Debates of April 9th, 2024

Carbon Pricing

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservative leader continues with his misinformation and disinformation, the reality is that the Parliamentary Budget Officer said that eight out of 10 Canadians do better with our price on pollution and the Canada carbon rebate.

Speaking of misinformation and disinformation, any responsible leader that receives an endorsement and support from proven conspiracy theorist and liar Alex Jones would have immediately denounced that, but that is not what the Leader of the Opposition did. He did absolutely nothing, because those kinds of endorsements fit within his political strategy.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order.

The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly.

Intergovernmental Affairs

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister interferes with Quebec's jurisdictions like a ship's captain collects life rafts.

Ottawa has no department or expertise in health, education, child care or municipal affairs. People here in Ottawa seem to forget that. However, the Prime Minister has our money because of the fiscal imbalance. Does he recognize that the National Assembly of Quebec has jurisdiction over education, health, child care and municipal affairs?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have always recognized and respected provincial jurisdictions, and we respect Quebec's specificity.

However, even with all the expertise of provincial governments, many Canadians are still looking for housing. Many Canadians are still looking for child care spaces. Families are still struggling. As the federal government, we are here to work in partnership with Quebec and the provinces, to invest in the supports that people need. Yes, the federal government has money, but we are here to invest with the provinces. That is what it takes to help people.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when my car breaks down, I do not give my money to the dentist.

The people in Ottawa do not understand that. They have to create all sorts of expertise in areas of jurisdiction that are not theirs. Does the Prime Minister realize that if he interferes in Quebec's jurisdictions, it is going to take longer, be more expensive and it will not improve anything?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will always work hand in hand with the provinces to provide the services that Canadians need.

However, speaking of dentists, 1.7 million seniors across the country have registered for our dental care program that will be offered across the country, including in Quebec. We are here to ensure that seniors in Quebec and the rest of the country have the necessary services and the health care that they could not afford before this year. We are here to contribute to the well-being of Quebeckers and all Canadians. We will always work respectfully in partnership with the provinces to do so.

Climate Change

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Climate Deny and Mr. Climate Delay strike again. The Corporate Knights' report shows that the Prime Minister is delaying $15 billion that he promised to hard-working Canadians to lower their costs and emissions, yet he has no problem finding $18.6 billion in free subsidies for big oil and gas.

Why is it that the Prime Minister wants to shoulder the burden of the climate crisis on hard-working people and not give them a hand, but wants to give billions of dollars, like the Conservatives, to big oil and gas corporations?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we committed to phasing out inefficient oil and gas subsidies two years ahead of all our partners around the world, and we are going to continue to do that, but it is unfortunate to see that the NDP seems to be falling into the Conservative misinformation trap.

Our price on pollution actually puts more money back in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadian families right across the country, particularly middle-income and low-income families, while we continue to fight climate change. Yes, we developed a way to fight climate change and to reduce emissions while putting more money in the pockets of people, and we are going to keep doing that.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is delaying the $15 billion for hard-working people, and that is wrong.

Last summer, kids could not play in the park because of smoke from forest fires. The Liberals' brilliant plan is to delay climate action. They have earmarked $18 billion for subsidies to big oil, but they are delaying $15 billion in investments that would address the climate crisis and help people.

Why is the Prime Minister choosing to put money in CEO's pockets instead of helping people?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that, every year, we see the worsening impact of climate change, and the costs of extreme weather events are increasingly affecting Canadians, our economy and our country. That is why we are going to continue to fight climate change while putting more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians. That is a responsible plan to fight climate change and help with the cost of living.

Unfortunately, the Conservative Party still refuses to put out any sort of plan to fight climate change and wants to take away investments that would help Canadians.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the incoming leader of the Liberal Party has just given a speech and given advice to his soon-to-be predecessor. Mark Carney said that he agrees there should be a carbon tax conference, where the premiers can come together and share their concerns about the Prime Minister raising the cost of living and breaking the backs of Canadians. If the Prime Minister will not listen to me and will not listen to the Liberal Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, will he at least listen to his successor and meet with the premiers on the carbon tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is important for folks and for Canadians who are watching this debate to be careful about the misinformation being spewed by the Leader of the Opposition.

It is important for a responsible government in this country to have a plan to address climate change and to do so in a manner that enhances and addresses affordability concerns. That is exactly what the price on pollution does. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back. Two hundred economists across the country agree with us.

It is such a shame that we have a bunch of climate deniers over there who have no plan for the environment and no plan for the economy.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Mark Carney, who is the next Liberal leader, is a fierce supporter of the carbon tax. He has been called “Mark 'carbon tax' Carney” in the past. He is willing at least to defend his carbon tax views in front of the premiers, but the Prime Minister is not. He is running for cover and hiding from Canadians, refusing to defend his own policy decisions.

If the Prime Minister is really so proud of his plan to hike the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre, why will he not listen to Mark Carney and have a big, open, televised carbon tax conference?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting that the Leader of the Opposition seems so fond of Mark Carney these days, who actually, as the member says, does believe in a price on pollution. Perhaps the Leader of the Opposition should listen to him.

However, with respect to the premiers, it is important to know that the premiers have every right to submit a plan that actually meets the federal benchmark and to put in place their own price on pollution. That is something that British Columbia has done. That is something that Quebec has done.

Premier Moe was actually here recently and testified before the committee. Premier Moe said that he looked at alternatives to the price on pollution and found every one of them to be too expensive. This is from the guy who had no climate plan, no—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Thornhill.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Prime Minister increased the carbon tax by 23% on Canadians, on gas, on groceries and on home heating. He is doubling down and defying 70% of Canadians and eight premiers who want him to axe the tax. Six of those premiers wrote to the Prime Minister asking for a meeting to talk about his punishing carbon tax. Instead, the Prime Minister just shot down the idea because they already had a meeting, eight years ago.

Can the Prime Minister tell us how many premiers he met in 2016 who are still in power today?

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, actions speak more than words. Our actions on this side of the House—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order. I am going to ask the hon. minister to start again because the Chair sincerely could not hear what the minister was saying.

The hon. Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Kanata—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, actions speak louder than words. On this side of the House, our actions include over 750,000 families who benefit from affordable child care spaces with over 100,000 new spaces across the country, seven million children whose parents benefit from the Canada child benefit and a national school food policy.

Their actions are to vote against funding to increase the number of spaces and to vote against a national school food policy. They have made it clear: They are not there for Canadian families.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the minister missed the question, but Canadians certainly missed the answer. It is zero. The year 2016 is the last time he had a meeting. Pokémon GO, dabbing and Harambe were popular in 2016, and people could get an apartment for half the price. Since the last time the Prime Minister had a meeting with the premiers, gas and groceries have skyrocketed, and interest rates have increased 10 times over.

Will he put aside his desperation and defiance, do some work around here and meet the premiers?

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

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians will see today is one thing they will not hear from the Conservatives: the cost of inaction, the cost of forest fires, the cost of flooding in our country, the cost of drought. When each of the Conservatives is standing up, they are telling Canadians they have no plan to fight climate change. On this side of the House, we recognize, like all Canadians, that we need to act to save the planet, and we need to act on climate change. That is why we are going to invest in Canadians. That is why we are going to continue to invest to make sure we have a planet to leave for our children.

Housing

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this government, housing in Canada is in very bad shape. Rents have doubled and mortgages have doubled.

What is this government doing? It has a policy of photo ops. Every announcement comes with a photo op. Yesterday, they really outdid themselves. Yesterday, the Prime Minister did a photo op while perched on the roof. Unfortunately, a photo op on a roof does not put a roof over Canadians' heads.

What is the government's plan for helping Canadians who are currently grappling with a housing crisis the likes of which has never been seen in our country's history?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we said yesterday, there are two clear figures: six and 8,000. During his time as housing minister, the Conservative leader created six new affordable housing units across the entire country. In contrast, just a few weeks ago, in the riding of my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent, we announced a project called Le Central, which alone has created 42 new affordable housing units. That means that in his riding alone, which he does not seem to know about, we have created seven times as many affordable housing units as his Conservative leader did during his entire tenure as housing minister.