroom boys is over. The back bench should look up from their laptops, and the NDP leader should not be the only one in the House with confidence in the Prime Minister.
Present the statement, and call a vote today.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
Order. I am going to remind members once again not to refer to members by their first names.
The hon. Minister for Housing, Infrastructure and Communities.
Sean Fraser LiberalMinister of Housing
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure who she is talking about, but I am still here for now.
There are two kinds of people who run for office in politics: there are people who want to do something, and there are people who want to be somebody. On our side of the House, we want to do things. We want to build the houses to make sure families can afford to keep roofs over their heads. We want to make sure that families can afford to keep food on their tables to feed their kids. We want to make sure people can find jobs to go to that give them a sense of pride and that allows them to contribute to their communities.
On the Conservative side, their leader has been writing essays about why he should be prime minister since he was a teenager.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the Prime Minister told Canada's first female finance minister that she was fired, but to keep sweet and present their wildly overspent budget on Monday so that he and an unelected man, Mark “carbon tax” Carney would not have to take the blame for their broken budget. He then, unbothered, released a video of him making cinnamon buns to get the womenfolk's vote.
How can any woman in that caucus defend that man instead of calling for an election now?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I did not realize that cinnamon buns were a gendered food, but what I would say is that her question says more about how that member and how Conservative members view women in this country than anything else.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, women are facing violence in the streets. They cannot afford groceries. They cannot afford to buy presents for their kids for the holidays. They cannot afford anything. Canadian women are far worse off under the fake feminist Prime Minister. He has now fired Canada's first female finance minister because she dared question him. That sounds pretty familiar. No strong woman exists in that caucus.
Why would any woman defend this man instead of calling for an election?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for the member opposite. However, I think she is speaking from her own experience with the leader of the official opposition, when she said that she was not going to support him and then spent a year in the hinterlands.
What I will say is that when it comes to actually doing things that support women, we have done that on this side of the House. Whether it is affordable child care, which is making it possible for hundreds of thousands of women to join the workforce, free contraception or the Canada child benefit, which is helping families pay the bills, what do Conservative members of Parliament do every time? They vote against them. Actions speak louder than words.
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control. He has lost control of the economy. He has lost control of immigration. He has lost control of so many files. He has now lost control of the government. It is long past time for an election. The Prime Minister has sat too long here for any good that he has been doing.
In the name of God, will he go to Rideau Hall, call an election and end the chaos?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, as we well know, and as every member in this place knows, just because a Conservative member of Parliament wishes something does not mean that it actually happened. What happened over the past couple of weeks is that the government secured the confidence of the House. The government does enjoy the confidence of the House. That is why we will be presenting the fall economic statement later today, which we look forward to sharing with Canadians.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, this is an historic moment. The Deputy Prime Minister has resigned, saying that she is at odds with the Prime Minister about the best path forward for Canada.
The former deputy prime minister no longer has confidence in this Prime Minister to govern. Her lack of confidence comes in addition to the departure of eight other ministers. The Prime Minister cannot claim to have the public's confidence; he does not even have the confidence of his own ministers.
Will he be democratic enough to put his future in the hands of the public and call an election?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, on our side of the House, I know that all of my colleagues want to work for Quebec and the entire country.
At a time like this, what Quebeckers expect from us is not inflammatory comments, but collaboration. This is a time when we need to work together to prepare Quebec and Quebec's industry to deal with the U.S. administration. We need to prepare Quebec and the rest of the country to succeed in the 21st-century economy.
I can say to all Quebeckers watching us that that is what we on this side of the House do here every morning. We wake up and ask ourselves how can we serve Canadians and how can we be there for the country.
We will continue to be there.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, in 2020, the Prime Minister fired Bill Morneau because he was not spending enough. He then appointed the Deputy Prime Minister to replace him. Now he has gone and fired her, too, also because she was not spending as much as the Prime Minister wanted her to.
Imagine how much his third finance minister will have to spend in order to keep their job. The Liberals have no choice. They are going to have to look for someone in the NDP who will be willing to spend more and, above all, who will always dutifully obey the Prime Minister.
Seriously, this is a disastrous economic update. Will the Prime Minister back down?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers know how much the Bloc Québécois likes to stir up controversy, obviously. However, today, the government will present an economic update, the fall update, which will confirm that we will always be there for Canadian industry, for workers and for the country as a whole.
At a time like this, Quebeckers expect everyone, and certainly members of the Bloc Québécois, to be there to defend them, to be there for families, to be there for seniors. That is exactly what we are going to do on this side of the House, and I hope to see the Bloc Québécois members rise to support the government.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the government is preparing to table an economic update without a finance minister. No one, even among the Liberals, wants to take responsibility for it.
That is the ultimate proof that the government should not be racking up a record $60‑billion deficit just to hand out election goodies. It is racking up a deficit for measures that Quebeckers and businesses do not even want, measures that have been criticized by all economists, including those at the Department of Finance. It is not surprising that none of the Liberals want to take responsibility for that.
Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and backtrack?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we will move forward. If members of the Bloc Québécois want to go backwards, then that is up to them, but on this side of the House, we are going to move forward. Why? The reason is that the Quebec families watching at home need a government that is there for them, for dental care, for children, for our seniors, for industry, for Quebec and for Canada.
On this side of the House, we will continue to fight every day for all Canadians because the country deserves for us to be there. We will always be there for all Canadians.
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, the Prime Minister has lost control. He has lost control of immigration, he has lost control of the cost of housing, he has lost control of his caucus, and now he has lost control of public finances and has lost the confidence of his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
This Prime Minister has done major damage to Canada. We know it, and most Canadians know it. Now his closest ally of the past nine years is saying enough is enough.
Can the Prime Minister take responsibility for once and call an election now?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Labour and Seniors
Mr. Speaker, later today, the government will present its economic plan. It is a solid plan for Canadians that will help us ensure fairness, maintain jobs and continue to look out for the best economic interests of all Canadians.
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe that the minister takes himself seriously when he speaks. We know that this makes no sense, and the Minister of Finance resigned this morning for that very reason. She knows that it makes no sense.
Furthermore, in her resignation letter, the Minister of Finance said that “how we deal with the threat our country currently faces will define us for a generation, and perhaps longer. Canada will win if we are strong, smart, and united.”
As we have seen, that side of the House is not smart. Will the Prime Minister call an election now?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Labour and Seniors
Mr. Speaker, it is time to set partisanship aside and join forces, because Canada will indeed face a protectionist threat from the other side of the border. We are getting ready and we will have a solid plan. I hope we can count on this member and his party when the time comes for Canada to address this threat.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, what happened is very serious and unprecedented in the history of Canada. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance resigned a few hours ahead of the economic update. A veritable cluster bomb has exploded all over the place. It is even being talked about in the United States and around the world, in a negative way for Canada.
That is the reality we are facing today. The former finance minister said that the deficit would not exceed the $40‑billion mark, but the Prime Minister gave her the boot to listen to his friend Mark Carney.
Can the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry tell us what the Mark Carney deficit will be in two hours?