Debates of April 8th, 2024

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois should pay attention to the news. We made it very clear that we are going to reduce the number of people who are here on a temporary basis from 7% to 5%.

I have a question for the Bloc Québécois members. Where would they make cuts? I want them to be very specific, because I know there are many temporary workers in their ridings who work with farmers. Are they going to tell the farmers to reduce their numbers?

I would ask them to give a clear, definitive and precise answer.

Finance

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are clear on the two most important economic issues we face, inflation and high interest rates.

They understand that government deficits cause inflation. Runaway deficits cause runaway inflation. This year's deficit is expected to be $47 billion, $7 billion higher than forecast. To say this is a runaway is an understatement. The Bank of Canada's governor has been clear that deficits are the main factor keeping interest rates high.

Will the Prime Minister cap his runaway spending with a dollar-for-dollar rule to bring down interest rates and inflation?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is important for a responsible government to address issues around affordability, address issues around environmental sustainability, invest in growing a clean economy and have a sound fiscal management strategy. We are doing all of those things.

On the other side of the House, we have a Conservative Party of Canada that simply wants to cut and cut. It will cut affordable child care. It will cut dental care. It will cut the national school food program. It will cut the entire climate program. It will actually cut investments in growing a clean economy for the future.

My goodness, it is such an irresponsible position that these folks are taking—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Calgary Centre.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is just throwing taxpayer money at a wall without any thought about execution, and it is making matters worse for Canadians.

It is a whack-a-mole approach to economic policy. Obviously, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians cannot afford the Prime Minister, his excess spending or his corruption.

Scotiabank says that rate cuts could be delayed by high government spending.

Next week, the Minister of Finance will table her budget. It is time for the deficits to stop. Will the minister commit to a dollar-for-dollar reduction in order to bring inflation and interest rates under control?

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

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will always be there to support Canadians, especially vulnerable Canadians, while maintaining a prudent fiscal position, including a AAA credit rating and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7.

We have been there for seniors with increases in the GIS and the OAS. We are there for school children with a national school food program. We are there for millennials and Gen Z with affordable housing and rental accommodation.

On this side of the House, we know how to do prudence as well as providing for the most vulnerable in this country.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, what is keeping interest rates so high is Liberal deficit spending. That is what. Now we can add Scotiabank to the long list of economists saying that after eight years, the NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost. Record-high deficits are keeping housing, food and fuel at record-high prices.

Will the Prime Minister fix the budget and adopt our common-sense Conservative policy by bringing in a dollar-for-dollar rule to bring down inflation and interest rates?

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

Mr. Speaker, unlike the party opposite, we actually know the role of the independent Bank of Canada, which is to set monetary policy.

While we are prudently managing taxpayer dollars, we will continue to invest in Canadians. Because of our policies, 86% of women between the ages of 25 and 45 are in the workforce. That is the Canada child benefit and that is $10-a-day child care.

Every single time the party opposite has an opportunity to support Canadians, it votes against it. That is not common sense at all.

Housing

[Wilson Miao, Liberal, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, young Canadians in my community of Richmond and across Canada are struggling to find housing that fits their budget.

We are scaling up our efforts to build more homes and to build them faster at prices Canadians can afford. Through the housing accelerator fund, the federal government is investing over $35 million in the city of Richmond to fast-track the construction of 1,000 homes over the next three years and 3,100 homes over the next decade.

Can the minister share, with my community of Richmond and communities across British Columbia, how the government is supporting housing in budget 2024?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, let me thank my hon. colleague for his advocacy for his community, which is going to help get thousands of homes built in Richmond over the course of the next number of years.

In the upcoming federal budget, we are going to continue to put measures on the table that help accelerate the pace of home building. This includes low-cost financing to add tens of thousands of new rental units. This includes additional support to help non-profits acquire housing that they will keep affordable forever. It includes new investments in affordable housing and new strategies to build homes more quickly by incentivizing home building in factories.

With members like this advocating for their community, we can put a plan on the table that will solve the national housing crisis.

[Jamil Jivani, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Durham Region is home to many millennials who dream of owning a house one day. For eight years, the Prime Minister has been promising affordable housing, yet things are only getting worse. Millennials know he is not worth the cost.

The Liberal-NDP government continues to announce expensive photo ops in the lead-up to the federal budget, but we know, as millennials, that we deserve better. How can we ever believe any of these broken promises from the Liberal-NDP government again?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by offering my sincere congratulations to our newest colleague in the House of Commons. It is wonderful to have him here.

What the member may not realize, being new to the House, is that his leader is actively campaigning on commitments to build fewer homes than we have already projected to build. He may not realize that the Conservative leader has promised to raise taxes on homebuilding. He may not realize the Conservative leader has pledged to cut funding for homebuilding. He may not realize that his party held a press conference last week to say that it does not want to do anything on municipal reforms and has decided to side with the NIMBYs.

Over the member's time here, I hope he comes to see the light and gets with a plan that will build more homes.

Health

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister's radical safe supply agenda, we see lives being put at risk. After the NDP-Liberal government decriminalized hard drugs, nurses in northern British Columbia are now being told to allow patients to use hard drugs and have weapons in their hospital rooms. This is unfair and unsafe for workers and patients.

When will the Prime Minister wake up and realize that his radical drug policy just is not worth the cost?

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, every health care worker in this country deserves to be safe in their place of work. That is why this government passed legislation exactly for that reason.

I, too, am concerned about the reports and expect the B.C. government to take the necessary actions to address the concerns raised by health care providers.

On this side of the House, we are saving lives. On that side of the House, they are busy with slogans and stigma.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, 300% more government-issued opioids are being seized by police in British Columbia. More drugs on the street mean the street prices of opioids are falling across this country, and that is what we are seeing.

The delusional NDP-Liberal government wants us to think that giving out free drugs to our most vulnerable is a cure, but Canadians know this is nonsense. When will the narcissistic Prime Minister, who is not worth the cost, crime or corruption, end this cruel and disastrous—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

I will let the hon. member maybe rephrase that.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, what I would like to say is this. Given the fact that I practised as a physician for a long time, that is the diagnosis.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Maybe we will have a quick chat after question period.

The hon. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives want to sow fear and stigma, on this side of the House we know that we have to stick to the facts. The RCMP says that there is no evidence to suggest that widespread diversion of drugs from prescribed alternatives is happening.

However, prescribed alternatives are not the issue. Any diversion is illegal in this country, whether it is medication for ADHD, for pain management or anything else. Those are the facts. Of the overdose deaths, 70% are from an illegal, toxic, poisoned supply. I challenge the member to actually read the data.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the fishery is the backbone of Canada's coastal communities, and Liberal members of Parliament will always be there to stand up for fishers, their families and our fishing communities.

On February 8, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans adopted a motion proposed by Liberal members of Parliament to instill an official five-year review of the Fisheries Act.

Can the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans explain to the House the significance of the Fisheries Act review for coastal communities?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the Liberal members of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans for moving forward with this important review. Coastal communities know that the Fisheries Act does more than just regulate fishing. It is also a key law that impacts local economies, ecological protections and reconciliation. This review is just the first step toward a Fisheries Act that works better for communities on all coasts. I look forward to seeing the committee's recommendations at the end of this study.

Firearms

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government promised to ban the AR-15. That is the weapon that was used to murder 20 six-year-old children at Sandy Hook. On Thursday, the Conservative leader was tweeting that the government was going after not the AR-15 but hunting rifles. It is little wonder he gets endorsed by Alex Jones, who is notorious for taunting families of children murdered by the AR-15.

Will the minister confirm whether the government is going after hunting rifles or the AR-15, or is this the Conservative leader being “the real deal” of disinformation for the likes of Alex Jones?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to salute my colleague's long service in the House on behalf of the people of northern Ontario.

I share—