Debates of April 11th, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we already know that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost, and after eight years, the Prime Minister is no longer even listening to Canadians. There is a 23% carbon tax hike when Canadians cannot afford to eat. Yesterday, the House passed a Conservative common-sense motion calling on the Prime Minister to convene an emergency televised carbon tax meeting with all 14 premiers. The Prime Minister is hiding, but maybe someone over there can tell us this: What day will the televised carbon tax meeting be?

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

Mr. Speaker, today, we are debating Bill C-50, the sustainable jobs act. The Royal Bank of Canada says there are 400,000 jobs that would come to Canadians if we were just to unlock the kind of prosperity envisaged in this very progressive piece of legislation. Instead, the Conservatives put forward 20,000 amendments generated by artificial intelligence. The robo-caucus needs to stop its robo-work with its robo-amendments and stop gatekeeping the opportunities that are coming to Canadians.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is false, and that was not an answer.

Canadians need relief, not more Liberal taxes. Seventy per cent of Canadians are now saying so. One in 10 people in Toronto is now relying on a food bank, and more than half of Canadians are $200 away from missing their bills. If the Liberals are not going to listen to Canadians and if they are not going to give us a date, can the member tell us what channel the carbon tax meeting will be on?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what the channel is that they should be plugged into, but it is the reality channel. Back here in the real world, there are real jobs at stake; there are real opportunities at stake, and there is affordability at stake. These members of the robo-caucus with its robo-amendments are in the way of opportunity and the way of progress and clean technology in this country. They need to get out of the way, stop the gatekeeping and let Canadians create the wealth that we need to succeed.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the member did not answer the question. I am not really sure what that was. He will not listen to Canadians; the Liberals will not listen to their NDP caucus. The Prime Minister will not listen to his successor, Mark Carney, who also wants him to meet with premiers. They will not give us a date, they will not give us a time, and they will not tell us what channel to watch. The Prime Minister will not even show up here in answer to this motion. The Prime Minister is being defiant when Canadians are lining up at food banks in record numbers. What are they covering for?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has repeatedly said he is all ears and, if there is a better plan, to put it on the table. Premier Moe himself said that this is the most cost-effective plan, and that is why our government will keep going with it while maintaining our AAA credit rating, while maintaining the lowest deb-to-GDP ratio in the G7 and while maintaining historically low unemployment. On this side of the House, we will always vote with Canadians and support them along the way.

Intergovernmental Relations

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Prime Minister, we have a passport crisis on our hands, violent crime is on the rise, the cost of housing has doubled, millions of people are using food banks, and criminals are cozy at home. What a fabulous record. Quebeckers are suffering because of his mismanagement. What is more, he is interfering in provincial jurisdictions.

Will he listen to the Premier of Quebec, who is asking him to mind his own business?

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

Mr. Speaker, during his entire tenure, six affordable housing units were built for the entire country when the opposition leader was the minister responsible for housing.

With the collaboration of the Government of Quebec and the leadership of Quebec's municipalities, 8,000 affordable housing units will be built over the next few months. I would like to invite my colleague, the member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, to join me for a visit to the Boisé des Fillion project being carried out by Lévis' municipal housing office. This project alone involves 23 affordable housing units, three times more than were built when her leader was the minister responsible for housing.

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

Mr. Speaker, to the already overly long list of this Liberal government's failures, we can add extravagant use of public funds and squandering of Quebeckers' dollars. This government spends Canadians' money like water. For the past eight years, it has had no budgetary discipline, causing the debt to double. It has not balanced a single budget, yet it wants to handle provincial issues. Quebec Premier François Legault has made it clear that this government needs to mind its own business.

Will it listen, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about a former premier of Quebec, Mr. Charest, with whom this member served and voted in favour of a price on pollution.

I think the hypocrisy coming from the other side of the House is quite striking, especially in a context where, today, we are talking about the 400,000 jobs that could be created in Canada thanks to green technologies and the new economy. This member is against these opportunities in battery plants in Quebec.

Be that as it may, on our side of the House, we support opportunities for Quebeckers.

Housing

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the housing issue proves that we must prevent the federal government from meddling in Quebec's areas of jurisdiction. When the federal level decides where the money goes, Quebeckers get ripped off, and the numbers from CMHC prove that without a doubt. Since the national housing strategy was created in 2019, what share of the funding has Quebec received when the federal government is choosing the projects? Do members know? The answer is 6.7%. That is not even a third of our fair share.

Will the government stop shortchanging Quebeckers and transfer housing money to Quebec, no strings attached?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have already talked about the Conservative leader's six housing units. Now I want to talk about the 8,000 housing units that will be built with the leadership and partnership of the Quebec government and Quebec municipalities.

The member for Salaberry—Suroît is surely already familiar with the Maison Péladeau project in her riding, with 48 affordable, accessible housing units that are also adapted to climate change. Those units will greatly improve the lives of dozens of people in her riding.

I would love to go visit this housing project with her and highlight how important our collaboration with the Quebec government is for these people in her riding.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, although Quebeckers make up 22% of the population, we received 6.7% of federal housing investments when the projects were chosen by Ottawa. It does not take a math genius to realize that we are getting ripped off.

Since 2019, the money has gone mostly to funding projects outside Quebec. We are in the midst of a full-on housing crisis and our tax dollars are being spent to house Ontarians, when we can no longer even pay rent here at home.

Is it clear now why we need to keep Ottawa as far away as possible from our exclusive jurisdiction over housing?

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

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Bloc Québécois may not like the idea of co-operating with the Quebec government. However, a scant few weeks ago we signed an agreement to build 8,000 affordable housing units, which represents the largest investment in affordable housing ever seen in the history of Quebec.

That is because the Quebec and federal governments are working together to invest two times $900 million to give Quebeckers and all other Canadians the affordable housing they need.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Montreal has experienced its largest rent increase in 30 years. This is a true crisis, and it is making it difficult for Montrealers to put a roof over their heads. What is the Liberal government’s solution? It is to set aside a mere 35% of the Wellington Basin project’s units for affordable public housing, meaning that two-thirds of the housing units built will be unaffordable.

Here is a simple question: Why use public land to build housing units that Quebeckers cannot afford?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to hear my colleague’s question, which once again shows the contrast between this government and the previous one.

In 2017, we put in place the first national housing strategy in this country’s history, which stands in stark contrast with what the Conservative leader did when he was housing minister. During his entire mandate, he built six affordable housing units for the entire country.

Veterans Affairs

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the women and men in the Canadian Armed Forces have faced a military housing shortage for decades. Under both the Liberals and Conservatives, military housing has not been built; existing units are falling into disrepair. Now the Liberals want our armed forces to wait another two years before they even start building homes. This delay is unacceptable.

Why is the minister delaying building urgently needed homes for the men and women who serve our country?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, making sure that we provide adequate supports, particularly for housing and child care, is absolutely essential for us to support the men and women who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces.

That is why, in our recently released defence policy, we have included a substantial investment of over $300 million to build housing. That work has begun and will continue apace.

I look forward to working with all members of the defence committee as we bring forward important new initiatives to support the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Carbon Pricing

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. Now his carbon tax scheme is completely falling apart.

First, his own budget watchdog proved conclusively that most Canadians are worse off, even with the rebate. Then he was humiliated into granting a partial carve-out, because his Liberal MPs were sick of the backlash they were getting from their voters. Now a majority of premiers are demanding an emergency carbon tax conference to put forward better ideas than his punishing tax.

If the Prime Minister is so sure that his carbon tax is good, then why does he not just sit down and listen to the premiers?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, later today we will be voting to advance the sustainable jobs bill. It is a critically important bill in the context of growing an economy that will thrive in a low-carbon future. It will ensure that workers and environmental organizations have a seat at the table when we are discussing Canada's green economic plan.

The Conservatives have obstructed at every turn, including by introducing 20,000 robo-amendments. We are building a strong economy for the future. The Conservatives, by contrast, are engaging in legislative vandalism.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, none of that is true.

What is true is that yesterday, in a historic vote, a majority of MPs demanded that the Prime Minister sit down and just listen to the premiers. It baffles understanding that he is so afraid of meeting with them. It is not as though they are going to ask him to put together Ikea furniture or help them move. They just want to put forward better ideas than hiking prices on everything.

What is he so afraid of? Is it Doug? Is it Blaine? I know Scott Moe. He is a really nice guy. Why does the Prime Minister not just meet with him?

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

Mr. Speaker, Scott Moe said that he sat down and pored over the data and could not possibly find a more effective way to combat GHG emissions than our Liberal government's policy on pricing pollution.

Right now, today, in the House, we are discussing untold employment and economic opportunity for Canadians, including the people of Regina—Qu'Appelle. If the member will not stand up for the workers of Regina—Qu'Appelle, we will.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I invite the government House leader to come out to Regina. Scott Moe and I could have a beer with him, and we could figure out what Scott really said about the carbon tax.

Just last week, the Prime Minister raised the carbon tax by 23%. That increased the price of gas, groceries and home heating for all Canadians. I am unsure of why the Prime Minister is so scared to meet with all the premiers. Six, seven, eight premiers want to meet with the Prime Minister to see what he has to say about his flagship carbon tax policy.

Why will he not listen? Does he just not care?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about caring, young people and affordability, if we may.

Young people said they needed a break on interest and student loans. We did that. Kids getting out of school can save towards their first home with the home savings account, which 500,000 young people now have. Now rent payments will build credit history, because when people pay rent, it should count.

Young people have asked, and we have answered. What do you have to say? What are you going to cut? Are you going to cut these measures?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I will remind members that all questions should come through the Chair and not go directly to other members.

The hon. member for Regina—Lewvan.