Debates of Feb. 7th, 2024

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, every country is in charge of its responsibilities in immigration. Canada is responsible for border management and immigration in Canada.

Recognizing Quebec's unique status and the need to defend the French language and Quebec culture, Canada has long given Quebec specific powers that no other province has for the defence of Quebec. We will continue to work with Quebec on immigration.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we agree, Quebec should be a country and should have all the power. We will get there.

In the meantime, the Prime Minister and his minister are saying that they are working hand in hand with Quebec. The Minister of Immigration says that he is working hand in hand with Quebec. However, Quebec's immigration minister wants to hold a referendum to repatriate all immigration powers.

Does the Prime Minister realize that this is a repudiation of the Liberals' immigration policy, a repudiation of their failure in immigration, and a repudiation of his immigration minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we keep seeing how desperate the Bloc Québécois always is to pit Quebec and Canada against each other and look for excuses to hold a referendum.

The reality is that, yes, we are working hand in hand with the Government of Quebec, and Ottawa and Quebec have been doing that for decades to ensure that the immigration numbers are appropriate for Quebec. We will continue to work respectfully, without fighting, despite what the Bloc Québécois wants.

Public Safety

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is still not worth the crime. He unleashed the car theft crisis by bringing in house arrest and bail, not jail, for repeat career car thieves and by allowing our ports to become sieves where our cars are stolen from, so much so that we are now becoming world-famous for the Prime Minister's failures. Ghana's Economic and Organised Crime Office says, “We are...in possession of the stolen vehicles. The victims...it's all in Canada,” and, “No Canadian agency has approached us directly or made a formal complaint”.

Will the Prime Minister take the money from the back-office bureaucrats and consultants and put it into frontline law enforcement to protect our cars?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition likes to make base political accusations. He likes to talk about Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 as the reason there is auto theft in this country. The reality is that Bill C-5 is the bill that keeps mandatory minimum penalties for car theft on the books, and Bill C-75 is the bill that raises the maximum penalty on car theft.

We have continued to step up in terms of keeping Canadians safe. We will continue to invest in the CBSA and in the resources necessary to counter these challenges. We will keep working based on facts and evidence.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, here are the actual facts: Bill C-5 keeps mandatory prison sentences. They were already in place, put there by the previous Conservative government; they were not created by Bill C-5. What Bill C-5 did was bring in house arrest for career car thieves, so they could watch Netflix or perhaps play Grand Theft Auto in their living room and then go out onto the street and steal another car whenever they want.

Will the Prime Minister follow my common-sense plan to end house arrest for career car thieves?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in the Leader of the Opposition's simplistic world view, someone sitting on their couch at home playing video games goes out and steals an Escalade. That is not what happens. Organized crime is directly involved in the massive spike in auto thefts in this country. That is why we are stepping up on investment in anti-organized crime; investments against money laundering, which that party voted against; and investment in more powers and more resources for Ontario to counter auto theft, as well as more resources for the CBSA that the Conservatives cut when they were last in office.

We will continue to be there.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, actually, people do steal cars when they are on house arrest, because all they have to do is open the door, walk out and steal the car.

Then there is his bail policy, which allowed the same 40 offenders to be arrested 6,000 times in Vancouver in a year, many of them car thieves.

Will the Prime Minister accept my common-sense plan to get rid of house arrest and bring in jail, not bail, for career car thieves, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in all the questions the Leader of the Opposition asked about car theft, he has not once mentioned organized crime, which is the cause of car theft in this country right now. Perhaps he is not mentioning it because, when we brought forward measures to counter organized crime and money laundering, the Conservative Party voted against them. We moved forward with more resources for Ontario, $121 million, to counter organized crime and car theft, and the Conservative Party voted against.

We will continue to anchor ourselves in facts and data and deliver on keeping Canadians safe.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he wants facts, so here is another fact. Extortions are up 218% since he took office. Why? It is because he got rid of mandatory jail time for extortion with a weapon, so now he allows extortionists to go around with guns, harassing small business owners in Brampton, Surrey, Calgary and Edmonton, where horror stories are unfolding.

Will the Prime Minister agree to our common-sense plan to reverse catch-and-release, so that Canadians are safe from extortion?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the situation faced by far too many people across this country around extortion from organized crime is unacceptable, and that is why we are taking action directly with the RCMP and local police forces to counter it.

However, once again we see Conservatives falling into the same far-right American trap in their approach on crime that does not work, that does not keep Canadians safe. It sounds good in sound bites and attacks but does not actually deliver safer communities. It is like their opposition to gun control and their desire to put assault-style weapons back on the streets. They do not keep Canadians safe. The work we do does.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the cold, hard facts. There were two-thirds fewer cases of extortion in the last year of the common-sense Conservative government than there are today. In the 10 years we were in office, the number of car thefts fell by half, and that was because we targeted the worst offenders and kept them in prison, secured our ports and stopped organized crime.

The Prime Minister has only multiplied crime with his catch-and-release policies. Will he follow the evidence and reinstate a common-sense criminal justice—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I hate to interrupt the hon. member, and I do not know if it was picked up on the mikes, but I did pick up some language that was unparliamentary. I would ask all members to please watch themselves.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what we heard from the Leader of the Opposition is that under the previous Conservative government, everything was perfect, and what he is proposing is to make Canada great again. That is not what Canadians want. He is pining for a nostalgia that, quite frankly, Canadians do not feel. They remember what he did as Stephen Harper's failed housing minister. They remember the rights of indigenous people violated, the ignoring of environmental responsibilities and the lack of an environmental and economic plan for the future.

We are going to continue—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam.

Persons with Disabilities

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians with disabilities are being treated unfairly by big airlines, and the Liberal solution is another gentlemen's meeting with a CEO who cares only about his own bottom line.

This is a slap in the face to passengers who have had their human rights violated, having to drag themselves off a plane. Like with the greedy grocery CEOs, the Liberals are just letting Air Canada get away with it.

Will the Prime Minister get serious about holding these CEOs to account to protect Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to be there to protect vulnerable Canadians. We will continue to make sure that areas of federal jurisdiction like airlines continue to meet all their responsibilities and obligations toward Canadians. This is something we take extraordinarily seriously, and we will continue to ensure that all airlines are respecting Canadians and their rights.

Indigenous Affairs

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, the Liberals are skirting their responsibility by underfunding the non-insured health benefits that provide dental care, eye care, mental health and medical travel for Nunavummiut. Their actions are forcing Nunavut to divert funds to this program instead of to their own health priorities. The Liberals need to step up. Their failure to live up to their responsibilities to Nunavut is unacceptable.

Will the Prime Minister commit to his obligations to ensure that Nunavummiut have the health care they are owed?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago I was in Iqaluit to talk to the premier of Nunavut, P.J. Akeeagok, about how we can continue to be partners as we move forward and ensure that we strengthen opportunities for all Nunavummiut. This is what we are continuing to do.

Whether it was celebrating the historic devolution agreement that we made possible or looking at further supports, including non-insured health benefits, we will continue to be there for the people of Nunavut. We will continue to be there for the people of the north.

Dental Care

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week the government announced that eligible Canadian residents aged 72 and older can now apply for the Canadian dental care plan. Over 500,000 applicants have been approved for the Canadian dental care program, making dental care more affordable and accessible. This is great news for seniors in Kitchener—Conestoga and across Canada, as more and more seniors have access to affordable dental care.

Can the Prime Minister please update us on the Canadian dental care plan, which will help seniors smile and be an important part of their overall health?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member for Kitchener—Conestoga is passionate about ensuring that seniors and kids get access to dental care. I am happy to announce that in the first few weeks, over 600,000 seniors have successfully signed up for the Canadian dental care plan.

While the Conservative Party voted against funding dental care for those who need it most, we want to reassure Canadian seniors that on this side of the House we will always have their backs. We will fight for them, and we will make sure that the leader opposite never cuts essential supports to seniors.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing, which has doubled since he promised to lower it. Now, we have a brand new phenomenon: the middle-class homeless. In fact, according to the executive director of the Royal Canadian Legion of Nova Scotia, members of the Canadian Forces are now forced to live in tents and cars and to couch surf. There are 30 homeless encampments in Halifax after eight years of the Prime Minister.

Why would the Prime Minister then plan to go ahead with a $450-a-year rent increase for our armed forces members, who are already forced to live in tents?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, military members and their families are a priority, and we are taking steps to ensure that they are supported. We are investing $445 million over the coming years to tackle the supply of military housing.

When the Conservatives had an opportunity to support our military personnel, they chose not to. The Conservatives stood up in this House and voted against supporting our men and women in uniform just last December.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that is an outrageous non-response to the men and women who put their lives on the line for this country. He rewards them with a tent, or a couch in someone else's basement to sleep on.

After eight years of this Prime Minister, there has been a 177% increase in Bagotville and a 261% increase in the wait line for military housing. Now, he plans a $450 rent increase on the people who protect our country.

Should he not be ashamed of himself?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives, who nickel-and-dimed our military service members and veterans through nine years of their time in office, and even dropped military funding to below 1% of GDP.

We will continue to step up, including with $445 million for military housing in the coming years, as we continue to honour and support the women and men who serve our country with their lives.