Sean Fraser

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, this may be the last opportunity I have to answer a question in the House of Commons as a minister. I want to take an opportunity to give my thanks to everybody back home in my community and to all members of the House, on both sides of the aisle, for an opportunity to engage in debate over the years and to put competing ideas on the table.

When it comes to the way that caucuses should operate, I would remind my hon. colleague, as one of the people who has written to advocate for his community to receive funding through the housing accelerator fund, that he has now been banned by his own leader to continue to advocate on behalf of the good people of St. Albert—Edmonton.

It has been an honour to serve. I look forward to what the future may hold.

I want to say congratulations to a term well served by all colleagues.

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is right about one thing. I did announce this morning that I am not going to be seeking re-election. However, if he thinks it is a matter of confidence, I can tell him I have confidence that I am going to be the best father to my kids that I could possibly be for the rest of my life. That is what is most important to me.

While I have the floor, I should say thanks for the opportunity to engage in the tête-à-tête over the years. This may be one of the last opportunities I have, and I want to use it to make this point: Canadians want governments to invest to increase the quality of life they get to enjoy. We do not seem to be able to agree on that basic tenet. On this side of the House, we will put measures in place to support families, not advocate cuts that will—

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives seem to know the cost of everything but the value of nothing. They do not see value in investing in child care, which has not only reduced costs for families but also led to the largest increase in women's participation in the labour force in the history of this country. They do not seem to believe there is value in investing in social housing, in public housing and in affordable housing so that everyone in this country can have a roof over their head. They do not believe in the value of the Canada child benefit, which is ensuring that middle-class families in this country can put food on the table.

Before the member continues to sling mud and arrows on this side of the House, he should perhaps look inward and ask why he is not even allowed to advocate on behalf of his community. It is because his leader has said that is just not in order.

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I was wrong before when I said all they had was name-calling. Apparently, they have alliteration as well, but that is not going to put food on the table for people who need it in my community or in his. It is not going to put a roof over the head of people who are vulnerable in this country.

If the member wants to make this argument about whether women will be supported, I wonder if he has ever approached the leader of the Conservative Party about using hashtags to specifically attract the attention of men who hate women to support him online. I wonder if he has asked questions about why he has cancelled the investigation as to who was behind it; perhaps he has not, because he knows it was the Conservative leader himself.

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the very best that the Conservatives can offer to this conversation is name-calling and mudslinging, not solutions to the problems that Canadians are facing.

When I talk to people at home, they want their governments to be focusing on creating good jobs to make sure people can afford to put food on the table. They want to make sure that governments are advancing policies to invest in health care and housing. They want to make sure we are doing more to protect the environment. Every time we put policies on the table to accomplish these ends, the Conservatives throw their hands up in the air, vote against and just sling mud at their opponents. That is not what people in my community want. It is not what Canadians deserve.

We are going to advance solutions that introduce real and meaningful changes that will benefit people who live in this country.

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, in a moment where Canadians are looking for leadership, the Conservative asking the question can only come up with names to lob toward his political opponents—

[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, December 16th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure who she is talking about, but I am still here for now.

There are two kinds of people who run for office in politics: there are people who want to do something, and there are people who want to be somebody. On our side of the House, we want to do things. We want to build the houses to make sure families can afford to keep roofs over their heads. We want to make sure that families can afford to keep food on their tables to feed their kids. We want to make sure people can find jobs to go to that give them a sense of pride and that allows them to contribute to their communities.

On the Conservative side, their leader has been writing essays about why he should be prime minister since he was a teenager.

[Housing, December 10th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, no one in the country is choosing to be homeless and no one is choosing to live in an encampment. We know that the cost of housing has gotten too high. That is why we are putting billions of dollars of investments on the table to help build out more affordable housing and help community entities provide services to people who do not have a roof over their head.

What is fascinating is that the Conservatives seek to make a joke out of a very serious issue such as homelessness. We are going to be willing to do the hard work to build more homes, including for the most vulnerable.

As the jeering continues, Canadians should be ashamed of the behaviour of the Conservative Party, which uses homeless people as props.

[The Economy, December 6th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, it is hard to understand how a member who said he is receiving $228 million for housing considers that to be a band-aid solution. Does he think it is a band-aid solution that we are helping his city lead the country when it comes to converting office spaces to homes for Canadians? Does he think it is a band-aid solution that we are advancing a permanent program that is going to feed hungry kids in schools?

I have great respect for the hon. member. I love the city he calls home; it once provided a home to me. However, it is difficult, once again, to accept questions on the cost of food and shelter from a member and a party that oppose the policies making it easier to put food on the table for families and keep a roof over their head.

[The Economy, December 6th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, my colleague points to food and shelter as pressure points for Canadian households. I actually agree, but let us look at what the different parties are proposing to do about it. First, on food, he is complaining about the high price when he is literally voting against a tax break on food. He is literally opposing a national school food program, which is helping hungry kids eat. When it comes to shelter, his own city is directly benefiting from hundreds of millions of dollars in investments to build homes more quickly, and he is supporting a leader who vows to cut that program. I will not take lessons from the Conservative Party, which cuts the very programs that put food on the table for families.