Debates of Dec. 2nd, 2024

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address a puzzle in our politics.

For years, the Conservative leader and his party have lectured Canadians about the virtues of tax cuts, yet when given the chance to support a GST tax break that puts money in the pockets of working families, what do the Conservatives do? They vote against it.

The Conservative leader carefully crafts an image of caring for Canadians, but when given the chance to support them with tangible relief, he turns his back on them, voting against dental care for seniors and voting against the school food program for kids.

With each vote, we see the puzzle taking shape: a Conservative leader so fixated on politics that he has forgotten the people.

“Canada first” works only when one puts actual Canadians first.

HIV/AIDS

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked World AIDS Day. Each year, we remember the people who have been lost and we celebrate the strength and resiliency of people living with HIV/AIDS, the people who have supported and cared for them over the past 40 years, and the doctors and researchers who have made significant advances in treatment possible so that ending HIV is now in sight.

Canada has adopted the goal set by UNAIDS of eliminating new HIV cases by 2030, but we are falling far short on the actions necessary to make this a reality. Instead, new cases in this country are skyrocketing; they are up 35% overall in the past year and up 88% in Edmonton.

This year's UNAIDS report tells us what we must do. We must work to destigmatize HIV by decriminalizing non-disclosure. We must also make access to testing and treatment universal and accessible for people at risk by increasing funding to community-based, frontline service organizations that can reach people where they are. Two of those proposals are on the Minister of Health's desk right now. There is still time to meet the 2030 goal if the government listens to HIV organizations across the country and acts now.

Huguette Plouffe

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to sing the praises of a remarkable woman, Huguette Plouffe.

Huguette has poured her heart and soul into defending the rights of seniors in the riding of Repentigny for the past 15 years. As president of the L'Assomption chapter of the Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées, or AQDR, since 2016, Huguette has fought tirelessly against senior abuse and worked to improve seniors' quality of life and social inclusion.

Her dedication has won her many accolades. In 2019, Huguette was named mediation ambassador, and in 2021, she received the Michel-Haguette award. This year, she earned a triple win, receiving the Prix Hommage Aînés for the Lanaudière region and a medal from the National Assembly of Quebec, followed by her induction as a knight of the Ordre de Repentigny.

Today, my turn has come to celebrate her achievements in the House. Ms. Plouffe is an inspiration to us all and a true force of nature. I thank her for her drive, her generosity, and her unwavering commitment to strengthening the social fabric of our community.

Leader of the New Democratic Party

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are struggling. Taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and the government's time is up.

Even the NDP leader admits that the Liberal government is greedy and anti-worker. He is right. The Liberals have proven themselves too weak and too selfish to fight for everyday Canadians, but the NDP has propped up the government at every turn, choosing political survival over the well-being of Canada. Canadians are tired of the NDP's saying one thing and doing another. Now its leader faces a crucial decision: Will he stand by his own words or continue to prop up this corrupt Liberal government?

Soon we will present a motion of non-confidence made entirely from the NDP leader's own statements and say that the House proclaims it has lost confidence in the Prime Minister and the government. The question this: Will he vote “yes” or will he vote “no”? The choice is his. Canadians are watching.

Conservative Party of Canada

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it seems that the Conservative leader has a talent for saying one thing and doing another. Conservatives love to wrap themselves in the flag of tax cuts, but last week they voted against our tax break. That is right; the Conservative leader said no to putting more money back in the pockets of Canadians. Canadians are wondering whether Conservatives believe in affordability or whether it is just a sound bite for their YouTube channel.

The government believes in action, not slogans. While Conservatives oppose solutions, we will keep delivering for Canadians.

Public Services and Procurement

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today, we have even more proof that the Prime Minister has lost control over spending. The Auditor General has confirmed that this Liberal government gave $3.5 billion in CEBA loans to companies that did not qualify. Fully 10%, or 77,000, of those businesses were not eligible. The whole thing was handled by the Accenture consulting firm, which cost $200 million more.

Is that not proof that this Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the corruption?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, the question comes from the Leader of the Opposition, who called our life-saving supports for small businesses “big, fat government [supports]” and said that the Conservatives do not believe in this kind of support.

When times are tough, small businesses will not be supported by the Conservative Party of Canada. On this side of the House, we were there to support close to 900,000 small businesses to keep them from bankruptcy and economic uncertainty. We will continue to be there for them.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know now that I was right. Rather than helping businesses in need that qualified for the money, the government wasted $3.5 billion. What is more, it grew the bureaucracy by 40% to administer programs. To top it all off, the government spent $200 million to hire the Accenture consulting firm, which provided most of its work from Brazil.

Why is it always consultants, bureaucrats and the corrupt who get money from this government?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about businesses. What have we done for businesses in the past seven or eight days? We have increased the pollution rebate to give businesses that rebate. Just last week, we paused the GST to give all businesses representing all restaurants across Canada a GST holiday.

What did the Leader of the Opposition do? He decided to vote against it. He and his entire caucus voted against efforts to help businesses. That is the Conservative Party of Canada, all right.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, there is more proof today that the weak Prime Minister has lost control of spending.

The Auditor General reports that the Prime Minister's government gave out $3.5 billion of so-called CEBA loans to companies that did not qualify, a total of 77,000 of them. That is 10% of all recipients. On top of that, the Liberal government then gave a massive implementation contract to high-priced consultants at Accenture, which cost $200 million and farmed out a lot of the work to Brazil.

Is it not more proof that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the corruption?

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, I find the question ironic, because the member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon actually sent me a letter advocating for CEBA loans to support a small business in his own riding.

The member understands the value of the CEBA loans, because they were a lifeline for small businesses during an unprecedented time. We are going to continue to help support businesses, keep their doors open, keep their lights on and keep their employees working.

I find it unfortunate, because the letter is yet another example of a letter that the Leader of the Opposition did not know about.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, our members champion their constituents who are eligible for assistance, not 77,000 companies that should not have received the $3.5 billion in misspent dollars, all while Canadians are starving.

Today, the hunger report is out from Feed Ontario, and there have been one million Ontarians who lined up seven million times at the food bank after the Prime Minister brought in a carbon tax on the truckers and farmers who bring us our food.

When will the Liberals axe the tax?

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, of course we thank Feed Ontario and the food banks across this country that do amazing work. Let me quote from the report that was just mentioned: “In June 2022, those over the age of 75 received a permanent 10 per cent increase in Old Age Security ... alongside the regular inflationary increases... After that change, the percentage of food bank visitors who were seniors began to decrease.” With this, in addition to the measures we put forward for families, we will continue to deliver for Canadians while the Conservatives oppose at every opportunity.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, over the last five years, food prices in Canada have increased 37% faster than in the United States. That gap opened after the introduction of the carbon tax, which this government now, with the NDP's help, wants to quadruple. The consequence is that in the last four years, food bank use in Ontario is up 86%, and one in four children go to school hungry, according to this government's own data.

Why will the government not axe this crazy plan to quadruple the carbon tax? In fact, why not axe the tax altogether?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, this is yet another example of the Conservative leader talking about one thing and doing another.

When it comes to supporting children, we have been negotiating school food agreements that are helping 200,000 children across this country, yet the Conservative leader is opposed to that. He talks about lowering taxes, but last week he made every single one of his MPs vote against a GST tax cut for Canadians. He also talks about wanting to hold an opposition day, but we gave him an opportunity today and he ran away from it. That is what weakness looks like when it comes to leadership.

Seniors

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report proves that the Liberals really do not care about seniors. Consider this. The federal government has no idea whether its programs, like old age security, are actually meeting people's needs. The Liberals do not know whether the indexing formula for OAS corresponds to the actual inflation rate. They do not have any data on whether more needs to be done for seniors. If they do get any data, like the data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, that prove that their national housing strategy is failing seniors, they just shelve it.

How do they justify having the temerity to lecture seniors? How do they justify telling seniors that they are too rich to deserve more help?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, my friend across the aisle would have more credibility if he had not systematically voted against all the supports we thought were needed during and after the pandemic to help our seniors. Consider, for example, the GIS increase and the housing programs that will build more homes for seniors in Quebec and across the country.

We will take no lessons from the Bloc Québécois when it comes to seniors.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if I have to choose between the minister and the Auditor General, I am going to believe the Auditor General every time.

The Auditor General has shown that the federal government does not know whether its programs really meet seniors' needs. The Liberals do know because they have no evidence. They do not know this, but they claim to know that seniors aged 65 to 74 are too wealthy to deserve a 10% pension increase. That much they know. They also know that retirees are far too wealthy to deserve a $250 cheque, even though it is being offered to people earning up to $150,000 a year. That much they know.

Do they also know that seniors are disgusted about being treated with such contempt?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to helping seniors, despite the push back from the other side of the House, from the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois, who consistently vote against helping our seniors, time and time again. Consider the Canadian dental care plan. The Bloc Québécois has systematically voted against hundreds of thousands of Quebeckers who benefit from it.

The Bloc Québécois voted against all that. It is mind-boggling.

Employment

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, people are worried about what will happen to their jobs and whether they will be able to afford groceries or rent. Donald Trump's outrageous tariffs would put jobs at risk and increase the price of everything we buy. Last week, the Prime Minister managed to meet with him, but apart from a nice little photo op, he returned empty-handed.

Did he at least make it clear to the U.S. president-elect that attacking Quebec and Canadian workers would not fly back home?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely correct. Imposing the tariffs that the Americans are considering will harm Canadian workers and the Canadian economy, but also the American economy and American workers. That is why we spoke with President Trump and his future secretaries about the importance of working together and recognizing the integration between our two economies. Obviously, we discussed border security.

It was a positive conversation, and I have full confidence that we will be able to work well with President Trump.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are worried about their jobs and whether they can afford to put food on the table. Donald Trump's unfair tariffs will threaten those jobs and jack up prices for Canadians. Last week, the Prime Minister met with him, but he has nothing to show for it and he came back empty-handed.

Canadian workers want to know: did the Prime Minister make it clear to Donald Trump that balancing the U.S. budget on the backs of Canadian workers will not work for Canada?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to disagree with my friend for Edmonton—Griesbach, but the idea that we came back empty-handed is completely false. He knows very well that we had a productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future cabinet secretaries. The Prime Minister, of course, spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs. We also discussed with our American friends the negative impact those tariffs could have on their economy and affordability in the United States as well. I think the commitment from President-elect Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty-handed.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in a few short years, the Prime Minister has lost control of the deficit, of immigration and of our border. He gave us a 2,500% increase in the number of unprocessed refugee claims and he still thinks three million temporary residents are going to leave this country voluntarily. Canada is staring down the barrel at 25% tariffs thanks to his open border policies, his free drugs for everyone plan and his economic vandalism. The Prime Minister can mitigate that all today.

Where is the Canada first plan to keep our border safe?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, these people are just not serious. She supports the leader of the opposition who sat idly by in government while it cut money to border enforcement at the Canada-U.S. border and at the immigration-refugee border. For those of them who are saying this is ancient history, we proposed an asylum reform package in May. What did the Conservatives and the clapping seals in the back do at the finance committee? They voted against it and voted it down. They can support us in our asylum reform if they so choose. I encourage them to do so.