Justin Trudeau

[Finance, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the Leader of the Opposition is eager for our fall economic statement. If he really wants to see it, he could perhaps stop the obstruction of Parliament to allow us to move forward on dealing with Canadians and the challenges they are facing.

However, it is interesting that he brought up inflation once again. He stopped talking about inflation after years of railing about it because we did the work to actually bring it down. We invested in programs that were there to support Canadians but that did not contribute to inflation. Inflation is now back down in the target range. Interest rates are coming down. That is why we can give a tax break to Canadians. That is why we are there for them.

[Taxation, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition had the opportunity to axe the sales tax for Canadians. He voted against it and forced his MPs to do exactly the same. He is only interested in his own political self-interest; he is not interested in helping Canadians with a tax break for the next few months, with dental care for vulnerable seniors across the country, or with more school food programs that will help kids and will help parents afford their groceries.

These are the kinds of things we are doing. These are exactly the things the Leader of the Opposition is blocking.

[Taxation, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, our tax holiday over the next few months will help families across the country buy groceries, because all groceries will be tax-free. All the things that people are going to spend money on in the coming months, like eating out at restaurants or enjoying wine and beer, are going to cost less.

It is a way to tell Canadians that we see how hard they are struggling, but we are here to invest and to lend them a hand, unlike the Conservatives who keep voting against help for Canadians, against tax holidays and against dental care.

[Taxation, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are actually moving forward to suspend the sales tax for Canadians so they can afford the basic necessities they will need. Whether it is fresh-made produce, sorry, products at the grocery store, or whether it is dinner at a restaurant or even at a fast-food place for the family, these are things that Canadians will find less expensive over the coming months.

Unfortunately the Conservatives continue to vote against measures that will help Canadians. They stand against the tax break for all Canadians, like they stand against dental care, school food programs and many other things to help Canadians.

[Justice, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I wish we were debating these important issues in the House. Far too many Canadians face hate and discrimination these days. That is why Parliament should be able to debate the matter and move forward with bills to resolve this challenge that too many people are facing.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives continue to obstruct the work of this Parliament, and the Bloc Québécois is not stopping them.

[Justice, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, if the Bloc Québécois really cared about tackling hate crimes, it would be open to stopping or preventing the Conservative filibuster here in the House so we could debate the bill he is talking about and so we could debate our bill about online safety for children.

There are measures we would like to debate with the Bloc Québécois members in order to better protect Canadians and reduce hate speech, but, unfortunately, they are not putting an end to the Conservative antics that are paralyzing the House's work.

[Taxation, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the problem for the Leader of the Opposition is that Canadians increasingly see through his shallow partisan games. If he actually cared about helping Canadians and cutting taxes, he would not have voted against taking off the sales tax for Canadians for the next few months.

However, the Leader of the Opposition wants Canadians to continue to struggle, because it benefits him politically perhaps, instead of actually being there to solve the challenges that Canadians are facing. That is why he voted against dental care for seniors. That is why he voted against a school food program. That is why he is voting against a sales tax break for Canadians for the next few months. That is not on.

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

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about standing up for Canada. One of the things we have seen throughout our history is that, when Canada is threatened, when it is challenged with a crisis and when people want ill of Canadians, Canadians pull together across partisan stripes, across backgrounds and across the country to stand up for our neighbours and to stand up for Canadians. That is certainly what we were able to do as a country eight years ago.

Unfortunately, this basic Canadian attribute seems unavailable to the Leader of the Opposition, who cannot help playing politics with Canadians' well-being.

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

Mr. Speaker, we can all see that the Leader of the Opposition has trouble with the idea that individuals might have different perspectives, and that might be a good thing for a robust political party like the Liberal Party of Canada and all its partners across the country. The Leader of the Opposition refuses to let his backbenchers or any of his team members have any opinions at all. Indeed, he sanctioned them and wrote a letter in their name decrying their advocacy for their own citizens in their communities when it came to delivering money to mayors for housing from coast to coast to coast.

He stands for muzzling his MPs. We stand for diversity.

[The Economy, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we will present the economic statement in due course. The Conservative Party will surely vote against it because it will include initiatives that are going to help Canadians during these difficult times. It will include initiatives that will help us invest in economic growth and in growth across the country.

The Conservative leader does not want to do anything that might help Canadians. He would rather devote all his energy to advancing his own political interests. That means not helping Canadians when they need it. That is why he votes against dental care, against the tax break, against Canadians.