House of Commons Hansard #384 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was point.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
The hon. member will finish his question, and if it is not relevant, then the next question will be passed on.
The hon. member has the floor.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Speaker, they are weak, they are desperate and the only reason they are in power today is because of the Maserati Marxist NDP leader, who is too selfish, too beholden to the Prime Minister to support a motion made up entirely of his own words—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
We do not need the member to read his whole question. If he can just finish the question at the bottom, please.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Speaker, on Monday, we have an opportunity. Will the NDP vote for a motion to call a carbon tax election—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
Again, that has nothing to do with the administration of the government, and if this continues, hon. members will lose a question.
The hon. member for Bow River.
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
Madam Speaker, the leader of the NDP says he ripped up his coalition agreement with the Prime Minister, calling him “weak”, “selfish” and “beholden to corporate interests”, and Conservatives agree. The NDP leader can prove it by putting his pension where his mouth is and voting non-confidence in the Prime Minister.
After nine years of the NDP-Liberal coalition, housing and rent have doubled. It will quadruple the carbon tax, driving up the cost of gas, groceries and home heating. Will the government give Canadians the relief they need by calling a carbon tax election now?
Arif Virani LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Madam Speaker, a lot of us are struggling to understand the nature of today's question period, but I think I have discerned what it is. Those in the official opposition seem to be off their game because they are not using a lot of three-word slogans, and it has destabilized the House.
I can simply say, first, we support housing and the housing accelerator fund that, I think, 17 members of the official opposition advocated for before they were told not to by their leader. Second, we support the fight for the environment. We will continue to advocate for making sure pollution is not free and we will participate and work with any party that wants to support us in that endeavour because it supports the environment—
Judy Sgro Liberal Humber River—Black Creek, ON
Madam Speaker, the holiday season is fast approaching, which means many Canadians will soon be celebrating with family and friends. We know what Canadians are getting in their Christmas stockings this year from the Leader of the Opposition: broken campaign promises, hypocritical speeches and more and more of that.
Could the minister please tell the House what we are going to do to support Canadians this winter?
Mike Kelloway LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her incredible work and her leadership.
Last week, the House voted to give Canadians a real break by eliminating GST on essential goods. This means that ready-to-eat meals, children's clothing, toys, books and Christmas trees will not be taxed this holiday season. Canadians across this country will benefit from real relief at the checkout. Unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition decided to do what he normally does. He put partisan interests ahead of helping Canadians and voted against removing a tax.
Can the Leader of the Opposition explain to Canadians why he decided to act like a Grinch this Christmas?
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
Again, questions and comments must have to do with the administration of the government. The member asked a question of the Leader of the Opposition.
The hon. member for Calgary Midnapore.
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Madam Speaker, the facts do not lie. The leader of the NDP, with the Prime Minister, voted for the carbon tax 24 times, and New Democrats will do it again next week. The leader of the NDP, along with the Prime Minister, will quadruple the carbon tax in the spring. He is the one who created the coalition agreement with the government that has doubled mortgages, doubled housing prices and sent two million Canadians to food banks.
This coming Monday, the leader of the NDP has a decision to make. Will he continue to prop up the Prime Minister for his pension, or will he allow Canadians to vote and call a carbon tax election?
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
It is very clear that members are playing with words and that these questions are not to do with the administration of the government. Members cannot ask a leader of another party or other members to respond to questions. The questions should be on the administration of the government and to the government for it to respond.
I hope the hon. member's other question is related to the administration of the government and asked of the government. Otherwise, I will have cut her off.
The hon. member for Calgary Midnapore.
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Madam Speaker, just over three months ago, the leader of the NDP ripped up the agreement he had with the government. He said the Prime Minister was “too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for [Canadians]”.
This coming week, on Monday, the leader of the NDP has an opportunity to decide if he will prop up the government again or not. Is he going to prop up the Prime Minister or allow Canadians—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
I just warned the hon. member, and she knows full well that she is not to ask questions of another opposition party during question period. She is supposed to ask questions of the government. This has been going on for quite some time. I would ask members to please make sure that their preamble has more to do with the work of the government, so we know it is going in the right direction, or at least that the end of their question has to do with the government and the administration of the government.
I see that the minister still wants to respond.
The hon. minister.
Arif Virani LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Madam Speaker, what is really important is to focus on some of the issues. One of the issues Canadians are rightly concerned about with the House is foreign interference. They are asking things such as, how do we target foreign interference?
What I find fascinating is that we have had a lot of discussions about the leader of the NDP. That leader has actually had the courage to get a security clearance and get a briefing to help to protect this country. In fact, there is only one leader of a party who has not done exactly that, and that is the leader of the official opposition. I find it quite appalling that, for a man who would purport to assume and to want the highest job in this country, he does not have the courage to work on getting a clearance, getting a briefing and protecting this country.
Michael Kram Conservative Regina—Wascana, SK
Madam Speaker, the fact is “the Liberals are too weak, too selfish and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people”. Those are the words of the NDP leader, who continues to betray Canadians by propping up the failed Liberal government. The leader of the party that used to represent workers now props up a government that raises the carbon tax, makes homes unaffordable—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
I am sorry. I ask members to please settle down and please extend respect to the House and to the person who has the floor. I will find out soon enough what the question is and we will go from there. If this continues, as I said, we will have to go to a practice of pulling questions from those who are trying to pose questions.
The hon. member for Regina—Wascana has the floor.
Michael Kram Conservative Regina—Wascana, SK
Madam Speaker, the leader of the party that used to represent workers now props up a government that raises the carbon tax, makes homes unaffordable, has lost control of the deficit and lets crime run loose on our streets. On Monday's vote, will the Prime Minister continue to hide behind the NDP or will he finally call a carbon tax election?
Jennifer O'Connell LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety
Madam Speaker, it is a shame the opposition still has not figured out how to ask a question on the administration of government business.
While I am on my feet, I might as well speak about what happened yesterday at the public safety committee, where there was pretty shocking testimony about foreign interference in the Conservative leadership race, confirming that the member for Calgary Nose Hill received an angry phone call from the Indian consulate and brought that forward to Mr. Brown's leadership campaign, where in fact his language was changed to make the Indian consulate officials happy. Why are Conservatives—
Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB
Madam Speaker, it is a good thing this question period is almost over. Let us try this.
Last week, on the first day of Christmas, the Leader of the Opposition showed an amazing level of hypocrisy. When the House voted to give Canadians a break, the Leader of the Opposition decided to vote against it, despite running on it in the last election. Can the minister explain why providing tax relief to Canadians during the holidays will move our economy forward?
I hope everybody has a great weekend, and let us relax.
Ryan Turnbull LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation
Madam Speaker, the hypocrisy of the Conservative leader is absolutely shocking. During the last election campaign, all Conservative candidates campaigned on a promise to lift the GST during the holiday season. What did the Conservatives do last week, when presented with the opportunity to follow through on that promise? They broke their promise to Canadians by voting against a GST break over the holidays. I do not know what the Leader of the Opposition is planning on serving at Christmas dinner, but I sure hope it is better than the stale slogans and horrendous hypocrisy he has been serving up in the House—