44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 29, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/29/22 11:32:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are finally able to travel and to see loved ones again, but there are huge delays. The passport system is broken. Canadians are waiting hours in line at passport offices, making multiple visits, only to be turned away. This week many constituents have reached out to my office desperate for help. The passport system is failing them. This is causing immense amounts of stress and anxiety.
My question is simple. Does the minister think that these delays are acceptable, and when will they be fixed?
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- Apr/29/22 11:33:25 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we know that Canadians are eager to travel again, and there has been a significant and overwhelming increase in demand for passports at all Service Canada centres across the country from those wanting in-person service. I have spoken to the minister about this and she is well aware that it is very stressful and difficult for Canadians. She has been visiting Service Canada centres throughout the country speaking to local staff. In addition, already in December, we hired 500 more passport officers to process applications.
We are using every tool that we have in our tool box at this time to improve service to Canadians for what they deserve.
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- Apr/29/22 11:34:00 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the average price of a home in Canada is $874,000 and quickly rising. For millennials looking to buy a home, the thought of buying a home is like getting that pet unicorn they dreamed of when they were children.
Will the government stop adopting policies that drive up inflation, find a common-sense solution and help millennials and young families hoping to buy a home?
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- Apr/29/22 11:34:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we agree with everyone that Canadians are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to buy a house right now.
For that reason, the budget we just presented includes major investments, including $200 million to develop and scale up rent-to-own projects, because we must give Canadians an opportunity to buy their first home. The tax-free first home savings account will also help.
On this side of the House, we take this issue seriously and we are working on several programs to address it.
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- Apr/29/22 11:35:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, how can the member opposite say that? The government is not being helpful. In fact, Ipsos says that 63% of Canadians hoping to own have given up on that hope. One couple even told me that every single broker they have spoken to has told them the first-time homebuyer program is a scam and they should not participate in it. Instead of offering common-sense solutions, the government is more concerned about prosecuting crimes on the moon.
Will the minister admit his failure, go back to the drawing board and come up with a real plan?
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- Apr/29/22 11:35:49 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
We are determined to level the playing field. Not only must we advance the right to housing, but we must also advance buyers' rights in order to ensure that the rules are fair for everyone. What we want is for everyone to have access to a home.
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- Apr/29/22 11:36:13 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Liberal-NDP government is pricing Canadians out of their own lives. Instead of coming up with solutions, it likes to refer to other countries’ inflation levels. I have some numbers for it. France is at 4.4% and Japan is at 1.2%. However, comparison does not help a millennial afford a home or give hope to Canadians who are one paycheque away from bankruptcy. It is Liberal spending that is leaving a debt load for future generations.
When will the government take responsibility for the position it has put Canadians in and cut its spending?
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- Apr/29/22 11:37:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, global inflation is having a significant impact on household budgets. While Canada's rate of inflation is below that of the U.S., Europe, the G7 and the OECD, we are continuing to focus on making life more affordable.
We are indexing important programs, such as the Canada child benefit, OAS and GIS, to the cost of living. We are implementing an economic growth plan that creates job, grows the economy and doubles the amount of residential construction so that millennials can afford their first home. We are doing this while unwinding Canada's pandemic deficits and reducing our debt-to-GDP ratio because that is the fiscally responsible thing to do.
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- Apr/29/22 11:37:37 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the cost of living continues to affect Canadians.
In rural ridings like mine, we do not have access to transit. Workers have to use a car to get to work. With rising gas prices, Canadians are having a hard time making ends meet.
The Conservative Party moved a motion to pause the carbon tax hike, but our greedy Prime Minister only sees dollar signs, not the difficulties being faced by ordinary working people.
Why is the government unwilling to give Canadians a break so they can catch up after a two-year pandemic?
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- Apr/29/22 11:38:11 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.
Obviously, increased energy costs are a result of the war in Ukraine, but the federal government is here to help Canadians deal with the rising cost of living, whether it is through subsidies for dental care, programs that make it easier to access housing, or the fact that we are helping lower the cost of child care.
We are here to help Canadians, and I would like to thank my colleague for his interest and for his question.
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- Apr/29/22 11:38:51 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, before the Liberals even presented their NDP budget, they were proudly bragging about how inflated tax revenues, from tax increases and inflation, would let them spend even more than before. They proudly announced the billions added to the national debt, yet for all that spending, they cannot explain to my constituents why food and house prices will only continue to rise. The Liberals point their fingers away from themselves.
Is the government ever going to connect the dots and see that its continued high spending means higher costs of basic necessities for hard-working Canadians?
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- Apr/29/22 11:39:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the leader of the Conservative Party herself has already admitted that the extraordinary investments that were made over the course of the pandemic were necessary to protect Canadian families and Canadian workers.
Our plan has worked. In fact, we have maintained the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 while growing the economy and recovering 115% of jobs lost due to COVID-19. Canada was able to do this because of our prudent fiscal management. It is now time to unwind the pandemic deficits and continue to grow our economy while reducing our debt-to-GDP ratio. This is what good fiscal managers do, and it is going to allow us to make Canada and life—
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- Apr/29/22 11:40:12 a.m.
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The hon. member for Thornhill.
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- Apr/29/22 11:40:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, aggressive rate hikes are coming and that is because the government continues to spend recklessly. Here is what that means for an average Canadian. If they are lucky enough to buy a house for the $800,000 that it costs, with a 2% mortgage they are paying about $3,400 a month for mortgage payments. The potential of a 3% rate hike means $3,400 turns into $5,200.
Why is the government drowning Canadian homeowners in the debt of tomorrow to pay for the pet projects of today?
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- Apr/29/22 11:40:50 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we just recently had an election where the Conservatives committed to spending more than what we proposed. They pretend to be good fiscal managers, but this is impossible if they are not committed to evidence-based decision-making.
Our government will lower our debt-to-GDP ratio every single year for the next five years. Unlike the Conservatives, we will do this while fighting climate change, investing in housing affordability and building a Canadian economy of the future alongside our indigenous partners.
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- Apr/29/22 11:41:21 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, these are tough times for local and regional newspapers. Even as they grapple with challenges brought on by online competition, they have to contend with changing habits as “Publisac”, the plastic bag used for door-to-door flyer distribution, fades from view. Across most of Quebec, the unassuming Publisac is how our regional newspapers are distributed because Canada Post charges exorbitant rates for delivery.
Given the ongoing decline of Publisac, Canada Post needs to be ready to take over and deliver local and regional papers at special rates.
I have talked about this with the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who was very open and told me he would take care of it. He even made a media announcement the day after our conversation. I would like an update because this is a pressing issue for our press.
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- Apr/29/22 11:42:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Bill C-18 is good news for small media. Thanks to collective bargaining, small media will be able to make agreements. We wrote into the law that tech giants would have to make those agreements with a diversity of media, not just the big ones.
Local media are essential to so many communities, and we will support them through budget 2022, which I hope the Bloc will support. We added $50 million in the last budget to support small media.
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- Apr/29/22 11:42:35 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really liked the parliamentary secretary's answer, but it was a good answer to a question I did not ask. The answer had nothing to do with the question.
Local and regional news has been dwindling before our very eyes for the past 20 years. This did not become a crisis overnight. I am not talking about digital media; I am talking about the distribution of local and regional weekly papers.
Given the impending situation and the gradual disappearance of Publisac, every dollar that a weekly paper needs to spend on Canada Post delivery is one less dollar it can spend on the newsroom. Every newspaper carrier who will have to be hired, all the effort put into distribution, that is effort that will no longer be put into newsrooms and the essential news the paper can print. This is very worrisome.
When will the minister announce special rates for Canada Post to deliver our weekly papers?
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- Apr/29/22 11:43:32 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. We completely agree that local media needs to be supported through programs like the Canada periodical fund.
As the member knows, Canada Post is a Crown corporation that is at arm's length from the government. Canada Post makes its own decisions on delivery and fees.
However, the government will work with Canada Post to do what it can and also support local media.
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- Apr/29/22 11:44:00 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, misuse of taxpayers' money, sexual harassment and special treatment for wealthy tax dodgers. No, this is not a Liberal cabinet meeting but rather misdeeds at the CRA that were exposed by whistle-blowers, whistle-blowers who have been public exposed by the very person in government who is meant to protect them.
Will the President of the Treasury Board do the right thing and commit to ensuring every single one of these whistle-blowers is protected from retribution by the government for exposing this scandal?
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