Debates of May 29th, 2024

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, neither wine nor vanilla yogourt are a solid foundation for international relations. Canada must plant its feet firmly on the ground and take a strong position.

Is now not the best time to promote peace, starting with recognizing the Palestinian state?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for decades, Canada's position has been very clear, and it continues to be very clear. The only solution for peace in the Middle East is to have a secure and recognized Palestinian state alongside a secure and recognized Israeli state. This is the only way.

For a long time, our position was that recognizing the Palestinian state should come at the end of this process. Today, we have taken an important step by acknowledging that it is not necessarily at the end of this process that we will recognize the Palestinian state.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, “Not a chance” is what the president of the Residential Construction Council said when asked if the Prime Minister would keep his promise to build 3.9 million homes by 2031.

Let us hear it from the Prime Minister. To reach that target, he would have to build 550,000 homes per year, so will the Prime Minister hit the target of 550,000 homes this year, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is facing a housing crisis and we need to take real action towards it, which is what we have done with the most ambitious and achievable plan that this country has ever seen. However, that is not to say we have not had housing crises before, and it is not to say that we have not solved housing crises before. At the end of World War II, there was a need for massive new housing, and Canada stepped up and got that housing built. Indeed, when the boomers came of age, there was a need for massive housing. We made investments, and the federal government helped build housing across the country for boomers. We are doing that now as we build housing for every generation.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that was a wonderful history lesson, except it did not answer the question.

The Prime Minister promised he would lower housing costs in 2015; he doubled them. He promised he would double homebuilding; it actually went down and is still dropping. Now he is promising 3.9 million brand new homes by 2031. That means he would have to build 550,000 this year and every year.

Once again, will the Prime Minister keep his promise to build 550,000 homes this year, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader opposite speaks of 2015. We took office with a commitment to getting the federal government back in the business of building housing. We launched a national housing strategy in 2017, which put 2.5 million Canadians into new or refurbished homes, and we have continued to invest ever since. We are building homes on public lands. We are converting underused federal offices into homes. We are taxing vacant land to incentivize construction. We are building apartments, and bringing rents down with top-ups to the apartment construction loan program. We are scaling up modular housing. We are also launching Canada Builds to lead a team Canada effort to build more homes and more.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was not how quickly the Prime Minister could read off talking points written for him by his staff. The question was whether he is going to break yet another housing promise. Remember, he promised he would lower housing costs; he doubled them. He promised he would double the number of homes built; they went down.

Now the Prime Minister is promising 3.9 million new homes by 2031. That means 550,000 new homes this and every year. Will he keep that promise, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition's criticism is that there are too many measures in our housing plan. Housing should be solved by a simple, one-size-fits-all solution according to the Leader of the Opposition. That is perhaps how he managed to build only six affordable homes when he was the minister of housing.

We have a broad range of initiatives that are delivering on housing, like topping up the housing accelerator fund with $400 million and a new $6-billion Canada housing infrastructure fund to help communities build. We are leveraging transit funding to build more homes. We are launching a housing design catalogue. We are also incentivizing more skilled trade workers.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is announcing a catalogue. Come on, give him a round of applause. People cannot afford a home, they might end up in a tent and their rent has doubled, but they have a brand new catalogue.

Will the Prime Minister build 550,000 new homes, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition mentioned the history lesson. Since he was the housing minister, he should know that the way we solved the housing crisis after World War II was by putting forward a catalogue of homes that builders could access to build extremely rapidly right across the country. Yes, that is one of the measures we are bringing back.

The Leader of the Opposition's mockery of concrete initiatives that are going to deliver for Canadians is exactly what is wrong with his approach. He would rather mock and insult than roll up his sleeves and get solutions built for Canadians.

National Defence

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, report after report has shown that women who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces are not safe, and consecutive governments have failed to act urgently. Shamefully, a new report has revealed that 5% of women have been sexually attacked at their military colleges in the last 12 months. Justice Arbour was clear that now is the time to end the toxic culture that exists within these colleges. Women deserve a safe place to train and learn.

When will the Prime Minister act to protect the women who are the future generation of the Canadian Armed Forces?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we absolutely agree that the culture at the Royal Military College needs to change. That is why we took action. We appointed the Canadian Military Colleges Review Board last year to enable meaningful culture change at these institutions. No RMC cadet and no CAF member should ever be subject to harassment, discrimination or misconduct. The Minister of National Defence will not hesitate to implement the necessary changes to protect cadets and all officers.

Climate Change

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last summer was brutal, what with all the wildfires, evacuations, heat waves and the smoke filling the air. In 20 years' time, however, we may look back on the summer of 2023 as the best of any that followed.

The coming summer will be even hotter. There will be more days of sweltering temperatures, more heat waves and more heat domes. The climate crisis is real, and the suffering of children and seniors is real. Can the Prime Minister get it into his head that continuing to support the oil industry is sheer madness?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue with this government's plan to fight climate change, which is the most ambitious plan that Canada has ever seen. The plan is working. Excluding the pandemic period, Canada's emissions have reached a 25-year low. We are the first federal government to be on track to meet its emissions reduction targets.

This proves that we can reduce emissions, fight climate change, support Canadians and grow the economy at the same time. That is what we are going to continue to do to build a stronger, greener future for all Canadians.

Automotive Industry

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the work of our government, Ontario is a leading manufacturing hub for the 21st century. Companies from across the world are choosing Ontario to build high-tech factories that are focused on delivering real climate action. The world knows that the economy of tomorrow needs to be built on sustainability because climate change is real. Evidently, the Conservative Party did not get the memo.

Can the Prime Minister tell this House more about what the government is doing to make Ontario a global leader in electric vehicle production?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the whole world is embracing an economy based on renewable energy and clean tech. The member for Vaughan—Woodbridge is right: Thanks to our bold investments, Ontario is now a global leader in EV production.

We have the number one EV battery supply chain in the world, thanks to investments from companies like Honda, Stellantis and Volkswagen. These are thousands of good jobs and billions of dollars invested in Ontario that the Conservative Party is opposing for no good reason. Shame on the Conservatives.

Public Safety

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in a shocking article published in this morning's edition of La Presse, we read that children have to be escorted by the police whenever they leave their day care because of the homeless people in the area and the injection site next door. The day care director said, and I quote, “It is not right for kids to need a police escort when they go out for walks”.

Why is the Prime Minister, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, putting our children in danger by allowing the use of drugs and by letting violent and repeat offenders out of jail and back on our streets?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, nurses, hospital staff, patients and all Canadians should feel safe at work, in hospitals.

Our government has invested billions of dollars in the health care system to ensure that Canadians have access to the best care possible.

The difference between us and the Conservative Party is that, while they are trying to criminalize the most vulnerable members of our society who are battling drug addiction, we are rolling up our sleeves and working with all levels of government to resolve this crisis.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he did not hear the question, which was about day cares.

It is true that because of decriminalization in British Columbia, nurses had to breathe in crack cocaine and methamphetamine. However, right now I am talking about Montreal, where the Prime Minister's policies mean that violent criminals are walking free and drugs are being used on the street next to a day care.

I am going to ask the question again. Why will the Bloc and the Liberals not accept our common-sense plan to get rid of drugs and put criminals in jail?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what the Conservative leader is proposing is a throwback to the failed drug policies of the Harper years, which one of that government's top advisors even acknowledged was an appalling failure.

We will continue to be there to keep everyone safe, including children in child care, while using an approach rooted in compassion and public health that keeps people safe.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I think many Canadians would like to go back to a time when kids did not need police officers at their day care centres.

After nine years, the Liberal Bloc is not worth the cost. The Bloc Québécois voted in favour of $500 billion in inflationary, bureaucratic and, yes, centralizing spending. This has left 60% of consumers saying that they are under stress.

When will the Liberal Bloc reverse its inflationary deficit and tax policies, which are hurting Quebeckers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader just explained that his approach is austerity, and that is what causes Canadians to suffer.

We chose to invest in supporting Canadians. For example, we are helping seniors with a dental care program. Just since the beginning of May, this program has helped over 100,000 seniors across the country get dental care. This initiative helps reduce costs and provide care to vulnerable people.

The Conservatives consistently voted against it. They even tried to block it across the country. That is shameful.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to talk about austerity. I think that the Barnfield family of four in Calgary can tell him all about austerity, because that is what they are living right now because of his housing hell, his carbon taxes, and his inflation. They said, “we're having to choose between paying a bill or getting food, and that can be really hard. It makes things really difficult.... And I just don't see any end in sight.”

Will the Prime Minister accept our common-sense plan to axe the tax, fix the budget and build the homes, so that the Barnfield family, and so many others, can eat, heat and house themselves?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I disagree with the Leader of the Opposition, who wants to take away the Canada carbon rebate cheques that arrive four times a year in the bank accounts of families like the Barnfield family.

Indeed, eight out of 10 Canadians, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, are better off with the Canada carbon rebate as we fight climate change with the price on pollution. Eight out of 10 Canadian families, from coast to coast, in the jurisdictions where the carbon price applies, are better off. That includes, most likely, the Barnfield family, and we will continue to be there for them.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, let us not misunderstand each other. I have the utmost respect for the State of Israel, but it is time for this to stop.

In that spirit, is the Prime Minister prepared to support the International Court of Justice and potentially the International Criminal Court in enforcing international law and commit to arresting anyone on Canadian soil who is named in an arrest warrant? Is he prepared to apply Canada's sanctions regime to Israeli ministers who openly call for the commission of crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip?