Debates of Feb. 5th, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I know there are many things I must regret; I am hoping this is not one of them. I would invite ministers to please make sure that the answers are directed through the Chair.

The hon. member for Battlefords—Lloydminster.

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can manipulate the facts all day long, but that is not going to change the painful reality that Canadians across this country are experiencing.

Let us not forget that the PBO has said that Canadians will still be paying hundreds of dollars in carbon tax even after the rebate. Canadians who are already struggling to afford gas, groceries and home heating cannot afford the NDP-Liberal government's carbon tax increase.

Will the Liberals show some compassion and cancel their April 1 carbon tax increase?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives are truly concerned about the price of groceries, why do they not just ask their top adviser to pick up the phone and talk to Loblaws, or perhaps the next time she goes to pick up her paycheque, she could just ask Loblaws to join in our work to bring down grocery prices, to bring in more competition and to get rid of predatory practices.

If the Conservatives are truly concerned for Canadians, I know just the person they can have give their buddies at Loblaws a call.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, Canadians have had enough of this government's inflationary policies and excessive tax rates.

The Bloc Québécois fully supports the Liberals when it comes to drastically increasing the carbon tax. Two million Canadians are using food banks each month. Farms are going out of business because the carbon tax is crushing them.

Will the government wake up, do the right thing and cancel their April 1 tax hike?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is a whiff of hypocrisy wafting over from the other side of the House today. Perhaps it has not been translated into French yet for the member opposite, but the Leader of the Opposition's campaign manager, his spiritual leader, is the chief lobbyist for Canada's largest grocery retailer, and yet he has the nerve to talk about prices. He should call her to—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order.

The hon. member from Wellington—Halton Hills is an experienced member and a very respected member. He knows full well that he should wait his turn before he is able to address the House.

The hon. member for Edmonton Griesbach.

Health

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Danielle Smith is denying trans kids their basic human rights by denying their access to life-saving health care. It is not the role of politicians to tell doctors how to treat patients. Meanwhile, the leader of the Conservative Party remains shamefully silent on attacks on trans rights. The hate and prejudice of some should never override the fundamental rights of others.

Will this government commit to using the powers of the Canada Health Act to intervene in any denial of life-saving care for trans youth?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, a warm fuzzy video hiding daggers at my community in Alberta came out last week on social media.

I spent hours on the phone consoling people who were crying on the phone and who were asking how we can stand up for the rights of 2SLGBTQ people in Alberta. We are going to continue to work on this, and I have one message for Albertans and people across the country.

Legal challenges notwithstanding, the one way we can stop this is to kill the bill before it gets to the legislature. Write to one's UCP members. Get fired up. Mobilize, because kids' rights matter.

Child Care

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, parents deserve affordable, quality child care, and child care workers need livable wages, but the Liberals are letting the $10-a-day child care program fail by not giving workers fair pay and benefits, leaving parents without child care spots. What about the Conservatives? They want for-profit child care. This means—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I hate to interrupt the hon. member, but, colleagues, sometimes we can clearly hear the question and sometimes we cannot. This is one of the opportunities where the Chair cannot hear the question. I ask all members to please keep their conversations private so that I can hear the hon. member.

Could the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre start her question again from the top?

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, parents deserve affordable, quality child care, and child care workers need livable wages, but the Liberals are letting the $10-a-day child care program fail by not giving workers fair pay and benefits, leaving parents without child care spots. What about the Conservatives? They want for-profit child care. This means higher fees for parents and lower wages for workers. Liberals and Conservatives do not care about care workers.

When will the Liberals finally enforce livable wages and benefits for child care workers so they can live in dignity?

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, our national child care program is making life more affordable for thousands of Canadian families, as is the Canada child benefit. We continue to work with the provinces and territories to ensure that the five-year agreements are upheld and that we do see improvements to wages and benefits for the essential caregivers who we all rely on for the child care that our kids need.

On this side of the House, we continue to do the hard work that we continue to see the Conservatives oppose every step of the way.

Public Safety

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, it pays to commit crime in Canada. Stolen cars now cost Canadians over $1 billion a year in insurance rates. Car thefts are up 300% in Toronto. That is thanks to the catch-and-release legislation that turns violent offenders loose onto the streets, allowing them to commit more crime.

When will the Liberals reverse their disastrous policies and put the bad guys in jail so that Canadians can keep their cars?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the member that she represents a part of the greater Toronto area, as do I. What I hear from my constituents, and people throughout the 905 area code, is that they are concerned about criminality. They applaud the fact that we have taken steps to ensure that, with bail reform, serious violent repeat offenders are being kept off our streets.

The other thing constituents applaud is that we work hand in hand with the police to keep our communities safe. Therefore, when I am standing with the chief of the Durham police and the Progressive Conservative premier and giving them $121 million to help with law enforcement, they are saying that is a step in the right direction. There is more to come.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know why we have to explain this to the Attorney General, but bail reform does not apply to auto theft.

It is thanks to Liberals' policies that people can get arrested in the morning and go back to committing crimes in the evening. If they happen to get sentenced, they can serve the sentence in the comfort of their own homes while watching Netflix or even Disney+. That is Canada's justice system after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government.

When will the Liberal government listen to common-sense Conservative policies, repeal the catch-and-release and the stay-at-home sentencing, and finally put offenders in jail where they belong?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the interventions from the member opposite, but if we are going to talk about the Criminal Code, let us talk about the mandatory minimum that still exists for repeat auto theft offenders under paragraph 331.1(1)a). Let us talk about the fact that when people commit an auto theft crime and they are involved with organized criminality, that is already an aggravating factor on sentencing, subparagraph 718.2(a)(iv). I would ask her to please take note.

The important piece is that we are bringing together stakeholders, auto industry and every actor who is involved in this system to ensure we tackle this at every dimension. That conversation is happening this week. It is too bad the Conservatives will not be there for it.

Diversity and Inclusion

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to wish every member in the House a happy Black History Month.

February is a time when we can remind ourselves of the contribution of Black Canadians in our country, contributions that go back hundreds of years to help build a beautiful Canada. It is also a time for us to remind ourselves that there are still barriers in place that we have to remove.

Could the Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities please tell us more about Black History Month?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Diversity]

Mr. Speaker, this year's theme for Black History Month is “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build”. It is about telling the stories of thousands of incredible Black trailblazers who made Canada the country it is today. It is about recognizing the resilience of Black Canadians in the face of injustice. It is about celebrating the fact that Black history is Canadian history. Our government will continue to be deliberate about investing directly into Black communities so we can continue to build a more inclusive and equitable future for all Canadians.

Happy Black History Month.

Public Safety

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this Prime Minister, auto thefts have increased dramatically in Canada. They have gone up by more than 100% in Montreal alone.

Our ports, the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Criminal Code all fall under federal responsibility. Instead of taking action, however, the Liberal government has committed to holding a summit to discuss this further. What a a waste of time. We already know that this increase is because the Liberals are soft on crime.

Does the Prime Minister acknowledge that he is responsible for the increase in auto theft?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the increase in auto theft affects us directly. The reality is that organized crime is connected to this type of theft. Here in the House of Commons, we have tabled a bill that tackles money laundering.

The Conservatives are opposed to Bill C‑59. If they are really serious about fighting auto theft, I invite them to change their mind about how they are voting.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what we know right now is that under this Prime Minister, Canada has become the biggest exporter of stolen cars around the world. This morning, our leader proposed solutions to undo the damage caused by Liberal legislation. For example, we are going to deter car thieves by putting an end to house arrest and increasing jail time for these criminals. That is just common sense.

Will the government pledge here and now to support our efforts to combat auto theft?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said repeatedly, mandatory minimum sentences for auto theft and for repeat offences, for example, already exist in the Criminal Code. If the offence is related to organized crime, this can result in a harsher sentence. That is already in the Criminal Code.

What is not in the Criminal Code is the fact that we need to do more to fight organized crime, which we are addressing in a bill currently before the House, but the Conservatives are going to vote against it.

International Trade

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Americans are still unfairly attacking our softwood lumber industry. Just last Thursday they officially announced plans to increase their illegal tariffs to almost 14% starting next summer.

Obviously, Ottawa needs to stand up for Quebec's forestry industry, but it will take more than mere words to end the crisis. Ottawa has to provide a loan and loan guarantee program sufficient to cover the amounts unfairly withheld by Washington.

Will Ottawa agree to our proposal, to protect our businesses and our workers?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Export Promotion]

Mr. Speaker, we have consistently stood up to say that the tariffs against softwood lumber, particularly the very important forestry sector, are unjustified and absolutely unwarranted. We have been working with the Americans to make sure that we are using the dispute settlement mechanism to make sure there are panellists who can look into this.

We will always stand up for Canadian workers, the Canadian softwood lumber industry and the forestry sector. I look forward to working with my hon. colleague to keep doing that.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the time for talk is over. We need loans and loan guarantees to cover the illegal duties. We need to better oversee the CUSMA litigation process to prevent unfair delay tactics. We need to demand a tax exemption for private forests that have nothing to do with the Americans' allegations. We also need to obtain recognition from Washington that Quebec's forestry system is in compliance with free trade requirements.

We are willing to work with the government, but it will have to take action. What is it waiting for?