Justin Trudeau

[The Economy, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Ottawa—Vanier for her question and for her hard work.

Too many Canadians are struggling with the cost of living. That is why Canadians need a government that has their backs. That is why we are investing in programs like dental care, pharmacare, child care, and the Canada child benefit, which is going out to millions of families tomorrow.

Every step of the way, the Conservatives have tried to stop us from supporting Canadians. Despite their empty slogans, they do not care about Canadians, just themselves.

[Public Services and Procurement, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the situation is obviously unacceptable, which is why authorities are looking into the procurement process. Anyone who took advantage of our COVID responses to save Canadian lives should face consequences. All federal contracts with these companies have been suspended as the investigations continue.

[Forestry Industry, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, this so-called radical decree is based on a bill proposed by the prime minister that all experts say did the most to protect the environment in Canada. I am talking about former prime minister Brian Mulroney, a Progressive Conservative. It is unfortunate to see the Conservative Party abandoning something that the Progressive Conservatives understood very well. They understood that we can only build a strong economy by protecting the environment. Brian Mulroney demonstrated that time and time again over the course of his career. Now, the Conservatives have forgotten all that and are attacking the planet and our future.

[Forestry Industry, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, day after day, the Conservative Party is showing us that it does not understand that the only way to build a healthy economy for Canadians for years to come is also to protect the environment. It refuses to accept any responsibility for protecting the environment.

The other parties in the House and the vast majority of Canadians understand very well that we have to work to protect the environment and work to protect the economy. It is just the Conservatives who made the choice to abandon the environment and Canadians' future.

[Forestry Industry, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we agree that we need to work hand in hand with Quebec. That is exactly what we have been doing for years. Various federal governments over the past 10 years have been committed to protecting the woodland caribou, while also protecting communities and jobs.

We are here to work in partnership with Quebec, but after so many years, we had to demonstrate that we are a state governed by the rule of law and that we respect our own laws on the protection of species at risk. That is what all Quebeckers and all Canadians expect.

[Forestry Industry, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, over the past 10 years, from the time before we took office, the Government of Canada has been working hard to help the Government of Quebec come up with a plan to protect the caribou and achieve our common objectives of protecting the environment and jobs.

The federal government remains ready to work with and assist the Quebec government while it implements measures to ensure the species' recovery as part of a comprehensive strategy.

We remain ready to support local communities, jobs and, of course, Quebec's dynamic economy.

[Housing, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. The Conservative leader has no plan to address the housing crisis. When he was housing minister under the Harper government, he had no plan to address the housing crisis. That government decided to get out of any federal engagement in housing, and we are seeing those consequences even 10 years later.

The reality is that his plan to reimpose GST on apartment-building construction would slow down apartment-building construction. His plan to withdraw funds that are needed for densification of permitting would slow down housing construction. That is not what Canadians need.

[Housing, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, here is a concrete example of how one makes the math work to build more homes.

Last year, we made a decision to take off the GST on purpose-built, middle-income apartment buildings, the kind of apartment buildings we need more of right across the country. Within a few days after having announced that we would no longer be charging the GST on new apartment buildings, thousands of new units were being announced by developers across the country, because, suddenly, they were able to bring projects onto the table that had not been on it before. That is how to invest in housing. That is how we deliver for Canadians.

[Housing, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the challenging fact that the Leader of the Opposition is trying to avoid is that just last week it was demonstrated that housing starts are up across this country. That is part of where we have been investing with communities across the country in the housing accelerator fund that is delivering more homes built faster. Indeed, we are going to see close to four million new homes in the coming decade because Canadians know that more density, better use of public lands, better protection for renters and better math for home builders to be able to build more affordable homes are the things that are going to make a difference in Canadians' lives.

[Taxation, June 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we have demonstrated over the past nine years that investing in the middle class and people working hard to join it can create growth for the country. That is why we are continuing to step up to put back growth for work by putting more money in the pockets of Canadians, whether it is through a plan to fight climate change that puts more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadian families across the country, or whether it is by moving forward on asking the wealthiest who are selling off profitable investments to share a little more of those profits with Canadians who need it, by countering the housing crisis by investing in young people.

Once again, Conservatives stand with the wealthiest. We stand with the middle class.