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Apr/5/22 2:11:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, two athletes from my riding truly shone at the Beijing Olympics this winter: Eliot Grondin, from Sainte‑Marie, and Marie‑Philip Poulin, from Beauceville. Having earned his ticket to Pyeongchang in 2018 at only 16 years old, Eliot has since honed his snowboard cross skills and literally rocketed through the course to stand on the podium twice, showing us his bright smile. He was already an inspiration to many young people in Beauce, and he has now become a legend. What can I say about Marie-Philip, the “Captain Clutch” of the Canadian women's hockey team? In addition to being the flag bearer, she led her team to victory in the gold medal game. With the Olympics barely over, she is already dreaming of Italy 2026. She is the best hockey player in the world. She has four Olympic medals and has won many other championships, and she is always looking ahead. That is what I call determination. I cannot help but think of their respective families and the sacrifices that have been made over the years so that they can shine. To Marie-Philip and Eliot, I want to say that Beauce is very proud of you.

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Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)

Apr/5/22 2:12:40 p.m.
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Mr Speaker, the federal vaccine mandates are hurting real people. In my riding, an aspiring young astronomer, Chloe, cannot go to the NASA space camp. She is not vaccinated, but the camp has a no-vaccine requirement. Another is Patrick, who followed public advice and got the very first vaccine available in Kazakhstan, the Russian Sputnik vaccine. He has confirmed he has antibodies and the best medical advice he has obtained is not to get another two rounds of the Pfizer vaccine. Now he cannot return to Kazakhstan to get back to work. Several constituents have come to me with heartbreaking stories of being unable to fly to funerals for family members in Canada. Some were forced to drive thousands of kilometres in order to attend this end-of-life celebration. Conservatives have been asking the NDP-Liberals for a plan on when these unjust federal mandates will end. They voted against it. We have asked for the data used to justify these measures. The transport minister has not provided it. The health minister promised to give us the documents he based his decisions on, and we are still waiting for them. All the provinces have either ended the mandates or given the public the path to end these restrictions. To end the confusion, hurt and frustration, the answer is easy: end these punitive federal mandates.

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Mr. Brendan Hanley (Yukon, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:13:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Yukon has Canada's third-largest per capita population of francophones, and the community is vibrant, engaged, diverse and growing. The francophone renaissance in Yukon started in the 1970s after the passage of Canada's Official Languages Act. Strengthened by the federal government's engagement, Yukon's francophone community has grown in every way ever since. Yukon will soon be opening a bilingual health care centre. Our third French first-language school is opening in Dawson City this fall, and enrolment in French immersion has skyrocketed. People can now hear French all over Yukon. As a francophile, I am proud to see how much progress has been made since the adoption of Canada's Official Languages Act. Bill C‑13 can take us even further by supporting our minority language communities and enhancing all of our lives.

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Ms. Laurel Collins (Victoria, NDP)

Apr/5/22 2:14:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today I want to highlight the amazing work of an organization in my riding. Rise Together was started in January 2021 by Holly Smith and Trishna Gill. They are best friends and students at Oak Bay High. They help connect the community to support local organizations doing vital work. Rise Together partners with local businesses to place donation jars at storefronts, creating an easy and accessible way for community members to donate. Each month, they bring attention to a new local initiative in need of support. Past organizations featured include the Rainbow Kitchen Society, 1Up Single Parent Resource Centre and the Victoria Women’s Transition House. They also bring the community together for charitable events. Rise Together’s most recent collaboration is an art exhibit and silent auction in support of Ukraine. It is at Fortune Gallery from May 11 to May 13, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation. I thank Holly and Trishna for exemplifying the drive, passion and contributions of today's youth.

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Ms. Andréanne Larouche (Shefford, BQ)

Apr/5/22 2:16:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this date, April 5, let us recognize everything that gets done behind the scenes in our households. A disproportionate amount of the work done by caregivers and volunteers, often called invisible work, is done by women. That is why, for the past 22 years, the AFEAS has been strongly encouraging us to take a day to reflect on what our society would be without invisible work, without all the often unacknowledged hours spent taking care of others. We are all invited to think about how best to ensure a fairer distribution of invisible work. The pandemic amplified problems related to invisible work and its mental load. The public health crisis is not yet over, and women are still on the front lines. Today, let us acknowledge that by officially designating the second Tuesday in April as national invisible work day, an opportunity to think about all of the invisible work that is done on the other 364 days of the year. Invisible work counts.

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Ms. Raquel Dancho (Kildonan—St. Paul, CPC)

Apr/5/22 2:17:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with the first NDP-Liberal budget in history coming in a few days, it is important to take stock of the world the millennial generation is inheriting. Half of us will never be able to buy a home, despite Canada being the second-largest land mass on earth. There is plenty of land to build houses. Why is it getting less and less affordable to do so? Around $300 might buy someone four small bags of groceries, despite Canada having an abundance of arable farmland that is perfect for growing food. Why is it getting more and more expensive? Today $100 barely fills the tank of a small car, despite Canada having some of the largest carbon energy reserves in the world. Gas and transportation should be cheap, yet it has never been more costly. This is the everyday life Canadian millennials are inheriting after six years of Liberal governance and its inflationary policies. Canadians cannot afford any more of this and certainly cannot afford the upcoming Liberal-NDP budget.

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Mr. Iqwinder Gaheer (Mississauga—Malton, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:18:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, many people have made the trek from the villages of Punjab to Canada to build a life. Baldev Singh Sidhu went back to Punjab so that he could build the lives of others. With a passion for fighting, he started a boxing academy in his native village of Chakar. One day a young boy, a village-born child, showed up at his door, wanting to fight to prove himself after being at odds with a fighter from the academy. Mr. Sidhu saw something in that boy, trained him and eventually adopted him as his own. Today that boy stands in our midst, now a grown man and a champion. Sukhdeep Singh Chakria, whose last name bears witness to the village from where he hails, reigns 10-0 as the Canadian middleweight champion.

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Hon. Candice Bergen (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Apr/5/22 2:20:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Thursday is fast approaching and with it we will see our first ever NDP-Liberal budget, a budget that promises a hard veer to the left with big spending and fiscal irresponsibility. Gone are the days when these Liberals followed the advice of their moderate colleagues like John Manley and Anne McLellan. Instead, their inspiration for the budget will come from the fringes of the NDP movement. Is it not true that this budget will ignore the need to address inflation and the cost of living and instead give in to the extreme demands of the NDP?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:20:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, two years ago, our government put in place an economic response plan to meet the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19. We positioned our economy to come roaring back faster and recover stronger. As of February 2022, we have recovered 112% of the jobs lost at the peak of the pandemic and we must continue now to focus on our work and create jobs and continue building a Canada where nobody gets left behind. I look forward to the tabling of the 2022 budget and presenting our plan for moving forward for all Canadians.

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Hon. Candice Bergen (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Apr/5/22 2:20:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the fact is that out-of-control spending leads to out-of-control prices. Over the last six years and with increasingly irresponsible budgets that the government delivers, more Canadians are suffering and being left behind. Canadians are much worse off today than they were six years ago. They cannot afford a house, gas or groceries. This continued irresponsible and out-of-control spending will result in more and more Canadians being unable to pay their bills. Still, the Prime Minister is doing it. Why?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:21:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the past six years we saw the economy grow. We saw hundreds of thousands of Canadians, including kids, lifted out of poverty. We have seen investments that demonstrate that at every step of the way, including through this pandemic, we had people's backs. We entered this pandemic with a strong fiscal position and we are using that fiscal firepower to support Canadians through and beyond COVID-19. Our choice, contrary to the Conservatives, was to make sure families did not have to choose between putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their heads. We will always have Canadians' backs. We will always do it responsibly in a fiscal way.

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Hon. Candice Bergen (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Apr/5/22 2:22:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the fact is that this Prime Minister continues to wedge, divide and stigmatize Canadians. On this side of the House, we believe the greatest thing we can do to unify Canadians is to make their life more affordable. We believe we should empower people so they can buy a home, fill their gas tank and put food on their table. Will the Prime Minister admit that with every budget he delivers, Canadians have become worse off? Will he listen not just to Conservatives but to moderate Liberals in his own party, say no to the NDP's extreme demands and deliver a responsible budget?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:22:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians are grateful we do not listen to Conservatives on matters of supporting Canadians. The first thing we did was lower taxes for the middle class and raise them for the wealthiest 1%. Conservatives were opposed. We increased the Canada child benefit to match the cost of living. Conservatives were opposed. We moved forward with $10-a-day child care for families across the country. Federal Conservatives opposed. We boosted the GIS for vulnerable seniors, provided more support to students and made investments in affordable housing. The Conservatives opposed each one. We will be there for Canadians.

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Mr. Luc Berthold (Mégantic—L'Érable, CPC)

Apr/5/22 2:23:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are two days away from the first NDP budget, sponsored by the Minister of Finance. It is the most left-leaning budget the Liberals have ever seen. I find it hard to believe that old-stock Liberal members are pleased to see this move toward financial irresponsibility. These big spending budgets drive up inflation, lead to higher interest rates and leave less money in taxpayers' pockets. Is it accurate to say that the Prime Minister has already chosen his camp, the NDP and its astronomical spending, at the expense of Canadians who are finding it increasingly difficult to pay their bills?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:24:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as a government, we have always been there for Canadians, and we will continue to be there. During this pandemic, we made investments to ensure that families did not have to go further into debt and that they could continue to put food on the table and support their loved ones. We will continue to be there. It is thanks to the investments we made that the Canadian economy has become so strong again and that there has been impressive job creation over the past few months. We will continue to be there in a responsible way, and I can assure the House that all the various Liberal members will support this budget.

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Mr. Luc Berthold (Mégantic—L'Érable, CPC)

Apr/5/22 2:25:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about that. The Prime Minister systematically refuses to listen to the Conservatives, who are calling for more fiscal restraint. For the good of Canada, perhaps he will listen to advice from his own party. Former finance minister Paul Martin said that, “the time to reduce deficits is when the economy is growing”. The time to act is now. The economy has generated huge revenues for the government because of inflation. Will the Prime Minister continue to take this money from the pockets of Canadians? Will he continue to spend lavishly until those pockets are empty, as he has done since 2015?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:25:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we made a commitment to always be there for Canadians. We understand that the cost of living has gone up and that the pressures on households are real. That is why we continue to support Canadians through investments in housing and support for seniors and workers. The Conservatives want to return to austerity, which will hurt Canadians. We, on the other hand, will continue to invest responsibly and prudently, while continuing to be there for Canadians, because that is what Canadians need.

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Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, BQ)

Apr/5/22 2:26:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no one believes in the Liberal government's emissions reduction plan. In fact, everyone is united in their dislike of the plan. It is not as though the minister did not try. I sincerely think he did, but his own government got in the way. What we need, though, are results. The IPCC has been clear that it is impossible to meet the targets by increasing production. Will the Prime Minister admit that his plan is doomed for failure?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Apr/5/22 2:26:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we presented a responsible plan that is one of the most ambitious of its kind. The Bloc Québécois should understand the importance of working with Quebeckers to create new economic opportunities and sustainable jobs. That is why we encourage our friends in the Bloc to talk to people like Bruno Marchand, the mayor of Quebec City, Valérie Plante, the mayor of Montreal, and the Union des municipalités, all of whom have commended our plan. Our priority is to work with Quebeckers, not to stir up quarrels, in order to provide them with clean air and a stronger economy.

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Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, BQ)

Apr/5/22 2:27:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not need to applaud his plan, because I am not asking him for a cheque. Not only is the plan scientifically unacceptable, but the government is not even trying to meet the targets. The proof is that he is subsidizing the oil industry, which, with its increased production, will ensure that levels of greenhouse gas emissions remain the same. Could he at least commit to saying no to the Bay du Nord project once and for all?

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