Debates of April 18th, 2024

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this Prime Minister, the cost of living has risen to alarming proportions, food banks are busier than ever, criminals have total impunity and affordable housing is so scarce that Quebeckers are forced to live in motels.

In today's reality, Canadians can no longer afford shelter or even food. This Prime Minister is simply not worth the cost.

Will he show a little empathy for Canadians, or will he keep making their living conditions worse?

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

Mr. Speaker, one, two, three, four, five, six; six is the number of affordable housing units that the Conservative leader created across all of Canada over his entire term as minister responsible for housing. It is hard to talk about empathy and the Conservative leader in the same breath when we consider that he created six affordable housing units, or one for every six million Canadians, during his entire term.

In my colleague's riding alone, 170 were created in the past few weeks.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a number for him: nine. Nine years of this Liberal government means nine years of inflationary policies, nine years of wasting Canadians' money, nine years of recklessness and indifference towards them. It means money everywhere except in the pockets of Canadians. It means criminals everywhere except in prison. It means affordable rent everywhere except in Canada. Why are so many things broken? The answer is very simple and very clear. It is because of this Prime Minister, who is not worth the cost.

Will he put an end to the budget mess and give a little more thought to the Canadians who cannot even put a roof over their heads because of him?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague talks about affordable housing. Six affordable housing units were built during the entirety of the Conservative leader's term as minister responsible for housing. That was during his entire term and for the entire country.

In just that member's riding, 173 affordable housing units have been created by the municipalities with financial assistance from the Canadian government. However, her leader, who built only six housing units, continues to insult Quebec municipalities by calling them incompetent. In her riding, 173 affordable housing units have been built.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Once again, I invite members not to speak unless the Chair has recognized them. I am referring to my friend and dear colleague from Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier.

The hon. member for La Prairie.

The Budget

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's budget is a budget of threats. The Prime Minister is threatening provinces with cuts to housing if they do not accept federal conditions. He is also threatening cities with cuts to public transit if they do not allow him to dictate their zoning rules. Funny, these are exactly the same threats proposed by the Conservative leader.

Canadians already had a boss at the federal level who wants to decide everything without proposing any real solutions. Since the budget, they now have two. As for Quebeckers, we are stuck with a Liberal-Conservative coalition.

Do we need that?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois tells us that housing is important. Excellent, because it is in the budget. It tells us that helping young people is important. That is good too, because it is also in the budget. Seniors are just as important to the Bloc Québécois. Well, they are also in the budget, except that the Bloc Québécois will do as their Conservative colleagues, their good friends, have done, and vote against the budget.

They need to walk the talk.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the ultimate threat of this budget is its electioneering. The Liberals' priority is not housing, it is getting re-elected. Numbers do not lie. If housing was a priority to them, they would not have budgeted 97% of the billion dollars allocated to accelerating the construction of apartments for after the election. Nor would they have budgeted 91% of the new Canadian infrastructure funding for after the election. If housing was a priority to them, they would hand out the money now, not after the election.

Is that not their way of saying that if people do not vote Liberal, they will not get one penny?

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

Mr. Speaker, our colleague is absolutely right, it is not after, it is right now that this is happening. In Quebec, 8,000 housing units are being built through the exceptional partnership between the Canadian and the Quebec governments. Indeed, 8,000 affordable housing units is the largest number of affordable housing units built in the history of Quebec because of the extraordinary collaboration between the Canadian government and the Quebec government.

The only problem is that that is very bad news for the Bloc Québécois.

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not have the courage to discontinue the massive gifts that the Conservatives gave big business, but they have no problem at all cutting 5,000 jobs in the public service. Fewer employees means fewer services for the public. Like the Conservatives, the Liberals cut services, but they are quick to give billions of dollars to incompetent subcontractors. Just look at what happened with ArriveCAN.

I have a simple question. Why not keep public services and get rid of subcontractors that cost an arm and a leg and do not get the job done?

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

Mr. Speaker, we continue to act responsibly when it comes to public services, especially procurement, but also our public servants. For example, budget 2024 talks about natural attrition in the public service.

However, we will continue to consult with the public service and the unions. We know that the public service is there for us, and we will continue to be there for the public service.

Government Priorities

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, documents revealed that this government does not track job creation from the billions in subsidies it gives to corporations. While Canadians struggle to pay rent and buy groceries, the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, are shovelling billions of dollars each year to big business with no strings attached. It is bad enough that the Liberals do not make corporations pay their fair share, but handing them money without accountability is scandalous.

Why are the Liberals giving these corporations a free ride at the expense of Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very glad that, the day after the budget, my colleagues give me the opportunity to talk about the great investments we have been attracting to this country. For example, last year, Canada ranked third in the world and first per capita for attracting foreign investment. I think about Northvolt in Quebec, the largest private investment in the province's history. I will talk about Volkswagen in St. Thomas. This is going to change the whole region. We are creating jobs. We are creating prosperity. We are creating opportunities for generations. I think about Windsor and the investment we have seen from Northstar.

We are going to fight every day for Canadians.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Some members have raised in the past that they have been concerned about the level of noise and the speaking out of turn.

Let us all restrain ourselves so we can hear the question and the answer to the question from the hon. member for Foothills.

Carbon Pricing

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, Canadian farmers know that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Over the last several weeks, I have received dozens of letters representing tens of thousands of farm families from right across the country. These are grain farmers, ranchers, mushroom growers, fruit and vegetable growers, provincial premiers and agriculture ministers.

They are unanimous. To ensure the sustainability of food production in Canada, they need the NDP-Liberal carbon tax coalition to reverse its 23% hike of the carbon tax and pass Bill C-234 in its original form.

Will the Prime Minister ensure that food and farming are affordable and pass Bill C-234 in its original form?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, of course, in the budget, it has been good news not only for Canadians but for farmers right across the country. For example, we are enhancing the livestock tax deferral program, which is a big asset when ranchers have a downturn with the climate, and also the advance payments program, with $250,000.

All of these and many more are so important to make sure that farmers and ranchers stay on the cutting edge.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure that it is good news when, after nine years of the Prime Minister, demand on food banks is at a record high and more and more Canadians cannot afford to feed their families.

In Prince Edward Island, the Caring Cupboard food bank is struggling just to keep its doors open. Its demand is up 70%. These are the agriculture minister's own constituents and what is his response? It is to increase the carbon tax by 23%, driving food costs even higher.

Why will the Prime Minister not ensure that farming and food is more affordable and pass Bill C-234 in its original form?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I am kind of surprised to get this question from my colleague, who is so interested in agriculture.

Quite simply, when they were in power, they slashed half a billion dollars from agriculture and agri-food. They slashed $200 million from the business risk management program. All of these things are so important when agriculture has a downturn. We have reinstated the funds, and we will continue to support our farmers and ranchers right across the country.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, people in Ontario went into full panic mode last night, lining up to fill up because gas was going up to $1.80 a litre, the highest it has been in two years. Eighteen cents on every litre of gas is because of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister's carbon tax. By the time the costly coalition is done, the carbon tax will quadruple, rising to 61¢ a litre.

After nine years and an extra $10 to fill up overnight, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. How about cancelling the carbon tax on gas this summer so Canadians can at least enjoy the time-honoured tradition of a road trip?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives blame the cost of living crisis on carbon pricing and proven emissions reduction strategies, they are only serving the greedy corporate interests of billionaire grocery and oil and gas executives.

There is no rebate on the provincial gas tax that Danielle Smith jacked up on Albertans on April 1. There is no rebate on the summer fuel surcharge or excessive oil and gas profits. However, the Canada carbon rebate has four quarterly payments per year as an incentive to use a little less and get a little more tax-free cash in one's account four times a year.

The Conservatives do not have a plan for affordability. They do not have a plan for the environment. They consistently prioritize the corporate interests of their greedy oil and gas masters over the needs of everyday Canadians.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the member is so confident in the carbon tax, I dare him to convince the Prime Minister to call an election.

The increase caused panic and long lines at gas stations across Barrie—Innisfil last night. Costco was so busy that cars were lined up in live traffic on Mapleview.

The NDP-Liberal government plans to quadruple the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre. The lineups and panic across the country show that, after nine years, Canadians can no longer afford the costly coalition. Why do they not just come and live with reality and axe the carbon tax so that Canadians can afford life?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, there was an election on the carbon tax. In fact, there were three of them. We won them all.

Last election, the Conservatives ran on a promise with Erin O'Toole. Do members remember his little cover that he cared about the environment for a change? All of a sudden, Conservatives cared about climate change, and they were going to use carbon pricing to lower emissions. Well, they lost, but they still all ran on that promise to price carbon. However, when a new member of parliament the petro-puppet of Carleton, came into play as the leader of the Conservatives—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order.

Colleagues, we can be pointed, we can be passionate, and we can be many things. However, we must always make sure that we carry ourselves well and refer to each other politely. The hon. parliamentary secretary knows that. I would ask him to withdraw that part of his statement and finish his answer.