House of Commons Hansard #345 of the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was documents.
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, once again, the hon. member is using false facts. I would be more than happy to sit with him to walk him through the PBO report and the report of the 300 economists.
Beyond the fact that—
Carbon PricingOral Questions
The Deputy Speaker Chris d'Entremont
Order. I could not hear any of that exchange. I want to keep the noise to a minimum today. That would be great.
The hon. minister can start from the top.
Jonathan Wilkinson Liberal North Vancouver, BC
Mr. Speaker, again, there are false facts being put forward. I would be very happy to sit with the hon. member and walk him through the PBO report and walk him through the report by the 300 economists, which show that eight out of 10 Canadians families get more money back.
Beyond the misleading statements in this House, the hypocrisy is amazing. Every member on that side of the House, in the election, ran on putting a price on pollution. Many of them, including the Leader of the Opposition, in 2008 under Stephen Harper ran on putting a price on pollution. The member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge was working for the B.C. government when it put a price on pollution. The hypocrisy—
Carbon PricingOral Questions
Jasraj Singh Hallan Conservative Calgary Forest Lawn, AB
Mr. Speaker, the minister is more interested in sitting with politicians than sitting with Canadians, who will tell him that his carbon tax scam is sending them to food banks. The Liberals' own department shows that 25% of Canadians are going to a food bank, and their radical plan is to quadruple the carbon tax scam. Can people imagine what the food bank lines are going to be like when that happens?
Before the Prime Minister starves even more Canadians and quadruples his carbon tax scam, why does he not show some balls, call a carbon tax election—
Carbon PricingOral Questions
The Deputy Speaker Chris d'Entremont
I am going to ask the hon. member to retract that last comment.
Carbon PricingOral Questions
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, it is a disservice to Canadians to say things in this House that are simply not true, and that is what the hon. member is doing each and every day.
Eight out of 10 Canadians get more money back. It is the most vulnerable in our society who are much better off because of the price on pollution, while we fight climate change. It is the most vulnerable who the member is targeting. He is looking to make poor people in this country poorer. Shame on the Conservative Party of Canada.
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Mr. Speaker, the world is upside down. The Bloc Québécois saved the Liberal government's skin after calling it every name in the book. It voted for $500 billion in spending by this government, for 100,000 more public servants to be hired and for hunting rifles to be banned. It supports the government, which wants to kill 1,400 forestry jobs.
We are offering the “Liberal Bloc” a chance to redeem itself and vote in favour of our non-confidence motion in order to dissolve Parliament. We want Parliament to be dissolved.
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Labour and Seniors
Mr. Speaker, this feels like déjà vu. The member and I have already had this exchange.
This time, I am making a solemn request: that the member be clear about the Conservative Party's hidden agenda, which is to fire or lay off tens of thousands of public servants in my community, in her community and in communities across Canada. I would like her be clear and specific about the number of cuts that the Conservatives intend to make.
Dominique Vien Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois and the Liberals are fighting the same fight and have the same track record. The debt has doubled, 50% of young people aged 18 to 43 are living paycheque to paycheque, and nearly three-quarters of them believe the previous generation had a better chance of financial success than they do. The cost of housing has doubled. Two million Canadians are using food banks, and violence is rising at an alarming rate. That is the Liberal-Bloc track record.
Will the Liberal government give Canadians the chance to make their voices heard by calling an election right now?
Jean-Yves Duclos LiberalMinister of Public Services and Procurement
Mr. Speaker, the member is well aware that calling an election could result in the election of a government whose only policies right now involve insults, contempt and austerity. The Bloc Québécois will make its own choices.
That being said, a few minutes ago, we were talking about carbon pricing. It is not hard to understand why eight out of 10 families get more back than they pay. The wealthy are paying more. The poorest Canadians are paying less. The proceeds are redistributed to all families. That means that the poorest Canadians and middle-class families are paying less than they receive. The opposite is true for the wealthy.
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
The Bloc Québécois has issued an ultimatum on behalf of seniors. October 29 is the deadline to stop depriving seniors aged 74 and under of 10% of their OAS. That is the deadline for finally treating all seniors fairly and ending age discrimination. That will mark the end of two classes of seniors, or it may mark the end of the Liberal government.
Will the government finally correct this injustice and increase OAS for all seniors?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Labour and Seniors
Mr. Speaker, in the beautiful riding of Manicouagan, there are 7,800 seniors who are eligible for the Canadian federal dental plan, yet the member voted against it. At least she is consistent, because she also voted against increasing the GIS and lowering the retirement age to 65. At least she is consistent.
Can she explain why she systematically votes against seniors?
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals should know that retirees do not consider their pensions a laughing matter. To engage in partisanship with old age security is to play politics with seniors' standard of living. The Liberals are wrong if they think they are going to win support from seniors with attacks in the House. If they want to bring seniors onside, they need to restore fairness to pension amounts. This is a serious issue that demands a serious answer.
Will the government increase old age security for seniors aged 74 and under?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalMinister of Labour and Seniors
Mr. Speaker, it does not stop there. Everything that our government has done to reduce poverty among seniors was accomplished despite considerable resistance from the Bloc Québécois. Every effort to help our seniors, many of them among the most vulnerable in Canada, ran into systemic opposition.
Let me give another example. We provided 50,000 housing units reserved for seniors and put $1.5 billion on the table through the Canada rental protection fund. The Bloc Québécois voted against it.
Lori Idlout NDP Nunavut, NU
Uqaqtittiji, indigenous peoples across Canada are still dying at the hands of the police and RCMP. Just this week, a first nations man from Saskatchewan was killed and, instead of acting, the government wants another study on policing. Studies will not save lives. We need action now, such as an indigenous-led crisis response team. The Liberals need to stop delaying.
Why does the government refuse to act to save indigenous peoples' lives?
Jennifer O'Connell LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, obviously, any death by police is tragic and the systemic racism that indigenous peoples face in the criminal justice system is also a tragedy. This is something we know. We are putting together and have worked on a number of measures. There is definitely more to do.
I appreciate the suggestion that the member has made, and we will continue to work on this to ensure that everybody is safe.
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, with the rise of residential school denialism, survivors, their families and communities need protection, especially when members of Parliament, including the leader of the Conservative Party, fundraise with residential school denialist think tanks such as Frontier Centre.
Willfully promoting hatred against indigenous people through residential school denialism has no place in Canada, so will the Liberal government support my bill to end this hate and protect the stories of survivors?
Jaime Battiste LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Mr. Speaker, when I think about my family members who attended the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, knowing full well that one in 25 children who went to residential schools did not come home, I think it is shameful that anyone would deny that the residential schools happened and the impact of that on Canadians.
Our government is going to continue to create awareness. Our government is going to continue to support healing. Our government is going to continue to address past wrongs. We are committed to that.
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this NDP-Liberal government, we know that taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up.
David Eby has flip-flopped on the carbon tax in time for his provincial election. This means that both parties contending for government want to axe the tax before winter. Just as it has with so many provinces, the NDP-Liberal government will simply impose a federal carbon tax on British Columbia.
The NDP should end its costly coalition with the Prime Minister and vote non-confidence on Tuesday. If he is so confident about a 61¢-a-litre tax, why would the Prime Minister not call a carbon tax election?
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back than they pay. It works directly inverse to income. I would be more than happy to sit with my friend across the way to walk him through the 300 economists who validate that assertion.
With respect to Premier Eby, I agree with his concern around affordability. He took a bunch of the revenue and used it in general revenue, which is not something the federal government does. We return the money to Canadians, and eight out of 10 get more money back. It is an affordability measure and an efficient way to fight climate change.
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Mr. Speaker, I like that the minister dumped on David Eby, but they just do not get how much more expensive everything in British Columbia has become under David Eby and this NDP-Liberal government. Food is up 29%. Transportation is up 23%. Natural gas is up 49%. Gasoline is up 45%. Rented homes are up 23%. Owned homes are up 29%.
British Columbians need a change. If it is truly the people's time, as the federal NDP leader likes to say, the NDP must end its costly coalition with the Prime Minister so we can have a carbon tax election. Why are they so afraid of a carbon tax election?