Justin Trudeau

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, our caucus is united in delivering for Canadians. That is why we are offering all Canadians a tax break for the next few months. Many Conservatives would have liked to vote in favour of this tax break, but their leader blocked them. Their leader is muzzling them and will not let them be the voice of their community here in Ottawa. Instead, he demands that they be his voice in their community. That is not how things work here.

On this side of the House, we will always stand up for Canadians.

[International Trade, December 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, the Conservative cuts that reduced the number of border officers have hurt Canada. That is why we are investing and why we will be there to invest even more to protect the integrity of our borders. We have already introduced many measures in recent years to reduce the number of immigrants and irregular arrivals and to stop U.S. guns and drugs from crossing the border into Canada.

We know that more remains to be done, and we are going to do it in partnership with the U.S. administration, since we share these security priorities.

[Canada Border Services Agency, December 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is exactly right. Conservative cuts hurt Canadians. Conservative cuts hurt our border security. Conservative cuts just hurt the Canadian economy. That is why it is so bewildering that the Conservative leader continues to stand up on cuts for dental care and cuts on housing investments, cuts for the kinds of services and benefits Canadians need, whether it is a tax break for the next few months or school food programs.

The Conservatives only know how to cut. That is not how Canadians prosper.

[International Trade, December 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that, on Friday evening, we spoke with the president-elect not only about our borders, but also about trade, steel, aluminum, energy and softwood lumber. We talked about the issues we will be facing with the U.S. administration.

We went through this four years ago, so we know how to defend Canadian jobs, while demonstrating that doing so can benefit both sides of the border and while working together responsibly. That is what we will continue to do.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, December 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we shared our immigration plan weeks ago.

We are investing to reduce the number of irregular migrants crossing our border. We have already made significant investments to hire more staff. We will continue to invest. Unlike the Conservatives, who cut staff at the border, we will invest to ensure the integrity of our border and keep protecting Canadians.

[Taxation, December 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, let me say it once again: The price on pollution puts more money back in the pockets of the middle class across this country than it costs it. The Canada carbon rebate is a cheque that arrives four times a year and helps eight out of 10 Canadians, in jurisdictions where it arrives, with more money than they pay on the price of pollution.

The price on pollution is how we fight climate change and build a strong economy for the future while putting money in the pockets of Canadians. That is what we are doing while the Conservative leader wants to abandon not just the environment but the economy as well.

[Taxation, December 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that Canadians are facing challenging moments, which is why we are stepping up to deliver for them, whether it is by delivering a tax break over the next few months that the Conservatives are totally opposed to, by delivering a national school food program that is already helping thousands of Canadians across the country and that the Conservatives oppose, or by delivering dental care that is making a real difference in the lives of over a million Canadians, which the Conservatives not only opposed but also did everything they could do to scuttle.

The Conservative leader just wants to exploit the challenges Canadians are facing, while we will solve them.

[The Economy, December 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Leader of the Opposition needs to reflect carefully on whether he really wants to amplify the erroneous narratives that the Americans are putting forward around, for example, our border, when less than 1% of migrants coming into the United States irregularly come from Canada; and where 0.2% of fentanyl coming into the United States comes from Canada. These are things that we would all do well to stand up and say that, yes, there are things we can and are working on together at our border. However, amplifying these broken narratives is simply not responsible leadership.

[The Economy, December 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition were truly concerned about Canadians' well-being, he would not have voted against the tax break that we are offering to Canadians for the next couple of months. He would not have fought against the investment in the school food program for an additional 400,000 children across the country. He would not have voted against the dental care program, which has delivered services to more than one million Canadians so far.

On the contrary, the Leader of the Opposition just wants to exploit and capitalize on the challenges Canadians are facing, instead of solving them like we are doing.

[The Economy, December 3rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, when I spoke with President-elect Trump last week, I told him how well Canada and the United States work together to address the major challenges our citizens are facing, whether it is creating more economic growth, protecting our borders or protecting our citizens from the impact of fentanyl and other hard drugs. We are always going to be here to work together, and I have reassured the president of that.

As for us, here, we are going to continue to invest in Canadians, to be there to support people in difficult times, with measures like the tax break we are offering for the next few weeks, a tax break that the Conservatives voted against.