44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 2, 2021 10:00AM
- Dec/2/21 11:01:03 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, one thing I have noticed, and we saw it very recently, is that the Conservative Party wants to continue its personal attack on members of the House of Commons. Virtually from day one, and we can go back to 2015 or to the days when the leader of the Liberal Party was the leader of the third party in this chamber, the Conservative Party's agenda—
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- Dec/2/21 11:01:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I suggest that my Conservative friends pay a bit more attention to the policies that the government puts forward and less attention on the personal attacks, as we have seen on the Prime Minister and other members.
At the end of the day, no matter what the Conservative Party determines is its priorities, our priorities will continue to be Canadians from coast to coast to coast and delivering good, sound public policy that is going to make a real difference.
I want to talk about some of the things from the last election, some of the commitments I made to being an advocate in the House of Commons, ensuring that the government continued to move forward on issues that really matter.
I have talked about the Canada child care program in the past and the millions of dollars, close to $10 million or maybe even a bit more than that today, that go to support children in Winnipeg North every month, and how important it is that the government continue to support that program. From a historical perspective, no government in the history of Canada has supported children in the same way that this government has in the last six years. We have lifted thousands of children out of poverty, and that includes hundreds in Winnipeg North.
The Conservatives will have their own agenda, but I and other Liberal members of Parliament will continue to advocate for the best interests of children. That is one of the reasons why we are very proud of the fact that we are moving forward on $10-a-day child care.
Does the Conservative Party not realize that we all benefit by that program? It would enable more people to be engaged in the workforce. The more people who are engaged in the workforce, the better it is for our GDP. One only need look at the wonderful province of Quebec, and many of my Quebec colleagues talk about the child care program and the positive impact it has had in Quebec. I am sure Ontario will come onside at some point, but all of Canada will benefit from the $10-a-day child care program. That is caring and listening to our constituents. It is advocating for programs that are going to make a difference.
Another program—
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- Dec/2/21 11:04:51 a.m.
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- Dec/2/21 11:05:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the problem is that I am very much limited on the time I can speak on all these wonderful initiatives, so I would appreciate it if the members on the other side would be more quiet.
Another area in which this government has done exceptionally well is supporting our seniors. Again, from day one, we increased substantially the guaranteed income supplement. The GIS is there to support the poorest seniors in Canada. We gave substantial increases, approximately $900 annually, to the poorest seniors, again, lifting literally thousands of seniors out of poverty in all regions of our country. That happened even pre-pandemic.
During the the pandemic, we gave direct payments to seniors, with an additional payment for those on the lowest income. We made an election platform commitment to increase payments to those seniors age 75 and over because of the limitations in terms of abilities and additional costs that they had to incur. It was 10%, which was unheard of. These are the types of commitments this government has made to our seniors from day one and we still continue to make them today.
Listening to our constituents and advocating for programs really make a difference. That is what Liberal members of Parliament are doing. I would encourage my Conservative friends to get on board with some of these programs as opposed to suggesting, as they did in the last election, that our proposed child care program was not a good thing, that they would take it away.
Now we have the new horizons program. The government has enhanced the funding for this program and continues to promote it, because it is to the benefit of seniors throughout the country. I would suggest that all members of Parliament look at that program and promote it in their communities. The program has tangible results for seniors in all our constituencies.
Much like our support programs for seniors, such as new horizons, we also have programs for young people. Let us look at the youth summer program. Over the last five or six years, we have more than doubled of the program. Thousands and thousands of youth are getting employment, often their first opportunity for employment, because of this program. It is making a real difference in all our communities. Much like the new horizons program, which as members of Parliament we all get to contribute to the success of that program in our constituencies, members need to look at this program and promote it among their constituents.
When I was first elected as a parliamentarian in 1988, one of the primary issues was health care. Health care is not just provincial jurisdiction. I know this will upset the separatists from the Bloc, but Canadians love and cherish our health care system. During the pandemic, we learned a little more about areas that needed more attention.
I am thinking about national long-term health care. We need to have better long-term care for our seniors. This government is committed to delivering that. Every Liberal member of Parliament understands it and advocates for that in his or her constituency, and nation-wide. We understand the importance of medication. Since day one, we have invested literally hundreds of millions to keep prescribed medicine prices as low as possible for Canadians.
In our throne speech in September 2019, we indicated that willing provinces should come and talk to us about the national pharmacare, because the only way we can have a national pharmacare program is if we have support from the provinces, and that is something we want to see.
For the first time, we have a Prime Minister who understands the issue of mental health, and we have now incorporated that into national policy. That is something I believe all members of the House should get behind, because it is definitely something all Canadians want. They want government to play a stronger role on the issue of mental health, and we are seeing a commitment to that.
I have to provide comment on reconciliation. This is something opposition members like to criticize. I can tell members that 80% of the 94 calls to action are being acted on in one way or another, with many of them having been passed. Whether it is regarding language, child care or a statutory holiday, this government takes the calls to action very seriously, and we are acting on them.
I look forward to any questions that might come.
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- Dec/2/21 11:12:38 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in terms of the manner in which I present myself, it is something I have developed in the last number of years of being an advocate, and the member can turn down the volume if she so chooses. At the end of the day I am very passionate about these issues, because I believe they are in the best interests of Canadians and the constituents I represent, and I believe a part of being an advocate is making sure I am being heard.
I applaud the member for recognizing that the issues I have talked about are important. She is conceding that, and that is one of the reasons I would recommend that, as opposed to listening to nothing but the Conservative spin, she start looking at some of the things that are actually being done—
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- Dec/2/21 11:13:37 a.m.
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—because on a lot of the issues she raised, she would see that there have been actions: literally hundreds of millions of dollars in commitments, and negotiations and discussions with the different stakeholders, in particular our provinces, territories and indigenous communities.
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- Dec/2/21 11:14:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the greatest things we can do as a government, in terms of fighting inflation, is to create an environment that employs more people. The more people who are employed, the more contributions are going to be made to Canada's GDP, and that is one of the ways we can fight inflation.
I would ask members to take into consideration that inflation, much like the pandemic, is not something that is unique to Canada. This is something that is taking place around the world, and because Canada took the initiatives it did, such as the wage subsidy program and the CERB program, supporting millions of Canadians and thousands of businesses, we are in a better position to ensure that Canada is in a great position to recover and get back. In fact, we have gotten back more jobs than we had pre-pandemic. That is the way we are going to be able to overcome, going forward.
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- Dec/2/21 11:16:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I believe the possibility of national pharmacare is still there. We saw it in the previous throne speech, in which the federal government indicated it is looking for willing partners at the provincial level.
The member knows well that the only way we can be successful at getting a first-class pharmacare system is by having the provinces on side. We will continue, I suspect, to look for willing provinces on that point.
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- Dec/2/21 12:43:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pre-election, I met with the Minister of Agriculture in the province of Manitoba. We talked about the floods, and both of us had the opportunity to visit a cattle farm. Post-election, the Minister of Agriculture was in Winnipeg again, and we were at Merit Foods, where we are expanding markets for a state-of-the-art company. The Minister of Agriculture continues work with the different provinces and other stakeholders to make sure we stay on top of that particular file.
My question is more in regard to this member, and other members now, who have talked about the price on pollution, or the carbon tax, as they refer to it. I am having a hard time understanding and following where the Conservative Party is on this issue. It was not that long ago that they were actually quite honest and said they were against the carbon tax. Then, just prior to the last election, their newly minted leader said they supported a price on pollution or a carbon tax.
I am hearing that the Conservatives now seem to doing another flip-flop. Can they tell the House today what their position is on a carbon tax? Do they support it or do they not support it?
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- Dec/2/21 1:22:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. It is important that we recognize that you made a ruling. Your interpretation, after consulting with the Clerk, was that the member did in fact violate one of our Standing Orders, and it is fairly clear that what the member was reflecting on was the manner in which the Governor General delivered her speech.
Thousands of Canadians would disagree with, and be offended by, the member's remarks. We ask her to withdraw those remarks without any qualifications whatsoever, to apologize and then continue on. That would be my recommendation: that she listen to what the Speaker ruled. She was out of order.
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- Dec/2/21 1:44:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, depending on the Conservative member of Parliament who is standing, we often get a different approach on the CERB benefits. Sometimes Conservatives will be critical of the government because of the benefits. Then other Conservatives will talk about how important those CERB benefits were.
What is the policy of the Conservative caucus with respect to Bill C-2, which continues to support workers and businesses in different situations? Does the member support the principle of Bill C-2? On that matter, would he also provide his thoughts on whether Revenue Canada should be collecting where mistakes are made?
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- Dec/2/21 3:58:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, within the throne speech there is so much to provide comment on. I personally have reflected a great deal on child care. What would my colleague say is one of the things that makes her look forward to the coming days, when we think of the throne speech? Is there something specific to her constituents?
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- Dec/2/21 4:44:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, where I could agree with the member is that there are a couple of issues, both health care and environment, which are very important issues to Canadians. Where I tend to disagree with the member is on the issue of a plan.
Just because an opposition member says there is no plan, does not mean there is not a plan. Actually, it is quite the opposite. There is a detailed plan. All one needs to do is read it or listen to members from the Liberal caucus who are standing up and speaking. There is a plan and it is tangible. Even during the election, independent sources made it very clear that the Liberal Party had the best plan when it came to the environment.
Would the member not agree that Canadians in all regions, including the province of Quebec, recognize that the national government needs to play a stronger role in long-term care facilities and mental health, both of which are very important issues for my constituents and, I would argue, for her constituents too. Does she not agree that the federal government does have a role to play, given that constituents of both our ridings want to see that?
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- Dec/2/21 5:33:00 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Mr. Speaker, let me start off by echoing the statement the member just made. Let us shop local and encourage our constituents to recognize the difficult times that our businesses have had to endure over the last 18 months. One of the ways we can support them is to shop local.
There is another thing we can do collectively here in the House. We understand now that Bill C-2 will be going to committee, and I am hopeful and optimistic that we will see it come out of committee and ultimately get the support that is necessary to see it pass, because it too would support small businesses.
My question is more related to the issue of housing. We have seen over the years the amounts of money being invested in social housing, and they have been historic. There has been a housing strategy too, something that has never happened before in the history of Canada, at least for the last number of generations.
I am wondering what specific initiative the member believes would make a difference, from his perspective, because there are a number of initiatives already in place that are having an impact.
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- Dec/2/21 5:49:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member and I share something in common. Her father is an MLA and she is an MP. My daughter is an MLA in the Manitoba Legislature and I am an MP. As I am very proud of my daughter, I am sure the member's father is exceptionally proud of her.
One of the things that we share in common, again, is that my daughter is a very powerful advocate for seniors, as I see the member opposite also wants to be. I have talked to my daughter about the need for different levels of government to work together. I am sure the member can appreciate the importance of different levels of government working together.
Would the member not agree that on the issue of seniors it is important that we recognize what both levels of government could do? We can work together to make a positive difference and have a more positive impact for seniors no matter where they live in our great country.
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