Debates of April 10th, 2024

Intergovernmental Relations

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this Prime Minister is just not worth the cost of his incompetence.

His inflationary policies have increased the cost of everything: rents have doubled, inflation is at a 40-year high, violent crime is making our streets more and more unsafe, and Quebeckers are getting less and less for their money.

After breaking just about everything in Ottawa, the Prime Minister has spent the last two weeks announcing that he now wants to impose his incompetence on Quebec's jurisdiction.

Can the Prime Minister mind his own business?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, what we are hearing is the party of inaction. According to the Conservatives, doing nothing is the answer.

Well, no, the people watching us at home know we need to invest in housing, we need to invest in day care, we need to invest in workers.

If my colleague from Quebec wants to talk about success, let us look at the biggest private investment in Quebec's history. We attracted Northvolt to make the biggest investment here.

From our side of the House, we believe that by investing, we ensure prosperity not only today, but for generations to come.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister often says, after eight years, those watching at home know very well that the Prime Minister is the only one responsible for the incompetence he has shown in his area of jurisdiction.

It is no wonder that Quebec does not want him underfoot. The Prime Minister wanted to interfere in housing and the price of rent doubled in Quebec. He wanted to interfere in the lives of middle-class people, and he shattered young families' dreams of home ownership and middle-class workers now have to rely on food banks. When the Prime Minister interferes, Quebeckers pay a heavy price.

Will the Prime Minister listen to common sense and put aside his plans to meddle even further in areas where he has clearly shown that he has no expertise?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to expertise.

One thing is clear. Every time we have been there for Canadians, the Conservatives have voted against our measures. They are against investments in child care, housing and seniors. If we were to listen to the Conservatives, we would be saying no to pretty much everything.

No, in today's world, confident countries invest. We are investing in health, education and housing. Confident countries invest in their people. That is exactly what we are doing.

Housing

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there are plenty of concrete measures we can take to address the housing crisis. In fact, I proposed 12 of them just this morning. I am willing to discuss them with the Liberals at any time, because the only measures they have proposed so far include imposing ill-conceived conditions on the provinces. If they do not meet those conditions, Ottawa will cut off funding.

The Prime Minister is basically telling any province that refuses to be blackmailed that if they want the government to respect their jurisdictions, they will have to make do without federal money. However, it is our money.

There are no concrete measures, only threats to the provinces and municipalities. Is that the Liberal plan? It sounds like a Conservative plan.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted by my colleague's question because I have taken a close look at the infamous report he spoke about and worked on himself.

Several stakeholders are mentioned in his report. These stakeholders, including FRAPRU, spoke positively about housing rights and hailed the fact that we want to build more housing.

We are not here to write reports. We are here to build housing.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the conditions set by Ottawa are not speeding up housing construction. They are slowing it down. Instead of getting the money out now, so that Quebec can get to work, the Liberals are picking a fight that will last until 2025.

The money they are holding back is meant for infrastructure, like water systems. However, that is only the first step, unless the Liberals want homes without drinking water built on vacant land. Imagine, we are no further ahead than installing running water. We have not even started talking about constructing buildings and already the federal government is slowing everyone down.

Why not just transfer the money now so that we can tackle the housing crisis now?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, to me, the dark blue or light blue rhetoric is all the same.

Honestly, a person cannot claim to want to help others and then turn around and vote against all the measures that we announced this week. Incidentally, the measure that my colleague just mentioned was part of last week's announcements.

We announced a fund specifically to support housing infrastructure. We announced a fund to protect renters' rights. We announced a fund to ensure the creation of an industrial catalogue to speed up construction.

On this side of the House, we do not write reports; we build houses.

Intergovernmental Affairs

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of Canada under the Liberals, one in four children is going hungry, housing costs have doubled, people are sleeping in tents, and food bank usage has become the norm.

The Prime Minister has failed in his own responsibilities, and we know that his inflationary spending is creating chaos. He has the nerve to lecture the provinces and impose his incompetence on them.

Will the Prime Minister listen to the Premier of Quebec, who is urging him to withdraw from our areas of jurisdiction and mind his own business?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are pleased to do so with the co‑operation of Quebec municipalities, including the City of Lévis, and the Government of Quebec. There will be 8,000 affordable housing units in the coming months. This is the largest number of affordable housing units built by Quebeckers in one go in the history of the province of Quebec. That is because we are working in partnership with the Government of Quebec.

We talk about competence, but I think we have forgotten the person who is perhaps the least competent of the gang: the Conservative leader. He built six affordable housing units during his tenure as housing minister.

Democratic Institutions

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, at the public inquiry, it was confirmed that CSIS briefed top Liberal officials that Beijing had interfered in the nomination on behalf of the member for Don Valley North. Today, The Globe and Mail was reporting that a top Liberal broke the law by leaking classified information that resulted in the member for Don Valley North being tipped off that he was being monitored by CSIS.

Who broke the law? What is the name of that top Liberal?

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

Mr. Speaker, in regard to the fact that, unfortunately, foreign interference is a problem that some foreign state actors have taken to try to undermine our democracy, it is not new. That is precisely why we have taken this matter so seriously. It is precisely why we have initiated a number of steps to strengthen our democracy. We have all agreed to the inquiry, and we want to allow that work to continue so Canadians have a full picture of the issues around foreign interference.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that non-answer is completely unacceptable. Enough of the cover-up. Only a handful of Liberal officials were briefed by CSIS. We now know a top Liberal broke the law, undermined the work of CSIS and put the partisan interests of the Liberal Party ahead of national security.

When did the Prime Minister first learn of this criminal leak, and did he refer it to the RCMP?

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

Mr. Speaker, all parties in the House agreed to the terms of reference for Justice Hogue's inquiry. It is important for Canadians and all members of the House that foreign interference not be partisan. It is important we allow Justice Hogue to continue in this work, so Canadians can have a full picture surrounding any attempts at foreign interference in this country. An interim report will be delivered in May, and I look forward to the recommendations on how we can strengthen our democracy.

Health

[Brendan Hanley, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, the government signed bilateral agreements with all 13 provinces and territories this past March. A few weeks ago, in my riding, three agreements were announced with the territorial governments, to invest a total amount of nearly $86 million to improve health care access and services for the Yukon.

Can you elaborate on what this health investment means for those living in the Yukon and for all Canadians? This is for the Minister of Health.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am certain the hon. member for Yukon was not asking the Speaker to elaborate but indeed the Minister of Health to elaborate.

The hon. Minister of Health has the floor.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

You, Mr. Speaker, would also be very enthusiastic about the bilateral agreements that have been signed across this country. I want to thank the member for Yukon for his extraordinary work, not only as a member of Parliament but as a physician and a chief medical officer. The work he has done to promote public health and better health for Canadians across the country really has to be commended. I was so proud to be with him in the Yukon to make an announcement that is going to see more doctors and more nurses, reduce backlog, improve access to care and make sure that we allow our seniors to age at home. It is part of a $200-billion plan to take action across the country.

Public Services and Procurement

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, we know that he is not worth the cost or the corruption. We have seen that with the $60 million he spent on his failed arrive scam. Last year alone, he spent $21 billion on outside consultants, and his favourite, hand-picked consultants from GC Strategies are being hauled before the bar of the House to answer questions, under threat of imprisonment, for lying to parliamentarians in the inquiries about the Liberal scandal. It is a historic tool for historic levels of corruption.

In the budget next week, will the Prime Minister cut the corruption in his government?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have said time and time again, when it comes to the procurement process, Canadians and all parliamentarians expect the process to be followed and expect laws to be followed. This is precisely why we have supported the work of the committee.

CBSA has already initiated a number of measures to improve its procurement process. We will continue to make those improvements so Canadians have trust in our procurement systems.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the procurement system that the Liberals are presiding over is so broken that millions of dollars are being paid to firms who add no value and do no work on contracts. Just last year, $21 billion went to outside contracts. The NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost or the corruption of its $60-million arrive scam, which saw GC Strategies paid $20 million when they did no work and added no value. For their failed arrive scam, Canadians got lies, fraud and forgery. Will the Liberals cut the corruption in their budget next Wednesday?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is ironic, coming from Conservatives, as these very same companies were also awarded contracts under Conservative leadership for millions of dollars, and Conservatives did nothing to fix the procurement process.

However, rest assured, Canadians can know that our government takes this exceptionally seriously. It is precisely why we have already implemented changes, something that Conservatives ignored for years. We are not going to do that. We are going to build trust in the procurement system, which is something Conservatives failed to do.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the House will make history when one of the favourite contractors of this NDP-Liberal government is hauled before the bar.

The parliamentary secretary just said that GC Strategies got contracts from Conservatives. Actually, do members know when GC Strategies was founded? It was in 2015. The company was founded in 2015 and did extensive business with the Liberal government to get sole-sourced for the arrive scam app. Can the government explain why this company got so much work after being founded in the same year that the Liberals took government, and will the government finally cancel its costly criminal corruption?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. government House leader.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member across knows not to use such language, and he knows that there is no evidence for the kind of language he is using that supports that.

The government and the opposition parties all voted to bring this gentleman before the bar of the House of Commons, expecting answers. Parliamentarians are entitled to answers. We voted to get the answers, just like they did.