Justin Trudeau

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we have recognized from the very beginning that Quebeckers are shouldering a heavy burden when it comes to supporting irregular arrivals. First, it was through Roxham Road, and now that we have worked with the Americans to resolve that issue, these immigrants are arriving via airports. We are here to help.

We are working hand in hand with the Government of Quebec. We are in discussions with that government to determine how we can support it properly. We have seen the Government of Quebec's request for funding and we are working with Quebec because we recognize that, yes, Quebeckers are shouldering that burden, and we will be there to help.

[Public Safety, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, in May of 2020, we rendered it illegal to buy, sell, use or bequeath 1,600 different models of assault-style weapons in this country. That is still the case. In the coming year, we will be bringing in a legacy program, while we are extending the amnesty, to bring in a buyback for the owners of these weapons. We are moving forward on gun control when he wants to bring assault-style weapons back to Canadians.

[Public Safety, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, as of a number of years ago, it is illegal to buy, sell, use or bequeath assault-style weapons in this country. We did that. We banned over 1,600 models of assault-style weapons. The Conservative Party wants to make those assault-style weapons legal again, and everything it does is focused on misinformation and disinformation, bringing in hunters who are not targeted by these measures to try to justify its anchoring on the NRA.

[Public Safety, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the contortions the leader of the official opposition goes through to try to talk about gun control are quite impressive, but Canadians will not be fooled by him. The order in council that made assault-style weapons illegal to use, purchase, share or sell is still in place.

The Conservative Party of Canada has, as its official position, that it wants to restore the legality of assault-style weapons in this country. We—

[Public Safety, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I have already addressed auto theft concerns, but the Leader of the Opposition wants to talk about common sense when it comes to crime and violence. Why, then, is he going along with the American gun lobby, which wants to put assault weapons back on our streets and in our communities? For eight years, he has tried to block our gun control measures at every turn, because he is a puppet of the American right. He does that instead of standing up to protect communities, control firearms and show that he really cares about the safety of Canadians.

[Public Safety, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, there he goes again accusing the people of Quebec of being incompetent. That is a real pattern for the Conservative leader.

We are here to work hand in hand with municipal leaders, with police chiefs and with the provinces on resolving this problem. We are here to work responsibly by making investments. For example, today we announced $121 million to help Ontario. There is work to be done, but empty slogans and personal attacks are not going to fix this problem for Canadians. Our hard work will.

[Public Safety, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, what is interesting about the Leader of the Opposition is that he does not actually care about auto theft. He cares about making a good political attack on the government because people are facing real challenges.

We are focused on solving the challenges. We are focused on initiatives, such as that we announced today of $121 million to fight auto theft in Ontario. We have been working to bring together stakeholders and leaders from across the country to bring forward more positive solutions to build on the 1,600 recovered autos that we prevented from being stolen last year.

[Housing, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are taking concrete steps to get hundreds of thousands of new homes built across the country by signing agreements directly with municipalities, provinces and territories, Quebec and all of Nunavut. We are working to cut red tape, expedite permits, increase density and improve zoning. We have put $4 billion on the table to deliver results in terms of housing.

We will continue taking a serious and responsible approach to doing this work.

[Housing, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we have been there investing in housing across the country, including with hundreds of millions of dollars directly to the City of Toronto for investing in housing, housing affordability and fighting homelessness. We know there is lots to do, and we are going to keep doing it.

Whether it is signing housing accelerator agreements across the country, introducing a suite of new measures to unlock the construction of 600,000 new apartments, cracking down on short-term rentals to unlock even more apartments, or introducing a mortgage charter to protect homeowners from the stress of elevated interest rates, we are taking action.

[Health, January 31st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are well aware that the issue my colleague is pointing out is real. It is one issue that needs to be looked that, along with other difficult issues that are being examined and debated.

Yes, we will continue to consider advanced directives. We are going to continue to look at how we can ensure that people have the choices and freedoms that are important to them, while at the same time ensuring that we are protecting them and everyone else from the possibility of being vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances or negative situations.