Debates of May 21st, 2024

Official Languages

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I really want to thank the member for her question. Our government and I, personally, understand that French is in decline in Montreal, Quebec and across the country.

I must tell the member opposite, however, that I do not find this situation amusing. For me, this is no joke. The Quebec nation is so important to us. The French language is so important.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, no one is pulling the wool over our eyes. They have not decided to overtake the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie because they had an epiphany about the fact that French is under threat in Quebec, Canada and around the world. No, they signed up because there is nothing more important to a Liberal than another Liberal. A friend is a friend. They signed up because they have to save their friend, the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell. After that, we will never see them again.

It might be a good idea for this government to start working as hard in the interest of the French language as it does in the interest of the Liberals.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the French language, whether in Montreal, Quebec or anywhere else in Canada, is very important to our government. We understand that the French language is in decline, and we will always support the French language, as well as the Quebec and French culture throughout Canada.

Foreign Affairs

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants against five senior Hamas and Israeli leaders. This is a step toward justice for Palestinians and Israeli victims of war crimes.

The Liberals promised to support the ICC when they voted for our motion in March, so will the Prime Minister and the Liberal government state clearly that Canada supports the ICC's work to hold all those responsible for crimes accountable?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canada respects the independence of the International Criminal Court. Canada condemns the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7. Canada calls for an immediate ceasefire and deplores the humanitarian tragedy. Canada believes it is absolutely wrong to equate the terrorist leaders of Hamas with Israel.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister knows, that was not my question and that was not the subject of the arrest warrant.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, is seeking arrest warrants against five senior Hamas and Israeli leaders. This is an important step toward justice for Palestinian and Israeli victims.

Can the Prime Minister state clearly that Canada will support the ICC's work to hold all those responsible for crimes accountable?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canada respects the independence of the International Criminal Court. Canada condemns the terrorist attack of October 7. Canada calls for an immediate ceasefire. Canada has made it clear that it is absolutely wrong to equate the terrorist leaders of Hamas with Israel.

Carbon Pricing

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, it is clear the Prime Minister is not worth the cost of fuel. Most Canadian families will struggle just to be able to afford their yearly summer road trip. That is because the carbon tax has helped push the cost of fuel up to record highs.

Conservatives have called for a common-sense plan to axe the carbon tax and all federal taxes from fuel from now until Labour Day. That would save about 35¢ a litre.

Will the government adopt our common-sense plan so Canadians can afford their summer road trip?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am so glad that the Conservatives are raising questions about the cost of living and the lives of Canadians, because it gives me an opportunity to point out that inflation was 2.7% in April. That is the fourth month in a row that inflation has been within the Bank of Canada's target range. For 15 months now, wage increases have been outpacing inflation. That helps Canadians.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, that is the Liberal message: Canadians have never had it so good. The carbon tax is failing, except at driving up the cost of everything. The government is succeeding very well at driving up the costs of groceries, home heating and fuel.

The carbon tax is sending millions of Canadians to the food bank for the first time, and it is pushing the cost of simple things, such as driving to one's favourite family vacation spot, out of the reach of hard-working Canadians. While the Prime Minister gets to stick Canadian taxpayers with the bill for his exotic vacations, Canadians are struggling just to scrape enough together to take their families on a trip.

Why will the Liberals not adopt our plan and take the tax off fuel for the summer?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would encourage my hon. friend to actually read the work that was done by 300 economists across this country, which says unequivocally that eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back in the rebate than they actually pay in the price on pollution. That is addressing affordability. In fact, Premier Smith herself said she got more money back for her family than she paid.

If the member really is concerned about affordability, I would encourage him to talk to his friend Premier Smith. She just increased the gas price by 13¢; she did so with no rebate and did not account for affordability.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, Canadians cannot afford the costly coalition's carbon tax, but the Prime Minister does not care. He will quadruple it, even though 70% of Canadians and seven out of 10 premiers told him to spike the hike.

The Conservatives' common-sense plan is to axe all federal taxes on gas until Labour Day to save Canadians 35¢ a litre. That is more than $955 of needed savings for Alberta families alone.

Will the Prime Minister axe the tax on gas this summer so Canadians can afford the basics and maybe even a Canadian road trip staycation?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' lack-of-common-sense approach to these things is about axing the facts. Every reasonable observer, 300 economists across this country and the Parliamentary Budget Officer are very clear. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back, and it is those who live on modest incomes who actually do the best, all while fighting climate change. If the Conservatives have questions, I encourage them to go and talk to the Premier of the Province of Alberta about the fact that she gets more money back than she actually pays.

That is a responsible plan to address affordability and to fight climate change.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years it is clear that everyone but the out-of-touch, elite NDP-Liberals knows the carbon tax is not worth the cost. Page 4 of last year's parliamentary budget office report says, “Taking into consideration...fiscal and economic impacts...most households will see a net loss”. The NDP-Liberals' inflationary tax-and-spend agenda makes everything more expensive and hurts vulnerable Canadians.

The most common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax for all, for good. However, since fuel prices have surged over 50% under him, will the PM at least axe the tax on Canadian summer road trips?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear, and 300 economists across this country agree, that eight out of 10 Canadians get more money back in the rebate. It is an approach that addresses affordability and does so in a manner that actually addresses climate change. I would encourage my hon. colleague across the way to talk to her Premier, who has said it is a price on pollution that actually gives her family more money back. She should go and have a conversation with Premier Smith, who just raised the price on gasoline by 13¢, with no rebate and no plan to address the climate crisis.

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

Mr. Speaker, our jet-setting Prime Minister has begun his summer luxury tour early, blowing through Philadelphia with his usual all-expenses-paid five-star hotels and all the food and alcohol his entourage can take. After nine years of an NDP-Liberal government, most Canadians can hardly afford a summer road trip.

Will the Prime Minister adopt our common-sense plan to put $682 in the pockets of British Columbians and give them a shot at a summer road trip, or is he planning on putting himself first?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again I would encourage my hon. colleagues across the way to stop misleading people with respect to the price on pollution. They need to look at and read the letter that was written by 300 economists across this country, who say the carbon price is the most economically efficient way to address the climate in a manner that actually addresses affordability for Canadians.

I would encourage the Conservatives to go talk to their friend Premier Smith, who said exactly that. Her family got more money back than it actually paid in the price on pollution. I would encourage them, if they are concerned about the price of gas, to go talk to Premier Smith and ask her to reduce it by 13¢. That is how much she just raised it, with no rebate whatsoever.

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

Mr. Speaker, that rhetoric will not put money in the back pockets of British Columbians, and while the cost of the jet-setting Prime Minister's summer luxury tours and vacation soars, his carbon taxes and gas taxes are driving Canadians nose first into the ground. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Canadians are struggling to afford a simple road trip.

Our Conservative common-sense plan is to give $682 back to the people of British Columbia. Will the Prime Minister agree that his carbon tax is a road trip wrecker and axe the tax on gas this summer?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am really astonished by the gall of the Conservatives. They have the temerity to talk about the road trips of regular Canadians, when they racked up a charge of $426,283 in Canadians' money travelling to their own convention. The member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola was one of the Conservatives who charged regular Canadians to go to his convention.

That is not right.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Immigration has finally met with his counterparts from Quebec, the provinces and the territories. They have finally started talking about integration capacity. What solution did they come up with? They are going to put a working group together to examine the distribution of asylum seekers.

I thought this was not a problem for the minister. I thought that, when we asked him for fairer distribution, he said that asylum seekers were not cattle.

Is it safe to assume that, until this all-important committee issues its recommendations, absolutely nothing will change on the ground?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, if he is criticizing the working group, perhaps he should direct his criticism at the Government of Quebec, because it was the Government of Quebec's idea. We were happy to work with the other provinces and agree to it. That is very important.

The member was not at the meeting eight days ago, but we issued a unanimous news release announcing that we agreed to work together, better coordinate our efforts and do better, because we know that the way we welcome asylum seekers has to be properly coordinated. That is something we can do, as a country, with all the provinces.

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

Mr. Speaker, he should have invited me. Next time, I will go.

Quebec is asking to be reimbursed $1 billion for the cost of welcoming refugee claimants. Quebec is asking that the cost of welcoming refugee claimants be shared with provinces that are not carrying their fair share of the load. Quebec is asking for a temporary reduction in immigration as well as the power to approve all applicants. Quebec is asking that federal programs have French language requirements.

What did the immigration minister offer Quebeckers, after months of shirking his responsibilities? He offered a committee.

Does his committee at least have a deadline to start delivering results?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, what we do not invite at these meetings is bickering.

Working together is very important to us. For once, Quebec fully agreed with the news release we issued.

In terms of French language training, we have given Quebec $5.2 billion since 2015. We are committed. We want to ensure, once again, that French, the common language, is strengthened in Quebec.

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

Mr. Speaker, after the meeting, the Minister of Immigration stated that the status quo was no longer acceptable. However, as we speak, it is still the status quo. Nothing has changed on the ground. As of now, the federal government has not paid back a penny, and Quebec is still taking in more than half of all of Canada's asylum seekers.

His committee must not become a gimmick that will sit around being useless until the election. We needed results yesterday. Today, it is a matter of urgency. When are we going to see results?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the status quo is the Bloc Québécois doing nothing for 30 years, while we make $5.2 billion available to Quebec for French language training, with clear results.