Debates of May 24th, 2024

Srebrenica Remembrance Day

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the UN voted to establish the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, when 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were taken by Serb forces from a UN safe zone, shot and buried in mass graves. After years of painstaking documentation, in 2004 and 2007 international courts ruled that the crimes committed in Srebrenica constitute genocide.

I was working in Sarajevo 25 years ago. Every morning, I passed the mothers of Srebrenica holding photos of their lost sons and begging us for justice, like one mother who searched all of the mass graves for the red rubber boots that her little boy was wearing on that day. Those faces haunt me still. I hope that commemorating these atrocities will bring some peace and some healing.

Resource Assistance for Youth

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, many youth in Winnipeg Centre face unimaginable hurdles to success. We have one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country, at almost 40%, but Winnipeg's frontline organizations are leading the way and rising to this challenge. This includes Resource Assistance for Youth Incorporated, otherwise known as RaY, which provides support, services and training programs to youth who are most marginalized by systems, such as the Level Up! education and work placement program, which has empowered 775 youth to join labour markets or post-secondary education.

However, funding delays by the Liberal government are putting this program at risk, forcing layoffs for 12 staff members and eliminating services for 80 youth at risk. Lives are on the line if we fail to get this funding in our community.

All young people deserve opportunities to thrive, and the Liberals must end funding delays and give RaY the resources it needs to empower Winnipeg's youth.

Drummondville Voltigeurs

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Drummond has been on cloud nine since our Voltigeurs won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's President Cup in four games against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. They played to a crowd of frenzied fans at the Marcel-Dionne arena, which was filled to capacity.

It was a masterful performance.

Top performers included Riley Mercer, a tough goaltender who frustrated opponents with his incredible skill throughout the series, and Vsevolod Komarov, a contender for the Canadian Hockey League title of defenceman of the year. How about Ethan Gauthier, a young man from my riding of Drummond, and the third in his family to wear the Rouges uniform, following in the footsteps of his father Denis and his brother Kaylen? Ethan was the team's top scorer, and ranked second in the entire league. He kept us on the edge of our seats all season, as I am sure he will again for a long time to come.

The year 2024 will forever remain a high point in Drummondville's hockey history. This weekend, the Voltigeurs are set to play at the Memorial Cup games. This time, all of Quebec will be cheering them on. Drummond is ready for a two-trophy parade.

Go Voltigeurs.

Food Security

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, food inflation has risen to a 40-year high and food banks across the country are seeing record demand. Canadians who once donated to their local food banks are now standing in line to receive help. People are skipping meals because they cannot afford three meals per day.

It is a sad story, but this is the record of the sellout NDP leader. Since he joined the Liberal government, life has gotten more expensive. Maybe it is because his brother is a top lobbyist for Metro, or maybe it is because he sold out our farmers and working-class Canadians by repeatedly raising taxes on them. Either way, we know the only thing that the NDP leader is looking out for is his own pension.

Canadians in southern and northern Ontario, Hamilton, Edmonton and British Columbia are turning their backs on the NDP and turning toward common-sense Conservatives in record numbers. Conservatives represent a return to normal, where hard work is rewarded, and not just for those who drive a BMW or wear a Rolex.

Conservatives are going to bring it home.

National Nursing Week

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honour of National Nursing Week to recognize and celebrate the incredible contribution of nurses, who are true heroes of our medical system.

The theme of this year's National Nursing Week is “Changing Lives. Shaping Tomorrow.” This statement is certainly true. Nurses play a critical role in our health care system and in the future of our health. They are often the first point of contact for patients, providing compassionate care, emotional support and expert medical treatment directly impacting their lives.

I would like to especially celebrate the incredible nurses in my riding of Brampton East who are part of the team at Brampton Civic Hospital, as well as medical offices across Brampton, and acknowledge all their hard work and dedication.

We thank all the nurses and health care heroes across the country for their unwavering commitment and service. Their efforts do not go unnoticed, and we are deeply grateful for everything they do to keep our communities healthy.

Government Priorities

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the Liberal-NDP government is just not worth the cost of homelessness and hunger that Canadians are facing. Even Canadians who own their own homes are worried that they will become homeless when they have to renew their mortgages at much higher interest rates. Some payments will even triple, according to a new report.

When will the government rein in their inflationary spending so more Canadians do not have to worry about homelessness?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is certainly well known that grocery price inflation is a problem that all countries are facing around the world. As for grocery price inflation in Canada, there is some good news that just came in with a report that shows that food price inflation is in fact coming down in Canada. It is at 1.4% in April, down from 1.9% the month before. That is certainly encouraging news for Canadians, but it is cold comfort, for sure. We are addressing the root causes of the issue by increasing competition in the marketplace and by investing in a national school food program.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, grocery prices have actually gone up under the Liberal-NDP government, and now Canadians are facing hunger and homelessness at unprecedented rates. The Liberal-NDP Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. Of the mortgages outstanding, as of February 2024, 76% of them will be up for renewal in 2026.

When will the Liberal-NDP Prime Minister stop his inflationary spending so Canadians can afford food and shelter once again?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, let us note, first of all, that this is the same member who called for Canada to exit the United Nations. This is the same member who sat down, with other members of her caucus, with far-right European politicians.

To the substance of the question, she talks about homelessness. She ought to read the most recent report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, which makes clear that no fewer than 50,000 Canadians have been supported by this government's national housing strategy and specifically the reaching home program, which they would cut because they have an austerity agenda that they are ideologically committed to.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals love to deflect away from Canadian suffering. The facts are that after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, it is still not worth the cost of homelessness and hunger that Canadians are feeling.

According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, chronic homelessness is up 38% across Canada. Nearly 80% of all homeless people say they just cannot afford a home to live in.

When will the NDP-Liberal government cap its inflationary spending and build the homes that Canadians need to live in dignity?

[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, again, it is ironic, coming from a member who has been advocating and has actually written a petition to this House of Commons for Canada to leave the United Nations altogether. We see, yet again, more disinformation from the Conservative members on climate change and affordability, two issues that they either do not understand or simply do not care about. If they did care, they would acknowledge that Canada is reducing our pollution and inflation is coming down, but the Leader of the Opposition wants to scrap it all. He does not want Canadians to receive their Canada carbon rebate on July 15. He just wants to make sure his rich oil and gas friends can pollute even more and get even richer.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this Liberal Prime Minister, more and more Quebeckers are going hungry. I was touring Abitibi last week, and the food bank in Rouyn-Noranda is witnessing a very disturbing trend: fully 54% of the people who use the food bank in Rouyn-Noranda have a job. These people are working and getting paid, they do have money, but they do not have enough money to feed themselves. That is what Canada has come to, after nine years of this Liberal government, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, which blindly voted for $500 billion in inflationary spending.

Is the government aware of this mess?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, it seems that my colleagues on the other side of the House are unaware of what we have been through in recent years. Yes, it is true that people need help, and we are there for them. All the Conservatives know how to do is make cuts. Everywhere they have been, they have made cuts.

We are addressing food security. We are setting up a food program in schools, in partnership with the provinces. We have also introduced the Canada child benefit. Let us keep in mind that under the Conservative government, all families with children of the same age were given the same cheque. Ours are based on salary. We have lifted 500,000 children out of poverty with this program.

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

Mr. Speaker, their plan is working so well that I have to describe what is happening in my community of Loretteville. It is an unusual situation, something I never thought I would see in my lifetime. Someone from Loretteville posted the following message online: “I was wondering if someone could trade me two or three home-cooked meals for some work. I can fix pretty much anything”.

After nine years of this government, a man has to ask his neighbours for food.

Does the government realize that we are in this situation because it has racked up deficit after deficit, doubled the debt and raised taxes?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that people are struggling. I have visited people in my riding, too. Across the province and all across Canada, we are meeting with people at food banks and with our partners.

We just went through a pandemic, which led to abnormally high inflation. It is coming down precisely because we are making the right decisions and focusing our investments and assistance on the people who need it most.

Official Languages

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal calvary was out in full force yesterday to save the president of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. In what was basically an unprecedented—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, can I start again?

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

The hon. member for Manicouagan.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal calvary was out in full force yesterday to save the president of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. In what was basically—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Order.

The hon. member for Manicouagan.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal calvary was out in full force yesterday to save the president—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is obstruction.