Debates of May 10th, 2024

Official Languages

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Madam Speaker, on this side of the House, we have always been there for francophones in Canada and Quebec. I find it very interesting to see my Bloc Québécois colleagues acting like they are the only ones who care about the French fact. They appear a little bothered by the fact that our government, which includes my colleague from Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, all Liberal members from Quebec and even our entire caucus, is defending the French fact in Quebec and across Canada. We are the only government—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Manicouagan.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Liberal member from Glengarry—Prescott—Russell spent his 15 minutes of fame denying the decline of French in Quebec. It is an odd choice at a time when the Commissioner of Official Languages notes that it is from my colleague's region along the Ottawa river that he receives the most complaints, including from federal public servants who are unable to work in French. The commissioner said, “The complaints my office has received...attest to the fact that a number of federal institutions do not take their language obligations seriously.”

If the Liberals are not taking the future of French seriously, then why would the federal government?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Madam Speaker, let us talk about our government's investments in the action plan for official languages. We will be investing $1.4 billion over the next five years to help the French fact. Our government is the only one that has recognized the decline in French. We have modernized the Official Languages Act. We are working with the Treasury Board. We are working with the commissioner. We understand the issue very well.

On this side of the House, we believe in the French fact. They do not.

Grocery Industry

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, a recent report reveals alarming rates of poverty and food insecurity in Nova Scotia, the highest in the country.

However, the Liberals, as did the Conservatives before them, are choosing to reward grocery CEOs with corporate handouts instead of cracking down on their greed. This is driving up food costs. While the Conservatives vote against nutritious meals for kids at school, the Liberals are letting food conglomerates gouge Canadians at the till.

Why is the Liberal government allowing the CEOs' greed to go unchecked at the cost of Canadians going hungry?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Madam Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that it is certainly hypocritical for Conservatives to cite food bank lineups as something that they care about when voting against a national school food program that would feed over 400,000 kids per year. That is hypocritical if I have ever heard it before.

It is very good to hear from my colleague in the NDP, whom we worked with successfully to update our Competition Act in successive rounds. This is going to improve prices for Canadians and increase competition, which is vitally important.

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, rent is going up faster than Canadians can afford, with families relying on credit cards more and more to buy food and necessities.

In my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, rent went up over 9% last year alone. People cannot cut back any more than they already are, and yet the Liberals are sitting on their hands and letting corporate greed drive up costs. This plan is not working.

When will the Liberals have the courage to crack down on the corporate greed driving up rent and food prices?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, I would point to the recent federal budget, in which we announced that we would not only be taking measures to prevent corporate landowners from buying up single-family homes but also advancing measures to protect renters and bring down the cost of rent by adding more supply. We are moving forward with programs that introduce low-cost financing for more rental construction. We have new subsidies for affordable housing and co-operative housing, as well as an acquisition for non-profits that can take affordable homes and keep them affordable in perpetuity.

In addition, we are moving forward with the renters' bill of rights and a series of other measures that are designed to protect the interest of renters for whom the cost of living has simply become too high.

Housing

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Madam Speaker, after nine years of this speNDP-Liberal government, finding an affordable rental is only getting harder. Despite its record spending, a new report says that rents in Canada increased 9.3% annually in April. It has gotten so bad that people's only choice when seeking an affordable rental is to laugh or cry.

Given the dire situation of these renters, could the Minister of Housing please enlighten us as to whether he considers the performance of his government's housing strategy a comedy of errors or a tragedy of oversights?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, if my hon. friend is interested in a tragedy of oversights, I would direct him to the plan put forward by his leader when it comes to housing, which does not advance a single measure designed to help renters with the cost of living. The plan that he is now campaigning on would literally increase taxes on rental construction in this country by putting the GST back on those construction projects.

We have removed the GST. We have introduced low-cost financing to build more rental supply to bring down the cost across the ecosystem, across the country. In addition, we are putting more money on the table to provide affordable housing options, with the Conservatives—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.

Finance

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Madam Speaker, a lot of that spending does not kick in until after the next election, so I do not think that promise is worth the paper the minister has written on.

This week, the Bank of Canada warned, “Higher debt-servicing costs reduce a household’s financial flexibility, making them more financially vulnerable if their income declines or they face an unexpected material expense.” Considering that the Prime Minister has doubled our debt and borrowed more money than all Canadian prime ministers combined, could he please explain how this warning does not equally apply to his government?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, first, to correct the misinformation, there is money flowing to projects, including in the member's province, as we speak. We have signed multi-billion dollar deals with provinces to build housing. We have invested billions more to help in the construction of nearly 500,000 units since the inception of the national housing strategy.

However, the member seems to ignore the fact that Canada maintains one of the healthiest fiscal positions among advanced economies. I expect he is trying to distract because Conservatives have had a very bad week, when Canadians are focused on their use of the notwithstanding clause to erode important rights that are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

We will move forward with—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country.

Housing

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

Madam Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, deficit spending caused skyrocketing inflation, which caused higher interest rates, which are causing higher mortgage payments. The Bank of Canada confirmed that the Prime Minister's wasteful spending is keeping interest rates higher for longer. Now the Bank of Canada is warning, when compared with origination, that the median mortgage payment will rise more than 20% in 2025 and 30% in 2026. Families cannot afford this.

Will the government stop its deficit spending so families can keep their homes?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Madam Speaker, what I would ask the member opposite who just asked that question is how she faces her constituents. At the very time homes were being evacuated and people were losing homes to climate-induced wildfires, she was fighting the price on carbon pollution and our work on making sure that we fight climate change. This is what is actually putting homes at risk.

We are going to support our firefighters as they fight those fires. We are going to do what we need to fight climate change, and we are protecting Canadians.

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

Madam Speaker, after nine years, the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. For families with variable rate mortgages with fixed payments, it is even worse. Median mortgage payments will increase 60% by 2026. Working-class paycheques have been shredded by the NDP-Liberal government. Common-sense Conservatives will bring in a dollar-for-dollar law to find a dollar of savings for every new dollar spent. This is how families run their households.

Can the minister explain how Canadian families are supposed to come up with hundreds or thousands of dollars more a month just to keep their homes?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, we understand the very serious challenges that families are facing when it comes to the cost of housing, which is why we put a plan on the table that is designed to solve Canada's national housing crisis. What is fascinating is that, in the member's own riding, we have actually invested $31.5 million in that community to build thousands of homes, which she and her party oppose.

Moreover, the Conservative plan lists only 22 communities in the entire country that can benefit from their plan. Kelowna is not on the list. I hope she has a hard time explaining that to her constituents, who thanked us for the investment we made to build housing in her community.

Finance

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

Madam Speaker, Quebeckers are suffering after nine years of this Liberal government and its wastefulness, which is driving up the cost of living.

This Prime Minister's reckless spending knows no bounds, and the Bloc Québécois is supporting him in this spending spree. That is evidenced by the fact that the Bloc Québécois voted in favour of hiring an additional 110,000 federal public servants. The Bloc agrees with sending Quebeckers' money to Ottawa and is voting in favour of that. What is the world coming to?

When will this Prime Minister, who is supported by the Bloc Québécois, stop increasing the suffering of Quebeckers with his wasteful spending?

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

Madam Speaker, our colleague is talking about sound management. Does she know that, over his entire term as minister responsible for housing, the Conservative leader created only six affordable housing units across the country?

When he was the minister responsible for housing, the Conservative leader created six affordable housing units, while 205 affordable housing units were built in my colleague from Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis's riding in recent months. Many more are coming thanks to the agreement that we signed with the Government of Quebec for 8,000 affordable housing units. That will enable the municipality of Lévis and other municipalities in Quebec—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis.

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

Madam Speaker, after nine years of this Liberal government, Quebeckers have had nine years of misery: budget chaos, criminals on the loose, unaffordable food and housing. Instead of thinking about fixing the budget, the Bloc Québécois is voting for $500 billion in wacko, inflationary spending.

The more this Bloc Québécois-backed government spends, the more Quebeckers suffer. The Bloc Québécois and the Prime Minister are not worth the cost.

Can this Prime Minister and the Bloc Québécois start thinking about Quebeckers and stop wasting their money?

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

Madam Speaker, I am so happy to have another chance to talk about the 205 affordable housing units we have been able to create with the support of the Quebec government, thanks to the leadership of the Lévis community. That is 205 affordable housing units created in my colleague's riding in just a few months. Many more are on the way.

Unfortunately, that is not such good news for the Conservative leader who, during his entire term, created six affordable housing units across the country.

Climate Change

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Madam Speaker, while Ottawa keeps saying that the fight against climate change is going well, the experts have never been more pessimistic.

The Guardian newspaper, as reported in Le Devoir, polled 380 climate experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Seventy-seven per cent of them believe that global warming will top 2.5°, exceeding the Paris Agreement target by a long shot. More than three out of four experts think that governments and oil lobbies are leading us down the road to disaster. At the same time, this government is proudly opening the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Does it have its priorities straight?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Madam Speaker, just two weeks ago, we submitted our report showing that our greenhouse gas emissions are declining. In fact, if the Conservatives were still in power, our emissions would have gone up. We changed things. Now, Canada's emissions are falling. That means we are doing a good job.

We are obviously on track to accomplish everything we set out to do. According to Nature Québec, the figures in the national greenhouse gas inventory show that when—