44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2022 11:00AM
- May/2/22 2:40:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, immigration is essential to our economy.
As the member opposite knows, Quebec sets its own immigration targets. Last year the province welcomed over 50,000 new permanent residents. This year Quebec has increased its immigration targets significantly, which will help reduce wait times.
We will always work very closely with the Quebec government to ensure that the immigration system continues to work for Quebeckers and Canadians.
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- May/2/22 2:41:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they cannot even name the problem, so it will be really difficult to solve it.
There is a backlog of 29,000 files, and there are court cases that have been dragging on for 13 years. These are people. They are not files; they are people. That is what the Prime Minister is forgetting in his quarrel with Quebec.
The federal government has proven, year after year, that it is either incapable of taking care of these people or does not consider this issue important enough to do better.
Why not simply give Quebec the power to manage its own immigration?
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- May/2/22 2:41:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would again like to thank the member for the question, but he is well aware that Quebec sets the selection criteria for immigrants coming to Quebec, and that includes language skills.
Immigration is crucial and, as I have already told the member, we have welcomed more than 50,000 new permanent residents to the province. Quebec and Canada are working together to welcome more immigrants here, in Canada.
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- May/2/22 2:42:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Ottawa must also give Quebec the power to manage temporary foreign workers.
Each year, the federal government creates delays by forcing every business to produce labour market studies that already exist. Quebec already produces them for all of its economic sectors. Quebec could simply apply them to temporary foreign workers by integrating them into its labour strategy. It is as easy as that.
When will the federal government stop burdening our businesses and transfer the management of temporary foreign workers to Quebec?
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- May/2/22 2:43:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec reaps significant benefits from the Canada—Quebec accord on immigration.
In fact, Quebec selects 74% of permanent immigrants. It sets the criteria, including knowledge of French. Quebec also determines the profiles for temporary foreign workers and foreign students, including their knowledge of the French language. In 2020-2021 alone, we sent nearly $700 million to Quebec to help integrate immigrants, which includes French-language learning.
We are working together despite the fact that the Bloc would like to stir up trouble where there is none. We are working well together.
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- May/2/22 2:43:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we cannot trust these Liberals. They tell hopeful millennials who make good wages and are stuck in their parents' basement, time after time, that they will act on housing affordability.
Let us take blind bidding. These Liberals promised that they would ban it. Outside of making it a criminal offence, it is clearly an area that is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. Will the minister admit today that their election promise to ban blind bidding in the last election was false right from the start, or are they planning to start criminalizing real estate agents who take blind bids on behalf of their clients?
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- May/2/22 2:44:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.
We on this side of the House are well aware that the dream that Canadians have of owning a home is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. One of the many measures in our budget is about working on a home buyers' bill of rights in collaboration with the provinces and territories, because on this side of the House, we believe that housing is a right, and that is what we want to work on.
I would encourage the member and all his colleagues to vote for the measures in budget 2022. That is leadership.
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- May/2/22 2:44:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada now has the third highest inflation rate in the G7 at 6.7%.
What this means for Canadians, in concrete terms, is that if they did not get a 6.7% wage increase in the past year, they became poorer. On top of that, the cost of groceries has gone up 8.7% over the past year, and that is the second highest rate in the G7. It seems as though the minister is wearing rose-coloured glasses while making her budget forecasts. Obviously, it is not working.
When will she change her approach and start acting for Canadians?
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- May/2/22 2:45:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.
I am glad the Conservatives are finally admitting that inflation is really a global phenomenon. Canadians understand that very well. The latest inflation rate reported for Canada was 6.7%. In the United States, it is 8.5%. For the OECD, it is 7.7% and for the eurozone, it is 7.3%.
Putin and COVID-19 caused inflation.
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- May/2/22 2:46:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, housing affordability in Canada is so bad that it is now affecting our military families. It is so bad in CFB Trenton, Canada’s largest air force base, in my riding, that currently 360 families are on a waiting list for housing on the base. Military families that cannot afford homes in the community now do not have anywhere to live, and this is affecting our ability to retain and attract military personnel.
My question for the Minister of Defence is this: How much of the $15 billion in the budget for the military is going to create housing for our Canadian military families?
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- May/2/22 2:47:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are making critical, major investments in personnel, equipment and infrastructure that will support continental defence, will support military families, and will support equipment and resources for the Canadian Armed Forces. We agree that the lives of military families, as well as CAF personnel themselves, are of the utmost importance. That is why budget 2022 committed $8 billion toward increased defence spending, and that is on top of a 70% increase under “Strong, Secure, Engaged”.
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- May/2/22 2:47:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a scathing report from the environment commissioner showed that Infrastructure Canada is no longer accurately tracking emissions for the projects it funds. Local communities depend on this data. They are on the front lines of climate change and are committed to meeting climate targets. They need the federal government to provide reliable information, as well as the stable funding they have been requesting.
How can the Liberal government claim to support local communities when it is not even tracking the climate impacts of the infrastructure it funds?
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- May/2/22 2:48:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we welcome the findings of the commissioner's report. We believe, like him, that Canada should always do better when it comes to fighting climate change.
Specifically on infrastructure, we are doing things that have never been seen before in Canada, such as using infrastructure dollars to invest in nature-based solutions. All across the country, this is one of the best ways not only to fight climate change but to mitigate the impacts of climate change and adapt to those impacts.
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- May/2/22 2:49:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Peguis First Nation is once again facing devastating flooding and unprecedented water levels, with 900 people evacuated and over 600 homes impacted.
In 2009 and 2011, the Manitoba NDP government and the federal government supported Peguis. Today, the situation is worse. This is a climate emergency. Peguis needs support now, including from the military, which has stepped up for first nations during emergencies.
Will the federal government work with Peguis and the province to ensure they get all the help they need, including urgent military support now?
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- May/2/22 2:49:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned that Peguis First Nation is experiencing flooding events again this year.
They have been impacted significantly by previous flooding, and their communities have been working to rebuild their homes and their community. The Canadian Red Cross and Indigenous Services Canada are working with Chief Hudson to evacuate residents as required. We will continue to work with the community to ensure that they have the resources and supports they need, as this is an active event.
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- May/2/22 2:50:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, francophones outside Quebec need strong institutions to help their communities grow and prosper. Francophones in Sudbury and northern Ontario would like to see the University of Sudbury return to its francophone roots as an autonomous French-language university under the principle of governance by and for the francophone community.
Can the Minister of Official Languages tell the House how this government is turning that dream into reality?
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- May/2/22 2:50:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her important question.
Our government understands that we need to invest in the institutions that support our official language minority communities, in particular the French-language education system. Last Friday, I had the privilege of joining my colleagues from Nickel Belt and Sudbury in announcing that our government will contribute over $2 million to the University of Sudbury. This money will strengthen the university's capacity and ensure it has the right tools to train the next generation of francophone leaders.
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- May/2/22 2:51:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, around the world there is consensus that we are moving into the endemic phase of COVID-19. Unfortunately, federal employees continue to be left behind. In Canada, federal mandates persist and many employees are losing their jobs because of their personal choice. This would include approximately 1,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who we now know cannot find housing, at a time when recruitment and retention are already at an alarmingly low rate.
On which date is the government going to give Canadians a federal plan to lift these mandates?
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- May/2/22 2:52:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, having a vaccinated workforce makes our workforce and our communities safer. We asked employees of the federal public service to attest to their vaccination status and they stepped up: 99% of public servants have attested to being fully vaccinated. We are currently reviewing this policy and will be back to Parliament to share our decision.
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- May/2/22 2:52:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at the health committee, Dr. Isaac Bogoch stated that this complicated science the Minister of Health keeps referring to with respect to mandates could be summarized in one page. We also heard again that there is going to be a regular review of these mandates. Where is it?
When is the Prime Minister going to be transparent and make us all aware of the scientific benchmarks and government reviews, and release Canadians who have disagreed with him from these vindictive and overly punitive mandates?
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