Justin Trudeau

[Taxation, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, following the pandemic, we actually brought in an excess profits tax on the big banks and insurance companies that were very profitable through a very difficult time for Canadians, and those measures continue. We will always look at making sure everyone pays their fair share.

In regard to the oil and gas companies that are creating incredible profits by selling oil and gas to Canadians, we are actually making sure there is a limit to how much they can pollute, because no industry should have unlimited pollution. They can continue to produce, but they need to reduce their emissions. They need to invest in new ways of supporting their workers and supporting our future.

[Forestry Industry, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, biomass is an important part of the solution as we move forward into being more reliant on renewable energy and understanding how important our forestry industry is not just for creating good jobs and goods to export and build homes with, but also to contributing to our energy opportunities and challenges.

We will continue to stand up for innovation in our energy industry. We will continue to stand up for energy workers right across the country in all industries as we work to decarbonize, as we work to invest and innovate and as we create a better future for all Canadians.

[The Economy, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Halifax West for her advocacy and her hard work.

There was good news this morning. The Bank of Canada has cut its interest rate by another 50 points, and today we announced that three million Canadians have been approved for dental care, with more than 1.2 million Canadians, mostly seniors, already having received care. The good news does not stop there. On Saturday, a tax break will go into effect for all Canadians. The Conservative voted against it, but it is real. Canadians are going into Christmas and the holiday season with lower interest rates, lower taxes and more money in their pockets.

[Firearms, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, not only has the House defined what an assault-style weapon is, over the objections of Conservatives, but we are now removing those guns and destroying those guns while we compensate those who lawfully purchased them. That is what responsible gun control looks like. Unfortunately, the leader of the Conservative Party has promised the gun lobby that he will relegalize assault-style weapons, reopen the frozen market for handguns and make things more dangerous for Canadians, and particularly for women, right across the country. Shame on him.

[Firearms, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, not only has the House defined what an assault-style weapon is in law, but the RCMP is now acting on that classification—

[Firearms, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, instead of trying to scare Grandpa Joe, the member should be honest with Grandpa Joe. We have banned assault-style weapons and already we have seen thousands of assault-style weapons collected and destroyed. These are things that we are doing that the Conservative Party and its funders, the gun lobby, continue to stand against. They would re-legalize assault-style weapons in this country and unfreeze the market on handguns. That is what they promised the gun lobby, and they hide behind Grandpa Joe because they cannot admit it out loud.

[Firearms, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, despite Conservative opposition, we continue to move forward on bringing in red flag laws and yellow flag laws to make sure that people who are charged with domestic violence do not have access to firearms. Conservatives stood against that and fought against that every step of the way. Just like they are working hard to make legal again assault-style weapons that we rendered illegal in this country four years ago, they want to unfreeze the handgun bans. Last time they were in office, they cut 1,100 workers from the CBSA who were there to prevent illegal guns flowing in from the United States.

[Firearms, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Saint-Laurent for her question and for her hard work.

Unlike the Conservative leader, we always choose Canadians' safety over the gun lobby. That is why we are taking assault-style firearms out of our communities through the buyback program.

Let us be clear. We will always condemn violence against women through measures such as red-flag legislation and funding to prevent gender-based violence. We will always be there to defend women and to help put an end to family violence. The Conservatives will be there to make sure that there are more guns.

[Labour, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party of Canada's hostility towards workers and unions is well documented. I do not need to revisit that.

We will continue to ensure that the best agreements are reached at the bargaining table. That is why we encourage both sides to keep working on it, because, yes, small businesses are suffering, NPOs need postal services, and Canadians living in rural and remote areas depend on Canada Post.

That is why we are working to find solutions to try to resolve the situation.

[Labour, December 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservative Party, whose attacks on unions are well documented, from Bill C-575 and Bill C-377, its anti-union bills that the Leader of the Opposition voted for, to continually choosing to use back-to-work legislation, as it did time and time again, we believe that the best deals happen at the bargaining table, which is why the minister has gotten the two sides of Canada Post together to try to find a solution that will work. We know that small businesses are hurting. Canadians in rural and remote areas are hurting. We will continue to look to help them, and we will get this resolved the right way.