Affordable Housing and Groceries Act  Madam Speaker, it is great to rise today and join the debate on this very important topic. I just want to start by saying that, in Bill C-56, I am pleased to see that the Liberals finally seem to be admitting that Canadians are struggling. Over the last number of years, they have been telling us everything is fine and that the government has a great credit rating with all the agencies.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, inflationary spending is driving up the cost of living and interest rates to the point where people are worried they might lose their home. The more the government spends, the more inflation grows and the higher interest rates get.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about the urgency of addressing a crisis that he and his government have created. Unfortunately, it is not just homeowners who are struggling. After eight years, housing prices have doubled and young adults have given up completely on their dream of home ownership.

Department of Public Works and Government Services Act  Madam Speaker, it is great to be back. This is my first opportunity to rise in my place since we have come back for the fall session. I want to re-emphasize the gratitude I have for the people of northwestern Ontario, in the Kenora riding, who have placed their trust in me to represent them in Parliament.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to expenditures on hotel rooms by the government during or related to the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal from December 7 to 19, 2022: (a) what was the total amount spent; (b) what are the details of the spending at each hotel, including the (i) total amount spent, (ii) name of the hotel, (iii) number of rooms rented each night, (iv) rate paid, including the number of rooms at each rate?

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor), since November 4, 2015: (a) what is the total amount of project funding announced by FedNor, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) program; (b) of the amount announced in (a), how much (i) was transferred to the recipient, (ii) was eventually cancelled, (iii) is still awaiting transfer, broken down by fiscal year and program; and (c) what are the details of all projects funded by FedNor, broken down by fiscal year, including, for each, the (i) recipient, (ii) location, (iii) amount of FedNor contribution, (iv) program under which funding was provided, (v) project description, (vi) start date, (vii) completion date?

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and shrinkflation: (a) will the government be lowering the size or volume threshold for items which are subject to GST when they are under a certain level (e.g., 500 ml of ice cream); (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, (i) on what items will the threshold be lowered, (ii) what will be the new threshold, (iii) when will the new threshold take effect; and (c) if the answer to (a) is negative or unconfirmed, how much additional GST revenue is the government expected to receive as a result of shrinkflation, and what will the additional revenue be used for?

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to government subsidies for Volkswagen (VW) and the announcement in St. Thomas: (a) when was the timeline of decisions related to VW made and when were the offers sent or received; (b) did the government consider alternative companies to receive subsidies, and, if so, what (i) expressions of interest were received from other companies in this regard, (ii) monetary and non-monetary demands were received in each expression of interest; (c) what were the decision-making factors that the government weighed when making the VW commitment; (d) what additional non-monetary commitments were made to VW; and (e) has the government imposed any conditions on VW in relation to the sourcing of critical minerals and other raw materials from within Canada, and, if so, what are the conditions?

Carbon Pricing  Mr. Speaker, to quote former Liberal Premier McNeil, “we would all benefit from all governments being able to manage their own budget a lot better.” Go figure. After the budget was released, inflation went up. After the carbon tax increase, inflation went up. The Liberals must give Canadians a plan to end their deficits and bring down spending so that we can stop inflation and interest rates.

Carbon Pricing  Mr. Speaker, what is appalling is that the government has done absolutely nothing to help struggling Canadians. We know the Liberals already have one carbon tax in place that will add 41¢ a litre to the price of gas. Now they have carbon tax 2, the terrible sequel that will add another 17¢.

Carbon Pricing  Mr. Speaker, it is incredibly disappointing to see the minister politicizing these disasters for his own gain. The fact of the matter is after eight years of the Prime Minister Canadians are struggling like never before as the cost of government is driving up the cost of living and people are struggling to afford gas, groceries and home heating.

Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act  Madam Speaker, the minister has spoken quite a bit about water contamination in indigenous communities, including one in my riding, Grassy Narrows, which the minister knows quite well. The community has been advocating for a mercury treatment centre for decades. There was a lot of relief and excitement, shortly after 2019, when there was an agreement reached to see this treatment centre come to fruition, but we still have not seen action, all these years later.

Trans-Canada Highway  Mr. Speaker, there have been far too many closures, far too many accidents and far too many lives lost along the Trans-Canada Highway through northwestern Ontario. That is why we have been calling for the twinning of this stretch for years. This project was supported by the former Conservative government, and it is supported by the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, but the only missing piece is support from the federal Liberal government.

Firearms  Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberals are at it again. The minister wants to talk about saving lives, but, under his watch, we have seen a violent wave of crime across the country. The Liberals have failed to fix the broken bail system. They are failing to address violent repeat offenders.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is the policies of the government are the very ones that are driving up inflation and making everything more expensive for Canadians. Now grocery prices are rising to the point where people have to turn to food banks, housing prices have doubled and many young people are worried they will never be able to afford a home.