Debates of June 13th, 2024

Foreign Affairs

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have said many times in the House that the situation in Gaza is catastrophic. Too many children and too many women have died. That is why the violence must stop. That is why we need a ceasefire now. That is why hostages must be released. That is why civilians must be protected. That is why humanitarian aid needs to get into Gaza.

We need to make sure that both parties support the Biden proposal. The Prime Minister, and the G7 prime ministers and leaders are in Italy as we speak. I really hope we can bring peace back to the Middle East.

Labour

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's border services employees deliver important services that ensure Canadians are safe, secure and have timely access to goods coming from other countries. It is no secret that Canada's public servants have seen previous Conservative governments cut their jobs and cut services instead of giving them the respect they deserve by reaching deals at the table that are fair for them and reasonable for Canadian taxpayers.

Could the President of the Treasury Board share an update on her work to ensure a fair deal is made with our border services officers to maintain Canada's border security while ensuring respect for the work of our public servants?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, this week showed that the best deals are reached at the table and that the collective bargaining process works. The Canada Border Services Agency employees keep our country safe every single day, and I am pleased to announce in the House that a tentative agreement has been reached that is fair for Canadian taxpayers and reasonable for public servants.

On this side of the House, we will always stand up for public service employees, and we thank them for their work every single day in protecting our country.

Taxation

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, he has developed an extreme obsession with taxing farmers. First it was the carbon tax; now it is the capital gains tax increase that means that a 74-year-old farmer back home who has worked his whole life will struggle to pay off his debts and enjoy his retirement.

It also makes things even harder for the next generation of farm families. Without the family farm, big multinational conglomerates will take over. How is that fair for Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader does not stand with workers, and he certainly does not stand with Canada's farmers. It is shameful that the leader of the Conservatives hides behind farmers and workers to justify his opposition to our plan for tax fairness.

We are in fact increasing the capital gains sheltering for farmers by boosting the lifetime exemption for qualified farming properties to $1.25 million per owner, and when combined with the $250,000 threshold, farmers are going to be better off.

We are standing up, on this side of the House, for Canada's agriculture. The Conservatives are standing up for the 0.13%.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, farmers are supposed to feed families, not the Prime Minister's extreme obsessions. The new tax is devastating for everyone, from farm to table.

Canada's “Food Professor” said yesterday that “to suggest that this change only affects a minimal number of Canadians...is misleading. I think it actually affects a lot of businesses, including in the agri-food sector, and I would start with farmers”.

We need to keep family farms alive, but now they are under attack by the Liberals. How is that fair, and how can the ag minister sit quietly and let this happen?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has not seen a hay baler or the top of a combine in his life.

What we have done over here is made things better for farmers by increasing the lifetime exemption and extending new provisions to farmers to ensure that capital gains do not affect them. Farmers will, in fact, be better off under this plan for tax fairness, just like waitresses, just like airline stewardesses, just like janitors, just like electricians, just like plumbers and just like 99.87% of Canadians.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the government and its Bloc Québécois partners have found a new way to undermine our agricultural industry: The day before yesterday, they voted to increase taxes on capital gains.

While one in five families cannot even pay off its debts, this punitive tax measure will make it even harder to sell a farm or transfer it to a family member. Farmers were not even consulted.

How does this measure make things fairer?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition does not know how to milk a cow or how to help farmers.

In our plan, we put new limits in place to help farmers. The exemption for farmers was extended. We know that farm succession is a major issue in Canada.

I encourage the member to do his homework, because things are going better for farmers thanks to the Liberal plan.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here we have yet more proof that the government is truly out of touch. I have been milking cows for 40 years.

I can confirm that, in committee, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food admitted that neither he nor his department were consulted about this new tax, which is disastrous for family farms. I have also heard from many owners of small and medium-sized businesses in my riding over the past few weeks. For example, this change will hit Louis from Saint‑Joseph hard when he transfers his business to his daughter. The Liberals and the Bloc Québécois are not worth the cost.

Again, I ask, how is all of this fair?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians understand, especially farmers in Quebec, is fairness.

The latest federal budget we tabled was about fairness for every generation. It will enable us to invest in the next generation, in going concerns, and in our seniors. Surprise, surprise, the Conservatives voted against tax fairness.

I know farmers have big hearts. I know farmers are thinking about future generations. I know farmers want Canada to keep getting better.

That is exactly what we are doing.

Natural Resources

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, to return to the matter of Chalk River and the nuclear waste landfill site on the banks of the Ottawa River.

In late March, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories admitted to dumping toxic waters into the river.

Mr. Speaker, there is chatter coming from both sides of the House. I would ask for silence.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Indeed, tempers are running very hot today. I ask members who wish to have conversations to please do so outside the chamber.

I invite the hon. member for Repentigny to begin her question again.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Returning to the matter of Chalk River and the nuclear waste landfill site on the banks of the Ottawa River.

In late March, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, also called CNL, admitted to dumping toxic waters into the river. The lethality of these waters is already acute, which means that, within four days, they kill half of the fish that swim in them.

We know that many experts have warned about the risks of contamination caused by radioactive substances. Three months later, despite our questions, neither CNL nor the Department of the Environment has revealed which contaminants were involved.

Were they radioactive, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, CNL has confirmed that the waste water was unrelated to radioactive contaminants and poses no threat to the public.

We continue working to ensure that the laboratories comply with the regulations.

The waters were certainly not radioactive.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Kebaowek First Nation, part of the Anishnabeg Nation, is a community in my riding that has made a number of demands to which the Bloc Québécois and 140 municipalities have added their voices. It is calling for a thorough investigation and compliance measures in consultation with indigenous peoples, which was not done in the Chalk River case. It is also calling for transparency.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories knew as early as February that they were dumping toxic water, but did not report it until the end of March.

How can the federal government trust a laboratory that has problems with contaminated water and transparency to manage a nuclear waste dump on the Ottawa River, which flows right here beneath Parliament Hill?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories has confirmed that the waste water is not linked to radioactive contaminants and poses no threat to the public.

CNL and government experts continue to monitor the Ottawa River. They are reporting that there is no obvious damage to the environment.

The health and safety of the environment and the public is our top priority.

Health

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over six million Canadians do not have access to a family doctor. According to the Commonwealth Fund, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, the number of Canadians without access to a regular care provider has doubled. What is the government's solution to the doctor shortage? It is to tax them out of the country. The health-care-killing tax on health care providers will force them to practise elsewhere, making the doctor shortage crisis even worse. How is that fair?

How many communities will go without doctors because doctors are leaving Canada due to the Prime Minister's new tax?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the only time the Conservatives have asked in the House about health care or a shortage of doctors is when there has been a proposal to create a more fair tax system that asked the 0.13% of people to pay a bit more. Suddenly now, the Conservatives are interested in health care.

What is not going to help? Conservative cuts will not help. The $200 billion that Liberals have invested, with 26 health agreements, in every province and every territory, is making sure we see progress every day in our health system, from dental care to pharmacare and primary care.

What is going to stop that dead in its tracks are the cuts the Conservatives want to bring. Liberals are here to make sure they do not get to do it.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are scrambling, and their facts do not add up. Kneecapping our health care providers to pay for the government's credit card bill is bad fiscal policy and it is bad health care policy. The key to a sound, robust health care system is preventative medicine, ensuring that Canadians get timely access to the health care they need. This not only saves lives but also saves government money. Increasing the tax burden on doctors who carry out this work will only force doctors out of the country.

When will the pompous Prime Minister finally listen to the thousands of people on wait-lists?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member is a well-respected member of the House. I am just going to ask her very quickly to withdraw that one word, because it does refer to an individual member.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

I will withdraw it, Mr. Speaker.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I thank the hon. member for doing so.

The hon. Minister of Health.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, when someone is out of arguments, they turn to insults. We are asking the 0.13% of people to pay a bit more so that we can have fairness and equity in our tax system, making sure a nurse does not pay a higher marginal rate of tax than a millionaire, which is fundamentally unfair.

Do members know what will kneecap our health care system? There have been 200,000 seniors in just six weeks who have accessed dental care, and the Conservatives want to take that away. Pharmacare is making sure that diabetes patients get the medicine they need; the Conservatives want to cut that. That will kneecap our health care system. We will not allow that to happen.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the Minister of Health does not realize that after nine years, there is a major, historic crisis caused by the lack of family doctors in Canada.

Increasing the capital gains tax will have an impact on the economy and the quality of life of Canadians. In the midst of this challenging economic chaos they have created, the Liberals decide to tax capital gains even more. Supposedly, they want to make the rich pay. This is a tax cover-up and it will have a major impact. As a result of the exodus, the list of Canadians without a doctor will grow, not shrink. In Quebec, there are already 2.3 million people without a family doctor.

What does the Minister of Health say in response—