Debates of May 27th, 2024

Loisirs St‑Vincent‑de‑Paul/Champlain-Gamache Community Organization

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that we learned of the closure of the community organization Loisirs St-Vincent-de-Paul/Champlain-Gamache, which has played a key role in the lives of hundreds of families in Longueuil since 1995.

I would like to especially thank Dolorès Vaudeville, who ran the organization with passion and dedication for 17 years, and Sophie Hébert, who greatly contributed to the organization's development thanks to her unfailing commitment and dedication.

Loisirs St-Vincent-de-Paul/Champlain-Gamache was located in a neighbourhood where people face daily challenges, but each action taken by the organization made a difference in the lives of many people in the community.

I would like to express my gratitude to all the volunteers, partners and community members who supported this cause over the years. We hope that the legacy of St-Vincent-de-Paul/Champlain-Gamache will continue to inspire other community initiatives in the future to help the least fortunate among us live with dignity.

Filipino Heritage Month

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, do members know that the heart of Canada's Filipino community is located in Winnipeg North and that June is Filipino Heritage Month in Canada?

No matter where someone goes in Canada, they will be encouraged to participate in a wide spectrum of Filipino hospitality. One of the things they will notice is that it does not matter what kind of event they go to; they will experience hospitality, kindness, love and hard-working people. These are the types of things that are embedded in our Filipino heritage community.

Today, over one million people in Canada are of Filipino Canadian heritage. That is something all of us should be very proud of. I would encourage all members to get out and promote Filipino heritage in the month of June no matter where they live in Canada.

Roger Barbeau

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to pay tribute to the exceptional commitment of Roger Barbeau, a citizen in my riding of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

An accomplished businessman in the shoe industry, Mr. Barbeau founded the first Caisse Populaire in Saint-Émile in his home in 1959. With the tireless support of his wife Aline and his sons Blaise and Gervais, he devoted much of his life to the service of his community while promoting the values that were so dear to him.

As a prominent member of the Knights of Columbus for more than 55 years, he was the embodiment of that organization's spirit of fraternity and solidarity. He was a model for us all, thanks to his compassion for the least fortunate and his commitment to the principles of charity and goodwill. He inspired those around him with his kindness, wisdom and ability to reach out to those in need.

I would like to thank Roger Barbeau for everything he has done and for everything he is. His legacy will live in our hearts forever.

Filipino Heritage Month

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Filipino Heritage Month is just days away, and Filipinos from coast to coast to coast are ready to celebrate Filipino art, culture and food.

The Philippine Fiesta Extravaganza started in Scarborough under the leadership of Von Canton and Philip Beloso. This year it is expanding to cities across Canada, with fiestas this summer in Toronto, Surrey, Vaughan, Brampton, Lethbridge, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Miramichi and Montreal. I encourage my colleagues in these communities and all Canadians to go to their local fiesta events and other events to experience Filipino food, music, and art as we celebrate Filipino culture and 75 years of diplomatic relations between Canada and the Philippines.

I was proud to sponsor the motion that made June Filipino Heritage Month in Canada, and I thank everyone who has taken Parliament's declaration and made it a month-long celebration.

Mabuhay Canada; mabuhay Philippines.

Ian Smith

[Ben Carr, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Ian C. P. Smith was a tireless and passionate public servant for over 40 years. We lost this cherished member of Winnipeg's community recently.

Throughout the course of his distinguished career, Dr. Smith received numerous accolades for his hard work, including the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt, the Outstanding Achievement Award of Public Service of Canada, and both the Queen's golden and diamond jubilee medals.

He was an internationally respected biophysicist, having contributed to Canada's reputation as a leader in state-of-the-art medical diagnostic devices. Under his leadership, the National Research Council's Institute for Biodiagnostics has garnered a reputation for world-class research. It has generated and commercialized new, non-invasive diagnostic tools used in human and veterinary medicine, and continues his cutting-edge research on the early diagnosis of cancer.

Dr. Smith was an accomplished man, both professionally and personally. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. His work in the field of biophysics will continue to have a lasting impact.

We wish his family all the best during this difficult time, and thank Dr. Smith for his lasting contributions to our country.

The Economy

[Rob Morrison, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the hunger and homelessness.

The Salvation Army report showed that 75% of Canadians face challenges managing limited financial resources, poverty and food insecurity worse in every corner of the country. Twenty-five percent of Canadians eat less so their children and other family members can eat. It is staggering. Twenty-six percent of Canadians skip or reduce the size of a meal because they cannot afford to buy groceries.

I was just at the food bank in Cranbrook. I was talking with a young couple and their two children. I have known them for many years. They were regular contributors. They were embarrassed as they told me they were there at the food bank to pick up some groceries for their family. The NDP-Liberal government hiked the carbon tax 23% last month, driving up the cost for food, gas and heating, especially hard-hitting in rural Canada.

Only common sense Conservatives will cap spending, axe the carbon tax, and bring home safe streets and powerful paychecks for Canadians.

National Seal Products Day

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite all my colleague to join me and others tomorrow as we celebrate National Seal Products Day, which is normally on May 16.

Inuit and coastal communities across Nunavut, Atlantic Canada and Quebec have relied on seal and seal products for subsistence and survival for millennia, and we continue to use seal for food, clothing and historical ceremony. Seal Day is about recognizing and honouring historical, cultural, social and economic contributions that seal represent for our communities and our people. It is a day when we can recognize and counter narratives about the seal that seek to delegitimize and have devastating impacts on indigenous and coastal communities.

I support the industry, and it is a strong industry that has sustained people for many generations. We must continue to work together to ensure the economic viability of seal for all Canadians.

Pets

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the current Liberal government, it is a cruel summer for Canadian pet owners. Life in Canada is now so unaffordable that the Calgary Herald just reported the following: “Calgary animal advocates say the increased costs of living, combined with a housing crisis, are forcing pet owners to make tough decisions between their needs and those of their pets.”

Animal shelters are overflowing, and Melissa David, founder of Parachutes for Pets, said that her organization is taking nearly 100 calls a day on average from people whose entire support network is their pet but who are considering heartbreaking decisions like abandoning their pets because inflation means they cannot afford them anymore.

The inflation caused by nine years of massive Liberal deficits and the ineffective carbon tax has led us to this place. At a minimum, the Liberals must cancel the carbon tax, the federal fuel tax and the GST on gasoline and diesel between now and Labour Day. This would save the average Canadian family $670 this summer and could mean the difference between keeping their beloved furry family member or cruelly having to abandon it.

Carbon Tax

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer—Mountain View, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, tax-and-spend Liberals are jeopardizing all that Canadians hold dear. The family vacation was the one opportunity to enjoy Canada's great outdoors, a chance to connect with fellow travellers and to see the sights and sounds of this great nation. Now, even a simple road trip is unaffordable as parents struggle with the basic necessities of life. A summer vacation is no longer an option for Canadian families.

Families will have to pay $700 more for food this year than they did in 2023. Last year, food banks had to handle a record two million visits in a single month with one million more monthly visits expected in 2024.

In the middle of this historic cost-of-living crisis, the NDP–Liberal coalition decided to hike the carbon tax by 23%. This is just one step in its plan to quadruple the carbon tax over the next six years, making everything more expensive at the worst possible time. This has to stop. Our common-sense Conservatives can be trusted to axe the tax this summer and to give Canadian families the break they so desperately deserve.

National AccessAbility Week

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week is National AccessAbility Week.

I would like to recognize the incredible contributions made by people living with disabilities and the organizations that represent them.

Persons with disabilities, advocates and organizations work tirelessly to remove barriers. They ensure the full participation of more than eight million Canadians with disabilities. It is by working together with the disability community that we have made progress.

This year's theme is “Forward Together: Accessibility and Inclusion for All”.

Collective efforts are needed from all sectors of society. We need this in order to reach a barrier-free Canada by 2040. I invite my colleagues and all Canadians to celebrate the exceptional work being done by so many. Let us continue working toward a more accessible and inclusive society, a more accessible and inclusive Canada.

Voting Age

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, “If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you ought to be able to vote” were the words of U.K. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer just last week.

I mention his statement because this week, here in Ottawa, young people from across the country are gathering for the first-ever national Vote16 summit. The Vote16 movement around the world is growing because the issues being discussed in places like this have a profound impact on the lives of young people. It is growing because the evidence shows that when young people are empowered to vote, the voter turnout rate rises, which is a hallmark of a strong democracy. That is why the Northwest Territories' Chief Electoral Officer has recommended that the voting age be changed to 16 in that place, and it is why I tabled my bill, the right to vote at 16 act, here in Ottawa.

I want to wish all the young people gathering in Ottawa for the summit a productive session.

Yvon Picotte

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Louiseville and Maskinongé have lost one of their most illustrious sons and a great leader: Yvon Picotte.

Mr. Picotte began his career as a teacher and principal. He also worked as a radio host and newspaper columnist and served in many volunteer positions in the community. Elected MNA in Maskinongé in 1973, he represented his riding in the Quebec National Assembly for 21 years. He served as the Quebec minister of recreation, tourism and municipal affairs and as the minister of agriculture, fisheries and food, where he made his mark.

After retiring from politics, he worked as the director of the Pavillon du nouveau point de vue addiction centre in Lanoraie and as the president of Groupe RCM in Yamachiche, a company that employs people with functional limitations. He also served as the president of the Louiseville buckwheat pancake festival for 15 years.

The Mauricie is mourning a man who brought people together and cared about his fellow citizens and his community. I thank Mr. Picotte for his commitment. We will remember him.

Housing

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are experiencing pain and anxiety as rent and mortgage payments have doubled after nine years of the Prime Minister. Housing is a need, not a want, yet OSFI just made a report stating that 76% of Canadians are going to face trouble paying their mortgages. That is 34 million Canadians who have a mortgage, who live with a mortgage holder or who rent from a mortgage holder.

Trust is a powerful word. It is an experience more than a statement, and Canadians are facing anxiety and pain, and are losing trust over the Liberal Prime Minister, who cannot take care of even the basic needs: housing, low taxes and an affordable cost of living. Trust does not require billions; it requires action. To make Canada right, we need change. We need a new prime minister who is going to restore trust, build homes for Canadians, and bring it home.

Member for Cloverdale—Langley City

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I announce my resignation as the member of Parliament for Cloverdale—Langley City, effective May 31. I have had no greater honour than to serve for almost seven of the past nine years here in Ottawa.

During this time, I have worked with many incredible MPs and senators across parties on numerous legislative priorities. I also worked closely with colleagues at the provincial and municipal levels of government because many issues require collaboration between all levels of government.

I am proud to see that our community south of the Fraser has grown over the past decade, but I have also gained a deeper appreciation of family. I am so grateful to my wife, Elaine, and to my children Kai, Hattie and Kalani for their love and support over the past decade as I pursued politics in Ottawa, and, of course, my condo cuties.

As my time as a member of Parliament ends, I am so thankful to everyone who supported me over these past seven years, especially my staff and volunteers, but mostly, I thank the constituents of Cloverdale—Langley City for allowing me to serve them.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost of mortgages, 76% of which will require higher monthly payments in the next three years, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, which monitors Canada's banks. This comes after the Prime Minister promised that interest rates would stay low for Canadians. Against this backdrop, the Bloc Québécois is voting in favour of a $500-billion bureaucratic, inflationary and centralist budget that is causing interest rates to balloon.

Why does the Prime Minister not cap spending and reduce the waste in order to lower interest rates?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are not really worried about Canadians who are struggling to pay their mortgage. We know that because the Conservatives refused to support our Canadian mortgage charter, which truly provides significant support for Canadians. They are against 30-year amortization for new buyers.

The only thing the Conservatives understand is cut, cut, cut.

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, of course the Conservatives want to cut. We want to cut taxes.

The Journal de Montréal has declared that Quebec taxpayers are tapped out. It should come as no surprise that 75% of respondents to Léger-Québecor polls said that they were not getting their money's worth. The Liberal Bloc, however, wants to raise taxes.

Why not at least accept my common-sense plan to suspend the gas tax this summer?

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

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the Conservatives do not have a plan. The only thing the Conservatives understand is austerity. The only thing they can do is cut, cut, cut.

They want to scrap our dental care plan, which is very popular in Quebec. They want to scrap our school food program, another plan that is very popular in Quebec. Obviously, they are not going to support child care centres, another very important plan for Quebeckers, including Quebec women.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost of mortgages, 76% of which will become more expensive over the next three years, according to the federal banking regulator, OSFI. This, after the Prime Minister said rates would stay low for long. We know that his massive government deficits have driven rates up two percentage points higher than they otherwise would be, according to Scotiabank.

Will he accept my common-sense, dollar-for-dollar plan to cap spending and cut waste to bring down interest rates so Canadians can keep their homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, we know the truth. The Conservatives do not actually care about Canadians who are struggling to pay their mortgages, and we know that because when we put forward something very concrete to support those Canadians, like the strengthened Canadian mortgage charter, they refused to support it. When we put forward a plan to help first-time homebuyers with 30-year mortgage amortizations, the Conservatives voted against it.

The fact is that the only thing the Conservatives know how to do is cut, cut, cut, and the only Canadians they care about are themselves.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we have voted against everything the Prime Minister has done to balloon the cost of living of Canadians, to increase food bank use by 50% over three years, to send one-quarter of all young people to the food bank in three months alone, one-quarter of all Canadians skipping meals because they cannot afford a home, a 38% increase in homelessness since 2019, 50 new homeless encampments in Toronto, now a total of 256 of them in the biggest city in the country.

Why is it that the more they spend, the more Canadians hurt?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to supporting the most vulnerable Canadians. The fact is that when we formed government and when they left government, the poverty rate in Canada was 14.5%. It is now 9.9%. The Canada child benefit has lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. The GIS helps 900,000 seniors. The only thing they know how to do is cut, cut, cut.

Tory times are hard times.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we know how to cut taxes. That is why we reduced poverty and had affordable homes nine years ago when common-sense Conservatives were in government. Since that time, housing costs have doubled. Mortgage payments have doubled. Rent has doubled. The number of homeless encampments in Canada is up by hundreds per cent. We now have one in four Canadians skipping meals because they cannot afford the cost of food.

Will the government finally stop the policies that make Canadians poor, get off the backs of the working people and let Canadians keep their homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, we know what the Conservatives really believe and what they really do. When that leader was in government, how many homes did he actually get built? There were just six homes. We know what Conservatives do to programs that support the most vulnerable: cut, cut, cut.

We have put forward a national school food program, a dental care program and national early learning and child care. They want to cut those programs. We will not let them.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on May 10, the immigration minister met with his counterparts. They announced a working group to address the distribution of refugee claimants.

Last Thursday, Minister Fréchette wrote to the minister again. She is getting frustrated because there has been no movement since that announcement. I would remind the minister that he said that the status quo was no longer acceptable, yet, since then, it has been nothing but the status quo. Our public services are overwhelmed; meanwhile, there is a working group that is not working.

I know they have made an announcement, but is there actually a working group? When will it meet and when will we see results?