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.
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, I think we can all use a little chuckle today, so with that, I am proud to deliver this year's Liberal Christmas roast.
'Twas the week before Christmas,
Conservative MPs were muzzled.
Our investments in housing,
Have old P.P. puzzled.
Their party won't talk about foreign interference,
For Christmas, will their leader get his security clearance?
Dental care, child care, what more could there be?
School food and pharmacare—
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker,
They tore up our deal. They started to gloat,
But guess what happened on the next confidence vote.
Supply management and seniors, the Bloc has lots to say—
I don't really understand, Mr. Speaker, je ne parle pas français.
To calm caucus rebels, we cut the GST,
A small Christmas gift from the Liberals and me.
Groceries are high. There's trouble with the mail,
But we still have a chance to win Cloverdale.
Now, Mr. Speaker, it's not a contest, so I don't mean to brag,
But it's only our leader whose name is on a flag.
One final thought though, Canada ain't broke.
Though I will admit we may be a bit woke.
Mr. Speaker, colleagues, merry Christmas and happy holidays, too.
May we all get a Christmas card from a Randy or two.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control, yet he clings to power. We knew that he had lost control of the borders, immigration, spending, inflation and housing costs, but now he has lost control of his cabinet. The former deputy prime minister and minister of finance resigned just a few hours before presenting Canada's economic update with an enormous deficit.
When will there be an election?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, our government looks forward to presenting the economic update this afternoon. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the member for University—Rosedale for everything that she has done and for everything that she will continue to do for this country. She has a long list of accomplishments that are part of this government's history. We are very proud of everything we have done as a government.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has lost control, yet he clings to power. He has lost control of immigration; lost control of the borders; lost control of spending, deficits, inflation and housing costs. In fact, his apparently former finance minister was trying to get spending under control by capping the deficit at an already crazy $40 billion, but he took carbon tax Carney's advice and pushed her beyond that guardrail and was trying to throw her off the cliff. She has now resigned, minutes before presenting her fall economic update. This cannot go on.
When will we have a carbon tax election?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, our government looks forward to presenting the fall economic statement later this afternoon. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude for all that the member for University—Rosedale has accomplished for this country and will continue to do for this country. She has played an integral role in the government, first of all, by standing up for Canada in defending NAFTA, by bringing forward universal child care and by the incredible work she has done in defending Ukraine. We are very grateful for all that she has contributed to the government and to Canada.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the finance minister.
“Who are you”?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, at a time when Canadians are struggling, we are happy to bring forward measures that are going to assist them, things like the GST tax cut that took place, starting this past Saturday and going until February 15. While the Conservative leader and the members of his caucus stay focused on us, we are going to stay focused on helping Canadians.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, that was a serious question. Who is the finance minister?
After the former finance minister resigned this morning, the Minister of Industry automatically became the minister of finance. I congratulate him for that. However, he immediately resigned. According to the established hierarchy, the position then reverted to the two Randys. They do not want the job either. Now, we have no minister of finance minutes before the economic update is to be presented.
Where is the minister of finance?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, our government looks forward to presenting the economic update later this afternoon. This economic update contains measures that are important to Canadians. While the Conservative Leader of the Opposition stays focused on us, our government is going to stay focused on the well-being of Canadians.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, just to underline the chaos we are faced with here, the former finance minister resigned the day she was to present the fall budget, which was going to contain a massive deficit overrun. The job then went automatically to the industry minister, who immediately resigned, like, on the spot. It then went down the line to the next person in order, the famous two Randys, and they are not available to do the job either. We are now less than two hours away from the fall economic update.
Why will the Prime Minister not have the courage to come in here, to present it himself, and to put it to a confidence vote tonight?
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
I would like to remind all members, as I did during Statements by Members today, to be careful not to refer to other sitting members by their names, but to use their titles or their riding names.
The hon. Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, while the Leader of the Opposition continues to play politics in this place, we look forward to presenting the fall economic statement later this afternoon that will have a series of important measures for Canadians, things that are going to help them with the affordability challenges and that are going to put Canada, Canadian jobs and the Canadian economy first.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
I would like to ask the hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton to please not take the floor when he is not recognized by the Speaker.
The hon. member for La Prairie.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, we already knew that between 20 and 40 Liberal members no longer had confidence in the Prime Minister. We also knew that eight ministers were leaving the Liberal ship.
Today, the finance minister chose to step down rather than present the economic update. She stated in black and white that she disagrees with the Prime Minister on the best path forward for Canada. She, too, is saying that she no longer has confidence in the Prime Minister.
We are watching the Liberal government crumble before our eyes, and it really is not a pretty sight.
Will the Prime MInister call an election?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, as the government, we are looking forward to presenting the economic update later this afternoon. It contains important measures for Canadians, particularly when it comes to affordability.
We are focused exclusively on Canadians. We are working to protect the Canadian economy and Canadian jobs.
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the deputy prime minister has resigned over election goodies. She said that Canadians “know when we are working for them, and they equally know when we are focused on ourselves.”
People see through their little game. Quebeckers do not want election goodies, and neither do businesses. Even the former finance minister is saying no. The only ones in favour of election goodies are the NPD leader and the Prime Minister.
Will these two finally try to stop sabotaging the economy by handing out election goodies in order to buy votes?
Karina Gould LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, removing the GST on essentials for Canadians is important to many Canadians. In fact, I have heard many people in my riding say that this is important to them. Restaurants and other small and medium-sized businesses have said it is important.
We are proud for putting it forward.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, Canadians literally cannot afford the groceries they need. They cannot afford to find a home to call their own. Now, Trump, the buddy of the MAGA Conservatives love, is threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs in Canada, and the Prime Minister is more focused on himself and on infighting. The Prime Minister cannot remain in that position.
Will he resign?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, this is not the time for slogans. This is not the time for partisanship. This is not a time to make jokes. This is about rallying for Canadians. This is a time when Canadians need to know that the House and all the members are standing behind them, that we are going to invest in Canadians, in this country, in our workers and in our industry, and that we are going to make sure that Canada is best prepared to deal with our U.S. friends. This is a time when we show that we are all Canadians.
Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC
Mr. Speaker, that was not an answer, so I will ask again in French.
People are having a hard time buying groceries. They cannot find affordable housing. On top of that, we have the threat of Trump's tariffs jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs. He should be focusing on the issues that are hitting people hard, but the Prime Minister is more focused on his party's infighting. Clearly, the Prime Minister cannot go on like this. Will he resign today, yes or no?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, as I said, this is not the time for jokes or partisanship, and it is certainly not the time for Conservative slogans. Now is the time for us to come together as parliamentarians and work to protect Canada, to invest in Canada, to protect our workers and to invest in our industry.
I am appealing to the civic duty of all members of the House. I ask them to work to ensure that Canada is well prepared to deal with the incoming U.S. administration. Today, we are all Canadians. Let us work together.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader is absolutely right: This cannot continue; the Prime Minister cannot go on like this. Housing costs have doubled. Food bank use has doubled. The debt has doubled. Gun crime has doubled, and now we face troubling tariff threats from a President-elect who can see weakness coming from a mile away. The Prime Minister must leave this job, but there is only one person who can remove him, and that is the leader of the NDP.
Will he put the country ahead of his pension and vote for a carbon tax election now?