Denis Trudel

[Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act, April 7th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, in 2010 the Conservatives introduced a bill that diminished Quebec's political weight. The National Assembly, which at that time included the very Liberal former premier Jean Charest, unanimously adopted the following motion:

That the National Assembly reaffirms that Québec, as a nation, must be able to enjoy special protection for the weight of its representation in the House of Commons;

That the National Assembly asks the elected Members from all political parties [in Ottawa] to abandon the passage of any bill whose effect would be to diminish the weight of the representation of Québec in the House of Commons.

I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

[Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act, April 7th, 2022]

It does not really matter whether it is three or four. It is still more seats.

We are going to remain at 78 seats. Let us be frank. This bill reduces Quebec's political weight. I would appreciate it if my colleague from Victoriaville would let me—

[Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act, April 7th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, from what I gather, my colleague agrees with this motion. That is obvious since Alberta is getting four seats. I guess I would be happy too if Quebec were getting four more seats.

[Business of Supply, April 5th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, although I agree with the substance of the motion, I am somewhat uncomfortable with the motion itself. It talks about increasing spending.

We have been here for weeks, and I have heard my Conservative friends criticize the government for spending too much. If we were to increase military spending from 1.37% to 2% of GDP, that would represent $16 billion in additional annual spending at a time when we need to help seniors, increase health transfers and invest in housing. Where will this money come from? Money does not grow on trees.

My question is simple: Must we choose between social housing and tanks?

[Business of Supply, April 5th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, yesterday evening, at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development's Subcommittee on International Human Rights, we heard from three women who are advocates for human rights in Ukraine.

They were in Ukraine and it was the middle of the night. It was a rather unique meeting because we could sense that they were practically in bunkers. They talked about the situation, which is very tragic.

Oleksandra Matviichuk, of the Center for Civil Liberties, has been advocating for human rights in Ukraine for many years. She has made many demands, but one of them is extremely unusual. As a lawyer, she finds it unusual. The situation was so terrible that, as an advocate for human rights, she had no other choice but to ask western countries to send more weapons.

Can my colleague comment on that?

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, April 4th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, released a report this morning at 11 a.m. I would like to know what my colleague thinks about it.

For example, the report states that projected carbon dioxide emissions from existing and currently planned fossil fuel infrastructure exceed the total emissions that would limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. That is a big deal.

Furthermore, the IPCC calculates that, by 2050, the equivalent of $1 trillion to $4 trillion U.S. in fossil fuels must be left in the ground to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.

I would like to know what my colleague thinks about that.

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, April 4th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I will continue with the question I asked another Conservative colleague earlier about the housing crisis.

This morning, Radio‑Canada posted a very interesting article on housing, which reads as follows:

The largest program under the national strategy is the rental construction financing initiative. This program has a budget of nearly $26 billion, or 40% of the national housing strategy....According to the initiative's rules, 20% of the units have to be affordable....The problem is that only 3% of the units funded by the initiative meet the needs of low‑income households.

We are spending 40% of $26 billion on this affordable housing program, but only 3% is effectively being used to build affordable units.

My Conservative colleagues are always worried about inflation, but how can we both house people and prevent inflation from rising?

[Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021, April 4th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, Bill C-8 barely skims the surface on the issue of housing.

This morning, the Radio-Canada website had a scathing article about the Liberal government's housing strategy. According to the federal housing advocate, who was appointed by the Liberal government to ensure its major national housing strategy is followed, the housing crisis is directly related to the neo-liberal policies that have been in place in Canada for the past 30 to 35 years. I do not think she is talking about the agreement between the NDP and Liberals, but rather the right-wing policies of governments during that time.

I simply wanted to draw my colleague's attention to the fact that a lot of money is being spent on the housing file in Canada these days, yet the targets are not being met. Does he not think that we should be investing heavily to bring the housing crisis to an end?

[Business of Supply, March 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to commend you on your hard work.

All morning I have been hearing the Conservatives say, and rightly so, that they are concerned about rising debt and inflation. We should be concerned, and we cannot allow spending to increase this way.

Let us focus on the housing crisis. Right now, federal government spending and the Liberal government programs are primarily helping private developers. That does nothing for affordability and accessibility.

I see my Conservative friends worrying about the fact that house prices have doubled, and they are right. However, I never hear solutions coming from the Conservative side.

What is the Conservative plan to tackle the housing crisis?

[Business of Supply, March 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment you on your hard work.

My colleague spoke about the tax on vacant housing owned by non-Canadians. This is not a bad policy for addressing the crisis that is playing out right now. Unfortunately, it is just a drop in the ocean.

The federal government's main programs, including the national housing co-investment fund and the rental construction financing initiative, are programs that, unfortunately, mean that Montreal's so-called “affordable” housing costs $2,200. A lot of money is being invested in things that the average Joe cannot afford.

A decent program was launched during the pandemic: the rapid housing initiative. Rumour has it that this program could be extended as a result of the Liberal-NDP agreement. In Quebec, housing organizations are asking for predictability. Will the program be extended for just one year or for several?