Justin Trudeau

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the relevant authorities need to follow up on this and get to the bottom of exactly how this unacceptable situation happened.

In the meantime, on this side of the House, we are going to continue to focus on making life more affordable for Canadians, for example by attracting thousands of health care workers by increasing by 50% student loan forgiveness for rural doctors and nurses, by fast-tracking the construction of more than 51,000 homes, and by finalizing the housing accelerator agreements with over 60 small and rural communities.

While the Conservative Party continues to block these initiatives, we are going to continue to step up for Canadians.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is obviously an unacceptable situation, which is why the relevant authorities are fully investigating exactly what went on here, particularly highlighted by the Auditor General's recent report. This is an issue we need to continue to understand, and we need to make sure the rules are being followed and our procurement practices across government are respectful of taxpayer money.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, during the time of the pandemic, the government rightly did everything it could to keep Canadians safe and keep them protected, but of course, even in the most trying times, perhaps especially in the most trying times, all the rules need to be followed.

In this case, the Auditor General has highlighted some very concerning questions that need to be answered. That is why we are expecting and supporting all relevant authorities to follow up on this irregular contracting and perhaps breaking of the rules. This is an important issue, and that is why we are taking it seriously.

[Disturbance in gallery]

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, like the Auditor General, Canadians have questions about whether the rules were followed and how such a company could get all these contracts. We expect the authorities to conduct the appropriate investigations to find out who exactly was involved, how these processes were uncovered and which rules were broken.

It is very important to ensure that taxpayer money is invested the right way. In this situation, we all have important questions that we want answered.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 14th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, we did everything we could to try to protect Canadians and save lives, but even in an unprecedented situation, the rules must be followed. Anyone who did not follow the rules must face the consequences.

That is why we absolutely welcome the Auditor General's recommendations, and that is why the appropriate authorities are doing their job.

Yes, Canadians should know the truth, and we expect the investigators to do their job.

[Housing, February 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we will continue to listen to community organizations and municipal and provincial partners. We will continue to work hand in hand.

We have signed agreements to speed up housing construction with Quebec, Nunavut and cities across the country to make it possible to build over 500,000 houses. We have taken a series of measures to build over 600,000 apartments. We have taken measures to crack down on short-term rentals.

We are investing to fight homelessness and to help people in vulnerable positions. We still have work to do.

[Housing, February 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I very much welcome the interest and the efforts of the New Democratic Party to support us in everything we are doing in delivering on housing.

We recently signed housing accelerator agreements with Quebec, Nunavut and cities across the country to unlock over 500,000 new homes. We introduced a suite of new measures to unlock the construction of over 600,000 new apartments. We cracked down on short-term rentals to unlock up to 30,000 more apartments. We introduced a mortgage charter.

We are continuing to step up on measures that counter homelessness, which is something that far too many Canadians are experiencing during these difficult times. We will keep being there for people.

[Justice, February 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Bloc Québécois for its compassionate and thoughtful contribution to this debate. These are the kinds of conversations we need to keep having in this Parliament. How are we going to properly protect Canadians? How are we going to protect everyone's choices and rights?

We will keep looking at their proposals. We will keep working with the provinces involved. We will keep making sure that the well-being of all Canadians is at the heart of everything we do with respect to this extremely complex and difficult issue.

[Justice, February 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we all know that medical assistance in dying is a difficult, deeply personal choice that families and individuals are confronted with at extremely difficult moments in their lives.

We know that, as a government and a Parliament, we have a responsibility to ensure that vulnerable people are protected, but also to respect the choices and rights of people who want to use MAID.

We will keep having these conversations, including with the Government of Quebec, to find the right path to take for everyone.

[Public Services and Procurement, February 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think the official Leader of the Opposition needs to work on his French; I think he just needs to work on his listening skills, because in French, two answers ago, I complimented and thanked the Auditor General for her work in ensuring that rules are followed and processes have consequences if they are misdone. This is a fact, and we know that even during a pandemic we need to be stepping up to protect people within the rules. That is why there will be consequences for anyone who broke those rules or those laws, while we continue to do everything we need to do to deliver for Canadians, to support people in their daily lives and to build a better future for all Canadians.