Debates of April 11th, 2024

Intergovernmental Affairs

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal government, life is more expensive and Quebeckers are paying the price. The cost of housing has doubled. The lineups at food banks are longer than ever.

While Quebeckers struggle to put food on the table because of his incompetence, the Prime Minister insists on interfering in provincial jurisdictions. Clearly this government is not worth the cost.

Will this Prime Minister steer clear of provincial jurisdictions and allow Quebec to repair the damage?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to learn from the Conservatives.

We have a plan to create more housing in the country. We have a plan to create more jobs in the country. We have a plan to create prosperity in the country. What they have across the way are slogans. People at home know that slogans do not create housing. Slogans do not create jobs. Slogans do not create prosperity.

On this side of the House, we are going to focus on issues that matter to Canadians and we will leave the Conservatives to come up with more slogans. Canadians know which side we are on. We are with them.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, eight years of this Liberal government have yielded a broken immigration system, an unsustainable cost of living, extremely high crime rates and millions of suffering Canadians. Not only is this Prime Minister causing problems in every aspect of Canadians' lives, he is increasingly encroaching on provincial jurisdictions too. Quebeckers understand that this Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

Can the Prime Minister please stop spreading his incompetence around and just mind his own business?

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

Mr. Speaker, minding our own business means investing in child care, investing in housing, investing in high-speed Internet. It also means investing to make sure that children in my colleague's riding go to school on a full stomach.

That is why, last week, we announced an investment that will help 400,000 children, including several hundred in my colleague's riding, go to school on a full stomach so that they can learn and reach their full potential.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives will vote against that when it comes time to vote on the budget.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight long years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Food banks can no longer keep up with demand. The cost of rent and mortgages has doubled. The dream of buying a first home is almost unattainable for young Canadians. After eight years of federal encroachment on provincial jurisdictions, Quebeckers' quality of life has declined.

Can the Prime Minister please stop imposing his incompetence on the provinces and mind his own business?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like the member and all Quebec Conservative members to talk to their leader, because their leader is standing in the way of the 400,000 jobs that could be created across Canada thanks to green technologies. For example, the battery industry will create tens of thousands of jobs in Quebec.

The member knows very well that Quebec will prosper in a green economy. He should tell his leader to stop standing in the way of progress.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have only to think of ArriveCAN, the borders, passports, EI, the deficit. The list is a long one. Everything is broken. After eight years, the Prime Minister has failed on every level. Everything the Prime Minister touches fails, and now he is adding insult to injury by encroaching on Quebec's jurisdictions.

Can the Prime Minister please mind his own business and let Quebec make its own decisions?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think my colleague must have had amnesia for a while. It was our government that arranged the largest private investment in the history of Quebec. Let us not forget Northvolt, an investment that will support economic development for this and future generations.

While we are doing that, we are also investing in child care. We are investing in housing. We are investing in mental health. We are investing in prosperity. We are investing in Canada. We are investing in Canadians, and we will continue to invest in Canadians.

Housing

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government is not helping solve the housing crisis; it is simply stretching it out over time.

Ottawa could just transfer the housing money to Quebec. That would be simple enough. Instead, the Liberals have chosen to attach conditions to the infrastructure program, supposedly to force the provinces to build housing faster. As a result, not only is housing construction slowing down, Ottawa is paralyzing the construction of infrastructure such as water systems. It wants to see doorknobs first, running water later.

Does the minister realize that his plan is putting the cart before the horse?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member is correct to raise the importance of investing in drinking water infrastructure, waste water treatment and many other things. That is why, just a few days ago, we announced an investment of an additional $6 billion to support municipalities in building the infrastructure that will help us in Quebec, for one, to build the 8,000 housing units that we have already planned with the Quebec government. Its partnership and leadership are absolutely essential.

This is obviously a contrast to the six housing units the Conservative leader created when he was minister responsible for housing.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have a lot of nerve. Instead of being helpful, they decided to be contemptuous and blackmail us with our own money, just like the Conservatives proposed.

Quebec's housing minister was clear this week. She said it was out of the question for Quebec to agree to any conditions to get its fair share of a community funding envelope. Quebec cities do not fall under Ottawa's jurisdiction.

Will the minister commit to guaranteeing Quebec its right to opt out with full compensation?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member is quite right to refer to the Conservative leader as an insulting leader. It is true that he insulted all Quebec municipalities, including the people of Quebec City.

It is also true that just a few weeks ago, with the leadership of Quebec City, we announced the construction of 324 affordable housing units. That number of 324 units is 54 times more than all the affordable housing created by the Conservative leader when he was housing minister.

Carbon Pricing

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, Canadians are struggling to make ends meet due to the Liberal-NDP's crippling carbon taxes. They are all economic pain and no environmental gain. Just last week, the Prime Minister increased the carbon tax by 23%, further driving up the cost of gas, groceries and home heating.

The least the Liberals could do is take the carbon tax off the farmers who feed us, which would in turn lower the cost of food.

Will the Prime Minister axe the tax on farmers and make food cheaper for Canadians by passing Bill C-234 in its original form?

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

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-234 was here, then it went to the Senate. Conservative senators threatened a bunch of other senators who wanted to debate the bill. The bill is now back in this House, and it is completely up to the leader—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order.

The hon. government House leader.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is rather impolite to interrupt the people answering questions, as the members across the way know.

Bill C-234, put very simply, can be brought to the floor of the House on the simple whim of the Leader of the Opposition. The member should actually talk to him.

Democratic Institutions

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are well versed in its corruption.

Sadly, it is worse: bombshell testimony on Beijing's interference in Canadian elections. A senior Liberal disclosed top secret information to the then-Liberal MP for Don Valley North, that he was being watched by CSIS. This was a despicable breach of national security for Liberal partisan gain, and only very high-ranking Liberals would have access to this information, a cabinet minister or a senior Liberal.

Who is the person? They must give us the Liberal name.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we worked collaboratively with all of the opposition parties last summer to set up an independent judicial inquiry into foreign interference. There have been a number of weeks of public testimony, including this week.

We did not think that, in the terms of reference, we had to put a line that would say that we should have basic respect for the integrity and independence of the commission process, not to comment on every day's appearances but to let the justice do her work. We look forward to her report on this important issue.

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

Mr. Speaker, there is no decency or respect, when a senior Liberal, either a cabinet minister or a senior Liberal staffer, disclosed top secret CSIS information for Liberal gain. It is despicable. It gets worse. It compromised CSIS work and put Liberal partisan gain over national security, and the Prime Minister must have known.

When did the Prime Minister find out, and when did he call in the RCMP to investigate, or were the briefing documents just a bit too long so he did not read them?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, again, my colleague can repeat a series of allegations. We do not think that this is particularly constructive, when a senior court of appeal justice is seized with this very matter. She is hearing evidence from witnesses, interviewing in camera all of the relevant officials, and receiving all of the most classified documents.

Why does my hon. friend not allow her to do the work and not continually repeat and interfere in the middle of her hearings?

Foreign Affairs

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has been standing by Ukraine since the start of Putin's illegal invasion. We have provided military support and aid to Ukraine. We are working with our allies and our partners around the world, but we must not forget that this is not the first time Russia has been the aggressor against Ukraine.

Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs reaffirm our long-term commitment to Ukraine?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her important question. Ukraine is Europe's front line. The Ukrainians have been fighting for our freedom and, of course, for their own. We know that Putin does not have a red line. If he wins in Ukraine, he will keep going. That is why we must support Ukraine. It is about our security and global security.

That is why we concluded a new $3-billion agreement with Ukraine for its long-term security. We have stood with them from the start and we will continue to stand with them, even after Ukraine's victory.

Public Services and Procurement

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, we see historic levels of corruption. Conservatives have uncovered a tangled web of chaos, collusion and cover-ups in the arrive scam scandal, just the latest example of Liberal insiders' getting rich.

GC Strategies opened its doors when the current Prime Minister took office. This place will make history when it summons GC Strategies to the bar to answer our questions.

Why did the Prime Minister make these scamsters multi-millionaires?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, again, our colleague's repeating something does not make it factual. She knows very well that the Auditor General has looked into these matters. We have welcomed parliamentary committee reviews. People have been available, including senior government officials, to go before a parliamentary committee—