Justin Trudeau

[Seniors, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I remember when the party of Tommy Douglas, Ed Broadbent and Jack Layton was actually a party that stood up for workers. Now we have a government that is recognizing that workers carried us through the pandemic. The Canadian workers saw us through one of the worst global inflation crises the world has ever seen, and we want to give them support because we know things are tough for workers.

This is not to take away anything from the help we are giving seniors or youth. We want to be there for workers. Is the NDP is suddenly against benefits for workers? It makes no sense.

[The Economy, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I have been in the House long enough to remember a time when, back in the day, the NDP was there to support the working people of Canada. It was the workers' party.

We are trying to acknowledge the burden that workers have shouldered during the pandemic and the inflation crisis. We are acknowledging the work that Canadians do, but that does not take anything away from the investments we have made in seniors and young people. We are acknowledging workers and the fact that they need help, but the NDP is totally opposed to this.

What happened to the workers' party?

It became the government.

[The Economy, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we clearly see that the opposition parties are looking for any political excuse to vote against something that Canadians want.

Canadians need a tax break and that is exactly what we are offering them. It will be up to the opposition parties to decide whether they want to be there for their constituents and for Canadians who are struggling or whether they would rather play petty politics, pick fights and oppose measures in order to show that Canada is broken. That is what the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois will do.

We are here to help Canadians. We are here to invest in their future and we are here to support them through tough times.

[The Economy, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling. That is why, for the next few months, we are giving all Canadians a tax holiday on dinners out and trips to the grocery store. We know that Canadians are facing challenges. With one of the best fiscal positions in the G7, we can help Canadians a little bit more.

Maybe the Bloc Québécois does not want it, but that is because the Bloc Québécois only wants to pick fights. They do not want the federal government to actually be there to help Quebeckers and Canadians.

Despite that, this is exactly what we are going to do.

[Government Priorities, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we saw perfectly clearly just now the fact that the Leader of the Opposition is trying to gaslight Canadians. He just said that the dental care program, to pick one, does not even exist. Tell that to the one million-plus Canadians who have gone to see the dentist, many for the first time in years, because of the Canada dental care benefit. This is what he is standing against.

The Leader of the Opposition is trying to convince Canadians everything is broken, while he forces his MPs to vote against a GST break that is going to help Canadians over the coming months. That is not leadership; that is pandering to the lowest common denominator.

[Government Priorities, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we can tell that he stood up all night in front of the mirror, trying to practise that line.

The reality is that we have our sleeves rolled up. We are fighting for Canadians every single day. We will stand up for good Canadian jobs. We will make sure we continue to have great relations with the United States as we build a stronger future on both sides of the border.

We are going to continue to deliver the kinds of things that matter for Canadians: dental care, free insulin, school food programs. Those are all programs the Conservatives voted against, and now they are going to vote against a GST break for Canadians right across the country for the next few months. That is not being there for Canadians. That is being there for themselves.

[Government Priorities, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, while the Leader of the Opposition focuses on himself and on me, we are staying focused on Canadians. We are investing in the kinds of things that are going to help people. We stood up for dental care. We stood up to deliver a school food program. We are moving forward with more spaces in $10-a-day child care. Those are all things that the Conservative Party voted against.

Most recently, they have announced they are going to be voting against the GST break for Canadians over the next couple of months, something that is going to help people at a time when they need that little extra help. However, he does not care about helping Canadians. He just wants them to suffer more so that maybe he has a chance.

[Government Priorities, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, while the leader of the Conservative Party is playing petty politics and putting on a show in the House, we are working every day to help Canadians. Our members are the voices of Canadians in the House, while the Conservative members are the voice of their leader in their ridings. They are voting against initiatives to help Canadians, whether dental care or the school food program. They are saying that everything is broken, while trying very hard to break everything for Canadians.

We are here to invest for Canadians. They are here to obstruct everything and drive a wedge. They are not here to help Canadians.

[Government Priorities, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I find this deeply ironic. We offer Conservative Party members a chance to put Canadians first and what do they do? They vote against initiatives that will help Canadians. They voted against dental care. They are going to vote against a school food program. They voted against more day care spaces. Now, they are going to vote against the tax holiday we are offering Canadians to help them get by over the next few months.

The leader of the Conservative Party wakes up every day, ready to block help for Canadians. He only thinks of his own interests, not the interests of Canadians.

[Employment, November 26th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, seriously defending Canada's economy means not giving in to panic or fear. It means standing up for the principle that we in North America are most successful when we work together. We are going to work with the U.S. administration to address the challenges and differences we both face as nations. We are going to work together to create prosperity for our workers and defend our workers, as we have done in the past and as we will continue to do in the future. Now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to work hard, and that is exactly what we are doing.