44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 29, 2021 11:00AM
- Nov/29/21 12:14:25 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Madam Speaker, I would like to welcome my colleague back to the House. He is a fellow alumni of the class of 2015. In his speech he made mention of targeted assistance. We know that many poor seniors, such as those on the GIS, need supplemental income in order to pay the bills each month. They, like many Canadians, also lost jobs when the pandemic hit our country.
Now those seniors are in a situation where the Canada recovery benefit income is being clawed back from their GIS, meaning many of them cannot afford to make rent payments or put good quality food on the table. I have a simple question. Why, when we have this golden opportunity with Bill C-2, did the government not make any mention of targeted assistance to help the most vulnerable Canadians in this country? Will the Liberal government quickly fix this? It is an urgent problem in my riding and right across the country.
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- Nov/29/21 12:54:11 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Madam Speaker, just to correct the record for all members, it was not Bill C-1. It was Government Business No. 1. I want people to be correct when speaking in the House for the benefit of their constituents.
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- Nov/29/21 1:01:41 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Madam Speaker, it is a strange time in my riding, because I have never seen so many “help wanted” signs. However, those jobs are not being filled. We had recovery benefits almost a month ago, but we have not seen the corresponding return of workers to where the jobs are. That shows me there is a disconnect in how the federal government is approaching this.
Obviously, the skill sets these jobs demand are not being met by the current workforce. With the ending of these benefits, especially the Canada worker lockdown benefit, there will be very vulnerable people who are going to be without any kinds of benefits or job prospects at a time when inflation is going through the roof. Therefore, I would like to ask my colleague this. Does he see Bill C-2 as a missed opportunity, when we could have invested a lot of money in retraining to make sure these workers have the skills that many industries in my riding and across this country are now very much looking for?
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- Nov/29/21 1:18:09 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Madam Speaker, when the Canada recovery benefit ended in October, nearly 900,000 workers were still on it, and with 48 hours' notice they lost their benefits. My colleague talked about supporting workers and made reference to the Canada worker lockdown benefit and its retroactivity. The problem is that there are no government-mandated lockdowns in Canada, nor have there been for the last couple of months, so the retroactivity is just smoke and mirrors. No one is going to be approved for this benefit because there have been no lockdowns.
The member talks about supporting workers. However, when the economy is still in such a fragile state, why has he made these new parameters so much more restrictive at a time when the cost of living is going up across the board? People are in very precarious situations and need a hand to get through to the next year, especially during this time when the pandemic is still ongoing.
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- Nov/29/21 1:33:22 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my Liberal colleague for her speech.
Many seniors who are on the guaranteed income supplement need jobs in order to make sure they have enough to pay the bills each month. However, they, like many Canadians, lost their jobs in 2020 when the pandemic hit this country full force.
I first brought this issue to the attention of the government in August. Here we are on the eve of December, and Bill C-2 represented a perfect opportunity to give CRB amnesty to our lowest-income seniors.
I have heard the Liberals talk about working on it, but this is an urgent situation. Could my Liberal colleague please inform the House when the government will actually help these seniors? They are having to make impossible choices right now about how they are going to pay their rent and put quality food on the table.
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-203, An Act respecting soil conservation and soil health.
He said: Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud, not only as the member of Parliament for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, but also as the NDP's critic for agriculture and agri-food, to introduce this private members' bill.
Healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable food production, enhanced biodiversity and cleaner air and water. Healthy soils are also key to our fight against climate change, as good agricultural practices can unlock soils' huge carbon sequestration potential. The bill I am introducing today sets up a national strategy to promote efforts across Canada to conserve and improve the health of our soils.
The strategy would help maintain, enhance and rebuild the capacity of soils to produce food and fuel for years to come. It would encourage farmers and other land users with research, education, training and knowledge transfer in best practices. The bill would also recommend the establishment of a national advocate for soil health, and would formally recognize both World Soil Day on December 5 and National Soil Conservation Week during the third week of April each year.
Finally, I want to acknowledge and thank the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley for seconding this bill, and I invite all of my colleagues to join me in making this strategy a reality for our hard-working Canadian farmers.
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- Nov/29/21 4:24:16 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech and welcome him back to the House. We are both alumni from the class of 2015.
I want to acknowledge inflation. In the last election, affordability issues were top of mind for so many voters in Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, but we have a situation where when the CRB ended, there were still nearly 900,000 workers accessing that program. In my riding, despite the fact that this program ended over a month ago, we still have many “help wanted” signs, so there is a disconnect here. I am very concerned when we start talking about cutting back these kinds of programs, because they are usually built on the backs of Canadians who can least afford to live. That is why I came to Ottawa. I pledged to make sure that millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share so that the working Canadians in this country are not bearing the brunt of costs.
I am wondering if my colleague can expand on this. What will we do for those very vulnerable workers who are still unable to find appropriate work and are being left in a very precarious position by the ending of these support programs?
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