Debates of Feb. 2nd, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, we have worked, as members know, with the City of Calgary on a range of matters, including getting more housing built through the housing accelerator fund.

However, I find the hypocrisy in the Conservative position stunning. The Conservatives continue to talk about the vulnerable when we know what they would do if they were in office. They would cut pensions. They would cut EI. The Canada child benefit would be cut. Regarding dental care and child care, the Conservatives have never been for it. They talk about homelessness. Let us be serious. They do not believe in dealing with homelessness because every time they had a chance to vote for measures that would deal with it, they voted against it, as recently as a few weeks ago. They are not serious.

Foreign Affairs

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Speaker, Gaza is the most dangerous place to be a journalist. There have been 122 journalists killed in Netanyahu's onslaught. Mansour Shouman, a brave reporter in Gaza, a Canadian and a fellow Albertan, has been missing for over a week. Eyewitnesses say that he was taken into custody by the Israeli army. His mother is worried sick and said that the government has not done enough to keep her informed about his whereabouts.

Can the government commit to Mansour Shouman's mother and all his loved ones that it will do everything in its power to bring him home?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for raising this issue today and thank the many members who have sent me concerns about this particular case. When it comes to this case, I want to state very clearly that consular officials at Global Affairs Canada, as well as in the field, have been in touch with the family.

The minister talked to the family this week and assured the family that we are doing everything we can to find out this person's whereabouts. We are considering every possibility of engagement on this case. We will continue to do that. I am not able to go into further details due to privacy concerns but if one has more concerns or questions, please contact me directly.

The Environment

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Madam Speaker, Canadians cannot keep up with their home heating costs. Switching to a heat pump makes life more affordable while tackling the climate crisis, but the current Liberal program is riddled with problems and is almost impossible for rural and lower-income Canadians to access. The Liberals are threatening to cancel this program and are leaving people out in the cold with higher home heating bills and with no option to switch. This makes no sense.

Why will the Liberals not make big oil pay what it owes and use the funds to fix the heat pump program?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Madam Speaker, it is an absolutely amazing thing to see how popular the greener homes grant has been, as well as the greener homes loans. Canadians across the country have been taking this opportunity to better insulate their homes and to switch to heat pumps, all of which reduces their heating bills at the end of the day, at the same time as protecting our environment. We have a continued commitment to work toward green buildings right across our country. We will be having an update soon. Please watch for it.

Public Safety

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, earlier this week, I had the pleasure of joining the ministers of justice and of public safety in York Region to announce $121 million in funding to combat guns, gangs and organized crime in Ontario. In the city of Vaughan and in many big cities across the country, auto theft is a growing problem and one that is becoming increasingly violent.

Can the Minister of Public Safety please reassure my constituents and all Canadians and tell us how the government plans to tackle this issue?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for standing up for safety in his community and joining the Minister of Public Safety to address auto theft, which is a serious problem that requires collaboration and an all-hands-on-deck approach with our provincial and municipal partners.

Canadians are understandably concerned for their safety, and they expect elected officials to put their partisanship aside and work together. That is why our government is working with local partners, including the police, while the Leader of the Opposition insults the individuals who have taken an oath—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Parry Sound—Muskoka.

Housing

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Madam Speaker, after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, the doom and gloom in the housing market is worse than ever. Fewer homes were built last year than the year before. Vacancy rates are at all-time lows, and rent is at an all-time high. Instead of removing the gatekeepers who block building, the Liberals cut them big cheques. In fact, the first four photo ops the housing minister took cost Canadians $300 million.

How much longer will they be cutting big cheques before a single home gets approved or even built?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, I have a good rapport with the colleague opposite. We work together on the HUMA committee, but it is hard to take him seriously in the House today when we know that recently he has voted against 99 units of housing for his own community. At 520 Isaac Street, and he can go down there as I am sure he knows where that is, 99 units of housing have been built as a result of the Liberal government's funding. That is what the national housing strategy is doing. Across the country, we have seen that 125,000 people who were very close to being homeless are off the streets, and 70,000 people who were homeless are off the streets with wraparound supports. We—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Parry Sound—Muskoka.

[Scott Aitchison, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is hard to take that parliamentary secretary seriously, because he knows full well that with regard to these big expensive photo ops in Mississauga and Toronto, for example, more housing than ever is getting blocked despite them.

Merely weeks after the Prime Minister's $471-million photo op in Toronto, the gatekeepers there said “no” to new housing right next door to a new transit station. Mississauga got a big $113-million cheque after having blocked 17,000 units in 2023. This photo-op Prime Minister is failing Canadians. He is not worth the cost.

When will this government stop buying housing photo ops and start—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The Honorable Parliementary Secretary.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, if he wants to see the results of the national housing strategy, again, I would remind him to go down to 520 Isaac Street in his riding. He can see the results: 99 units of housing. As far as the other points raised, he is talking about the housing accelerator fund. Yes, we have concluded agreements with 30 communities that will incentivize zoning changes that lead to the construction of duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, mid-rise apartments, row houses and more.

That is how we get Canadians housed. That is how we bring down costs. They want to put taxes on the construction of apartments. In addition, they want to continue measures that will not go ahead with getting more housing built in this country.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Madam Speaker, the housing crisis in the Lower St. Lawrence region continues.

After eight years of this government, the region has no available housing, so rents are skyrocketing. Housing costs are increasing by 7%, sometimes even 10% or more. These figures are very alarming.

They are far higher than inflation, and sometimes significantly higher than wages. That suggests renter households may be getting poorer. Why is the Prime Minister doing nothing to lower the cost of housing?

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

Madam Speaker, does anyone know what will not incentivize rental housing construction? The member knows. I am talking about their policy of putting the GST back on the construction of new rental apartment buildings. That is their policy. It is in their bill. That is their leader's proposal.

The people who build housing are telling me that removing the GST will incentivize the construction of thousands of housing units. Maybe the member should get his facts straight.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Madam Speaker, according to what the Governor of the Bank of Canada said yesterday, this Prime Minister's spending is keeping interest rates and inflation high. That will inevitably drive up the cost of housing, mortgage renewals and rent for Canadians and Quebeckers in the coming months.

After eight years in office, this government still does not understand that it would just be common sense to balance the budget in the foreseeable future.

Will the government take action to balance the budget in a predictable manner in the next budget?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, it would be interesting to look at the Conservative Party's history when it comes to taxes.

We know that deficit after deficit is the story of the Conservative Party. In fact, now we see a AAA credit rating and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. We co-rank third in the OECD when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment. Deal after deal has been concluded by the Minister Industry, including in my region of southwestern Ontario and St. Thomas, specifically, and in Windsor, to see electric vehicle battery plants built. That gets Canadians working. Of course, we see also a very low unemployment rate.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Caroline Desbiens, Bloc, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Madam Speaker, after four press conferences to tell us she was going to announce good news in January, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard threw us mere morsels, what some might call fish food.

Saying that the government is opening the redfish fishery is a bit of a stretch. The government announced a quota of 25,000 tonnes, nearly 60% of which is allotted to big 30-metre vessels. Fishers feel that this is a 30-year step backwards. This is the government's transition plan after reducing shrimp quotas to a meagre 3,000 tonnes, to be shared with the Maritime provinces. That does not even amount to half a trip per boat. There is no long-term vision for protecting the resource or for the small inshore fishery ecosystem.

Seriously, what exactly is the minister's plan? Is it to wipe out fishing in Quebec?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Madam Speaker, the situation for our shrimp fishers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence estuary is dire.

I think everyone here agrees that no one wants to catch the last shrimp. That is why, following extensive consultations, I announced a significant decrease in quotas for the next shrimp season. This quota will ensure a modest fishery while allowing shrimp stocks to recover.

In the face of climate change, our government will continue to offer solutions to our fishers, such as buddy-up arrangements.

[Caroline Desbiens, Bloc, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Madam Speaker, the overpopulation of redfish, the main predator of small fish and shrimp, demonstrates an appalling lack of vision and a great deal of contempt for the expertise of fishers and for the fisheries economy in the regions.

Fishers deserve a real transition plan. Instead, we are back to what destroyed the ecosystem 30 years ago. A plan would include financial compensation to support the transition and the workforce, a strategy to market redfish and new products, and well-thought-out, long-term, concrete prospects for pelagic species, shrimp, groundfish, seals and algae.

When will the minister finally come up with a truly sustainable plan to ensure the survival of Quebec's fisheries?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Madam Speaker, it was very good news to announce the reopening of the commercial redfish fishery in 2024 after a 30-year moratorium.

Today is Groundhog Day. The Bloc Québécois is finally seizing this opportunity to come out of its burrow after a long six-month hibernation, during which it asked no questions about fisheries.

One thing is certain. The Bloc Québécois only shows an interest in fisheries when it is fishing for votess.

Health

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

Madam Speaker, children under 18 in British Columbia can now be prescribed fentanyl. It is reported that parents do not even need to be told or agree. Toxic drug overdose is now the leading cause of death for youth in British Columbia.

It is also reported that addiction experts have criticized protocols, stating that they are deeply inadequate and do not provide a minimum age for when youth can receive recreational fentanyl.

Will the NDP-Liberal government put an end to its dangerous drug policy experiments that are putting deadly fentanyl into the hands of children?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, Conservatives are trying to spread fear and confusion.

Here are the facts: No kids have been prescribed fentanyl in B.C. Under the guidelines, there are additional precautions in place when it comes to prescribing to minors. The most important relationship in managing one's health is with a health care provider.

Harm reduction is health care. We are working to save lives.

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

Madam Speaker, yesterday it was absolutely shocking when, first, B.C.'s top doctor said so-called “safe supply” is landing into street-level trafficking and ending up in the hands of children.

Then the Liberal minister responsible for safe supply came to committee and doubled down on the unwavering Liberal-NDP commitment to their deadly drug policy experiments. It is absolutely unbelievable. The government's addictive drugs end up in our kids' hands, and the government endorses it.

Will the NDP-Liberal government end its deadly drug policy experiment and get the drugs out of our kids' hands?