House of Commons Hansard #277 of the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was illness.

Topics

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This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.

Statements by Members

Question Period

The Conservatives criticize the government's record on the cost of living, focusing heavily on the housing crisis (doubled costs, lack of building, military housing issues). They link rising crime rates, including auto theft and extortion, to "catch-and-release" policies (house arrest, bail) and inadequate resources like port scanners. They also attribute increasing food prices to the carbon tax.
The Liberals highlight efforts on building housing, including eliminating the GST on new apartments and investing in military housing. They address crime by linking auto theft to organized crime, contrasting with Conservative approaches. They emphasize increasing competition in the grocery sector, rolling out the Canadian dental care plan, and defending the carbon price as fighting climate change while supporting Canadians.
The Bloc discusses medical assistance in dying, proposing Quebec could authorize advance requests. They criticize federal immigration failures, seeking for Quebec to repatriate all powers, noting Ottawa owes $470 million for asylum seekers and Quebec exceeded capacity.
The NDP criticize the government for letting corporate greed increase grocery prices and allow airlines to treat disabled passengers unfairly. They also highlight the underfunding of health benefits for Nunavummiut and the need for promised mental health funding.

Petitions

Alleged Misleading Comments by the Prime Minister Alain Therrien raises a question of privilege, alleging the Prime Minister misled the House about responsibility for inviting Yaroslav Hunka in September 2023, arguing the PMO's role was downplayed after the Speaker was blamed. 800 words, 10 minutes.

Criminal Code Second reading of Bill C-62. The bill extends the temporary exclusion of medical assistance in dying eligibility for persons suffering solely from a mental illness by three years, until March 17, 2027. The Liberal government states more time is needed for system readiness, citing provincial and medical concerns. Conservatives call for an indefinite pause, arguing the system is unprepared and irremediability cannot be determined. The Bloc supports the principle but questions the delay length. 13500 words, 2 hours.

Criminal Code Second reading of Bill C-332. The bill amends the Criminal Code to criminalize controlling or coercive conduct in intimate relationships. Supporters argue this pattern of behaviour often precedes physical violence and is a major risk factor for femicide. Criminalizing it would provide tools for intervention and help victims, particularly marginalized women, access support. 7500 words, 1 hour.

Adjournment Debates

Seniors and affordable housing Bonita Zarrillo says seniors are being displaced by luxury condo development and criticizes the Liberals' record on affordable housing and transit funding. Chris Bittle cites the government's investments in affordable housing and transit, and welcomes Zarrillo's community applying for funding, saying the government is ready to work across party lines.
Rape by Hamas on October 7 Michelle Rempel questions why the government took so long to condemn the rape and torture of Jewish women by Hamas and calls for UN Women to be reformed. Chris Bittle reiterates that the government condemns the violence and supports investigations, highlighting Canada's feminist foreign policy.
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HousingOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, our housing ambition can be best summed up by the Conservative member for Dufferin—Caledon who said that it seems that every day our Minister of Housing has a new program, a new announcement or a new cheque for Canadians. That is exactly right.

We continue to work hand in hand with Canadians and with municipalities across the country, municipalities he would rather insult, to get more homes built faster. The investments we are making, including things like taking the GST off purpose-built rental housing, which the Conservatives voted against, will continue to create more homes for Canadians right across the country.

HousingOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, people cannot live in announcements and programs; they need homes that have walls, floors and ceilings. The Prime Minister doing another selfie in front of a construction site will not do that. In fact, construction was down 28% in December.

After eight years of the Prime Minister's promises and spending, will he accept our common-sense plan to build homes and not bureaucracy?

HousingOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, just last week I was in Kitchener–Waterloo making an announcement for the housing accelerator program for Waterloo.

What the Leader of the Opposition seems to have missed is that we were standing in a freshly completed building for seniors. In fact, $33 million of funding from the federal government a few years ago allowed that building to be built today.

We are building things today that people are moving into in the coming weeks. We are announcing how we are building things for tomorrow, while he just chooses to insult Canadians, insult mayors and insult our intelligence.

JusticeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC

Mr. Speaker, the government wants a three-year extension on its deadline to comply with a ruling on medical assistance in dying for mental illness. Imagine what will happen if the Conservatives form government. That is not what we want, but the alternative is not much better. Just imagine what will happen if the Conservatives come to power: They would delay MAID forever and a day. They would never act on it.

Does the Prime Minister realize that he is acting as though he is afraid of the religious right?

JusticeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, we could not agree more that a Conservative government would pose a threat to fundamental rights and freedoms. At the same time, when it comes to medical assistance in dying, we understand how difficult and personal a choice this is. We have a duty to protect the most vulnerable while respecting fundamental rights and freedoms. That is why, with regard to advance requests for people with mental health issues and for minors, we have been holding and will continue to hold in-depth discussions and consultations before going any further.

JusticeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC

Mr. Speaker, indeed, there is a solution to consider. With the support of the Quebec National Assembly, Quebec has proposed that the Liberal government's legislation include a conditional provision allowing Quebec or any other interested province to authorize advance requests for medical assistance in dying. If that happens, the three-year extension would then be acceptable because Quebec could proceed according to the values of Quebeckers.

Is the Prime Minister willing to agree to Quebec's proposal?

JusticeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out, the issue of advance requests was raised a number of years ago and has been identified as one of the important but difficult discussions we need to have as a society.

Could someone make an advance request to receive medical assistance in dying if their condition reaches a certain point, even if they are unable to consent to it? This is a difficult and important issue.

I welcome Quebec's debates on the issue. We are going to pursue our discussions on that.

Grocery IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister could learn a lot from the young women I met earlier today, who are struggling to put food on the table. They are living a struggle that he has never had to face. They are getting ripped off by corporate grocery stores, and the Prime Minister has let it happen for over two years.

Will the Prime Minister get serious now about taking on corporate greed by supporting my bill to reduce the price of groceries?

Grocery IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, right now, with the fall economic statement, we are proposing significant measures to increase competition in the grocery sector. Many of them are ideas that we are in alignment with the leader of the NDP on. We believe in moving forward with greater competition in the grocery sector. That is something the NDP and the Liberals agree on.

It is not something Conservatives agree on; their chief strategist is actually on the Loblaws' payroll. They choose to promote disinformation and misinformation while defending big grocers. On this side of the House, we will stand up for Canadians.

Grocery IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Speaker, both the Liberals and the Conservatives have a history of letting rich CEOs off the hook. We can change that today.

The Prime Minister could learn a lot from the young women I met earlier today who are struggling to make ends meet. They are living a life he has never had to face. While they are being gouged by the major grocery chains, the Prime Minister is siding with the CEOs.

Will the Prime Minister vote in favour of my bill to bring down grocery prices?

Grocery IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the NDP's efforts to increase competition in the grocery sector, because we really believe in that. We have included measures in our legislation that correspond to the measures proposed by the NDP. We absolutely believe in increasing competition in the grocery sector. That is something the NDP and the Liberals agree on.

The Conservatives would rather listen to their lobbyist buddy who works for Loblaw and defend the interests of major grocery retailers, instead of fighting on behalf of Canadians to bring down grocery prices.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Prime Minister, he is not worth the crime caused by his automatic catch-and-release policies for car thieves and his mismanagement of the ports.

Mark Roos had his Dodge Ram stolen. According to the AirTag he put in his truck, it was at the port of Montreal. He knows it is there. However, according to port security, they cannot go find the truck because there are not enough scanners.

Will the Prime Minister agree to my common-sense plan and buy 24 scanners to find the Dodge Ram?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, organized crime is responsible for the rise in auto theft across the country. The Conservative Party's attacks on Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 are simply not the solution or the way to solve this problem.

We will continue to invest in the fight against auto theft with, for example, $121 million for the Government of Ontario.

We will continue to work with the CBSA to increase its staff. We are there to do our part.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, the question was about scanners at ports.

After eight years, the port authorities are only scanning or inspecting 1% of shipping containers leaving our ports. That led to the case where Mark Roos had his 2021 Dodge Ram stolen. Luckily, he had an Apple AirTag, so he could follow its transit to the port of Montreal, where he knows it to be. He called the cops and the port authority, both of which said that they do not know which box it is in, so they cannot find it.

Why will the Prime Minister not accept my common-sense plan to buy 24 scanners so we can scan the boxes, find the Dodge Ram and give it back to Mark?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, this would perhaps be a little more credible from the Conservative Party if it had not cut 1,000 CBSA officers when it was last in government. Conservatives proposed to cut 400 more, if they had the 2015 election.

The reality is that we restored every single border officer they cut and added 800 more. We are continuing to do the necessary work. We recovered 1,800 stolen vehicles last year. We will continue to do—

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

The Speaker Greg Fergus

I ask members to please keep their comments to themselves until they have the floor to ask or answer questions.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, while Conservatives cut frontline border services officers, along with cuts to the RCMP and cuts to police forces across the country, we invested in them. We are going to continue to do that, with $121 million for Ontario and more investments for port and border security.

We are going to continue to step up and keep Canadians safe.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, we know the Prime Minister's strength is not math, but the facts are that, when we took office, there were about 12,000 people working as CBSA officials. When we left office, there were over 14,000. To help the Prime Minister with the numbers, 14,000 is more than 12,000.

It is true that we cut back office bureaucracy and high-priced consultants, which he has let balloon. That is why, after eight years, he has increased auto theft by 32%. Will the Prime Minister accept our common-sense plan to cut high-priced consultants and hire more frontline inspectors?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I cannot help but smile when the Leader of the Opposition talks about high-priced consultants, because his campaign is being run by a high-priced consultant for Loblaws. When he stands in this place and across the country, wrenching his heartstrings about the prices that Canadians are paying for groceries, his top adviser is in the pocket of Loblaws, giving him the same talking points as she gave Galen Weston when he appeared at a parliamentary committee. If Canadians are going to believe the Leader of the Opposition, he needs to come clean with who is funding his organizations.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, he is sure getting desperate if he has to blame Conservative campaign workers for the fact that he raised food prices, especially when the Prime Minister's new marketing director, Max Valiquette, did marketing for Loblaws for four years. Don Guy, the Prime Minister's chief pollster, works for GT&CO, which collects cheques from Loblaws. Dan Arnold, his other pollster, also get cheques from Loblaws. Are they the ones who forced him to quadruple the carbon tax on our food?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

The Speaker Greg Fergus

Order. I know it is Wednesday and members are very keen to hear the answer to this question, so I will ask them to restrain themselves while the right hon. Prime Minister answers.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

Public SafetyOral Questions

February 7th, 2024 / 2:40 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, we can tell it is Wednesday because, this morning, the members of the Conservative caucus got to hear directly from Jenni Byrne, who sits in their caucus with them, giving them advice. That is exactly where they are coming from, when she is actively on the Loblaws payroll while at the same time feeding lines to the Leader of the Opposition about food prices and concocting a theory around carbon pricing and grocery prices that, as the member for Regina—Lewvan pointed out yesterday, has no basis in fact. We see the kind of torque he chooses to pull.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, he makes it too easy. He talks about caucus meetings and Loblaws. Get this, Mr. Speaker: The Prime Minister had someone who is his director of caucus services, named Julie DeWolfe, who is now a lobbyist for Loblaws. Not only that, but he digs up a lot of dirt. His chief dirt digger, Kevin Bosch, left his office so that he could go and work as a lobbyist for Loblaws. Would the Prime Minister like us to continue going down the list of all his Loblaws lobbyists?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, it is quite something to watch the flailing of the Conservatives right now as they do anything to try to distract from the fact that their campaign manager, the Leader of the Opposition's top adviser, still gets contributions and paycheques from Loblaws. This is an issue, when he has stood up and pretended to care about food prices. When we have heard the exact same talking points come out of Galen Weston's mouth as out of the Leader of the Opposition's mouth on some invented connection between the price on pollution and grocery prices, we know exactly who is behind the Conservative Party.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Bloc

Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Beloeil—Chambly, QC

Mr. Speaker, former minister Lametti and other members of the Liberal Party openly considered the idea of opening up the Canadian Constitution. As it happens, Quebec is considering—warning, I am about to use a dirty word—a referendum. Yes, it is considering having a referendum on repatriating all powers in the area of immigration.

Why does the Prime Minister not talk to the Quebec government and give it all the powers so that we can finally have an immigration policy by Quebec, for Quebec?