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

Apr/6/22 2:19:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on April 21, I will be one of the nearly two million Quebeckers who will be left feeling empty. There is a whole slew of us who will be facing a huge void every Monday through Thursday at 7 p.m., because District 31 is going off the air. We have lost Nadine and Poupou, but losing Chiasson, Gagné, Bissonnette and the rest of the team is a major blow. It is unimaginable to think that we are going to lose the thrill of playing stage manager, dictating what Luc Dionne should have written before Annie tore it apart, and having the entire production team deliver a gem that unfolds at a breakneck pace and keeps us on the edge of our seats. I thank Luc, not only for his monumental television series, but also for having given Quebeckers a nightly ritual, a chance for families to be together, a topic to discuss around the water cooler. We will chat about it again soon, in front of the fire. I would also like to thank Fabienne Larouche and Michel Trudeau, from AETIOS Productions, and Radio-Canada.

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Mr. Warren Steinley (Regina—Lewvan, CPC)

Apr/6/22 2:20:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, God looked down on his frozen tundra and said, “I need a skater,” so God made a hockey player. God said, “I need somebody strong enough to tussle with the enemy, yet sportsman enough to shake his hand when it is over, somebody not afraid to lose, but with enough heart to despise not winning,” so God made a hockey player. God said, “I need somebody to stand in front of a rush of sticks and skates, ice the bruises that show, rub the ones that do not, suit back up and do it all over again because their teammates are counting on them,” so God made a hockey player. God said, “I need somebody with enough desire to never quit, enough passion to never be good enough and enough grit to take a piece of frozen rubber to the cheek occasionally,” so God made a hockey player. God said, “I need someone who is an athlete, a warrior, unselfish, hard-working, strong-willed, sharp-eyed and quick-witted, yet human enough to look around, pause and proudly call his teammates his family,” so God made a hockey player. On the fourth anniversary, we remember our Humboldt Broncos, and I ask everyone to leave some sticks on the porch tonight just in case they need a spare one upstairs.

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Mr. Michael McLeod (Northwest Territories, Lib.)

Apr/6/22 2:21:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 600 years ago, when the Europeans claimed the Americas as their land, part of the justification they used came from the doctrine of discovery, which was a statement from the Pope at the time. It advocated for the superiority of people on the basis of national origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural difference. Why should that matter now? This seems like ancient history, yet it was addressed in both the UNDRIP and in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report. Surely, we are well past the time to throw these types of racist, illegal, immoral and false ideologies where they belong. We need to continue to advance the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report recommendations 45 to 47, to develop the royal proclamation of reconciliation, and to ensure that these concepts are not reflected in any Canadian law or policy. Hopefully, in addition to the apology from the Pope, there will be movement on eradicating this doctrine from the church as well. Mahsi.

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The Deputy Speaker

Apr/6/22 2:22:53 p.m.
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I believe there has been agreement among the parties for a moment of silence on the loss of the players in the Humboldt crash. [A moment of silence observed]

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

Apr/6/22 2:24:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, David is a 28-year-old husband and father, and is the owner of a small business that employs three people. He and his wife both work more than full-time, but he has told me that they can never afford a home. David says he feels like a failure and like he is letting his family down. Like most Canadians, David does not come from money or a rich family. Apart from winning the lottery, there is literally no chance that he will ever be able to afford a home. My question for the Prime Minister is this. What would he like to say to David?

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

Apr/6/22 2:24:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have heard from Canadians across the country, like David and others, who are facing challenges with the rising cost of living and with the crushing pressures of the housing market. That is why we are focused on supporting them. We made a promise to David, and to Canadians like him across the country, that we would have their backs through the difficult two years of the pandemic and beyond, and that is exactly what we continue to do. In tomorrow's budget, we will see significant investments in housing and in supports for families, in a way that continues to grow our economy for families from coast to coast to coast for years to come.

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

Apr/6/22 2:25:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberals' housing programs are helping no one. Young people like David are not interested in programs such as sharing the equity of their home with the government. In fact, it would appear that not many people across the country are interested. There have only been nine applications to the shared equity housing program. It is a bit of an embarrassment. In fact, the Liberals do not seem to have a solution to the housing crisis. Can the Prime Minister admit that, actually, he does not have a clue as to what to do with the housing crisis, and as long as he is Prime Minister, young people in Canada are just out of luck?

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

Apr/6/22 2:26:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in 2017, we moved forward with the first national housing strategy that brought forward significant investments in programs to support families. At the same time, we recognize that there is no one solution to the housing challenge. We need to keep moving forward with a broader array of supports that will help different families who are facing different challenges across the country. That is exactly what we have continually done. We have innovated, put forward supports and made sure that with investments that support families and ease their way into the housing market, we are going to be able to respond to this challenge.

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

Apr/6/22 2:26:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the more money the government spends, the more the cost of everything goes up. There is no doubt that tomorrow we will see an irresponsible, high-tax, high-spend budget from the NDP-Liberal coalition: one that promises to drive up inflation. The more money these guys spend, the more everything becomes more expensive. Canadians are worse off today than they were six years ago. The Prime Minister is ignoring calls for a responsible budget. He is ignoring calls for tax relief for Canadians. The only people he seems to be listening to are the NDP, and the only reason he is doing that is so he can hold power. Is that not the truth?

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

Apr/6/22 2:27:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Conservative opposition spent the first two questions telling us we needed to do more to support Canadians and then spent this question saying we are doing far too much for Canadians. We have made a commitment to have Canadians' backs while remaining fiscally responsible. That is exactly what we have done over these past six years. That is what we are going to continue to do with tomorrow's budget and with our investments in Canadians over the coming years.

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

Apr/6/22 2:28:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to public finances, the Prime Minister has even less credibility than Pinocchio. Just talk to young Canadian families who, since 2015, have literally seen their dreams of home ownership evaporate. The inflation created by this Prime Minister has made it impossible to buy a home. Houses cost twice as much and interest rates are only going to go up. Will the Prime Minister admit that his promises are empty and will he do something to give Canadians of all ages a break?

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

Apr/6/22 2:28:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for years we have been making investments to support Canadian families, to support young people who want to buy their first home, and to help families who are less fortunate pay their rent. We will continue to be there to support Canadians while remaining fiscally responsible. That is the choice we have made as a government. The Conservatives may say that we are doing too much for Canadians, but we know that we must continue to be there to support them. That is exactly what we will do for them, but also for the sake of economic growth.

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

Apr/6/22 2:29:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what approach will the Prime Minister take tomorrow? The Liberal member for Pontiac, who calls herself fiscally responsible, let slip what is really being said on the Liberal backbenches. She said, “what I am sensing from my colleagues...is that we must spend money more wisely. We have to make a dollar stretch further.” That is a harsh criticism of NDP-Liberal management. Tomorrow, will the Prime Minister be wise and responsible, or will he turn his back on his own caucus and carry on with the NDP election platform?

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

Apr/6/22 2:30:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, two years ago, we heard the same thing from the Conservatives, who criticized us for spending too much to support families, small businesses and workers during this pandemic. That is what we did, and it helped our economy come back stronger than before and regain all the jobs that were quickly shed. We will continue to be there to support families. The Conservatives want us to do less for families, but we will continue to support Canadians and be fiscally responsible.

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

Apr/6/22 2:30:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Environment and Climate Change served up a contradiction, first saying that he is waiting for environmental assessments on Bay du Nord and then talking about provincial jurisdiction. A Liberal talking about provincial jurisdiction is interesting, to say the least. For the sake of consistency and clarity, and to give a smidgen of credibility to the plan for reducing greenhouse gases, should the Prime Minister not immediately announce that he will not be approving the Bay du Nord project?

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

Apr/6/22 2:31:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nearly seven years ago, we were elected to show that economic growth and environmental protection, the fight against climate change, go hand in hand. That is exactly what we have done for several years now. This is the most ambitious and concrete plan that Canada has ever seen to reduce greenhouse gases, and it is coupled with meaningful investments to help families, help workers, make it through this period of energy transformation. We will continue to be there, proving that we understand that the economy and the environment always go together.

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

Apr/6/22 2:31:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are finding out that the Bay du Nord project is going to be or is in the process of being approved. This comes as no surprise to anyone. We are talking about one billion barrels. The IPCC harshly criticized those countries that are shirking their responsibilities. It did not name names, but we understood that it was talking about Canada. There is a major inconsistency between the government's proposed reduction plan and the increase in emissions that will result from this project. Does the Prime Minister think that the IPCC is wrong and that it made a mistake?

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

Apr/6/22 2:32:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for several years now, we have been following the science and the best recommendations of experts here in Canada and around the world to implement the most ambitious and concrete plans we have ever had as a country, in order to protect the environment, fight climate change, create economic growth and prepare for the economy of the future. We are completely transforming our economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will take time to get there, but we will be there with as much determination as Canadians expect of us all.

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Mr. Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, NDP)

Apr/6/22 2:33:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the IPCC report makes it absolutely clear that we are failing in doing enough to stop the climate crisis. Instead of presenting a real plan to fight the climate crisis, the government is doubling down on more fossil fuel subsidies with a carbon capture tax credit. Why does the government continue to insist on subsidizing wealthy oil and gas companies, instead of investing in clean energy and workers?

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

Apr/6/22 2:33:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians know what is at stake in the fight against climate change. It is why we are stepping up our climate mission by committing more than $100 billion to climate action. We are ensuring that we reduce methane emissions by 75% by 2030 and transition to a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. We are also doubling our commitment, to $5.3 billion, to help developing countries fight climate change and protect biodiversity. We will continue delivering ambitious and achievable climate action that protects our communities and builds a healthy future for everyone.

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