Denis Trudel

[National Council for Reconciliation Act, November 29th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I will ask a clear question.

This morning, we are talking about indigenous peoples. When the federal government tabled its budget in April, it announced that it would be investing $300 million through CMHC to co-develop and launch an urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy.

A few weeks ago, I met with representatives of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association here in Ottawa. They are very concerned, because it has been six months and nothing has been done.

When the government made that announcement, people were happy. They thought that the government was investing money and was aware of the housing problem on Indigenous reserves, but nothing has been done. Does my colleague have any information he can share with us this morning? Can he tell us when things will start happening?

[National Council for Reconciliation Act, November 29th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. She is a unique voice in the House. I always like to hear her talk. What she said is particularly relevant this morning, as we study this bill.

I feel very helpless faced with all the truth and reconciliation issues in this country. An article in yesterday's Le Soleil reported that indigenous women and girls are still undergoing forced sterilization in northern Quebec. That is appalling.

In the last budget, the government announced a $300‑million investment in indigenous housing. We know that nothing has been done yet. Things are moving very slowly.

This morning we will be voting on this bill, and we agree with its purpose, which is to establish a committee.

However, beyond this bill, what would my colleague recommend as a way to make everything move faster, to ensure that this discussion between Canadians and indigenous peoples leads to real solutions so that we can get out of this cycle of discussing the same thing over and over?

[National Council for Reconciliation Act, November 29th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, last week, the Auditor General of Canada tabled a rather scathing report on housing.

My colleague talked about how, five years ago, the government launched the national housing strategy, a major housing initiative to put an end to chronic homelessness in Canada. Five years later, the government has spent a lot of money, but we have no idea what results have been achieved. There is no accountability. That is scandalous and needs to stop. We know that indigenous peoples are overrepresented when it comes to homelessness, particularly in our cities.

My colleague talked a lot about the fact that the government is spending a lot of money without getting any results. That is true, but what is the solution? What do we need to do? There are major housing problems in indigenous communities across the country, particularly in Quebec, northern Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

What do we need to do and how can we put an end to the housing problem in indigenous communities across the country?

[Public Complaints and Review Commission Act, November 22nd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, it is always fascinating to hear my colleague boast about the government's actions.

He said earlier that they gave time to the House, that they voted to extend sitting hours until midnight with the NDP's agreement, that they are so democratic, and that they have so much to say. I forget how many gag orders they have forced on the House since I have been here. In fact, we spend half our time in the House debating adjournment motions in order not to debate. It is outrageous. Two weeks ago, they cut off debate on Bill C‑31, a very important bill for housing. In committee, they cut off debate on Bill C‑13 on reforming the Official Languages Act and they no longer want witnesses to be heard. The act has not been reformed in 50 years. There is a major language crisis in Canada and the Liberals do not want to debate it.

I cannot believe that they think this is a great democracy that spends its time debating the big issues.

[Public Complaints and Review Commission Act, November 22nd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his very informative speech. He clearly knows a lot about this issue.

I would like to take him in another direction and ask him a question about the importance of having an independent complaints management committee in various areas. I think that is really important.

Here in the House, we worked on setting up a similar committee to deal with sexual harassment complaints in the army, but it never went anywhere. Even though Justice Deschamps issued a report in 2015, such a committee has not been set up while the Liberals have been in office.

However, the government took action right away on the complaints by female Swimming Canada team members. An independent committee to handle complaints was set up. That is really important, and we see that in this bill.

I would like my colleague to talk a bit more about the importance of having an independent committee, outside the community in question, to handle complaints in certain cases.

[Public Complaints and Review Commission Act, November 22nd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. She is always very competent, and the comments and proposals she makes in the House are always very clear.

As my colleague in the Conservative Party said earlier, there have already been two iterations of this bill. There is something that I have noticed since I was elected to the House two or three years ago. On one side, the Liberals spend their time imposing gag orders and, on the other, the Conservatives filibuster to waste our time. All this means that important bills like this one are never adopted. All of the work that we did on the two previous iterations of the bill was for nothing. We keep repeating the same things over and over.

Does my colleague agree that we could work more efficiently for Canadians in the House of Commons?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 18th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.

I know that she is very concerned about climate change. I would like to know whether she shares my frustration about the battle that is not being waged and the results that are not being achieved in the House.

We know that the Conservatives to our right are not interested in the fight against climate changes. They do not have a plan. On the other side of the House, the Liberals are not interested in it either, but they pretend that they are. As members can see, they are not getting results. The government continues to invest $8.5 billion U.S. per year in fossil fuels. Greenhouse gas emissions have risen since the Liberals took office, but they give grand speeches about the fight against climate change and the importance of the green transition. We are caught between a majority of members here who are not interested in climate change.

What are the solutions? I would like to know whether my colleague has any ideas.

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 18th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, we have listened to our Conservative friends talk about inflation and January's tax increase, but we cannot take their “triple, triple, triple” chant any more. We would like them to find something new to say. However, they are right that costs will triple and that that will have consequences for people. That much is true.

Let us talk about climate change. The current carbon tax rate is pretty much ineffective. We are the laughingstock of COP27. Canada is ranked 58th out of 60 countries. It is the only G7 country where emissions have increased since 2015, the year the Liberals came to power. We have to take action on climate change.

At COP27, we heard that if we do nothing, the cost to African nations in particular will be atrocious. If we do not pay now, we will pay even more later.

What is the solution, according to my Conservative friends?

[Criminal Code, November 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and his very important bill.

I imagine that many people in the House have children. I have children myself, and with the Internet these days, all kinds of things can happen. We are always wondering what is going on. It is terrible to think that intruders can get into our homes and take advantage of our children through screens. It is quite worrisome.

What we are about to do is really important. Changing the wording will have very important consequences.

However, while we are talking about the problem of child sexual abuse, does my colleague have any ideas on how we could go even further to counter this phenomenon?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I really enjoyed my colleague's speech on housing. It was very thoughtful, well-documented and well-written. He hit the nail on the head. The government's housing strategy includes a lot of numbers and promises, but it does not actually do much.

Let us talk solutions. The rapid housing initiative works fairly well because it fully funds projects. The program also makes it possible to build housing quickly.

Organizations tell us that all the other programs, such as the national housing co-investment fund and rental housing programs, which primarily offer loans, need to change. That money should go to not-for-profits so they can buy private property and get it off the market to ensure longevity. Does my colleague agree?