44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 2, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/2/22 2:59:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I repeat, our government has done more than any other to help our agricultural producers. We invested $4 billion to support them last year. That is unprecedented.
Recently, $1.5 billion was invested in all our agri-environmental initiatives. I can assure the House that our agricultural producers know they are part of the solution in the fight against climate change because they are the first to feel the impact.
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- Jun/2/22 2:59:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government literally just stole $342 million from Quebec. It promised to give Quebec leftover money from the public transit infrastructure fund and the clean water and wastewater fund. It is right there in black and white in the Canada-Quebec infrastructure agreement the feds signed in 2018.
On Monday, however, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities plainly stated he has no intention of honouring the agreement.
Will he backtrack immediately and announce his intention to give Quebec the $342 million he owes us?
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- Jun/2/22 3:00:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, our government and our minister are committed to getting funds out for transit and infrastructure right across this country, including in Quebec. However, the minister has been clear that Quebec needs to put forward the project, which we can then support.
We are committed to our agreements and ensuring that Quebec has the amounts that have been promised, but they need to step up and identify those projects. We will ensure that transit and infrastructure continue to be built right across this country.
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- Jun/2/22 3:00:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, an agreement is something to be honoured. Not only is Ottawa taking away $342 million from Quebec, but it is threatening to take away another $4 billion by unilaterally changing the deadline for infrastructure projects.
The signed agreement gave Quebec until 2025 to submit projects. Ottawa is shortening that to 2023. This means that if Quebec does not submit all of its projects in the next 10 months, when it should have three years to do so, Ottawa could deprive us of $4 billion. This shows a total lack of respect for Quebeckers. It is our money.
Will the government keep its promises and give this money to Quebec?
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- Jun/2/22 3:01:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have not cut a single cent for transit or infrastructure in Quebec. These projects need to be identified. The Quebec government should tell us what its priorities are. Then we will happily move forward on these agreements.
This is about Canadian taxpayers' investments in transit and infrastructure right across this country. We want to ensure that those projects are identified and this money can roll out across Quebec to ensure that it has the transit and infrastructure it needs.
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- Jun/2/22 3:02:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have seen democratic decline in Canada under the Liberals, and this is no more true than with the Winnipeg lab documents. NDP members have completely betrayed themselves and the promises they made in the last election. It turns out that this coalition is serving up the worst of both parties: The Liberals are adopting NDP economics and the NDP is adopting the Liberals' culture of secrecy.
Why is the NDP-Liberal government blocking Parliament’s access to these documents?
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- Jun/2/22 3:02:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have a different definition of “blocking”. The truth is that the opposition Conservatives asked to look at these documents and were given the opportunity at NSICOP, but they did not want to take the opportunity, which is fine. We provided another mechanism that was based on the same mechanism they used for Afghan detainees. It was a system Mr. Harper and many of those in his caucus then, who are here today, thought was a good system. We agreed; we offered it.
I would ask the member opposite why he is refusing to look at these documents. It is a very bizarre thing to stand up and demand to look at something we are trying to show him.
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- Jun/2/22 3:03:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not just these documents. That is just one of many actions being taken by the NDP-Liberal coalition government.
Let me give other examples. Ministers can now end democratic debate without notice, just at will. In addition to that, of course, documents are being refused to be granted with regard to the study of the Emergencies Act. In addition to that, the members opposite are now moving Bill C-11, which would shut down our ability to use the Internet with freedom. It would control what we can see, what we can hear and what we can post online.
Why is the government so determined to kill democracy?
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- Jun/2/22 3:04:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was in the opposition when Stephen Harper was the prime minister. I recall an over 200-page handbook on how to frustrate committees, shut down the House and obstruct process. I find it—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/2/22 3:04:28 p.m.
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I am sure everybody wants to hear the answer to that question.
I will ask the hon. government House to start from the top, please.
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- Jun/2/22 3:05:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that brings me to the question of these documents. Again, not only can they see the documents, but we said that if they want to challenge the redactions, they can do so to an independent panel of jurists, who will make a decision on what can be made public. Yes, they can look at them. Yes, they can challenge the redactions if they want them to be public. Excuse me for being confused as to why they are getting upset when I am saying yes, they can.
Come and look at the documents; they are available. There is a process they can participate in. Other parliamentarians are participating in it. I think they are confusing themselves with the previous government.
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- Jun/2/22 3:05:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in Stockholm is the global authority on evaluating the performance of democracies. It provides objective analysis on the health of democracies. In the key category of checks on government, Canada’s score has dropped precipitously since 2015. We are now lower than the United States and every single country in western Europe. Weakening checks on government power is weakening Canadian democracy, and international experts are noticing.
When will the government face up to the problem it is causing and commit to reversing democratic decline in Canada?
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- Jun/2/22 3:06:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about some of the things we do not do. What we do not do is use parliamentary secretaries in committee to control committees and not allow members to ask questions. That is what the members on the opposite side did. They frustrated committees and used parliamentary secretaries to shut down debate and not allow democratic processes to work. It was command and control all the time, 24-7.
Instead, what we have said, and again this line of questioning confuses me, is that if they want to look at documents, we have offered not only one but two separate processes. They have an opportunity to challenge redactions to make them public.
They do not get to decide what goes public. We do not get to decide what goes public. National security needs to be independently protected.
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- Jun/2/22 3:07:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's aerospace industry is a world leader and a major asset to the entire Quebec and Canadian economy. The government continues to support the aerospace industry with concrete action because we know that it is the right thing to do.
Can the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry provide us with an update on the impact that our support is having on the industry, the supply chain, and, most importantly, the aerospace workers?
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- Jun/2/22 3:07:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his excellent question and for the hard work that he does every day for the entire region.
I was pleased for all aerospace workers to announce that our government has awarded an $800 million contract to Bell Textron in Mirabel, Quebec, to extend the life of the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet of 85 Griffon helicopters until 2030.
This is great news for Mirabel workers, great news for Quebec, and great news for Canada's aerospace industry as a whole.
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- Jun/2/22 3:08:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, budget 2022 allocates $25 million to the continued mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app, yet it failed to extend important tourism recovery programs for businesses that still needed the help. The government has been warned that the ArriveCAN app is impacting travel to Canada.
What is more important to the Liberal-NDP government: funding ArriveCAN, which clogs up our borders and deters visits, or scraping this app to help achieve tourism recovery in Niagara and throughout Canada?
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- Jun/2/22 3:09:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the pandemic, our government's focus has been the health and safety of Canadians. The most recent data indicates that the omicron wave has passed its peak, allowing us to move toward a longer-term approach to managing COVID.
As we have said since the beginning of the pandemic, Canada's border measures will remain flexible and adaptable, guided by science and prudence.
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- Jun/2/22 3:09:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the affordability crisis increasingly means that there are two kinds of families in Canada: families who own homes and families who never will. Gimmicks such as the first-time homebuyer incentive have failed to improve access to home ownership, while taxes, red tape and ridiculously long development timelines chase private capital out of construction, limit supply and lead to ever-increasing prices.
When will the minister admit that cheap gimmicks and talking points do not build houses?
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- Jun/2/22 3:10:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right. One of the key tools to making sure that there is more supply for Canadians is to actually invest in housing supply. That is exactly what the housing accelerator fund is about. We will invest $4 billion in municipal governments to make sure that we invest in their systems so they can build more supply and they can build more supply faster.
We also banned foreign ownership of Canadian residential real estate for two years so we can free up more houses for Canadians to purchase. We are also putting together different programs to enable first-time homebuyers to access their dreams of home ownership. That is what federal leadership looks like. It is one thing to talk about doing something. It is another thing to actually get the job done.
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- Jun/2/22 3:10:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last year, Canadian banks made record-breaking profits and paid out massive bonuses to their executives, but they then raised fees for Canadians already struggling to get by. Big banks are now shutting local branches in smaller communities all across the country, including CIBC branches in Pefferlaw and Brechin, the Scotiabank in Cannington, and many others. With these closures, rural residents, especially seniors, are left with no suitable options to do their banking.
Is this just another example of Liberals leaving rural Canadians behind in small towns?
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