Debates of April 15th, 2024

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we are indeed in the process of expediting the permits that will be granted to asylum seekers.

I have a question for the member for Lac-Saint-Jean. Does he agree with his party leader, in other words, the leader of the Parti Québécois, who wants to freeze immigration? Does he realize what that means in rural ridings like Lac-Saint-Jean? It means no more fishing, no more Quebec agriculture, nothing, not even wind turbines.

It takes responsible people in power. We need to have a responsible discussion about reducing the number of immigrants temporarily, but let us do it responsibly.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I just told him to stick to his jurisdictions. He really does not get it.

He must ensure that work permits are granted. The federal government is facing a humanitarian crisis. It must do its duty. That also means distributing the intake of people who come to Canada among the provinces. It is not right that there are homeless asylum seekers in Quebec and Ontario, that these people cannot even eat at food banks as a last resort, when other provinces are doing absolutely nothing.

Will the government finally have the compassion to distribute the intake of asylum seekers among the provinces that are still able to provide services?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we should not even try to understand. One minute he wants interference, the next he does not.

The member did not answer my question. I wonder if he stands with his party leader, the Bloc Québécois leader, who is irresponsibly calling for a freeze on temporary immigration to Quebec. That is totally irresponsible.

They should talk to the farmers and those who work in the fisheries in their own rural ridings. They will see what is really going on. They will hear what people really think, and they do not want a freeze on immigration to Quebec.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, life has gotten worse for Canadians, with higher taxes and higher mortgage payments. The Liberals' wasteful deficit spending left interest rates at 5%, hurting families with mortgages coming up for renewal, and banks are putting more money away for possible mortgage defaults. Now, this means people losing their homes—

[Some hon members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I will ask the hon. member to start again.

I ask all members to please take their conversations outside the room.

The hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country can ask her question.

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, life has gotten worse for Canadians, with higher taxes and higher mortgage payments. The Liberals' wasteful deficit spending left interest rates at 5%, hurting families with mortgages coming up for renewal. The banks are putting more money away for possible mortgage defaults, and this means more people losing their homes. We are hearing of people no longer meeting mortgage stress tests and having to sell their home, forcing them to rent and to pay rent that is more than their actual mortgage payments.

Will the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister reverse his eight years of deficit spending and implement a one-for-one rule so that people can keep their homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, it would be more prudent for the members on the other side of the aisle to actually vote in favour of supports for Canadians if they truly cared about their well-being. They voted against the Canada child benefit. They voted against dental care. They voted against $10-a-day child care. They also did not focus on poverty when they were in power. We have brought poverty down to 7.4%, while under the Conservatives it was 14.5%.

On this side of the House, we will always support the most vulnerable in our country.

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

Mr. Speaker, through eight years of NDP-Liberal deficit spending, the Liberals caused the higher interest rates, which are causing people's mortgages to go up. Families are slashing their budgets just to be able to afford their mortgages in order to hang on to their homes.

This year, Canada will spend $54 billion servicing Liberal debt. This is more money than the government sends to the provinces for health care. A dollar-for-dollar rule would fix the budget and bring down interest rates. The NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.

Will the Prime Minister reverse eight years of deficit spending and implement a dollar-for-dollar rule?

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

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we know how to ensure that we have a prudent fiscal situation as well as to support Canadians, especially in their time of need. We have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, with historically low unemployment, and we also have a AAA credit rating. Our upcoming budget will build on that work by putting forward new funding for housing and by ensuring that we have a national school food program for 400,000 children. We ask everybody in the House to vote with us.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this Liberal government, access to home ownership has become extremely difficult. With mortgage rates rising by 52% to 95.2% in some regions of Quebec, it has become almost impossible for young people to take out a mortgage.

This Prime Minister is far too costly and is definitely not worth the cost of mortgage payments.

Will the Prime Minister listen to the millions of Canadians who are struggling and rein in his inflationary policies once and for all?

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

Mr. Speaker, one, two, three, four, five, six. That is the number of affordable housing units built by the insulting Conservative leader when he was the minister responsible for housing.

There are several projects in my colleague's riding of Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup alone, but a couple that spring to mind are Habitations au Fil du Fleuve and Villa Rose des vents. Forty-one affordable housing units have been built in recent weeks, thanks to the leadership of the municipalities, which the Conservative leader calls incompetent, by the way. They have a leader who has built six units; the municipality in my colleague's riding has built 41. Who is more incompetent?

Carbon Pricing

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the federal carbon pricing system was designed to keep the cost of living affordable for families by putting money back in their pockets. The next quarterly payments will be deposited in Canadians' bank accounts and delivered to their mailboxes starting today.

Can the Treasury Board minister tell the House how these rebates reduce emissions while making life more affordable for families across the country?

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

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives deny climate change, they also deny science. Through the Canada carbon rebate, we make heavy polluters pay and we put more money back in the pockets of Canadian families. Eight out of 10 Canadians, including those in my riding of Oakville, will have more money in their pockets.

On this side of the House, we will continue to make our economy greener. The environment and the economy go hand in hand. Unlike the Conservatives, we believe in science.

Public Services and Procurement

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Procurement Ombud confirmed what we already expected and that is, Dominic Barton and McKinsey & Company received preferential treatment in contracting. The Liberal-NDP government has given over $100 million in contracts to McKinsey & Company.

The Prime Minister is not worth the cost of consulting, so why is it that Liberals take care of themselves, friends and insiders when they should be taking care of Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, taking care of Canadians is exactly what we need to do, on this side of the House, certainly, through proper management of procurement exercises with the types of things and measures that we have announced in the last few weeks and months but also looking after the needs of Canadians with important investments in housing that we have made. We may be making even more with announcements tomorrow: 8,000 affordable homes, just in the province of Quebec, and hundreds of thousands across Canada.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a Liberal minister personally signed a contract for McKinsey & Company for $5.7 million. No wonder the Liberals did not want to give us the documents. They were trying to protect their ministers. Department officials were trying to push back. They told the minister not to sign the document. The minister went ahead and personally signed the document.

Why is it that Liberals take care of themselves, when they should be taking out the trash and taking care of Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered this question in English. I can provide a similar answer in French.

Taking care of Canadians is exactly what we are doing, while ensuring that the Canadian government's procurement system is efficient, fair and transparent, based on the new rules we have put in place over the past few months, for one. Taking care of Canadians also means recognizing that too many Canadians are facing a housing crisis. That is why, over the past few days, we have been proud to announce many measures that Canadians will be reminded of again in tomorrow's budget.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost of a less stable world. Six years ago, Parliament voted for my motion to recognize that the IRGC, from the regime in Iran, is a terrorist organization and to shut down their operations in Canada. After six years, the NDP-Liberal government has failed to act. Liberals even blocked my common-sense bill, Bill C-350 to shut down the IRGC.

With the IRGC spreading terror across the middle east and around the world, why did the Prime Minister choose to allow the IRGC to continue to recruit, to fundraise and to promote its ideology here in Canada?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we have said many times in the House that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has repeated that. We have taken a series of severe measures to restrict members of the regime, including the revolutionary guard corps, from coming to Canada.

With respect to listing a terrorist entity, it is national security agencies that do these reviews and, from time to time, that provide advice to the government.

Obviously, all options are on the table. I have asked the national security community to quickly provide the government with that advice.

Carbon Pricing

[Joanne Thompson, Liberal, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, putting a price on carbon pollution is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce pollution that is causing climate change. Just as importantly, the federal carbon pricing system is designed to keep life affordable by putting money back into families' pockets.

Can the Minister of Rural Economic Development share with Canadians how much they will get back in payments, starting today, April 15?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, today the next Canada rebate cheques start being put in people's bank accounts and in their mailboxes. Families in the member's riding in St. John's are going to receive up to $298, and those everywhere else in Newfoundland and Labrador are going to get $327 for their April quarterly deposit. However, unfortunately, the Conservatives are showing once again that they really do not care about rural Canadians. They are holding up the doubling of the rural top-up, keeping those rebates from being even bigger.

We know the price on pollution works, and we know we are putting money back in Canadians' pockets. I just wish the Conservatives did.

Infrastructure

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, the school that I graduated from, the Ataguttaaluk Elementary School in Igloolik, is falling apart under the Liberals' watch. A recent report said that there are 127 issues that need fixing, including safety hazards like missing handrails and exposed electrical circuits. Children cannot learn when their school is crumbling.

In budget 2024, will the Liberals invest in fixing or replacing schools so Nunavut children can learn safely?

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs and to the Minister of National Defence (Northern Defence)]

Mr. Speaker, we agree that every child in Canada should have the opportunity to go to school in a proper environment and also to go to school on a full belly. That is why we have implemented programs to support schools, to support students and to support the school food program, which we think is very important for kids all across Canada, including those in the Arctic and in Nunavut.

Foreign Affairs

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Islamic regime in Iran, the official supplier of rockets to Hamas, has now fired its own weapons at Israel. Is the NDP-Liberal coalition still considering stopping arms exports to Israel and limiting that country's defence capacity? Has the launching of over 200 drones and cruise missiles been enough to silence the government's NDP masters? It must be difficult being with a partner who is so deaf, blind and quiet on Iran's and Hamas's crimes.

Has the Prime Minister at least learned something and will not be repeating his 2015 promise to normalize relations with Iran in the upcoming election?