Debates of Feb. 1st, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that Conservative members of Parliament should stop misleading Canadians.

The carbon price is a thoughtful approach that addresses climate change and affordability. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back. The Leader of the Opposition's plan to address the climate issue is to take rebates—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, some members are having great difficulty hearing the response over the furor. I ask members to allow the answer to be given, so that all members can understand what is being said.

The hon. minister, from the top.

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would just say that the Conservative Party needs to stop misleading people.

The carbon price is an appropriate and thoughtful way to address climate change in a manner that actually addresses affordability. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back. The Leader of the Conservative Party's plan to address climate change is to take rebates away from Canadian families. It is to let the planet burn. It is to actually ensure that Canada's economic competitiveness will be eroded going forward. He should be ashamed of his thoughtless policy on climate change and the Canadian economy.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what the Liberals should be ashamed of is the fact that, after eight years of this Prime Minister, food banks are stretched to the limit because too many Canadians can no longer afford to put food on the table. Things are only going to get worse on April 1 because the Prime Minister is going to further impoverish families with a new carbon tax hike. We can also count on the Bloc Québécois to support that new tax hike because the Bloc Québécois wants to drastically increase the carbon tax.

Rather than carrying out the Bloc Québécois's political will, which will punish families, will the Prime Minister give Canadians a break instead of a bill to pay on April 1?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we are here to support the agricultural industry in the energy transition so that it can produce the food that Canadians need while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

In our colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent's riding, farmers received over $5 million to help them reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and farmers in the riding of Portneuf—Jacques‑Cartier received $1.2 million. We gave farmers across the country $1.5 billion.

What has the Conservative Party done? It voted against all of these measures to support the agricultural industry.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we will always vote against. These taxes will drive up the price of food and make it impossible for Canadians to feed themselves. They will force two million Canadians to use food banks every month. Of course we will vote against these measures.

I highly doubt the Prime Minister visited a food bank during his $84,000 one-week trip to Jamaica. Surely he has seen how many Canadians go to food banks because they can no longer afford to put food on the table.

Will the Prime Minister cut taxes so that families do not have to cut back on the amount of food they put on the table, yes or no?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite says that he will vote against. I am going to talk about what the Conservatives voted against.

They voted against the climate action fund to support sustainable agriculture. Last month, they voted against the dairy innovation and investment fund and funding to help supply-managed dairy, poultry and egg producers. That is what they have voted against.

What do they vote for? We are not sure, but it is certainly not for farmers.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers have spent $470 million on asylum seekers. Rather than reimbursing them, the minister is instead announcing $100 million for temporary accommodation for future claimants.

That is fine if it means lower accommodation costs in the future, but he has yet to reimburse the costs that have been piling up since 2021. It is as though the minister has not paid his rent for two years and now he is showing up with part of his February rent, saying we are even. Most people would kick out a roommate like that pretty quick.

When will he pay Quebeckers back?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we can hear the members laughing, but yesterday in the House, the leader of the Bloc Québécois compared immigrants to heat pumps. Then, during my announcement of more than $300 million to help house refugees, he was talking about social housing. They are not taking this seriously. It is an issue that needs to be taken seriously.

We are not negotiating with the federal member for Beloeil—Chambly, the leader of the Bloc Québécois. We are negotiating with a serious government, the Quebec government.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if he cannot bring himself to answer questions in the House of Commons, he might as well stop coming.

There is nothing there to reimburse Quebeckers for taking in asylum seekers over the past two years; there is nothing for education, nothing for francization, nothing for health, nothing for last resort assistance, nothing for sharing intake among the provinces, nothing for reinstating visas for Mexicans, nothing for supporting our overwhelmed community organizations, nothing to speed up the file processing for asylum seekers, and nothing for work permits. That is supposed to be his job.

When it comes right down to it, what tangible difference does that announcement make to Quebeckers?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as people heard yesterday, we are providing the money. Quebec has done more than its share, and we applaud its efforts.

There is still work to be done to speed up the work permit process, and we are doing that. We are working with Quebec to speed up the process so that asylum seekers can work in the health care sector.

That is very important, but the starting point is working collaboratively with the Government of Quebec.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about math. Quebec takes in 45% of all asylum seekers in Canada but receives just under 28% of new investments in temporary housing. Quebec continues to contribute far more than its share of the effort and continues to receive far less than the financial share it deserves. This is one more injustice on top of a bunch of others.

Frankly, at this point, does the minister realize that we Quebeckers are starting to feel like we are being laughed at?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is not doing anything. Apart from asking questions in the House, Bloc members are doing absolutely nothing while the minister works, collaborates and holds discussions with Quebec.

We started by contributing $50 million. That is a huge amount. Next we paid close to $70 million, and yesterday, $100 million. That is a lot of money. The Bloc should not ridicule these financial efforts. We commend the Quebec government for the enormous amount of work it has done. We applaud the work done by the Government of Canada, which has been also enormous.

We will continue to work collaboratively despite what the Bloc wants, which is bickering. There are no quarrels here. We are working together.

Carbon Pricing

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are having a tough time. Two million of them are relying on food banks to feed their families. Meanwhile, the out-of-touch Prime Minister wants to increase the carbon tax again on April 1. Together with their partners in the Bloc Québécois, the Liberals keep making matters worse for Canadians with their so-called environmental plan, which in reality is just a tax plan.

Will the Prime Minister use some common sense for once and cancel the April 1 tax increase?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, what the Conservative Party does not seem to realize is that farmers are among the first to be affected by the impacts of climate change.

Look at the droughts in the Prairies. Alberta thinks it may need to ration potable water this summer for all residents and for farms. What is the Conservative Party doing while this is happening? It is saying that climate change is not a problem and that we can just let the planet burn.

Our plan is working. We have already reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of more than 30 million tonnes, and it is certainly not thanks to the Conservatives. We will continue to be there to fight climate change and work with our farmers.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is just further proof of how out of touch this government, including the environment minister, is with reality.

Canadians across the country are suffering. In Quebec, the carbon tax is having a direct and indirect effect on the cost of groceries, regardless of what the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois are saying. The second carbon tax adds another 20¢ per litre of gas, which has a direct impact on people in Beauce. Unlike the Bloc Québécois, I understand that what is good for Canadians is also good for Quebeckers. We need to reduce the cost of producing and transporting food so that Canadians can put food on their tables.

I will ask the same question again. I hope that the Liberals will understand it. Will the Prime Minister cancel the April 1 tax—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. Minister of Transport.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to being out of touch with reality, I think the member is leading the pack. He knows very well that the tax, the price on pollution, does not apply in Quebec. He should know that.

What I would like to know is whether he understands the impact that climate change is having on our farmers.

Where was he during the floods and forest fires? Where was he when people were displaced? He was asleep at the switch.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberals, my constituents are hurting. Edmund from Whitewater is a senior who lives on $20,000 a year. Since November, he has paid $200 in carbon tax on home heating alone. His quarterly climate bribe was $118, yet the Prime Minister says that Canadians are somehow getting ahead.

The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Will the Liberals stop the April 1 carbon tax hike so groceries, gas and home heating do not get more expensive for Edmund?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, folks are entitled to their opinions, but not their own facts. The hon. member knows very well that 80% of Canadian families get more money back, and it works in reverse order of income, so the most vulnerable and poorest people in this country are actually much better off. The Conservative Party would take away the rebate. The Conservative leader's climate plan is to let the planet burn. In fact, when the member for Calgary Forest Lawn was recently asked on television what the Conservative Party's climate plan is, he said it was to build more pipelines and produce more oil. However, they are upset when people call them climate deniers. My goodness.

Housing

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, rent is due today. For workers in Port Moody—Coquitlam, that rent will cost over 50% of their monthly paycheque. Some seniors are facing renoviction and homelessness because corporate investors are buying up their affordable homes. The out-of-touch Liberals created this mess alongside the cut-and-gut Conservatives, who work for greedy corporations. Why are the Liberals dragging their feet when Canadians desperately need affordable rental homes now?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely thank my hon. colleague for her advocacy for vulnerable people who are struggling with the cost of finding a place to live. The fact that people are in dire need of housing is why we have significantly increased the pace of introducing policies to build more homes in this country. We have removed taxes from new apartment construction so more apartments will be built, committed an additional $1 billion through the affordable housing fund to get more affordable homes built for low-income families and put federal money on the table to incentivize cities to change their ways, to increase their ambition and to speed up the process of homebuilding. We are going to continue to do what it takes to end the national housing crisis.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for that response, but it is just not good enough. Today, rent is due. A new report just came out telling Edmontonians what we already know: Rent is going up while the number of available affordable homes is going down. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister turns a blind eye as Danielle Smith sells off affordable housing just to make her rich CEO friends happy. When will the government stop catering to rich CEOs and put forward a plan to build non-market and co-op housing, so working people can afford a home?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his advocacy. We are committed to building more homes, including affordable housing for low-income families. In fact, in the member's own community, a Métis-led project is going ahead that will provide affordable homes for community residents and support for women and children fleeing violence. We have increased funding for co-operative housing for the first time in decades, with a program to be launched soon that is backed by $1.5 billion. We have increased funding for affordable housing in the recent fall economic statement, with an additional $1 billion. We have constructed or renovated hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units. We care about the most vulnerable and know that they deserve to have a roof over their heads.