Debates of June 3rd, 2024

Taxation

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts: Albertans get the most back from the Canada carbon rebate, and there is a rural top-up that is going to double thanks to our budget. When we had a minor increase in the price on pollution this year, guess who increased the price of fuel by 13¢? It was the premier of the Province of Alberta, Danielle Smith. Guess what she did? She offered no rebate and zero dollars back.

The Canada carbon rebate puts more money in the pockets of Albertans, while Danielle Smith and the Conservatives do absolutely nothing.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis is a source of stress for many people. There is a shortage of affordable houses and apartments. For years, Liberals and Conservatives have neglected truly affordable housing. Experts tell us that we could ease the burden by converting federal buildings into housing. That is a good idea, but people are still going to have to be able to afford the rent.

Can the Liberals guarantee that 100% of available federal land and buildings will be devoted to social and affordable housing?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to thank my colleague for his interest in building affordable housing.

I share his concerns. That is why we created the housing accelerator fund, which includes an agreement with Quebec that will result in the construction of more than 8,000 affordable housing units.

Also, we have an opportunity to use public land to create affordable housing. I look forward to working with my colleague to work out the details and build plenty of affordable housing across our country.

Grocery Industry

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while a record number of families are turning to food banks, grocery CEOs have never been richer. The Liberals are not cracking down on the corporate greed driving up food prices. As for the Conservatives, they would not dare touch the profits of their CEO donors.

Canadians deserve better. The NDP is giving the Liberals a chance to put an end to corporate greed by making rich CEOs pay what they owe so that we can invest that money back into Canadians.

Will the Liberals vote in favour of our motion to make rich grocery CEOs pay what they owe?

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

Mr. Speaker, we all recognize in this country that families are having a hard time when it comes to groceries. That is why we have acted, with the Minister of Finance, to present to this nation the largest revamp of our competition law in the country.

Guess who voted against it? The Conservatives did. They are the ones who are standing and saying they want to help families. If they want to do something to help us, they should stand with us in asking Costco and Walmart to sign the grocery code of conduct.

That is the best way to bring fairness into this country. We will keep pushing, and I hope the Conservatives are going to join us in that endeavour.

Indigenous Affairs

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the fifth anniversary of the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples, a reminder of the deep-seated and systemic violence faced by indigenous peoples. It is a time not only to reflect on the past but also to assess our work towards meaningful change.

Can the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations provide an update on the progress made in implementing the calls for justice?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I just came from the front lawn of Parliament Hill where I heard from Bridget Tolley. Her mother was stolen from her over 20 years ago, and she has been seeking justice ever since. This is the story of many indigenous families and survivors across this country. On this fifth anniversary of the national inquiry, we stand with people such as Bridget. While there is a lot of work to do, we will continue to ensure that each and every call to justice is fulfilled.

The Economy

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, never before has so much been spent to achieve so little. Despite a doubling of the national debt, today, Statistics Canada confirmed that GDP per capita has fallen again for the sixth time in seven quarters. Under the Prime Minister, Canadians have seen one of the steepest falls in the standard of living in our history.

Why is the Prime Minister spending so much to make Canadians so poor?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives just cannot resist talking Canada down. That is why we are not hearing from them about inflation being within the Bank of Canada's target range for four months in a row and, in April, the lowest it has been in three years, at 2.7%. That is why we are not hearing from them that, last year, Canada attracted the most foreign direct investment per capita in the entire G7. The other things we are not hearing about from them are all the programs they are going to cut, starting with the national school food program.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that the Canadian standard of living is declining. In the United States, GDP per capita has grown more than 8% since 2019. Our economy is now underperforming the United States by the widest margin since 1965, while under the Prime Minister, the government has grown morbidly obese. More Canadians are visiting food banks than ever before. This is economic malpractice.

Why is the Prime Minister spending so much to make Canadians so poor?

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

Mr. Speaker, yet again, the Conservatives are relentlessly talking Canada down and concealing their austerity agenda. The reality is that Canada has added 1.3 million more jobs than we had before the pandemic. The Canadian economy is 104% the size it was before the pandemic, a rate of growth second, in the G7, only to the United States. We have preserved our AAA credit rating with a stable out—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the latest number from Stats Canada shows that, under the Liberal government, Canadians have seen one of the steepest falls in living standards in our country's history. This means that our quality of life has now dropped to the same level it was eight years ago, while the unemployment rate is up from last year. After nine years of the Liberal government, Canadians are worse off. They are working twice as hard to take in half as much. In fact, Canada's economy has stagnated and Liberal policy is to blame.

Why is the Prime Minister spending so much to make Canadians so poor?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is amazing to hear the Conservatives talking down Canadians, Canada and our prospects. Around the world, people are talking about Canada. Do we know what? As my colleague said before, we have received the largest level of investment in our economy. Do we know why? It is because we have the best workers in the world, because we have renewable energy, because we have trade agreements with our G7 partners and because we know how to make things in this country.

While they talk down Canada, on this side of the House, we will keep pumping up Canada, we will keep improving this country, and we will bring jobs in this country.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are ruining the economy. Production of made-in-Canada goods and services has declined for the fourth straight quarter; the latest drop was by 0.7% in the first three months of this year. Canada remains last of 37 market-based countries that have not recovered from before the pandemic. In fact, Canada underperforms the American economy by the widest margin since 1965; sadly, Canada's economy continues to stagnate under the current Prime Minister's uncontrolled spending and punishing taxes.

Why is the Prime Minister spending so much to make Canadians so poor?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Export Promotion]

Mr. Speaker, I would like the hon. member to talk to representatives of the hundreds upon hundreds of Canadian companies that have come with me to many markets around the world where we have excellent trade agreements. They are taking their services, they are taking their goods, they are taking their innovations, they are taking their creations, and they are selling. Canadian companies are selling Canada around the world. Does the member know what they are doing by doing that? They are creating jobs from coast to coast to coast. We need to keep talking up the Canadian economy and Canadian businesses. We are doing that on this side of the House, and I want to know why you are not.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am certain the hon. minister was not referring to the Speaker, but I would encourage all members to ensure that the questions and answers are directed through the Chair.

The hon. member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia.

Climate Change

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of natural disasters is going up every year with climate change. The question becomes whether it is up to taxpayers to foot the entire bill or whether those who are largely responsible should be asked to pay a portion of it.

Vermont just adopted legislation to make the oil companies pay for climate change-related damages. Canada could take a page out of their book.

Since the oil companies are the primary greenhouse gas emitters and since they are making record profits from polluting, why not force them to pay for climate change adaptation measures?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question and the fact that, unlike the Conservatives, she thinks that climate change is indeed a significant problem that we need to address.

I would remind her that we are the only G7 country to have cut fossil fuel subsidies, two years ahead of schedule no less. We are the only ones to have done that.

Just this morning, we announced a $530‑million fund with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to work with our communities across the country. This is going to help 1,400 municipalities across the country to deal with the consequences of climate change.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on one side of the border, we have Vermont, which is passing a law to force oil companies to pay for climate damage. On the other side of the border, we have the Liberals and the NPD, who again last week voted in favour of giving $30 billion in additional tax giveaways to those same oil companies.

While Vermont wants to force oil companies to pay for the damage they are causing, Canada is rewarding them. I thought that the Liberals and the so-called environmentalists in the NDP supported the polluter pays principle.

Why then, when it comes to oil companies, is it the “polluter paid” principle?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, over the past two years, we have implemented a clean fuel standard, something that the Conservatives promised to do the last time, but they flip-flopped again.

We increased the price on pollution, something that the Conservatives promised to do, but they once again flip-flopped.

We are capping greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas sector, and we are the only major oil-producing country in the world to do that.

Our emissions are so low that the last time they were so low in Canada was just after the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup.

We have come a long way since then.

Public Safety

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this Liberal government, it is crisis after crisis.

Two-thirds of Montreal's population see their city plagued by homelessness, drugs, street gangs and gun violence. This social disorder has been caused by the Bloc Québécois, which supported Bill C-5 so that criminals could be sent home rather than to prison. This is costing Quebeckers dearly in terms of security.

When will this Prime Minister, backed by the Bloc Québécois, stop imposing misery on Quebeckers?

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

Mr. Speaker, keeping Canadians informed is one of our basic responsibilities as politicians.

I would remind members that just a few days ago, the Conservative leader told people in my region that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist. However, two million Canadians, including several thousand in the riding of my colleague from Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, have registered for the Canadian dental care plan. Some 60% of Quebec suppliers are already registered.

Today, we announced that children under 18 and persons with disabilities will also be able to register as of June 27.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Montrealers are fed up. They are finding used syringes on the doorsteps to their homes, their day cares and their businesses along with human waste on the ground. The reality of the Bloc-Liberal alliance is $500 billion in reckless spending that has contributed to this homelessness crisis. It is budget chaos and social chaos.

Can this Prime Minister, backed by the Bloc Québécois, stop wasting Quebeckers' money so they can have a safe city again?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I am an MP from Montreal and I am very happy to see that my colleague is interested in what is happening there. I am the member for Hochelaga, where there is a homelessness crisis. We are working to address it every day.

On our side of the House, we are putting in place programs that the Conservatives consistently vote against. If they really want to look after the most vulnerable people in our society, they can start by voting in favour of the programs we are putting forward.