Debates of Feb. 8th, 2024

Housing

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one knows the Liberals' housing plan is an utter disaster when the only support they can find for it is to misquote a member of the opposition. That is how bad it actually is.

Here are the facts: Housing investments in December were down another 18%. There are all these fake Liberal announcements and photo ops, and guess what? Fewer houses are getting built. The Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost, because his announcements mean nothing.

Will the Liberals finally realize they have caused housing hell in this country, and support our common-sense Conservative plan to get houses built?

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

Mr. Speaker, those are more slogans from the member and the party opposite.

What do we see on our side? We are putting serious measures forward to work with municipalities. Across the country, over 500 municipalities have applied for the housing accelerator fund. We have completed deals with 30 municipalities, working with mayors, not denigrating them.

What do we hear on the other side? We hear no plan at all. Conservatives want to tax homebuilding, for example. That will not lead to more homes built. What is another big idea? They want a snitch line for residents to rat on their neighbours if there are concerns around NIMBY. That is not at all how one gets change.

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, the costs of rent and mortgage payments have doubled. This was at a time when housing starts were down in 2023.

Even if the Liberals' plan were to come to fruition, CIBC has reported that the plan falls 1.5 million homes short of restoring affordability. People are in a cost of living crisis, yet the Liberal housing minister jumps from one photo op to another. No government has ever spent so much to achieve so little.

When will the government build homes, not bureaucracy?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we are taking a comprehensive approach to building more housing. That means increasing supply. We are eliminating the GST on purpose-built rentals. We have struck deals with over 30 municipalities from coast to coast in order to ensure that we are getting more supply in the system.

We will make sure we are there for vulnerable Canadians and the middle class. All the while, the Conservatives on the other side of the House vote against measures to support Canadians. That is not our approach. We will always be there for Canada.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this government, the price of homes has doubled, rent has doubled and this government is not worth the cost. A homeless shelter, the Bercail, in Saint‑George in Beauce, says that it is overwhelmed by requests for rooms in 2024.

The government keeps abandoning Canadians when it comes to housing. It needs to get out of the way and allow the municipalities to prosper like they are in Victoriaville, Saguenay and Trois‑Rivières.

Why does the Prime Minister not build more housing instead of building more bureaucracy?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to hear a question from a colleague from the greater Quebec City area.

During its 10 years in power, the Conservative government built 24,000 housing units. Over the past five years, we have built nearly 10 times as many. Over the past few months, 500,000 more have been announced.

Now, would my Conservative colleagues from the Quebec City area agree to come with me to meet the Quebec City administration, namely the mayor and the municipal councillors, and explain to them why their Conservative leader is referring to every single one of them, everyone from Quebec City, as being incompetent?

Official Languages

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, French is hanging by a thread in Canada. We saw it again in committee.

The Liberal parliamentary secretary, the Conservatives and the NDP all voted against bilingualism for the miscarriage of justice review commission. The Liberal member's pretext was that he was defending unilingual francophones. Give me a break. Francophones always lose when bilingualism takes a back seat. He added that he was defending anglophones. That I can believe.

If justice is bilingual, if Canada is bilingual, why can the minister not commit to appointing bilingual commissioners?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I am a very proud Franco-Albertan. We know we have standards when it comes to promoting bilingualism. This applies to the courts and everywhere else in our system.

We are also committed to protecting French in Quebec and across the country—not with one, two or three, but with $4.1 billion. We are here for bilingualism and for Canada's francophonie.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if that is true, then he will have to talk to his parliamentary secretary about it.

As I was saying, French is hanging by a thread in Canada, even in the Prime Minister's Office. Radio-Canada reported that it obtained a copy of a letter from the Privy Council indicating that it would take too long and cost too much to translate the documents produced for the Rouleau commission. Even providing a simple index would take too long and cost too much. It seems as though they just did not want to do it and that the rights of francophones are only important when respecting them is easy and does not cost anything.

Will the Prime Minister remind his own department that respect for French is mandatory?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I respect my hon. colleague.

We promote bilingualism. We respect the tribunal. We respect the committee. A 2,000-page bilingual report that Canadians can read is coming.

Public Safety

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the justice minister has spent the last week arguing with Conservatives and telling Canadians that strengthening penalties for auto theft will not work.

We all know that the Prime Minister has a habit of throwing his justice ministers under the bus. Earlier today, the Prime Minister finally admitted that stronger penalties are required to tackle the auto theft crisis that he created. They cannot both be right.

Will the minister finally admit that he was wrong and Conservatives were right and commit to repealing Liberal soft-on-crime policies such as house arrest for car thieves?

[James Maloney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as we all know, auto theft is a very serious problem in Ontario, in Quebec and across the country. It requires consultation with experts to find a proper solution, not slogans or simple criticism that does not really address the problem.

Today, we had the auto summit. We brought in people from all the provinces, the police associations and different levels of government. They are going to come up with constructive solutions to address the issue.

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, an auto summit is not what Canadians are calling for. They are calling for action. Auto theft is up 300% in Toronto and 120% in New Brunswick. These are the Liberals' own numbers since they took office.

Only Conservatives will do what is necessary to stop the crime with a proven approach of jail, not bail, for repeat offenders; ending house arrest for auto theft; and bringing in mandatory penalties for repeat offenders.

The numbers are in. The facts do not lie.

Why will the minister not stand up and admit that the Liberals' soft-on-crime agenda is a failure that needs to change?

[James Maloney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I will agree with him insofar as the facts do not lie. Some people just have a problem interpreting them. The reality is that we have toughened the sentencing requirements for auto theft. We have improved and strengthened the bail system. We have improved the system in a way that is going to protect Canadians and keep them safe.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government loves photo ops and convening meetings, but it is light on action when it comes to auto theft.

The government's own news release shows that auto thefts in Toronto have increased by 300% under its watch. At home, Niagara Regional Police indicated that they were investigating some 20 auto thefts just from January.

The Prime Minister is responsible for the ports, the CBSA, the RCMP and the Criminal Code. It is time to stop the crime. Will the PM reverse his soft-on-crime, catch-and-release policies, which have helped cause this auto theft crisis?

[James Maloney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said already, this a problem that requires consultation with all the parties involved: industry, different levels of government and the law enforcement community. Slogans are not going to find a solution.

Jenni Byrne has obviously been hired by the bumper sticker industry, and that is her pool over there for drafting them.

Disaster Assistance

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, my province of Nova Scotia was hit with one of the worst snow storms in two decades. The Cape Breton Regional Municipality declared a local state of emergency and some communities in northern Nova Scotia like Pictou and Antigonish remain isolated.

Community members are deeply concerned about their safety and that of their neighbours. Therefore, I ask this question on behalf of my hon. colleagues, the members of Parliament for Central Nova, Cape Breton—Canso and Sydney—Victoria.

Could the Minister of Emergency Preparedness update the House on what is being done with the Government of Canada in partnership with municipal and provincial authorities to help residents in need?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all the members of Parliament from Nova Scotia who have kept me informed so we can make the appropriate and timely decisions to get the support to the people in need.

Parks Canada leveraged the crucial snow removing equipment, and we did that within hours. I also want to thank our partners like the Canadian Coast Guard and Team Rubicon that rapidly put people on the ground to help their neighbours get out from under the snow. Over 500 people were made available to provide this support.

Indigenous Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, for hundreds of years, first nations have suffered under a broken system that takes power away from their communities and gives it to Ottawa. The Indian Act hands over all reserve land and money to the federal government, meaning first nations have to go to Ottawa to ask for their tax revenues collected from projects on their land. After eight years, the Prime Minister has allowed this system to continue.

Our Conservative leader just announced his support for the optional first nations resource charge that would enable first nations to take back control of their resources and money.

Will the Liberal government put first nations in control and support the FNRC, or will it let the Ottawa-knows-best model continue?

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Conservatives for actually asking a question on indigenous issues, considering the fact that we agree the Indian Act needs to change. This is exactly why the government introduced the legislation on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This is why we continue to support that as Liberals. When Conservatives have the chance, they obstruct and vote against.

Public Services and Procurement

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last night, in a shameful display, the NDP-Liberal coalition tried to shut down the committee studying the arrive can scam. This $54-million egregious abuse of taxpayers must be fully studied. Canadians deserve no less.

More and more details are being revealed, and the corruption within the CBSA and the government is astonishing. The walls are caving in. The rot is being exposed.

What is the coalition so desperate to hide?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House time and time again, we are happy to see the work the committee is doing. When we issued a contract for the ArriveCAN app, we expected all procurement policies to be followed.

The president of the CBSA has confirmed that there are internal audits and investigations happening. The police have been called when necessary. We look forward to the results of that investigation, because any acts of wrongdoing will come with consequences.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that type of response proves that the Prime Minister and the NDP-Liberal government are simply not worth the cost. Let me clarify the record: 76% of ArriveCAN contractors performed no work; $11 million went to a two-person basement company for no work; and now top bureaucrats at the CBSA face accusations of lying to committee and even destruction of evidence.

After everything else that has been exposed in this $54-million boondoggle, what else is the coalition government trying to hide?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have faith in the CBSA president, who has already acknowledged that they have launched an internal audit on the current procurement process. We look forward to the OAG report on ArriveCAN next week.

I have said time and time again that we are working hard to ensure that when contracts are issued all procurement policies are followed. We look forward to these audits and the AG report, because if we can make further procurement improvements, we will. We expect contracts to be done properly.

Child Care

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, we know that families are struggling with the cost of living. For parents of young children, the Canada-wide early learning and child care system is helping them return to the workforce while accessing affordable, quality child care. In Prince Edward Island, $10-a-day child care has been available since January 1, and we can already see its positive impacts.

Can the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development update this House on the progress that has been made as this important national system continues to be built out?