44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 17, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/17/22 2:59:51 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, before the use of the Emergencies Act, it was impossible for all the information to be shared between the national, local and municipal security forces and the banks. Before the use of the Emergencies Act, we also could not require the banks to do these things. These financial tools are important—
54 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:00:32 p.m.
- Watch
Order. The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.
8 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:00:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, 23 Liberal MPs' requests to help Afghan refugees were ignored. Liberal ministers were briefed months before Kabul fell. These warnings were ignored. My letters to the Prime Minister and the minister continue to be ignored. Afghan refugees write to the government every day pleading for help. They continue to be ignored. The Afghan crisis is another pattern of inaction and failure in leadership by the Liberal government.
Why was an election plan and abandoning those that served Canada more important than the pleas of Afghan refugees?
88 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:01:14 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, when that member first asked me a question about the success of our resettlement efforts in Afghanistan, there were 3,800 Afghan refugees in Canada. Today, there are more than 7,700. In the past few weeks, we have seen more than 460 arrive on 20 commercial flights. There are more flights arriving every week.
We have made one of the most substantial commitments of any country in the world, not just on a per capita basis but in terms of the raw number of human beings that we are going to welcome and give a second lease on life. Canadians should be proud of the effort we are making and we will not waver until we are successful in resettling all 40,000 Afghan refugees who will call Canada home.
133 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:01:51 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, that does not explain why in December 2020, 23 Liberal members begged the Prime Minister to take action to save Afghan nationals who had helped Canadians during the conflict in Afghanistan. It took eight months, and after that, the embassy closed its doors, everyone left and nothing happened.
Today, they are throwing a number at us: 40,000 Afghans are coming here. However, they have never specifically mentioned helping the Afghans who helped us on the ground during the conflict in Afghanistan when we were there.
Why were these people not taken care of when the Liberal members asked the Prime Minister to do so?
107 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:02:31 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member will appreciate that, during the evacuation, there was an emergency situation and we responded as quickly as was humanly possible. One of the reasons, which I think the hon. member will appreciate, is that we no longer had a military presence with the logistics capability of moving thousands and thousands of people on our own because we had not had a military presence there since 2014.
We worked with international partners to rescue thousands of people in the moments of the evacuation. I want to thank my predecessor, now the Minister of Public Safety, for his efforts to resettle thousands of Afghan refugees. I am going to finish the job.
117 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:03:10 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, here is some of the damning testimony this week from retired generals about the Liberal government's failure during the fall of Kabul and the government's continued lack of leadership. One said, “we were the first embassy to depart. That was very embarrassing”. Another said, “When this crisis was unfolding right in front of our eyes, we then urged the government, as we do now, to create an interdepartmental task force with one leader.”
I will ask the same question I asked last week. Will the Prime Minister assign one lead minister to solve this ongoing humanitarian aid crisis?
106 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:03:53 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am the minister who has been appointed by the Prime Minister to lead this effort. We will collaborate with other ministers, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to help ensure we are successful in partnership with the global community to see this mission succeed.
I heard members opposite heckling about the timing of the election when it came to the Afghan refugee resettlement effort, and I would point out how important that election was because we campaigned on a commitment to increase our level of ambition from 20,000 to 40,000. Their commitment on the other side, while they heckle, was to welcome precisely zero Afghan refugees. More than that, they campaigned to end the government-assisted refugee program altogether, which has been responsible for saving thousands of lives.
133 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the House began debate on second reading of the online streaming act.
During the debate, certain opposition colleagues raised interesting questions, even though others practised their leadership race speeches.
Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage tell us what Bill C-11 proposes to do?
48 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her absolutely outstanding work and her truly excellent question.
The objective of the bill is to ensure that broadcasting companies continue to invest in Canadian culture, in our culture. That is all. In real terms, that means more Canadian artists, more Canadian movies, shows and music. With this bill, we are laying a foundation and building the next generations of Canadian creators, the next Weeknd, the next Denis Villeneuve, the next District 31. We introduced this bill because we are proud of our culture, proud of who we are and proud of our identity.
101 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:05:47 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' made-in-Canada housing crisis has gotten out of control. It is the same situation across the country, including in my community of York—Simcoe.
Working Canadians have been priced out of the housing market with no hope in sight. Home builders are stopping the construction of new homes. Liberal inflation has caused prices for materials to skyrocket. There is no way for builders to know the fair market value of a home that would not be ready for at least two years.
Why is the Liberal government making it even harder for Canadians to own a home?
103 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:06:26 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are not really serious about housing affordability because every single time we have brought a measure here to enable Canadians to be able to afford a home, they have voted against it, including the first-time homebuyers incentive and all the measures that we have brought in. They even voted against imposing a vacancy tax on foreign-owned non-resident properties.
The Conservatives are not serious. They are full of rhetoric, and Canadians see through them. We will take additional measures to improve the first-time homebuyers incentive and turn more Canadian renters into homeowners. Let us see if they vote against that.
107 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:07:09 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, $400 billion in newly created cash has driven up consumer prices, and constituents in my riding, especially seniors, cannot afford their basic necessities. In addition to rising consumer prices, electricity and heating bills are increasing due to the carbon tax, which will increase again on April 1.
When will the Liberal government finally quit making false promises and create a real economic plan for all Canadians, especially those who are struggling to meet their basic needs?
78 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:07:40 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative MP began his question talking about government spending, which he seems to deem excessive.
I would like to remind him that he, together with every single Conservative member, actually ran on an election platform proposing higher spending in 2021-22 than the Liberals did. They proposed a $168-billion deficit. We proposed a $156-billion deficit.
Could the party of flip-flops tell Canadians what they stand for today?
73 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:08:23 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, with more than 1.3 million unemployed Canadians, 200,000 jobs were lost in January alone. At the same time, our businesses are struggling to fill almost one million jobs. Canada's economic recovery is in jeopardy. Canada has the fifth-worst job recovery in the G7.
Hard-working people of Brantford—Brant are asking this: When will the Prime Minister stop putting his ideological agenda above prudent economic decisions?
73 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:08:55 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it is a bit rich to hear the Conservatives talk about their support for Canadian workers and Canadian jobs. Let me just point out one moment of abject Conservative failure. It was before Christmas when we knew omicron was coming and we knew Canadian workers and businesses needed support, but the Conservatives voted against that measure.
When it comes to jobs, Canada recovered 101% of the jobs lost to COVID. In the U.S., it is just 87%.
80 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, some working low-income seniors in this country have had a challenging time making ends meet during this pandemic, which is why they turned to what most Canadians did, the CERB and other pandemic benefits. While we are going to be supporting people who suffered drops in their GIS and allowance compensation payments, the Minister of Seniors' mandate letter also called on us to look forward. It called on us to assure seniors that we have their backs even more.
Can the minister tell this House how she has done that?
93 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for London West for her advocacy for seniors in her riding.
The member is right. We committed to ensuring seniors' eligibility for the GIS and allowances would not be impacted by receiving pandemic benefits. The House yesterday unanimously passed Bill C-12. I want to take this opportunity to thank every member in the House for making that happen. I look forward to seeing it make its way through the other place. It is clear for seniors with the greatest needs that we will always have their backs.
97 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:10:45 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, 1.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes since Russia invaded in 2014. Now, as Russia amasses troops and armaments and threatens further invasion, the Ukrainian people need Canada more than ever. There is a looming humanitarian disaster in Ukraine, and thousands of Ukrainians are seeking refuge in Canada.
We saw this government fail to protect Afghans. We cannot let this happen again. Will the minister uphold Canada's responsibility to Ukrainians? Will the minister ensure humanitarian aid and better support for those Ukrainians who are fleeing violence?
92 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/17/22 3:11:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, there is no situation that we are more seized with right now than Ukraine, our solidarity with the Ukrainian government and the people of Ukraine. We have also been very clear that we are standing with Canadian citizens who are in Ukraine regarding any possible humanitarian crisis that could extend following a possible incursion.
Right now, however, our mission is to de-escalate Russia's total disrespect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We will stand with the people of Ukraine, whether it is militarily, through humanitarian assistance or by helping every Ukrainian who is in trouble.
99 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
