Debates of Feb. 13th, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, it is important, once again, to remind ourselves that when we take the floor, we are expected to listen to the questions and the answers. I ask all members to please restrain themselves, to follow the leadership of their whips and respect members who have the floor.

The hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been forced to pay through the nose for everything after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government. Not only did the government give contractors $20 million for doing no work on the arrive scam app, but the Auditor General also said that the $80,000 app cost over $60 million of taxpayer money. Now the government is increasing the carbon tax on April 1.

Why should Canadians have to foot the bill for the government's corrupt overspending?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, in the last election campaign, all of the colleagues on the other side of the House went around their neighbourhoods in Sarnia—Lambton and elsewhere, and around their ridings. They had nice glossy brochures with Mr. O'Toole on the cover. He had a nice black T-shirt on. What was in there? It was a price on pollution. All of these members went around their neighbourhoods committing to put a price on pollution as part of a plan to fight climate change. Why did we believe Conservatives then and why should we believe them now?

Public Services and Procurement

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are not going to get out from under the ArriveCAN scandal that quickly. For a simple application that was supposed to cost $80,000, the Liberals spent $60 million, $20 million of which was paid to GC Strategies, a company that ultimately did not provide any services.

Worse yet, the Auditor General reported that this scheme was done with the complicity of government employees. Yesterday, the three ministers involved passed the buck, but Quebeckers deserve to know who is responsible. When will there be accountability for ArriveCAN?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for raising this issue. She has already heard the answer several times. We thank the Auditor General for her work and we recognize the significant problems she noted. We know that all of this occurred during a time of crisis. That is no excuse for the lack of information or the lack of record-keeping and sharing of that information. Fortunately, many of the recommendations she made have already been put in place.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers do not understand how it is possible to overspend by 75,000% without a minister noticing. All the rules were broken, and a handful of people pocketed $60 million of taxpayers' money.

People try to pin everything on the pandemic, but it is not responsible for such utter incompetence with respect to basic project management rules. If the government could throw away $60 million just like that, how many more contracts is it turning a blind eye to?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, at the height of the pandemic, hundreds of people were dying of COVID‑19 and billions of dollars a week were at stake. We had to figure out how to move billions of dollars' worth of goods back and forth across the border. We had to move essential medical drugs, food, and equipment that was crucial to businesses in Quebec and Canada. We had to act fast.

Nevertheless, the lack of information, lack of information gathering and lack of rigour on the part of some public service employees are completely unacceptable.

Carbon Pricing

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder why the Prime Minister's priority is higher taxes and not food affordability. He can find $60 million for his ArriveCAN app, but he needs to quadruple the carbon tax on farmers and food. We are hearing the plea from Canadian families who want to axe the tax to make food affordable. I was in Sudbury this week meeting with organizers of food banks that are at a breaking point as demand has doubled and is rising. There is a common-sense Conservative bill, Bill C-234, which would give a carbon tax carve-out for farmers and lower the price of food. This Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Will he cancel his plans to increase the carbon tax on April 1 so Canadians can feed themselves?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the Conservatives are finally asking a question about the economy because it gives me the chance to share some good news. In January, thanks to the hard work of Canadians, Canada created 37,000 new jobs; wages in Canada have been outpacing inflation for the past 12 months; and unemployment fell to 5.7%, lower than it was at any time that Stephen Harper was prime minister. The only thing Conservatives know how to do is kill jobs.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, here is a number that most Canadians care about: two million Canadians are going to a food bank every single month. However, today is Canada's Agriculture Day, and how do the Liberals celebrate? By increasing the carbon tax by 23% on April 1, but it gets worse. We now know that the amendments to Bill C-234, pushed through by Liberal-appointed senators, would increase costs on farmers by $200 million. This Conservative common-sense bill in its original form would save farmers a billion dollars by 2030.

For Canada's Agriculture Day, will the Prime Minister celebrate with me and axe this tax on farmers to make food more affordable?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, being a farmer on Canada's Agriculture Day and being part of a government that has an environmental plan make me very proud. It is so important, and farmers understand, that we have to take care of the land, and we must have an environmental plan. As far as the price on food goes, in the agriculture committee, Tyler McCann of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute indicated to the committee members that there was no data to support the idea that carbon pricing is resulting in an increase in food prices.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wasted $60 million on his corrupt ArriveCAN app. Now he is asking Canadians for even more money through the carbon tax, which the Bloc wants to radically increase.

After eight years under this government, everything is more expensive. Worse still, the Bloc is supporting Liberal policies.

Can the Prime Minister confirm that he will scrap the carbon tax in order to give Canadians a little more breathing room?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that, the last time I checked, the St. Lawrence fjord was still part of Quebec. The Quebec system applies in Quebec, not the federal system.

Quebec's cap-and-trade system was established long before the federal carbon pricing system. Quebec's system works very well to help reduce emissions. It was not the Bloc Québécois or the federal government that put it in place, but rather the Quebec government. A number of Conservative Party members voted in favour of the Quebec system.

He should direct his questions to them. They sit on the same side of the House as he does.

Health

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know that sexual and reproductive health care encompasses mental health care, which is always important, but especially so for women during their reproductive lives. Knowing what an exciting, but also stressful, time it can be for a new mother and how a mother's well-being affects not only her but also her newborn and other family members, could the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health explain how our government is supporting women who choose motherhood by addressing perinatal mental health?

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we all know the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill to be a strong advocate for women's health. My message to new parents who might be struggling is this: They do not have to carry this burden alone. I want to thank the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative and all of our partners working to develop national standards for a perinatal mental health strategy. We are supporting families by creating guidance materials and advice for health care professionals and individuals who may face poor mental health during the perinatal period. We are with them and will do everything we can to ensure families have access to quality mental health care when they need it and where they need it.

Carbon Pricing

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost of the suffering he is causing. The Payne family operates Asphodel Sheep Company. They were recognized as farm family of the year in Peterborough County. The carbon tax is set to increase by 23% on April 1, and it is truly hurting them. The kids do not know what is going to happen to their family farm.

Katie, who is 15; Jolene, who is 13; and Lucy, who is nine, asked me to ask the Prime Minister this: Why is the Canadian government making it so difficult for the agriculture industry to do its job of feeding the country?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to read a quote from Glenn Wright, who is the former vice-president of the National Farmers Union:

Farmers will be among the hardest hit if we don’t act fast to slash greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize the climate. For this reason—to protect farmers—the NFU supports pollution pricing; it is an important policy tool to reduce the harmful emissions fueling the climate crisis and threatening farms and food supplies.

Government Priorities

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we had devastating news today out of Bay of Quinte. Cascades, a company that has been operating a plant that has been in existence in Quinte West for 100 years, is closing its doors and axing 230 jobs because of high inflation and interest rates under eight years of the Liberal-NDP government.

Now, Canadians who already face high costs to eat and heat their homes have to worry about a paycheque. People in Belleville who are still reeling from a major overdose epidemic now have to worry about unemployment.

When will the government fix the budget, cut inflation and cut interest rates, so companies do not have to close and employees do not have to lose their jobs?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the most important thing to every Canadian family is having a job, and every time someone loses their job, it is a disaster for that family. That is why we were so glad to see the strong job recovery across Canada, 1.1 million more jobs since before COVID. It is also why we have support in place, like early learning and child care, and like a social safety net, that the Conservatives would cut.

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that tone-deaf answer will give little comfort to the residents of Quinte West who have just lost their jobs.

Let us look at the reality of what is happening in Canada right now. Over the last four months, TD has slashed 3,000 jobs; Canadian Tire has slashed 3% of its workforce; Enbridge has slashed 650 jobs; Rona has slashed 300 jobs; and Manulife has slashed 250 jobs. After eight years of this high-spending Liberal-NDP government, the only job Canadians want to see slashed is that of the Prime Minister.

When will the government fix the budget, cut inflation and cut interest rates so Canadians can keep their jobs?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to supporting the most vulnerable among us. Since we have formed government, 2.3 million Canadians are out of poverty. Poverty in Canada was at 14.5% when the Conservatives left office. Today, it is down to 7.4%.

We know there is a lot more work to do. That is why we are pointing out to Canadians that all the Conservatives want is to cut the programs the most vulnerable need the most.

Women and Gender Equality

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, with the high cost of living, it is a struggle for many women to buy menstrual products. This government recognizes this problem and recently launched the menstrual equity fund pilot to provide free menstrual products to those who need them most through Food Banks Canada.

During this Sexual and Reproductive Health Week, can the minister provide an update on the progress of the pilot in my province and throughout Canada?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her advocacy and hard work, and for the chance to give an update on this. Menstrual products are a basic need, but not everyone has access to them. Since launching the menstrual equity fund pilot last September, almost 400 locations, including 14 in that member's province of Nova Scotia, have helped pull more than a million Canadians out of period poverty. That is 35 million products out the door in six months.

We are providing real solutions to real challenges: menstrual products for those who need them, when they need them, period.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, in a three-bedroom apartment near the Verdun metro station, there is a leak in the bathroom, the balconies are about to fall off the building, the ceilings are full of holes and there is mould everywhere. That is where Isabelle Gagnon and Maxime Pilon live with their new baby. That is the result of decades of Conservative and Liberal cuts to social housing. Rather than proposing solutions, the Conservative leader would rather insult mayors in Quebec, and the Liberals are dragging their feet on the housing crisis.

Why are the Liberals abandoning people like Ms. Gagnon and Mr. Pilon?