44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 23, 2022 02:00PM
- Mar/23/22 2:47:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the cost-of-living crisis continues to affect the day-to-day life of the people of Beauce. Record inflation is making it difficult for Canadians to make ends meet.
The price of gas in Beauce has now risen to more than $1.80 a litre. There is no public transit in my riding, so the impact is even greater.
Will this NDP-Liberal government vote with us after question period to eliminate the GST and help Canadians and businesses take back control of their lives?
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- Mar/23/22 2:47:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge my hon. colleague's question. We realize that Canadians are facing rising prices at the pumps. As my colleague knows, energy prices are rising as a result of the tragic war in Ukraine.
We also know that the Conservative plan would not work because there is no guarantee that cutting the GST would result in a direct transfer to Canadians.
On this side of the House, we are going to rely on real solutions, not on half-baked Conservative suggestions.
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- Mar/23/22 2:48:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we all know who is hurting the economy the most. It is the Prime Minister and his Liberal government, and they now have blind support from the NDP. They have spent the most to achieve the least and have no intention of balancing the budget.
Since the government was first elected, our great country has gradually lost its wealth and Canada's middle class is shrinking. Now its failure to control spending has driven the cost of living to record heights. When will the NDP-Liberal government give Canadians a break and cancel the planned taxes on April 1?
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- Mar/23/22 2:48:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us set forth some facts. There was $511 billion invested in Canadians during the height of the pandemic, and more than three million jobs have been recovered since the height of the pandemic.
The inflation that we are experiencing is a global phenomenon. We will keep focusing on affordability. While the Conservatives fight among themselves to pick a leader, we are going to focus on Canadians and putting more money in their pockets.
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- Mar/23/22 2:49:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is presiding over Canada's highest inflation rate in a generation, which has been fuelled by structural deficits that were baked in before COVID, out-of-control spending, monetary expansion, and an ever-increasing carbon tax.
The Bank of Canada recently confirmed that the carbon tax alone is responsible for driving up inflation by nearly half a per cent. Will the NDP–Liberal government commit today to cancelling this year's carbon tax increase and give consumers a break?
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- Mar/23/22 2:50:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, speaking of giving Canadians a break, let us talk about provinces where carbon pricing is being applied by the federal government. In Ontario, households will receive $745. In Manitoba, they will receive $830. In Saskatchewan it will be $1,100, and it will be almost as much in Alberta.
Carbon pricing is working for Canadians to reduce emissions. The Conservatives have no plan whatsoever to fight climate change.
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- Mar/23/22 2:50:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over 3.6 million people have fled Putin's destruction in Ukraine. They are desperately trying to unite with friends and family, and find safety, including here in Canada. Even though older identity documents are supposed to be recognized in the fast track visa process, Ukrainians with an older internal passport are unable to complete the government's online application process. My constituent is having a hard time getting a visa for his 83-year-old mother.
Will the minister take swift action to ensure older identity documents are recognized through the government's online emergency visa application process?
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- Mar/23/22 2:51:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her sincere concern for the well-being of those who are fleeing the unimaginable circumstances in Ukraine.
We have now seen more than 10,000 Ukrainians arrive in Canada since the beginning of this calendar year, and we are going to continue to do more to promote and facilitate the safe transport of people to Canada as quickly as possible. With respect to outdated travel documents, we contemplated this possibility during the program design, and we are working to issue single journey travel documents for those who do not have a valid passport.
I will be pleased to continue to work with any member of this House who identifies problems along the way because, as this system develops for the first time, we want to make sure it continues to operate smoothly to welcome as many people here as quickly as possible.
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- Mar/23/22 2:52:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Ukrainians are fleeing horrific attacks in their country and they are vulnerable. They are seniors. They are mothers with children. The open work permit will not help these people because they may not be able to work. Mothers will need access to day care, and they will need money to pay for it. In many cases, they may not want to leave their children, who have been deeply traumatized.
Canada must provide air and ground transportation to help Ukrainians get to Canada and then support them when they are here. This is urgent. Will the minister commit immediately to financial support for Ukrainians when they arrive in Canada?
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- Mar/23/22 2:52:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her advocacy for the well-being of those fleeing Ukraine. With respect to her point regarding the open work permit, I would like to point out that nearly 80% of those who have applied to come through the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel have also applied for the open work permit, which we have made them eligible for.
With respect to supports for people to get here and once they land, we are working right now with non-profit partners, private sector donors and airlines to sort out some of the very issues she raised in her question. We are working around the clock across ministries, with partners, with provincial jurisdictions, and on the ground in Canadian communities, so we can maximize the extraordinary goodwill we are seeing coming from Canadians who want to do their part.
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- Mar/23/22 2:53:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, rising inflation is presenting real challenges for my constituents in Scarborough Centre, especially seniors on fixed incomes and families with young children already challenged by high housing prices. The rising cost of groceries and other daily necessities is making it harder for families to put healthy and nutritious food on the table for their children.
Could the Associate Minister of Finance please tell us what the government is doing to help families that are having to make difficult choices between healthy food and paying rent?
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- Mar/23/22 2:54:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Scarborough Centre for her exceptional work on this file. Thanks to the historic investments in budget 2021, and thanks to the incredible work of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, we now have early learning and child care agreements with nine provinces and three territories.
This means that across the country Canadians are already saving over $5,000 a year. These are savings for families in B.C., Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and my own province of Alberta. We continue to work hard every day to make high-quality child care affordable for all Canadians.
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- Mar/23/22 2:54:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians who choose to join Ukraine's foreign legion would do so at great risk to themselves. They should not have to worry about being prosecuted in Canada. According to the Foreign Enlistment Act, it is against the law for a Canadian to fight against a friendly foreign state, but the act contains no definition or list regarding who is a friendly foreign state.
Could the Attorney General of Canada clearly state that, for the purposes of this act, Russia is not considered a friendly foreign state?
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- Mar/23/22 2:55:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously we know Ukraine is at war and that we need to make sure we help Ukraine defend itself.
Now, I have been clear, and the travel advisory on Canada's website is clear, that we need to make sure that, if people are in Ukraine, they need to shelter. At the same time, we have been clear since February 1 that, should Canadians be in Ukraine, they should be leaving the country. We have been clear also that Canadians should not go to Ukraine.
That being said, we know this is a personal choice on the part of many Canadians, and I look forward to working with my colleague on this issue.
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- Mar/23/22 2:56:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope we will get some clarity at some point on that specific question.
A defining challenge for democracies in many parts of the world is energy security. Fuelling democracy and protecting the international rules-based order requires Canada to step up and do our part to help our partners kick Putin's gas out of their supply chains.
Does the NDP-Liberal government recognize that supplying energy to fellow democracies is critical for global security?
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- Mar/23/22 2:56:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the current situation in Ukraine underscores the importance of energy security of our allies in Europe and around the world. Our country is in a secure position in terms of energy supply, and as Europe works to address the geopolitical and social economic challenges presented by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are considering all measures to preserve energy supply chains in Canada, and where possible, worldwide.
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- Mar/23/22 2:57:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the operations committee, Public Works admitted that the government might delay the selection of a replacement fighter jet for an additional 12 months, because apparently six years' delay is not enough.
When we asked Public Works if it had received any direction from the Liberal-NDP government to speed up the process in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the answer was a simple nope.
What is the government's plan for our air force in this time of crisis, to go shopping on eBay for more gently used CF-18s?
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- Mar/23/22 2:57:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has been strong and consistent in delivering on its promise to replace Canada's existing fighter jet fleet through an open, fair and transparent process. We are delivering real progress and purchasing 88 advanced fighter jets for our Canadian military. This is a rigorous assessment process.
We are going to continue to support the Royal Canadian Air Force in its efforts to keeps Canadian safe, with equipment that meets its standards, and we are going to do this in a very responsible way.
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- Mar/23/22 2:58:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to say that Canada is back, but last week I was in Poland at the Ukrainian border and Canada was nowhere to be found.
Thousands of Ukrainian refugees are flooding through border towns like Medyka, where they are given humanitarian aid from around the world, including from countries as small as Uzbekistan. Other nations are doing their part, but Canada has almost no presence on the ground. The only maple leaf one could find was the one on my jacket.
Why is the Liberal-NDP government offering no visible support to the Ukrainian people in their time of need?
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- Mar/23/22 2:59:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I respectfully disagree with the member. In fact, I and other members were actually on the ground as well, where I visited Poland, Moldova, Romania and other countries involved.
In fact, we not only have a team on the ground coordinating with the U.S.A, the EU and the United Nations, we have been having daily conversations to make sure humanitarian support is getting to the right people.
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