Debates of Feb. 16th, 2024

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Speaker, as we know, there is a worker shortage across the country in various sectors, and that is a challenge, but it is also a great opportunity because, where there is scarcity, I think workers tend to benefit. It tends to increase their wages and provide a bit of competition and more choice for workers. That is the context we are in.

We have very low unemployment in Canada right now, which is certainly a good thing for workers, but it is a challenging for many sectors that are looking to find a more available workforce, so ensuring that it is a competitive opportunity, that early learning and child care workers can aspire to earning a good income, is very important. I know that, when I have worked with the Milton Community Resource Centre, it is very focused on making sure it pays competitive wages. I have also seen that it is providing people with their first jobs and also providing work to newcomers, refugees and all sorts of people who are looking for that work.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House once again to speak to this bill. We do have an amendment coming back to the House from the Senate, which is why we are standing here to speak today.

What makes this interesting, based on how this bill went last time, is that my province of Saskatchewan signed on to its agreement with the federal government in 2021. I hosted a couple of town halls in January, and one of the topics that came up was child care. When we look at rural Canada, rural Saskatchewan and what is available for people who are looking to put their kids into a day home so that they can go to work, quite frankly, there is basically no capacity.

The town I grew up in had a small facility that maybe five to 10 kids could go into. Most kids were raised by a stay-at-home mom where I grew up, but in some of the other towns now, as people are looking to be working, capacity is the number one problem. When I look at the way this program has been rolled out and the way the federal government has put money to the provinces, it has definitely put an overemphasis on creating spaces in the larger cities and the larger centres. In typical Liberal government fashion, it looks like rural Saskatchewan, once again, has lost out and has been left behind.

Seniors

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Madam Speaker, seniors are at the heart of our communities. Since we were first elected, seniors have been central to our work in government. In Vancouver Granville, I have established a local seniors council to advise me on their priorities.

As part of budget 2024 consultations, the Vancouver Granville Seniors Council shared issues that were important to the members that they would like addressed. From affordability and homelessness to social inclusion, these are issues all Canadians face, and I shared their issues with the Minister of Finance.

I want to thank my seniors council members for their hard work and dedication and let them know that everyone in the House hears them and that we are taking concrete steps, like building over 40,000 homes in Vancouver and launching the Canada dental plan to ensure that every senior and every Canadian has the tools and supports they need to live well.

I look forward to continuing to work with them on their shared priorities. As they have given so much back to Canada, it is our obligation to make sure we take care of our seniors from coast to coast to coast.

95th Anniversary of Écho de Frontenac

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

Madam Speaker, for 95 years, the Écho de Frontenac newspaper has been an important part of people's lives in Lac‑Mégantic and the Granit MCR.

Founded in 1929 by J. Édouard Fortin, the local independent newspaper was acquired by Louis‑Philippe Poulin two years later and has remained in the family ever since.

A truly independent weekly, the Écho de Frontenac gets support from its subscribers and its local commercial partners. I want to pay tribute to Gaétan Poulin, who served as managing editor and publisher from 1967 until his death in fall 2023.

A staunch defender of the French language and passionate historian, Mr. Poulin enforced the values of truth, objectivity and justice at Écho de Frontenac, values that are still in place at the newspaper today. Thanks to the current team at Écho de Frontenac, the young and not-so-young have access to reliable quality content that remains accessible and relatable to its audience.

It is an honour today to be able to draw attention to the hard work of Suzanne Poulin, who took over as publisher, and that of all the dedicated employees who care about Écho de Frontenac and ensure it showcases local news. Long live this essential witness of the Granit community, and happy 95th anniversary.

Children's Rights

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Madam Speaker, Bill C-273 passed, by a vote of 209 to 115, this week for a second reading in Parliament. I thank all those MPs who spoke up for this bill and for the repeal of section 43 of the Criminal Code.

Canada is finally taking our first steps in joining 65 other countries around the world that have banned the use of force against children. More than 700 organizations across Canada, including every major organization that works for children's health and well-being, have called for the repeal of this legalized use of force against children.

The repeal of this provision of the Criminal Code was one of the first recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Call to action no. 6 of the TRC calls for repeal of the provision, which legalizes the use of force against children. This provision was put in place in 1892, when all kinds of abuses were legal. It is high time to change that and time to repeal section 43.

Waterloo Region Change-Makers

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Madam Speaker, on February 3 we welcomed the Prime Minister to the Waterloo region and the SDG Idea Factory, a hub dedicated to advancing the UN's 17 sustainable development goals. Located in Kitchener, it unites visionary entrepreneurs and organizations to address pressing global challenges.

The Idea Factory is more than an innovation space. It is a catalyst for social and environmental transformation. In supporting start-ups and businesses championing social equity and environmental stewardship, this hub is working to foster global positive change and a better future for all.

The Idea Factory is host to businesses and organizations like LiftOff, the Waterloo Region Community Foundation, ForUsGirls Foundation, K-W Oktoberfest, the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre, Mot Mot Mind, Bring on the Sunshine, and the Community Company to drive transformative change.

We are immensely proud of the incredible work happening in our community and anticipate future contributions from these innovative minds.

Public Services and Procurement

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Madam Speaker, arrive scam is a failed app that should have cost $80,000 but cost Canadians $60 million. GC Strategies, the two middlemen working out of their basement getting $258 million in IT contracts, never did a keystroke of IT work. It turns out they have been wining and dining senior Liberal government officials.

Another $150 million was embezzled at the Prime Minister's billion-dollar green slush fund, with hand-picked NDP-Liberal board members funnelling millions to their own companies.

The Prime Minister is not worth the cost and not worth the corruption, but there is hope yet. Conservatives would end the corruption, axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. Our common-sense plan would axe the tax on everything, for everyone, for good. We would tie municipal funding to housing to make sure more houses get built, not bureaucracy. Conservatives would find savings by scrapping ArriveCAN. We would bring jail, not bail for Canadians. We would bring it home.

Housing

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Madam Speaker, we know we have a housing crisis, and that is why we are investing in the creation of homes nationwide, including in Oakville and Burlington.

In 2023 we announced over $55 million to build 131 purpose-built rental homes in Oakville, with the funding coming as a fully repayable low-interest loan through the CMHC apartment construction loan program. Last month in Burlington, we announced that the City of Burlington would be receiving $21 million from the housing accelerator fund, which will create 600 homes in the next three years and 5,000 new homes over the next decade.

This is a step in the right direction for Oakville and Burlington, because we know every Canadian should have access to safe and affordable housing. We are working with developers and municipalities to get more homes built at prices people can afford.

Labour

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

Madam Speaker, my community of Windsor—Tecumseh has a proud history of fighting for workers.

Last week I joined Unifor workers in solidarity on the picket line at Jamieson Vitamins, fighting for what is fair.

This week, ATU Local 616 fought and won better wages for Transit Windsor workers. I thank them for defending their right to 10 paid sick days, which our federal government introduced.

This follows hard-fought wins by Windsor Salt workers, who stayed strong in their 192-day strike, and the hard-fought historic contracts bargained by Unifor for auto workers.

Unions fight for workers, but they lift our entire community. I was proud to work with unions to deliver the battery plant that will create 2,500 good-paying jobs back home. I am proud to work with unions to deliver programs that make real differences for workers, like child care, dental care and the Canada worker benefit.

Conservatives want to cut programs that help workers. We will continue to fight for workers.

Rural Canadians

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Madam Speaker, after eight years, rural Canadians are breaking under the NDP-Liberal government.

The Prime Minister and his radical environment minister have launched an attack on rural Canadians. Rural Canadians rely on their vehicles to raise their families and drive to work, yet this week the environment minister publicly announced that the Liberals will stop building new roads and highways. The minister stated, “Our government has made the decision to stop investing in new road infrastructure.”

Rural Canadians do not have the option to take a subway to work or to the doctor's office. They rely on highways and roads, but the NDP-Liberal government does not care about rural Canadians. That is why the Prime Minister is increasing his failed carbon tax by 23% on April 1. It is clear he is not worth the cost.

Rural Canadians cannot afford the government's plan to quadruple the carbon tax. Only Conservatives will fight for rural Canadians and axe the carbon tax.

Community Volunteer Income Tax Program

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Madam Speaker, I encourage all members in this House to get with the program. That is, the community volunteer income tax program, a collaboration between local community organizations and the Canada Revenue Agency to deliver free tax clinics for Canadians.

This collaboration between the CRA and dedicated volunteers across Canada allows us to give back to communities by helping residents to file their taxes. Local organizations across the country run these tax clinics for lower-income Canadians to help make sure they are getting their benefits, like the Canada child benefit, the Canada workers benefit, the Canada carbon rebate and many more cost-of-living measures they may be eligible for.

I am so proud of the positive impact we have made through the CVITP and look forward to repeating this success again in what will be a productive tax filing season this year.

Carbon Tax

[Branden Leslie, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, it has never been more expensive to feed one's family, own a home and heat one's house.

The price of everything is up, and the average family of four will spend an additional $700 this year on groceries compared to last. Now the Prime Minister is hiking the carbon tax by 23% on April 1, but he is not done there. He is also jacking up the tax on beer, wine and spirits by 5% for good measure.

I do not know if the Prime Minister learned basic reasoning, so let me explain. If we tax the farmer who grows the food and the trucker who ships the food, we tax all who buy the food.

What is the result? Two million Canadians now rely on a food bank and 50% are $200 away from insolvency, yet the Liberals think rebranding the carbon tax will stop the financial pain. Here is a news flash: It will not.

Canadians live in reality. They know the carbon tax is a tax plan, not an environment plan. Only common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax on everything, for everyone and for good.

Housing

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, the lives of renters, mortgage holders and the unhoused continue to worsen, with crushing costs. The facts speak for themselves. Home prices now outpace incomes by 40%, earning Canada the worst record in the G7. While American rents fall, Canadian rents hit record highs. Canada built fewer homes in 2022 than in 1972, and housing starts were down in 2023. We now have the fewest homes per capita of any country in the G7, despite having the most land to build on.

Ottawa-funded gatekeepers and punitive taxes add hundreds of thousands of dollars of unneeded costs to the construction of each home. Canada's infrastructure funding should be tied to actually building homes. On top of that, we now hear that the radical environment minister does not even want to build new roads.

Our common-sense Conservative plan will ensure that infrastructure dollars go to the municipalities to get their bureaucracies out of the way, to build homes, not bureaucracy.

Gabriel Fredette

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Madam Speaker, everyone knows how passionate I am about music and singing, which is why I was delighted to learn that Gabriel Fredette, a young firefighter from Lachute, in my riding, is one of the talented young artists selected to participate in the television show La Voix. He was even lucky enough to see all four coaches turn around and ask him to join their respective teams. In the end, he chose Mario Pelchat, one of my idols. His maternal grandfather, who passed away in 2020, loved the artist. Gabriel inherited his love for the guitar from his grandfather, Léopold Dumouchel, also a musician. He began strumming the guitar and writing folk and pop music during the pandemic. What a journey for this talented young man, who seems to have come out of nowhere.

I wish Gabriel all the best and a great, very successful career.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Week

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, I rise today during Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Week to emphasize the importance of menstrual equity, access to contraception and abortion rights for Canadian women and gender-diverse people.

I am happy to see my colleagues join me in celebrating the critical gains made by Canada's feminist movement in its fight for women's sexual and reproductive rights, but we cannot forget that there is still work to be done. It has now been over two weeks since Fredericton's only abortion clinic closed, and the government has done nothing. The Liberals pat themselves on the backs for supporting gender equality but refuse to ensure access to safe abortion, while the Conservatives are actively undermining this right through back-door legislation.

The human right to have safe and trauma-informed abortion care is only as good as the ability to access that right. Leaders must uphold the Canada Health Act and ensure access is available to everyone in Canada.

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Speaker, February 22 is now recognized as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. This should not be just another day on the calendar, but rather a call to action against all forms of human trafficking. It is one of the faces of modern slavery, usually for sexual purposes or forced labour and slavery. Victims often suffer physical, sexual, financial, emotional and psychological abuse, and often have to live and work in horrific conditions.

Because of the damage and violence human trafficking inflicts on victims, it is linked to severe trauma, and recovering from its impact can take a lifetime. Here are a few statistics to illustrate the severity of this scourge: 93% of victims were born here; 97% are women and children, many of them indigenous.

There are still too many victims. This national day of awareness must empower us to better identify these heinous crimes, vehemently condemn them and to fight them more effectively.

We must take action.

Public Services and Procurement

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Madam Speaker, where is the accountability? Where are the funds? What a boondoggle.

In a misguided attempt, the Liberal government tried to control our borders during a pandemic. It wasted at least $60 million on an app that should have cost no more than $80,000, and the app does not even work. Without competition, the Liberals handed out a contract for $20 million to a couple of guys operating out of their basement. Then they decided to throw in another $40 million for good measure, as well as some nice bottles of Scotch and a couple of fancy dinners for their friends.

This government has wasted $60 million on people who did no work on an app that does not work. That is Liberal accounting. That is the ArriveCAN scam. It is time to call in the RCMP.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Madam Speaker, in 2010, I was working in Africa when one of my colleagues turned to me and said that Canadian women are hypocrites. I was stunned. She went on to say that she had studied at McGill, and she knew Canadian women had reproductive rights, but it was not good enough for African women. I was mortified, and I decided right then that I was going to run for office and to change that policy.

Not always in this place do we get to come full circle, but three weeks ago, I was in Kinshasa, where I toured a safe abortion clinic funded by Canada. DRC has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, 10%, because of unsafe abortions.

Our commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights is not ideology. It literally saves lives.

Black History Month

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this Black History Month, I would like to recognize an Ottawa-based organization: AKHRI - Mothers and Daughters Literacy. Its mission is to create lasting, positive, community-based change through basic literacy in rural and underprivileged communities in Somaliland. It empowers girls and women with the power to learn, to be heard, to be seen and to make a difference. I agree that educated, empowered women can change the world.

Successful economic development of a community or a country can be fast-tracked if education is made available to all and, specifically, if girls are educated. I would like to recognize and to thank the team, under the leadership of Anab Mohamed, for its noble and dedicated service to realize AKHRI’s mission.

Public Services and Procurement

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Madam Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, its arrive scam app that was supposed to cost $80,000 cost Canadians $60 million and, just like it, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost or the corruption. GC Strategies, the two-person team who worked out of a basement, got paid $20 million and did no IT work but did take senior Liberal officials out for whisky tastings and fine dinners, which were not worth the cost and not worth the corruption.

Will the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister join common-sense Conservatives as we call for the RCMP to expand the investigation into this Liberal scandal?

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

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to answer this question, which we have heard before and to which we have provided appropriate answers already. I am pleased to remind everyone that the Auditor General not only had the job, but the very important job of tabling a report on Monday, which we have looked at and are obviously very troubled by the findings in that report. We have taken into account all the recommendations in the report, and many have already been put into place for some time.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Madam Speaker, the minister said the Auditor General had an important job, but he and all the Liberals voted against her conducting the audit. It was because the Leader of the Opposition moved a motion in November 2022 that we had that Auditor General investigation. Just like that was the right thing to do then, calling in the RCMP is the right thing to do now. This is an $80,000 app that ballooned to $60 million. We have a two-person firm, working out of their basement, being paid $20 million, and wining and dining senior Liberal officials.

Will the Liberals end their cover-up and join Conservatives in calling for an expanded RCMP investigation?

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

Madam Speaker, the member is completely right in pointing to the important work of the Auditor General. She did work very hard over the last few months, which is what we expect of her and her office. She tabled an important report on Monday. As she has said repeatedly, she is also completely willing and able to work with all other partners and institutions across the government, including with the RCMP, with which she is already in touch.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Madam Speaker, of course the Auditor General is willing and able to do her work, but the problem is that the government refuses to give her the documents she needs to fully account for the $60 million that was spent on this boondoggle. The Liberals, in the past, have used the executive to shield themselves from an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, like they did in the SNC-Lavalin scandal. This time, Canadians want to know who got rich, other than of course those two guys who worked out of their basement and who took Liberal bosses out for fine dinners and whisky tastings.

Will the Liberals join our calls to call in the RCMP to investigate this scam?

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

Madam Speaker, we are very pleased, obviously, to hear the member clearly state that he has full confidence in the abilities of the Auditor General to keep doing her job, including supporting the RCMP when that is demanded by the RCMP.