Debates of Dec. 5th, 2024

Opposition Motion—Confidence in the Prime Minister and the Government

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yes.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I am trying to listen to my Conservative colleague. He is giving a speech, but his own colleagues are heckling him. Could you ask them to stop, so I could hear the hon. member?

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

I thank the hon. member. It is getting a little too noisy in the chamber, so I want to make sure that the hon. member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry has the full attention of the House. Until I see I have the full attention of the House, I will stand here and wait.

The hon. member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry has the floor.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour, and it is a tough act to follow the Leader of the Opposition, Canada's next prime minister. I am sorry for the noise on this side of the House, but we are fired up for a carbon tax election, which the NDP has the opportunity to allow for today. We are going to, on the floor here now, debate to call the NDP out.

The leader of the NDP is so mad that he has had enough. Let us recall again what he has said in just the past few months alone. He said that he had ripped up his coalition agreement with the Liberals. He said that he was fed up. He said that “the Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people”. He also said, “The Liberal government will always cave to corporate greed, and always step in to make sure the unions have no power.” That was in response to the Liberal labour minister's referral to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which ordered the workers of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, in ILWU 514, to resume their duties, violating their right to strike.

The NDP leader talks a tough game. At press conferences, on Twitter, on X, on Facebook, on social media and in question period, he pretends to be outraged. We are going to test that outrage. If he has truly had enough, it is time to vote non-confidence. We are saying that the House and the Conservatives simply agree with the NDP leader. We are fed up with the Prime Minister. We are fed up with this NDP-Liberal government. Enough is enough. He must back his words up with action and vote to have non-confidence in the government. It is time for a carbon tax election.

The question is, will the NDP finally do that? I have a feeling, from what we have heard in the last couple of days, that the NDP will not do that. Its members claim that, for all the wonderful things they are getting done for Canadians, they just need more time. They need more runway to prop the Liberals up. The coalition agreement was not ripped up. After that little stunt and photo op, the NDP leader taped it back together piece by piece and handed it right back to the Prime Minister. The sellout leader of the NDP has done it time and time again, even this week when we found the NDP's own words put into a motion. There is all that tough talk, but they are going to prop the Prime Minister up again.

Let me make it very clear. It is not because the NDP is getting things done for Canadians. It is because of the record of what NDP members have done, the true record, which Canadians know they are complicit in, over the last miserable few years that millions of Canadians have faced. Let us think about it. There are two million visits to food banks in Canada per month in this country. The Feed Ontario report came out, and one million Ontarians are now using a food bank in this country. The Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto says that 10%, one in every 10 Torontonians, are using a food bank.

The NDP members sit here and say that they support workers and that they have their backs, but their record is a doubling of housing costs, food inflation rising faster than we have seen in decades and a carbon tax that goes up and up, which will be quadrupled. There are all of these stats, and we are seeing workers hurting more than ever before, in my lifetime and beyond.

Of the food bank users, 18% are workers. They are working, but they cannot afford to make ends meet. Workers cannot afford their mortgages or their rent, which have doubled under the watch of the NDP-Liberals. We can also look at crime, with increasing gun violence and an over 100% increase in gun and gang violence in this country. After nine years, auto theft is through the roof under their watch.

Time and time again, when we look at every part of their record, it is not delivering for people. It is hurting people. This is the hypocrisy of what NDP members are doing here. They are putting their own words into action.

If the New Democrats are so outraged at how bad the Prime Minister is and all the things that are happening in this country, if they are upset about the labour rights of unionized workers to be able to strike, if they truly meant what they said outside this chamber and if they truly meant what they said during question period and debates, when the question gets called and we have to stand, they would easily say what millions of Canadians want them to finally say, that they do not have confidence in the Prime Minister, and then they would vote non-confidence and call a carbon tax election, but they will not.

Here is the thing: In a carbon tax election, let us just think about the NDP and where its members are. I think I have lost track of the numbers. I think 28, the last time I heard, is the number of times the NDP voted with the Liberals to prop them up in confidence votes, budgets, estimates and everything else in between. Every single time, those plans supported the carbon tax and supported the plan, along with the Bloc Québécois, to quadruple the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre.

Funnily, around the end of summer a by-election came in an NDP riding in Winnipeg. All of a sudden I think the NDP leader was hearing at the doors with his candidate about just how unpopular the NDP has become by propping this Prime Minister up and by quadrupling the carbon tax. The NDP leader came out and said that the New Democrats no longer supported the carbon tax and they supported something else. He did not say what that was. With the by-elections over, the NDP eked through, its margin shrunk drastically, no sooner did the NDP leader flip-flop on the carbon tax. He flip-flopped on his flip-flop now, and he is voting again with the Prime Minister and the Liberals to prop them up, prop the carbon tax up and prop up the quadrupling of the carbon tax.

The NDP is in political wilderness right now. Its members said they did not support the carbon tax after they supported the carbon tax. Now they are back to supporting it by propping the Liberals up, but they will not say what their plan is. It is like being in the political wilderness, and the only time they come out of the forest is to vote to prop the Liberals up, and then they run back in again. That is exactly what they have been doing for years. They do not want to have an election because they know that they are on the wrong side of Canadians. There are two choices; there are not five or six different options in the next election. The Liberals, the NDP, the Bloc and the Green Party think the carbon tax is doing wonders. They think when we tax a farmer who grows the food, we tax the trucker who ships the food and we tax the stores that sell the food with the carbon tax, nothing contributes to inflation, and it all is just made up in Canadians' heads.

Canadians know better, and that is why members are desperately avoiding a carbon tax election.

It is the NDP leader's record on labour that is absolutely hypocritical, time and time again. I want to read a quote from just about one month ago. He said, “If there is ever any vote in Parliament that in any way impacts your rights”, speaking to union members on November 12 last month, “We're going to vote no. I can tell you right now we'll vote no. Whether that vote is a confidence vote or not, whether that triggers an election or not, I'm telling [the Prime Minister] and the Liberals right now, you're never going to count on us if you're going to take away the rights of workers. Never.”

He said that last month. Our motion calls that out today. It is not a game to vote for non-confidence, to have an election and to say “enough” of this Prime Minister. What is political games is the New Democrats voting against their own words and not matching their actions with the rhetoric they have used for the last while.

I want to wrap up today, and I want to say to Canadians in my part of eastern Ontario and across this country, that things are not good right now. The stats are difficult to hear. We have to spend a lot of time talking about doubling of housing prices, food inflation, food bank use and drug overdose deaths, but I want to provide a message of hope.

It was not this bad before the NDP and Liberals came in, and it will not be that bad after we give them the boot. Today, in this motion, it is not just about the NDP; it is about the 30-something-year-old who is stuck in their parents' basement. We are going to build new homes by axing the GST on new home sales under $1 million. Some 47,000 Canadians have lost their lives to drug overdoses. We offer treatment and recovery, not the legalization of hard drugs. We are going to restore the Canada we know and love. It is time for the NDP members to get with the program, call an election and back up their words. Let us let Canadians finally have their say.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the Leader of the Opposition was speaking moments ago, he said “Liberals, with the help of the NDP, have ... overpowered the rights of workers”. Can the member explain what he meant by that?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is right in the motion. The NDP is calling out the Liberal failure and the Liberal Minister of Labour for what he has done when it comes to not respecting the right of union workers to strike. It is that minister and those members of the Liberal government who have answered the question that took away union workers' right to collective bargaining. They talk a big game and their actions say something completely different. It is time now for the NDP to call the Liberals out and say how bad it is. It is time to respect union workers. It is time to respect the collective bargaining process.

Rather than just tough rhetoric out of the microphone and in question period, it is time for the New Democrats to back their words up with action. It is time to do that when it comes to a vote and it comes to a carbon tax election.

[Leila Dance, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, as a new member of Parliament, I was not part of the confidence and supply agreement, but I do not want to be a part of a government that does not support workers in this country. I have walked the picket lines many times in my life, specifically with the workers of Teamsters. I watched my dad fight for the rights of brothers and sisters. I have listened to my brother talk about the safety issues his co-workers are facing every day on the job. I do not support the back-to-work legislation that the Liberal government forced.

However, what will the Conservatives do to support workers in this country? I do not mean in words; I mean in action.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome that new member to the chamber. I remember that during that by-election campaign the hon. member, alongside her leader, said they no longer supported the carbon tax.

What are we doing to support workers in this country? We are going to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. Union workers and other workers in this country are using food banks at a record level. They are living in their parents' basement because they cannot afford a new home. At a time when we need to build more homes, we are building fewer.

Here is the thing about the NDP again saying it does not support the government. She was not here when the supply and confidence agreement was written, but guess what? She is going to be voting on this motion. If she is so upset about all the things that she just mentioned, the New Democrats should take it to Canadians, make the pitch and make the case. The NDP will not do that because they know that Canadians are going to give them the boot, not a reward.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the speech that my colleague from Ontario just gave. When it comes to calling out the leader of the fourth party in this place, the leader of the NDP, it truly is one of these examples where the talk comes to action.

I am wondering if my colleague from Ontario could expand a little bit on how the vote that will take place in just a few days is an opportunity for the fourth party to decide whether they are all talk or whether they are willing to take action and actually put these ideas to the test before Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's reminder to Canadians about the question that the NDP is going to be voting on. We are putting their own words to a vote. I did not make anything up. I am not even putting my words in there. Those are not even Conservative words in this opposition day motion. We are being non-partisan and letting the NDP finally let that stress relief out. If they have ripped up their supply and confidence coalition agreement, if the Liberals are “too weak, too selfish and too beholden”, and if the Liberal government always caves to “corporate greed” and always steps in to make sure “unions have no power”, they should support their own words. Give Canadians their say in an election.

It is that simple. What are the New Democrats scared of?

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat confused today, because we all remember when, for electoral reasons, the NDP tore up their agreement, saying they no longer had confidence in the government. However, they continue to support it.

As for the Conservatives, they have long been saying that they no longer have confidence in the government.

The Bloc Québécois was clear and set two conditions pertaining to seniors and to supply management, which the Conservatives supported at one time or another.

Now that we say that we are prepared to trigger an election, we have been stuck here for weeks, because the Conservatives continue blocking our work instead of moving a non-confidence motion.

Do they really want an election?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc-Liberal coalition with the NDP is alive and well. The member is saying the House has been paralyzed, but the Liberals are holding back on the $400-million green slush fund documents that should go to the RCMP. If Bloc members tried to negotiate with the Liberals and got nowhere, it is their credibility that is shot, no one else's.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time. Perhaps the member for Kings—Hants will even be nice enough to finish my speech.

I am honoured to rise today to speak about our government's strong commitment to fairness for Canadian workers in the face of a very hypocritical Conservative leader who is determined to weaken the labour movement in Canada. The member for Carleton is trying to wax poetic in the House today when he talks about workers, but make no mistake: The only workers' right he supports is the right of Canadians to work for less.

In contrast, it is an honour for me to talk about all the progress that has helped Canadian workers and their families have a fairer, more prosperous future.

Instead of standing up for workers, the Conservative leader now uses them as unwilling props in his latest parliamentary temper tantrum.

Let me tell members what the member for Carleton proudly supported. He supported two anti-union bills, Bill C-377 and Bill C-525, which sought to make it harder for workers to organize and undermined the ability of unions to fight for their members. We repealed those bills.

There is also the Conservative Party policy declaration that states it, “supports right to work legislation to allow optional union membership”.

On the other hand, the Liberals have been there for workers from day one. On this side of the House, we stand on our record, not empty slogans. We have made sure that federally regulated employees have access to up to 10 paid sick days per year. That helps nearly one million Canadians.

A growing share of Canada's workforce is now comprised of gig workers. Gig work can offer many benefits, such as flexibility and more freedom at work. However, these kinds of work arrangements can also deprive workers of the rights, protections and entitlements they deserve. Therefore, on June 20, we brought legislation into force to better protect gig workers in federally regulated industries against misclassification.

Last year, we announced five new clean-tech tax credits. We are investing $93 billion over the next decade in tax credits for carbon capture, utilization and storage; clean technology adoption; clean technology manufacturing; clean hydrogen; clean electricity; and EV supply chains. However, to get the full extent and benefit of four of those five tax credits, companies have to hire union workers or pay workers a prevailing union wage and create apprenticeships.

After question period and after the votes today, we will have the opportunity, myself or my colleague from Kings—Hants, to go into deep detail about the positive progressive record of this government for unions and workers. We will not be talking about things like the Conservative leader talks about, that the union contracts that pay workers a decent wage result in, “pointless”, “unnecessary inflation of costs that non-union firms with lower wages are good for competition”.

The Conservative leader is pretending. It is fake. We will have more to say later.

Gender-Based Violence

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow will mark 35 years since the murder of 14 women in an engineering class at Polytechnique Montréal simply because they were women. I wish I could say this misogynistic violence was an outlier, yet this year alone, 168 women and girls across the country have already been killed in femicides.

In the face of this gender-based violence epidemic, the frontline work being done by organizations, including those in my community like Women’s Crisis Services, the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, the Coalition of Muslim Women and YW Kitchener-Waterloo, is all the more important. I offer my sincere thanks to them.

For those in Waterloo region looking to come together on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women to remember the victims of the Polytechnique massacre and all those we have lost since, CFUW Kitchener-Waterloo will be hosting a vigil at 5:30 tomorrow night at St. Columba Anglican Church. I hope to see them there.

Housing

[Wilson Miao, Liberal, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, since elected, I have been working with my colleague from Steveston—Richmond East to address our housing priority in the city of Richmond. As a result, early this January, the Liberal government invested $35.9 million through the housing accelerator fund for Richmond to build more homes faster. This important funding enabled the City of Richmond to approve over 1,166 new housing permits by August, exceeding Richmond's target of 1,125 homes four months ahead of schedule.

The Conservative leader claimed municipal politicians are “incompetent, greedy [and] money-hungry”. Let the facts speak for themselves, and let us not forget that when the Conservative leader was the housing minister, he helped build zero apartments, zero co-operative housing units and six affordable units across Canada.

The Liberal government will continue to work with municipalities to turn ambition into action. Together, we will deliver real and lasting progress for my community of Richmond Centre and communities across Canada.

Bow River Olympic and Paralympic Athletes

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this week, athletes from team Canada are in Ottawa to be recognized for their achievements at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

I would like to recognize three exceptional athletes from the Bow River riding: Jessica Sevick from Strathmore, a two-time Olympian in rowing who switched from doubles to women's eight, culminating in a successful Olympics and a silver medal this year; Keyara Wardley of Vulcan, a two-time Olympian with the women's rugby sevens team, who won silver at the Paris Olympics; and Jennifer Oakes of Brooks, a three-time Paralympian with Canada's women's sitting volleyball team, Canada's best server in 2020 and winner of a bronze medal at this year's Paralympics.

These three extraordinary women exemplify Olympic spirit, doing Canada proud every time they wear the maple leaf. I congratulate them on bringing it home.

Parade of Lights

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is with gratitude and admiration that I thank Robert Rainboth of the Ottawa Professional Fire Fighters Association for organizing the Orléans Parade of Lights for the past 27 years.

Thanks to his vision and leadership, this event has come to symbolize real joy and magic in Orléans. Every year, he made the eyes of young and old alike sparkle and gave the community a unique opportunity to gather in record numbers—150,000 strong—along St. Joseph Boulevard. Organizing a parade of 75 floats for nearly three decades is no mean feat, but he has always been dedicated to doing a brilliant job.

November 30 was Robert's final parade, but what he created is more than just an event. It is a tradition that, year after year, is one of the things that makes Orléans shine so brightly.

I am incredibly grateful to Robert for these past 27 years.

Club d'aviron de Boucherville

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Boucherville rowing club is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024. From its inception in 1974, the club has taken full advantage of its outstanding geographic location across from the majestic St. Lawrence River in Boucherville.

Over the years, many of the club's athletes have been selected to join our national teams. Some have even made it to the Olympics. The Club d'aviron de Boucherville is a learning ground where members develop positive values like mutual support, team spirit, determination, surpassing personal limits and good lifestyle habits. It boasts a family-oriented, fraternal atmosphere, which, I have to say, is great to see.

Congratulations to the club's president, Julie Dermine, and its head coach, Christian Hardy-Cardinal.

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this organization over its half-century of adventures. Clearly, everyone is rowing in the same direction, toward excellence.

Canada Carbon Rebate

[Shafqat Ali, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, I received a message from a small business owner in our community. He said, “Thank you, MP Shafqat Ali and the Liberal leadership. Our small business received the Canada carbon rebate today. It came in unexpectedly and at the right time.” It is great to know the Canada carbon rebate for small and medium-sized businesses is making a real difference.

Around $2.5 billion of the proceeds from the price on pollution is going back to about 600,000 small businesses. Our government is committed to making life more affordable for Canadians while protecting our environment and helping small and medium-sized businesses to grow, innovate and stay competitive.

Alberta

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Alberta is the beating heart of Canada. It is where farmers, truckers and energy workers rise before the sun, roll up their sleeves and build this country's prosperity. It is where hard work, freedom and community are not just values; they are a way of life.

However, the NDP-Liberal government is hell-bent on crushing Alberta. It continues to hike the carbon tax, forcing families to choose between heating and eating. It is capping oil and gas, killing the jobs that built this country and leaving towns struggling to survive. It does not respect Alberta, its people or what we stand for. Albertans do not quit. We do not break. We work harder, stand taller and keep moving forward.

The solution is clear: a common-sense Conservative government that will axe the carbon tax, scrap the cap, and restore hope and prosperity to Alberta. Together, we will bring home the Canada we know and love: strong, proud and free.

North Dartmouth Echo

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate an incredible milestone for a small but mighty voice in Dartmouth: The North Dartmouth Echo. Twenty years ago, this non-profit newspaper was born out of a single but powerful vision: to amplify the good news in the community, news that too often went unheard.

Since then, The Echo has become a beacon of positivity, staffed entirely by dedicated volunteers. There is now an all-woman team that publishes five inspiring issues a year. This is more than a newspaper. It is the heartbeat of a community. The Echo shares the triumphs of local schools, small businesses, non-profits and everyday residents. It connects, celebrates and uplifts North Dartmouth.

I want to give a quick recognition to Sylvia Anthony, a co-founder whose tireless efforts selling ads, gathering stories and even delivering the newspaper herself keep this incredible initiative alive.

As The Echo publishes its December issue, let us all celebrate this 20-year legacy of community spirit and good news. Here is to another 20 years of making North Dartmouth proud.

Gender-Based Violence

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been 35 years since the massacre at École Polytechnique. As I do every year, I will be joining my community on Mount Royal to commemorate and honour the 14 women whose lives were stolen simply because they were women.

The advocacy of survivors like Nathalie Provost and the members of PolyRemembers continues to inspire and encourage us to strengthen gun control across the country. Especially on a day like today, and today in particular, I rise in the House of Commons to thank PolyRemembers for their determination.

Our government is committed to fighting gun violence. We have taken historic steps to ban assault weapons like the one used in the femicide at Polytechnique, and we are working tirelessly to curb the scourge of gender-based violence.

Fourteen young women were taken from us 35 years ago. We will never forget them. We owe it to them and to all victims of gun violence to continue this fight.

Public Safety

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada now has the dubious distinction of having a violent crime rate even higher than the United States. Just yesterday, two people were wounded in a stabbing attack in Vancouver. It is like Canadians have become numb to these stories. It is almost like they expect them day to day.

Liberals have presided over a 92% increase in gang-related murders since they took office. Child sexual abuse and exploitation material offences are up 52% since just last year. Police chiefs are calling out the Prime Minister for allowing extremely violent repeat offenders out on bail. It is not just about the numbers. On the other side of each crime statistic is a victim whose life has been changed forever. These people usually remain nameless, voiceless and faceless.

This is the Prime Minister's track record. This is why we need an election now. I can promise this: Unlike the Prime Minister, a Conservative government would fight for the nameless, voiceless and faceless.