Taylor Bachrach

[Canada Post Corporation, May 23rd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, decades ago, the Liberals promised to stop the closure of rural post offices. However, in classic Liberal fashion, they have broken that promise year after year. We have lost 500 rural post offices since 1994, 33 last year alone. Before the Conservatives start heckling, their record when they were in government was even worse.

How many rural post offices are going to have to close before the minister finally does something?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, May 22nd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it feels like perhaps it is the hour, but things are getting a bit testy, and I thought I would take this in a different direction, because bills like the one before us are always a mixed bag. There is stuff in them that some folks support, and there is stuff in them that some folks really oppose.

I am wondering whether my colleague can just pick one thing from Bill C-59, the bill that we are debating, that he supports and that he thinks would take our country in the right direction. Can he tell us what it is?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, May 22nd, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, continuing on this theme of talking about the economy, I was recently at committee, and one of my Conservative colleagues asked what I felt was a really good question of the competition commissioner. He asked if the government has ever blocked a corporate merger in Canadian history. The answer was no.

Despite having this competition commissioner and having these ideas around the importance of competition and the importance of stamping out anti-competitive behaviour, not a single corporate merger has been blocked or denied by the federal government.

I would ask him why that is, when we know that corporate concentration and anti-competitive behaviour are two of the driving factors behind the affordability crisis we are seeing. We are seeing these monopolies and oligopolies that are gouging Canadians every single day. The government can put a stop to that. Why does it not?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, May 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, through you to my colleague from Saskatoon—Grasswood, he mentioned the fact that gas prices are going up dramatically this summer, yet that dramatic increase will be totally independent and unaffected by government taxation. What is happening is that the oil and gas companies are once again going to gouge consumers. Every time they unilaterally raise the price of gas by tens of cents on long weekends and over the summer months, Conservatives are absolutely silent, even though the impact of that price gouging far outweighs the impact of any government taxes.

Why do Conservatives give a free ride to the oil and gas companies that are gouging consumers? Interestingly, under a Conservative government, the U.K. put in place an excess profits tax and then took those revenues from the oil and gas companies and drove them into affordability measures to help average folks. However, these Conservatives continually give the oil and gas giants a totally free ride. Why is that?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, May 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Fredericton for her remarks. I very much appreciate her work and the approach she brings to this work.

I am going to ask my colleague about an issue I raised several weeks ago. In British Columbia, the First Nations Health Authority has stopped funding counselling for non-status survivors of residential schools. This is affecting people in the riding I represent and across the province. It is due to federal underfunding of the First Nations Health Authority. Obviously, this is something she would share my concern about.

I wonder if, in her role as parliamentary secretary, she has looked into this. What is her government's plan to ensure that non-status individuals who survived residential schools and are in need of counselling can get these vital services?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, May 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, my colleague from Regina—Wascana mentioned the northern gateway pipeline.

What he did not mention was that the northern gateway pipeline and the plan by Enbridge to bring crude oil supertankers to the north coast of B.C. was wholly rejected by municipalities, first nations, anglers, commercial fishermen and the majority of the people of the District of Kitimat, who held a specific referendum on that issue. The culmination of that effort led to Bill C-48, the north coast Oil Tanker Moratorium Act.

I say this with no animus to my colleague personally, but his leader is going around the country saying that a Conservative government would tear up that oil tanker moratorium as one of its first acts in office.

Can my friend down the way confirm if that is true? Can he say it loud enough for the people all the way on the west coast of Canada, on Haida Gwaii, in Prince Rupert and Klemtu, and all of the—

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, May 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, my colleague from Saskatoon West talked about the so-called Conservative housing plan, but I have not seen anything in that housing plan that speaks to the kind of communities that I represent, which are rural communities with small populations.

The challenges in rural communities are categorically different from those in urban centres. The Conservative plan mentions forcing density around transit hubs. Small rural communities do not have transit hubs. They talk about requiring communities to build 15% more new homes every year. In many small communities, the housing demand does not allow for that kind of growth, yet small communities deserve housing just like any other community in this country.

I am wondering why the Conservative plan so wholly ignores the housing needs of rural communities.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, May 21st, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary mentioned non-market housing, which I would note is for more than those who are suffering from homelessness.

One of the reasons so many people are struggling to find affordable housing is that previous Liberal governments, starting in the 1990s, really abdicated the federal role when it came to building non-market housing. Today, only 3.5% of Canada's housing stock is non-market, compared to about 12% for our peer countries in the OECD.

Research out of the University of British Columbia says that at least 25% of the 5.8 million homes that CMHC says needs to be built by 2030 should be non-market. However, I have seen no indication of a target for the construction of non-market housing. Does the government have a non-market housing target? If so, what is that target?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, May 7th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the federal budget includes a commitment to start a procurement process to replace Via Rail's long-distance fleet, some of the oldest rolling stock used by passenger trains in the whole world, built in the 1960s and sorely in need of replacement.

I wonder what the Conservative Party's position is on replacing the long-distance passenger trains that are used by Via Rail.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1, May 7th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I know my friend across the way is a strong advocate for sustainable finance. A few days ago, reporter John Woodside of the National Observer tweeted, “An open-secret on the hill right now is that a key climate policy - the sustainable finance taxonomy - has been long delayed because of a feud between experts and [the Minister of Finance's] office. She wants fossil fuels included, experts want a credible taxonomy.”

Can the member confirm this rumour, and if so, can he explain to the House why the Minister of Finance is standing in the way of credible climate policy?