The hon. member for Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake.
House of Commons Hansard #141 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was relief.
House of Commons Hansard #141 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was relief.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Canadian Fuel Affordability Act Second reading of Bill C-38. The bill proposes extending federal fuel excise tax relief until early 2027. The Liberal government promotes the measure as essential support for families battling high fuel costs. Conservatives, while supporting the bill, characterize the move as belatedly adopting their past proposals and argue for deeper, longer-term relief. Meanwhile, the NDP advocates for an excess profits tax on energy companies to fund the measure, and the Bloc questions whether savings actually reach consumers. 98600 words, 12 hours in 3 segments: 1 2 3.
Jury Duty Appreciation Week Act Second reading of Bill S-226. The bill seeks to establish a "Jury Duty Appreciation Week" to formally recognize the essential civic duty performed by jurors. Members across party lines support this legislation, noting that jury service demands significant personal sacrifice and emotional resilience. While emphasizing the importance of provincial jurisdiction, the Bloc Québécois supports the measure as a symbolic tribute to citizens who uphold the justice system. 5500 words, 40 minutes.
JusticeOral Questions
Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are paying more for everything. Glen has shared with me that he is working three jobs just to stay afloat, and Leonard is struggling to afford to travel to see his grandchildren. These are real Canadians who are being forced to make difficult decisions just to get by. While families are cutting back, these Liberals keep spending billions on wasteful bureaucracy, consultants and corporate welfare.
Our Conservative economic plan has identified over $150 billion in wasteful spending and nearly $10,000 in savings per family. Will the Liberals adopt our plan?
Buckley Belanger LiberalSecretary of State (Rural Development)
Mr. Speaker, as I viewed the new seating arrangement of the Conservatives' opposite, I kind of lost my Saskatchewan MPs. Then I looked farther back in the backbenches to where they have been relegated. There is where they ended up. They got demoted by their own party. Why? It is because the Conservatives do not believe in Saskatchewan. They do not believe that there is a new government in Ottawa. They do not believe in hard work. For 10 years, and now 11 years, they have not delivered anything.
Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake, SK
Mr. Speaker, just because the out-of-touch Prime Minister says affordability is the best it has been in a decade does not make it true. It does not fill Leonard's fuel tank to visit his grandkids, and it does not afford Glen a day off. Canadians are still facing high costs every single day, and the Liberal industrial gas tax makes it more expensive to produce and move the goods Canadians rely on.
Canadians need action on affordability right now. Will the Liberals scrap the industrial gas tax, lower fuel costs and adopt our Conservative economic action plan instead of sitting there and making personal attacks?
Buckley Belanger LiberalSecretary of State (Rural Development)
Mr. Speaker, let us see what the Conservatives from Saskatchewan voted against. The Canada child benefit they voted against. The national school food program they voted against. The Canada disability benefit they voted against. The Canada groceries and essentials benefit they voted against. The Canada workers benefit they voted against. The Canadian dental care plan they voted against. The old age security program they voted against. Canada student loans and grants they voted against. Record starts in housing in Saskatchewan they voted against.
You guys have to learn how to do your job better.
The EconomyOral Questions
The Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia
Should I take that personally? The member knows he must speak through the Chair.
The hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith.
Tamara Kronis Conservative Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, over the summer, I spent time at local food banks, and I can tell everyone that it is getting harder and harder to make ends meet for laid-off workers, full-time employees, working families, people with disabilities, single parents, seniors and kids. I saw real poverty lining up alongside people on the cusp of it. These people know that the Liberal government is all talk and no results for them. The volunteers doing the work that government has walked away from know it too.
I want to know: When is the government going to listen to Conservatives, stop spending our money on consultants and Liberal insiders, and really take care of Canadians?
Jill McKnight LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadians are facing hard times right now. We know that affordability is top of mind for them. That is why our government is taking steps to support Canadians. That is why we are investing in making the national school nutrition program permanent. That is why we have introduced the groceries and essentials benefit to help families with up to $1,900 per year, and that is why we are building more housing and getting housing starts going so we can make affordable housing available.
We are standing with Canadians.
Tamara Kronis Conservative Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, that out-of-touch thoughts and prayers answer is not going to help the man who sent me his résumé and asked if I could help him find a job, or the couple who came into my office with their bank account statements and their household budget and asked me how they are going to keep a roof over their heads. It is not going to help the woman who shouted at me from a place of extreme fear that she had eight to 10 months before she has to consider medical assistance in dying because she cannot afford to live.
I join them in wanting to know when the Liberal government will truly see the people who are struggling and adopt the policies Conservatives have proposed to restore the promise of Canada.
Stephanie McLean LiberalSecretary of State (Seniors)
Mr. Speaker, I have spent time over the summer and the spring talking to constituents in the member's riding. What did I hear from them? I heard back from them that we, as a government, invested $5 million in the Loaves & Fishes Community Food Bank in Nanaimo. This is a new food distribution facility on Vancouver Island. It improves year-round access to nutritious food.
I wish the member would tell her constituents about the things available in her riding that are being funded and that they can count on, instead of just collecting stories for the House of Commons.
Tamara Jansen Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Mr. Speaker, last week, Surrey families received two disturbing police warnings. High-risk offender Skylar Pelletier, with a history of violent and sexual offences, was released into our community. The very next day Jonathon Muzychka, another high-risk offender with a history of violence, was released into Surrey. We grandmothers are terrified watching our grandchildren walk to the park or to school. We should not have to worry about dangerous offenders being let out into our city.
I am begging on their behalf. When will the Liberals end their dangerous catch-and-release policies and put families first, before repeat offenders?
Randeep Sarai LiberalSecretary of State (International Development)
Mr. Speaker, the opposition and the member well know that these matters are decided by parole officers and judicial officers. To light fires, to fearmonger, is not the strategy. This government modified and brought back great legislation to put people behind bars who belong there and to have the proper judicial processes when they need to be released.
Viviane LaPointe Liberal Sudbury, ON
Mr. Speaker, in Sudbury, we know that our natural resources are the core of our economy. They support thousands of jobs and keep our local businesses alive. In order for these benefits to materialize, projects need to move forward efficiently.
Could the Minister responsible for One Canadian Economy explain why it is so important to create a regulatory environment that makes it possible to carry out these projects, which are essential for communities like Sudbury and for Canada's economic future?
Dominic LeBlanc LiberalPresident of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade
Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague from Sudbury for her question.
Yesterday, we introduced a bill to build Canada strong, the most ambitious reform in a generation, to strengthen and accelerate our capacity to get projects done right, strengthen our transportation networks and diversify our trade partners. Our colleague from Sudbury knows full well that we have a well-trained workforce. Her region has the critical minerals that the world needs. We are going to develop them responsibly and put Canadians to work.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, a non-citizen was recently convicted of dealing major amounts of fentanyl in Hamilton. People who deal fentanyl are merchants of death, but this is what the judge said when issuing the sentence: “I am concerned about the immigration consequences that may result from the sentence”. He should have been more concerned about the lives ruined by the crimes committed by this non-citizen. Instead, he gave the fentanyl dealer a lenient sentence so they would not be deported.
Why did the Liberals vote against our bill to stop this, and why is this practice continuing?
Sean Fraser LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, let me first condemn the behaviour of anyone who takes part in the trade or trafficking of fentanyl or other dangerous drugs that have the potential to take the lives of Canadians.
For our part, we have advanced a series of major legal reforms to ensure that criminals who commit serious crimes that pose a danger to the public find themselves behind bars. We also believe that the judicial system in Canada should retain its independence to be able to consider a multitude of factors to ensure that the punishment fits the crime in a given set of circumstances. We are happy to continue to look for ways in which we can strengthen the criminal justice system to protect Canadians and ensure justice for those who commit serious offences.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is not working. Just this week, a non-citizen was recently convicted of viciously attacking a woman outside of a Laval, Quebec, bar, leaving her victim with bite marks all over her face. The facial wounds were several centimetres long. They necessitated repeated treatments and left a prominent scar. Her scars were so bad that people ask her what kind of animal did it to her, and yet the judge gave her attacker a lenient sentence so that she would not be deported.
She deserves to be deported. It is what the law says. Why is she still here?
Sean Fraser LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, when a person with a temporary or non-permanent immigration status commits a serious crime, they should face the full range of the consequences permissible under the law. Oftentimes, that includes deportation, but the Supreme Court of Canada actually rendered judgment on this issue in 2013, indicating that courts retained the jurisdiction to hear a range of different factors to ensure that there is a fit sentence.
What is fascinating is that, at the time, the member who posed the question was actually sitting at the federal cabinet table, was aware of the decision and chose to do absolutely nothing about it.
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lévis—Lotbinière, QC
Mr. Speaker, Canada's immigration system is a mess. Fake refugees and criminals are slipping through the cracks and receiving preferential treatment from the Liberal government. Asylum claims should not be a shortcut to immigration. The Liberals must ensure that abuse is detected quickly and that the resources allocated to immigration serve Canadians appropriately.
What is the Liberal government going to do to prevent criminals from immigrating to Canada and crowding out the skilled workers we actually need?
Lena Metlege Diab LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, this side of the House is working to protect our immigration system from fraud. We are working very closely with our security partners. We are working closely with all the provinces and territories, as well as businesses. People who come to Canada need to meet our criteria. We will continue to work to build a strong and resilient Canada.
Jessica Fancy-Landry Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Mr. Speaker, in the face of rising fuel prices driven by global instability, Canadians deserve real relief. I heard this from the families and businesses in my riding of South Shore—St. Margarets throughout the summer. They benefited from our government's decision to suspend the fuel excise tax last spring, and they are hoping to see it extended.
I have a question for the finance minister that I am hearing from my constituents. How are we helping Canadians pay less at the pump so they can keep more money in their pockets?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Finance and National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment my colleague from South Shore—St. Margarets. I have good news for her constituents. In fact, it is good news for all Canadians. The message we are sending to Canadians is that we are there for them. We are going to support them at a time of need with a measure that is immediate, broad-based, and tangible and meaningful for families.
I have the pleasure to announce in this House that we are going to extend the suspension of the excise fuel tax until January 2027. This is meaningful. This is going to help families. I hope every member of this House will stand up and vote in favour of it to support Canadians.
Gabriel Hardy Conservative Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister asked our young people to make sacrifices while he and his government continue to spend recklessly. The Conservatives have identified $150 billion in potential savings, which amounts to $10,000 per family. How can we do that? We can do it by cutting the $20 billion per year that goes to consultants and scrapping the monster Alto high-speed rail project. It would also help if we could stamp out tax avoidance, a practice the Prime Minister is very good at.
When will the Liberals match their rhetoric with results and start saving Quebec and Canadian families money?
Rachel Bendayan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister
Yes, Mr. Speaker, we are going to work on tax avoidance. That is a very important issue that the Prime Minister cares a lot about.
My colleague is asking for real results. Canada has the strongest economic growth in the G7. We have created jobs three times faster than the United States, and we are leading the G7 when it comes to foreign investment. Thanks to our summit, we have $500 billion on the table from investors.
Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, twice this summer the Canada Industrial Relations Board found that the Bank of Canada broke the law by using scabs against striking security officers represented by PSAC. Twice. The Liberal government has done absolutely nothing to fix this, which is hardly surprising coming from a government that introduced legislation yesterday to undermine workers' right to strike.
When will the government stop siding with employers and start standing up for workers, or does the government believe that labour law is something that only workers have to obey?