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Ms. Rachel Bendayan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jan/31/22 5:41:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mississauga East—Cooksville. First, I want to say just how grateful I am to be here again in the House, in person, despite the protests being held in downtown Ottawa. I am especially grateful to the Parliamentary Protective Service and the Ottawa Police Service, who are working tirelessly to keep everyone safe, including protesters, MPs, Ottawans and House of Commons staff. They are there to protect us and to ensure that we can continue to do our job on behalf of Canadians. I rise today to speak to the priorities that our government presented in the Speech from the Throne. I will concentrate on the key concerns of my constituents in Outremont, which includes the Côte-des-Neiges and Mile End neighbourhoods, and I am sure they are concerns shared by all Canadians: the economic recovery, the fight against climate change, the construction of affordable housing, and, of course, gun control. First and foremost, we have put forward a plan to ensure a fair and just economic recovery. Across the country, the economy is recovering from the shock of the pandemic, even with the current challenges posed by this most recent Omicron wave. Make no mistake that the shock was, and has been, severe. Let us take, for example, the unemployment rate. After reaching a 40-year low of 5.5% by the end of 2019, it shot up to an all-time high of 13.7%. In real terms that means that, in the space of only a very few months, three million Canadians lost their jobs. That is 15% of the entire labour force in this country lost their jobs. In the face of these unprecedented disruptions, our government moved quickly, introducing the CERB, the wage subsidy, the emergency business account and direct payments to low-income households and families. All of this was done in a matter of weeks. In retrospect, the experts are very clear now that, without those quick and decisive measures taken by our federal government, the Canadian economy would have faced permanent scarring. Our poverty rate would have soared and countless more small businesses would have had to close their doors. Instead, we now have more businesses operating than in February 2020 and more workers employed here in Canada than in February 2020. Canada's economic recovery is under way. Not only have we recovered all of the jobs lost during the pandemic, but we also had the highest level of third-quarter economic growth among G7 countries. That said, we need to do more to combat the rising cost of living, and that is exactly what we are going to do. We will be there to support Canadians, through initiatives like the Canada-wide early learning and child care plan, an increase to the guaranteed income supplement for our seniors, and a new financial incentive for first-time homebuyers. We all know, or at least we all should know, the economy cannot thrive unless we address the enormous challenge of climate change. My constituents understand the importance of fighting climate change. In fact, prior to the holidays a few weeks ago, I stood in this very chamber to present a petition on behalf of citizens in Outremont and Mile End. For Our Kids and The Council of Canadians are calling on our government to act swiftly to implement a just transition to reduce emissions and to create good, well-paying jobs. I bring their voice to this House. There is no sugar-coating it, our planet is at the brink. There is more that our government needs to do, and will do, to combat the climate crisis. We need to increase our world-leading price on pollution. We need to urgently phase out fossil fuel subsidies. We need to cap emissions from the oil and gas sector, ban exports of thermal coal, and protect our land and waters. More than a year ago, the parents of young Adam, Oscar and Marion asked me to fight for a codification into law, a right protected by law to a healthy environment, and I am proud to stand in this House and confirm that we will do so. I would like to turn now to affordable housing. The rising cost of housing is a major concern across the country. The average cost of a house in Montreal went up by 23% last year. Rents in Côte‑des‑Neiges are skyrocketing as well. For many Canadians, paying rent is getting harder and harder, never mind buying a house. I have witnessed first-hand the impact that our investments in housing have had on my own community. I am currently working on a wonderful pilot project led by Mission Old Brewery to turn a former hotel on Park Avenue into studios for the homeless. I also recognize that there is still work to be done to address the housing crisis and homelessness. That is why we plan to launch a new housing accelerator fund, through which we will invest $4 billion to reduce red tape so that municipalities can build more housing units more quickly. This fund will have a target of building 100,000 new affordable homes by 2025. We will also be reducing closing costs to help renters become property owners and will be instituting a tax on non-resident foreign buyers to curb speculation. We will do everything we can to tackle this crisis head-on. I will close by addressing another crisis that is hitting Montreal hard, namely, the staggering increase in shootings. All told, there were 200 shootings in 2021 and more than a dozen homicides committed with firearms. That is unacceptable. Those who know me know that gun control is an issue I have supported for many years with a great deal of humility and a sense of responsibility. A few weeks ago, I attended the commemoration of the anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre on the Mount Royal lookout. Last Saturday, I travelled to Quebec City to mark the fifth anniversary of the tragic attack on its mosque. All the survivors say the same thing: We must redouble our efforts, we must fight harder against gun violence. When I think of 15-year-old Meriem or 16-year-old Thomas, both killed in a shooting, I feel overcome with emotion. These two teenagers had their whole lives ahead of them, and they were gunned down with weapons that have no place whatsoever in our streets. We must make sure their memory strengthens our resolve to defeat this scourge. I am so grateful to all those who continue to fight this battle. Activists like those at PolyRemembers do invaluable work to counter the gun lobby's lies. I also find it very encouraging to see groups of young people like Thomas's friends organizing to lobby politicians., or som We have more work to do. We have already expanded background checks. We increased funding to fight gun smuggling. We banned 1,500 different models of assault-style weapons. We will implement a mandatory buyback program. We will increase penalties for smugglers. We will crack down on high-capacity magazines, and we are ready to do more. Families of the victims of gun violence deserve clear answers and real action. I will continue to be their voice, and members can rest assured I will continue to make the gun lobby very, very mad. Whether it is on the economy, the environment, housing affordability or gun control, our government has a strong and ambitious agenda and a plan to move Canada forward.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Rachel Bendayan

Jan/31/22 5:52:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, honestly, I know sometimes we like to speak in long parables in this House. I will answer very simply: exploration tax credits.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Rachel Bendayan

Jan/31/22 5:54:24 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I know my colleague has done good work on the firearms file, but I disagree with her on this. I personally attended a solemn ceremony in Quebec City commemorating the Quebeckers we lost five years ago. With respect to our political battle over the firearms file, I would note that we have banned over 1,500 assault weapons. We have strengthened border security and added more resources to prevent firearms from crossing into Canada from the U.S. We will keep collaborating to get more done. I would like to reach out to my colleague so we can work together and make progress on this file.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Rachel Bendayan

Jan/31/22 5:56:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in my speech, I am working on the ground now to create affordable housing in my riding, as are 338 MPs in this room. It is through our efforts and funding from our government, as I mentioned, that we will build 100,000 new affordable housing units by 2025. That is a record number of units in a record amount of time. I encourage the member to work with us in order to identify the particular locations in her community that need this urgent housing to be built, and we will get it done.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Rachel Bendayan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jan/31/22 7:56:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was pleased and relieved to hear the leader of the NDP say that he stands in solidarity with Ukraine. However, the NDP member for Winnipeg Centre described the Ukrainian government as “an anti-Semitic, neo-nazi & fascist militia”. The NDP member for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski retweeted a suggestion that our Deputy Prime Minister's “Nazi past” is the reason that Canada is supporting Ukrainian sovereignty. Will the leader of the NDP denounce these inflammatory, offensive comments from his caucus members in the House, comments which I would say resemble, very eerily, Russian propaganda?

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Rachel Bendayan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jan/31/22 9:14:04 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to highlight, as many have, the important contribution of the Ukrainian Canadian community to building the Prairies in Alberta. That community continues to add so much to the vibrancy of the Prairies. Could the minister comment on what he is hearing on the ground? We know that in Alberta there are 370,000 Ukrainian Canadians living in the province. I am sure that the minister is bringing their voices to cabinet, and I would like to hear from the minister what specific requests they are making to him and what they would like to see from our government.

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