Debates of June 11th, 2024

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, today is an important day for Canadians. Today, every member must make a choice. Each and every one of us must decide whether we are in favour of fairness, whether we think that a nurse should pay less taxes than a multimillionaire. In our party, we know what we think.

Today, Canadians also know what the Conservatives think. They are against fairness. They support multi-millionaires.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have made our choice.

We choose to help older people who are thinking of their children, who want to leave them a reasonable inheritance. Those people know these tax measures will eat into the value of that inheritance, leaving less for their children. We cannot allow them to be put in that position.

Can the Minister of Finance explain why the value of inheritances left by people who will soon no longer be with us are going to be drastically reduced by the federal government's tax?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, since I came to the House nine years ago, and I daresay since the Leader of the Opposition took his seat 20 years ago and proceeded to do little else, the Conservatives have voted against reducing taxes for the middle class, against the Canada child benefit, against funding child care, against dental care and against pharmacare.

Every time Canadians ask the Conservatives to stand up for them, they remain seated.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, farmers, fishers, families and physicians will all be impacted by this tax. The government either did not know this was the case or did not care. Had the government actually taken the time to ask StatsCan, it might have found out that almost 50% of the people impacted by this tax, otherwise, make less than $100,000 a year.

Why does the government continue to insist on purposely misleading Canadians about who will be impacted by this job-killing tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, the only party trying to mislead Canadians is the Conservative Party, because it has been trying to pose as the party of the little guy. Today, the Conservatives had to make a choice. It was a hard choice for them. It took them eight weeks of struggle, but, at the end of the day, the Conservatives made the choice they always make. They are voting against fairness. They are voting in favour of austerity. They are voting in favour of their rich lobbyist friends. That is what they always do.

Housing

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, many young people in my riding of Don Valley East are worried about not being able to find a place to call their home. They see housing being used more and more as a way to make money, and it is hurting their possibility of home ownership.

Can the Minister of Public Services and Procurement tell this House what the government's plan is to make housing more affordable and to help build a fairer future for all young Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, unlike Conservatives, who have been treating home ownership like a casino, we put in place a foreign buyers ban so that foreign speculators no longer price out hard-working Canadian families. Unlike the Conservatives, we are working with MPs in the GTA to use public lands for affordable homes and not for the profits of the highest bidders, and our plan for tax fairness is asking wealthier Canadians to pay a bit more so we can build more homes faster. Will the Leader of the Opposition support that plan for housing: fairness and tax fairness?

Indigenous Affairs

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for decades, the Mushkegowuk Cree of James Bay have fought to end substandard health and to get a proper hospital built, but now that the deadline is looming for the future of the Weeneebayko hospital, the federal government has walked away. If it does not return to the table with funding, the construction companies will quit and the provincial funding will evaporate, and all these years of hard work will be lost. The communities and the NDP have called on the Prime Minister to intervene.

It is now or never, so is the minister willing to commit today to flow the funds so this hospital in James Bay can finally be built?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, every Canadian in this country deserves access to health care, and that is why we are working so closely with the hospital, with Ontario, to make sure that residents in the Moosonee area can actually access health care, just like every other person in Ontario. I met with the board yesterday, I met with Grand Chief Fiddler, and the Prime Minister has also written a letter confirming our commitment to this project.

Child Care

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are jeopardizing affordable child care by refusing fair pay and benefits for child care workers. In Alberta, experts say child care workers earn less than a livable wage, driving many away from the sector. However, this is an issue across Canada, as low pay and benefits are common for child care workers, most of whom are indigenous and women of colour.

When will the Liberals get serious about affordable, quality child care and create a national workforce strategy for child care workers that actually works?

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her advocacy. I know she cares deeply about early childhood education. I am happy to share back in response to her question that we are working with the provinces and territories on a national strategy for the workforce. I look forward to moving that forward. There is a lot of work to be done as we work to create 250,000 new spaces, and the early childhood workers are at the heart of that strategy.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

This year, Canadians are commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, giving us the opportunity to recognize the sacrifices that the men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces have made and continue to make on our behalf.

I want to be sure that citizens across the country are aware of the sacrifices that members of the Canadian Armed Forces have made and continue to make on their behalf.

This year we are also marking and celebrating the centennial of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Accordingly, I wish to draw the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, including Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny, commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, and Loreena McKennitt, who is departing after 10 years of serving as its honorary colonel.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been consultations with all the parties and I—

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Even before the hon. member has been able to raise the issue, I am hearing “no” in this room. Once again, I would like to remind all members, please, to do negotiations and consultations, as much as possible, so that we can use the time of the House very efficiently.

The hon. member for Vancouver East is rising on another point of order.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I am. Actually, I had not even said what I was going to say. I am not quite sure how members would know pre-emptively what I was going to raise.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am sorry, but I could not hear the hon. member for Vancouver East at all. Can the hon. member please just make her point, so I can just hear what she is raising?

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker. There has been consultation with—

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am afraid that I am hearing, right off the top, that there is not unanimous consent for the hon. member.

The House resumed from June 10 consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Foreign Interference in Democratic Institutions

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

It being 3:19 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of the member for Trois-Rivières related to the Business of Supply.

Call in the members.

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

The question is as follows. May I dispense?

[Some hon. members]

No.