Joël Godin

[Intergovernmental Relations, February 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, what is the problem with having a single tax return for Quebeckers? They are the only Canadians who are required to file two returns. This Liberal government has Canada Revenue Agency employees worried that they will lose their jobs. Our leader said that no job will be lost. Unlike the Liberals, we keep our word.

What do the Liberals have against Quebeckers? Why is the Liberal government saying no to a single tax return in Quebec?

[Prime Minister of Canada, February 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, now that the Liberal government is at the end of its term, I thought I would share a story.

Once upon a time there was a Prime Minister who said he was a leader and a champion of the environment, indigenous peoples and veterans. He talked about budgets balancing themselves and how his government would help those who work hard and the middle class. He even said that Canada was back on the international stage. Let us not forget his very colourful trip to India, his relationship with Saudi Arabia, China, and our biggest economic ally, the United States. What a story. What a disaster he created. The sad reality is that after three years, this Prime Minister has done nothing in the interest of Canadians. He cannot be trusted. He broke his promises. After only three years, he is leaving us with an out-of-control, astronomical deficit. Lucky thing we are in a period of economic prosperity.

Speaking of luck, Canadians are indeed lucky. On October 21, they will have the opportunity to choose a real government, a Conservative government with a real responsible Prime Minister, who will give us, Canadians—

[Intergovernmental Relations, January 30th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are not able to pay federal public servants with Phoenix and now they do not trust Revenue Québec employees.

Why do Quebeckers have to file two tax returns? They are the only Canadians to have to file two returns. We, the Conservatives, respect Quebec and Quebeckers. A single tax return would cut the amount of red tape for Quebeckers. The Prime Minister must respect Quebeckers.

Why does he continue to say no to a single tax return in Quebec?

[Business of Supply, January 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I would answer my colleague's question by saying that we left the house in order. The Liberals have been wasting money for three years. It has been ridiculous and irresponsible. We already know that the next government will have to be a responsible government. We know that the current Liberal government has not kept its promises.

I am sure that Canadians will make the right choice on October 21, 2019.

[Business of Supply, January 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.

The fact remains that the past is the foundation of the future. Our government left a budgetary surplus.

[Business of Supply, January 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Toronto—Danforth for her great question. I am glad she is asking me this kind of question, because just yesterday, I was at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, of which I am a member. I am happy to reiterate that we, the Conservatives, do not get up in the morning planning to destroy the planet. We are responsible people. We do not agree with the carbon tax, but we are interested in finding solutions.

At the end of yesterday's committee meeting, I asked five witnesses if the carbon tax is the only possible solution. The answer was no.

We need to be responsible. We need to stop taking money out of taxpayers' pockets to mortgage our workers' future and place an even greater burden on our children and grandchildren.

I would like to close by saying that we do have a plan for the environment. The Prime Minister is going to call an election. Right now, he is the one in office. Until we form government, we do not have to release a plan. We will release our plan for the environment once the campaign gets under way, and Canadians will be able to trust us to protect the environment, our children and our grandchildren.

[Business of Supply, January 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, first off, I want to thank my colleague from Barrie—Innisfil for giving a speech that reflects our philosophy as Conservatives.

Since this is my first time speaking in the new House, I also want to take this opportunity to thank the people who built it, the craftspeople who succeeded in melding the modern with the historical. I think they did an incredible job.

I invite all Canadians to come and visit this place to meet us and discover the new House, because we will be here for at least 10 years.

I rise today because the current government is not keeping its promises. Back in 2015, it got elected by saying it would start by running a modest $10-billion deficit in 2016 and balance the budget by 2019. It is therefore perfectly fair for every Canadian to have questions today about our country's future. I think that the motion tabled by our party is very timely. I will read it out:

That, given the Prime Minister broke his promise to eliminate the deficit this year and that perpetual and growing deficits lead to massive tax increases, the House call on the Prime Minister to table a plan in Budget 2019 [which will come out in a few weeks, in April at the latest, or maybe in March, depending on the Liberals' agenda] to eliminate the deficit quickly with a written commitment that he will never raise taxes of any kind.

That is what the motion says, and I think it is responsible. I simply want to remind the House that, during the 2015 election campaign, the Liberals made a lot of promises that they did not keep. I would like to mention a few of them. There is an extremely long list and I only have 10 minutes, so I will not be able to talk about all of them.

I represent the beautiful riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier in the Quebec City region. The Liberals promised to have the Quebec Bridge painted or to find a solution before June 2016. No one forced them to make that promise. It is now January 29, 2019, so people can reach their own conclusions. Of course, on a national scale, that is a very small promise.

The Liberals also promised Canada Post letter carriers that they would send them back out to do home mail delivery. Did the Liberals do that? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Furthermore, in 2015, the Liberals said that the 2015 election would be the last under the existing voting system. This is an election year. Has anyone heard anything about a new voting system? I do not think so. Elections Canada is giving training sessions, but no one has told the organizers or those involved in the election anything about a new voting system. That is another promise the Liberals did not keep.

The Liberals also said they would change the House of Commons Standing Orders to put an end to omnibus bills, which interfere with proper debate in the House. We all know what happened in December. They bundled a bunch of bills and muzzled us.

Now I want to remind everyone about the most important promise the Liberal government made in 2015, the one about running small deficits early in its mandate and balancing the budget. Today the Liberals are accusing us of moving a ridiculous motion. How absurd. The deficit is $80 billion. It is unbelievable.

We just want the government to behave responsibly and take real action. How can Liberals travel across this country, look Canadians in the eye and tell them they should put their trust in them and vote for them? How can they tell Canadians that they are meeting expectations and keeping their promises? Seriously. We are giving them an opportunity to table a plan to balance the budget, an opportunity to promise they will not make our children and grandchildren pay the price, because that would be irresponsible.

Speaking of children, I would like to talk about a fable by Jean de la Fontaine, The Cicada and the Ant. It is not very long, so I would like to read it now:

Cicada, having sung her song
All summer long,
Found herself without a crumb
When winter winds did come.
Not a scrap was there to find
Of fly or earthworm, any kind.
Hungry, she ran off to cry
To neighbor Ant, and specify:
Asking for a loan of grist,
A seed or two so she'd subsist
Just until the coming spring.
She said, “I'll pay you everything
Before fall, my word as animal,
Interest and principal.”
Well, no hasty lender is the Ant;
It's her finest virtue by a lot.
“And what did you do when it was hot?”
She then asked this mendicant.
“To all comers, night and day,
I sang. I hope you don't mind.”
“You sang? Why, my joy is unconfined.
Now dance the winter away.”

Obviously, the cicada is our current Prime Minister, and the ant represents workers, people who are responsible and hard working, our leader, and the entire team at the Conservative Party, which is currently in the official opposition. We are a government in waiting.

The moral of this story is that hard work always pays off and that we must work instead of dreaming. The ant worked hard to collect provisions for the winter, while the cicada was singing and lounging around, and then found herself in a difficult situation.

It is unfortunate, but that seems to be the situation in Canada. We have been in a period of economic prosperity for the last three years. Any good manager would take this time to fill the coffers. It is only logical. If we look back through history, there are always recessions and periods of lower prosperity. I do not want to be alarmist, but we have to be responsible. We do not know what the future holds, but we know that we have been prosperous for the last three years.

What did the current government do? It spent money like crazy without keeping its promises, without meeting expectations, and without improving life for hard-working Canadians. Canadians are paying higher taxes, and more tax increases are coming. Their children and grandchildren will also be left paying the price for this Liberal government's irresponsibility.

I am not a prophet or an economist, but we have resources, and I am smart enough to do my research. Many economists are saying that an economic slowdown is on the horizon. When heading into a period of uncertainty, it is important to have a plan and to be prepared.

The members opposite are accusing us of having run up deficits, but we have to consider the circumstances. The worst economic crisis took place when the Conservatives were in power. We invested in infrastructure, we took steps to keep the economy going, and we were applauded by the international community. We were told that we did a good job in Canada, under the circumstances. We took charge, and we were responsible.

Since April 26, 2018, my riding has had a pilot project to provide labour to private businesses and to work on economic development in the regions. We have not asked for any money. These are initiatives driven by entrepreneurs. Today is January 29, 2019. I am not asking for money. I am only asking that we do what we have to so we can look after the regions.

Can the members opposite govern, think about what is in Canadians' best interests, and commit to balancing the budget and not passing the bill on to future generations?

[High-speed Internet, December 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the session is coming to an end, it is 2018 and thousands of Canadians still do not have access to broadband Internet.

In 2016, the CRTC stated that access to broadband Internet services is vital to Canada's economic, social, democratic and cultural fabric. All Canadians must have access to high-speed Internet.

The Auditor General reported that this Liberal government launched the connect to innovate program in 2016 to expand Internet access but forgot to implement the program. Oops. They once again spent taxpayers' money. Rural residents have the same rights as urban residents.

This holiday season, I would ask this government to commit to providing high-speed Internet to rural residents. This is no longer the Green Acres era. Our rural areas deserve better.

In closing, I would like to wish the citizens of the most beautiful riding in Canada, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, much happiness and health. I look forward to serving you in 2019.

[Elections Modernization Act, December 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Cypress Hills—Grasslands. I am wondering the same thing. I think that the government is ramming this through. This is yet another example of the amateurism, and I emphasize the word amateurism, of this government, which is always improvising.

As we said, the illegal migrant situation is going to cost $1.1 billion. Yesterday, the government had its chequebook out and was giving out $25,000 for those who are living at the camp at Roxham Road, $10,000 for those who live a little further away, etc. It is unacceptable.

Fortunately, 2019 is just around the corner, and it is an election year. Canadians will finally be able to vote in a responsible government.

[Elections Modernization Act, December 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. I do not think she listened to my speech because I did not say anything about that.

Bills to improve legislation often contain good things and other not so good things. In this case, showing respect for those who serve our nation abroad and making it easier for them to vote is a good thing. However, that does not mean that we should be less vigilant when it comes to security, accessibility and transparency.

I agree with my colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles that we should make it easier for our workers and representatives abroad to participate in the electoral process. However, I would like her to ask me other questions because I have a lot of things to say.