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Mrs. Kelly Block (Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, CPC)

Jun/7/22 10:10:23 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of presenting two petitions this morning. The first petition is calling on members of Parliament to do all they can to prevent the current government from revoking the charitable status of pro-life organizations in Canada. The petitioners are concerned that this policy, outlined in the Liberal Party's election platform, will eventually be extended to other entities that do not align with the Liberals' ideology.

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Mrs. Kelly Block (Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, CPC)

Jun/7/22 10:11:22 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, freedom of conscience is a fundamental right, clearly articulated in section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I have the honour to present a petition signed by hundreds of citizens from across Canada calling on Parliament to protect the conscience rights of medical professionals from coercion or intimidation to provide or refer patients for assisted suicide or euthanasia. I thank these Canadians for their engagement on this important issue.

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Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Jun/7/22 10:11:27 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, it is great to see you back in the chair. I am really honoured to present this petition on behalf of constituents of mine. They are citing that Canada's electoral system, from its very inception, has been a first-past-the-post system, unfairly resulting in either a Liberal or a Conservative government, and that proportional representation is a principle that says that the percentage of seats a party has in a legislature should reflect the percentage of people who voted for that party. The petitioners highlight the 2021 election results, where the Liberals, with 32%, won 160 seats; the Conservatives, with 33%, won 119 seats; the Bloc, with 7%, won 32 seats; and the NDP, with 17%, won 25 seats. As well, they cite that many other countries, such as Germany, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand and the Netherlands, have progressed from a first-past-the-post system to a PR system. The petitioners are calling on the government to move to a proportional representation system to bring credible representation to Canadians.

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Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP)

Jun/7/22 10:12:37 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is good to see you back in the chair and looking so hale and hearty. Welcome back. I am pleased to present, on behalf of several dozen Canadians, a petition that speaks to the lack of universal pharmacare in this country. They point out that there are nearly 10 million Canadians who do not have access to drug plans, that two million Canadians have to skimp on their medicine because they do not have the money to pay for it, and that hundreds of people die every year in Canada because they simply do not have the money to pay for their medication. Therefore, these petitioners from across Canada are calling upon the Government of Canada to pass a Canada pharmacare act legislation that would create universal, comprehensive and public pharmacare for all Canadians. Members will recall that this is part of the confidence and supply agreement that the NDP pushed and agreed to with the Liberal government.

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Hon. David McGuinty (Ottawa South, Lib.)

Jun/7/22 10:13:43 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(6), I rise to present a petition on behalf of constituents in my riding of Ottawa South. The petitioners are calling on the government to enact just transition legislation to address the climate emergency. As an environmental lawyer, I am very pleased to present this petition. I would like to thank my constituent Dr. Sarah Charron for organizing this important local effort.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Jun/7/22 10:14:17 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand. The Speaker: Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.

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Stand

The Speaker

Jun/7/22 10:14:37 a.m.
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Since today is the final allotted day for the supply period ending June 23, 2022, the House will go through the usual procedures to consider and dispose of supply bills. In view of recent practices, do hon. members agree that the bills be distributed now? Some hon. members: Agreed.

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

Jun/7/22 10:14:37 a.m.
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moved: That, given that, (i) high inflation rates are driving the cost of living up for all Canadians, (ii) the price of gasoline and diesel is hitting record-highs across Canada, making it more expensive for Canadians to get to work, transport goods, and to live their everyday lives, (iii) the price of food is up more than 9.7% since last year, making it more difficult for Canadians to put food on the table, (iv) contrary to the government's previous statements, heightened inflation is not transitory and is projected to persist, (v) the decision to continue to impose ideologically-driven COVID-19 restrictions places a barrier on growth and recovery of the Canadian economy, the transportation of goods, and by consequence, the cost of those goods, (vi) Canada has experienced the steepest decline in housing affordability in a generation, the House call on the government to provide immediate relief to Canadians by: (a) temporarily suspending the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected on gasoline and diesel; (b) suspending the carbon tax; (c) eliminating tariffs on fertilizer; (d) enabling the free flow of goods across the Canadian border, supporting the recovery of the tourism sector and protecting the jobs of federally-regulated employees by immediately removing all federal COVID-19 restrictions; and (e) curbing speculation in the housing market by immediately launching a national public inquiry into money laundering.

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Hon. Candice Bergen

Jun/7/22 10:17:27 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time this morning with the member for Mégantic—L'Érable. The Prime Minister's political vindictiveness is hurting Canadians. Since February, Conservatives have been presenting pragmatic and reasonable solutions to help Canadians who are suffering because of the affordability crisis. Instead of agreeing with us, the Prime Minister is being vindictive, and he thinks he is hurting Conservatives politically by saying no to our proposals, when in fact he is punishing Canadians with his petty political vengeance. This is his last chance before the summer adjournment to listen to what Conservatives have been saying and to take action for Canadians who are suffering with the high cost of food, fuel and housing. The Liberals need a reality check, so here are some facts they might want to consider—

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The Speaker

Jun/7/22 10:18:24 a.m.
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I am just going to interrupt the hon. member. I believe we have a translation issue.

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Mr. Yves Perron

Jun/7/22 10:18:28 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the interpreter is saying something about the Larsen effect, but I do not know what that is. However, it is affecting the interpretation. An hon. member: It has to do with the earpieces.

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The Speaker

Jun/7/22 10:18:50 a.m.
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We have a problem with the pickup. The earpiece is maybe too close to the microphone and we are getting feedback. How about if we start right from the beginning so that everyone can hear what the hon. member has to say.

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Hon. Candice Bergen

Jun/7/22 10:18:58 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would let the House know I will be splitting my time, so I will continue from the beginning. The Prime Minister's political vindictiveness is hurting Canadians. Since February, Conservatives have been presenting pragmatic and reasonable solutions to help Canadians who are suffering because of the affordability crisis. Instead, the Prime Minister is being vindictive, and he thinks he is hurting Conservatives politically by saying no to our proposals. In fact, he is punishing Canadians with petty political vengeance. This is the last chance before the summer adjournment to listen to what Conservatives have been saying and to take action for Canadians who are suffering with the high cost of food, fuel and housing. The Liberals need a reality check, so here are some facts they might want to consider. Canadians are paying record high gas prices. Housing costs have had their biggest increase in a generation. The dream of owning a home is withering away for young Canadians. Food prices are up 9.7% this year alone. These are the realities that Canadians are facing, but instead of working to help, the government has the gall to hike taxes and drive the cost of living even higher. The solutions that Conservatives have been offering for months to deal with this crisis are not radical ideas; they are common-sense ideas. When gas prices started to increase, we asked that the government suspend the GST on fuel to give Canadians a break. Provinces were doing it, and we believed the federal government could offer help too. The Prime Minister said “no”. We asked for relief for Canadians by suspending the carbon tax on April 1. Again, the Prime Minister said “no”. He thinks he can score political points with his friends at the UN, maybe, by making Canadians pay record-high gas prices. He thinks he can hurt Conservatives by acting like we are being careless, but that is just not true. It is clear the Prime Minister is saying no because of politics: It is because it is Conservatives who are asking. It is our idea. The fact is that in both cases his vindictiveness did not hurt us, but it did hurt Canadians. This attitude is incredibly disheartening and it is failing the people who need help the most. It ignores the facts that single parents are not able to fill up their cars and that seniors are struggling to pay for groceries and rent. We must keep in mind that the cost of living crisis does not affect the Prime Minister at all. He does not pay for his own gas. He does not pay for his own food. He does not have to worry about standing in line anywhere. Conservatives have also been asking that the tariff on fertilizer be removed so that our farmers and producers are not punished for using the tools they need to work effectively. Again, the Prime Minister said no to this, at the expense of farmers who have been working tirelessly through the pandemic to keep food on our tables. Conservatives have also consistently been asking the Prime Minister to listen to science and to experts who say that vaccine mandates are no longer required. We have asked that he return to pre-COVID normal in order to allow Canadians to travel unobstructed, to help our hurting tourism sector and to let Canadians get back to their pre-COVID normal. Again, he said no to Conservatives, thinking he was hurting us, but saying no to Canadians is causing irreparable damage to Canadians. To him, it does not matter that we are not the only ones asking that these restrictions be lifted. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce agrees with us. The Toronto Airport Authority has called for an end to the restrictions. There are the Hotel Association of Canada and the Canadian Tourism and Travel Roundtable. The CEO of WestJet has asked for it as well as the Canadian Airports Council, just to name a few. It does not matter to the Prime Minister. It does not matter what experts say: what doctors, scientists or public health officials say. All that matters to the Prime Minister is that he seize on these issues so that he can wedge, stigmatize and divide Canadians and try to hurt Conservatives. This is probably the most egregious example of his pettiness, his vindictiveness and his hypocrisy. He travels around the world, and travels around North America today as we speak. He travels to countries without restrictions, enjoying their freedoms, having a good time, hanging out, eating, drinking and partying a little with people who may not be vaccinated. There are no masks on. We have all seen the pictures of the Prime Minister maskless in every country that he has visited over the past year while at the same time telling his own citizens, telling Canadians, they must abide by domestic restrictions that are incredibly draconian and completely out of date. The Prime Minister's forced restrictions at home in Canada, while he flaunts his personal freedoms abroad, are theatrics and astounding hypocrisy. For months, we have been on working on this side to bring solutions to these problems and these challenges. I invite Canadians, and I invite everyone in the House, to go back and look at our record and at the reasonable things that we have been offering. We could have moved all kinds of partisan motions. Even today, we could have presented motions that would have put the Liberals, and even the NDP and the Bloc, in a difficult position. We have not done that, because we want to offer solutions to Canadians. We want to unite Canadians around things that make life more affordable for them, that allow them to visit their families and allow them to be able to go back to work. These are things that unite. These are the things that Conservatives have been offering. What does the Prime Minister do? He says no, and all for political gain. While we call for action on gas prices and everyday expenses, unfortunately Canadians are paying higher costs. Parents should not be forced to choose between enrolling their kids in sports and putting food on their tables. They should not be forced to rack up mountains of debt just to pay for basic groceries. Young people should be optimistic and see Canada as a place of opportunity. Instead, a recent RBC report has shown that younger Canadians are actually losing money every single month, especially if they live in a big city. However, the Prime Minister and his government have made it clear that they are more interested in vindictive and petty politics than in actually helping Canadians. At every turn, the Prime Minister has rejected our proposals because he thinks that it helps him politically by hurting Conservatives. While he is focused on scoring points, he is leaving Canadians behind. Canadians are the ones who are being forced to make sacrifices while he sits back and enjoys the praise of his Liberal friends, and I guess his Liberal caucus likes all of it, as well. Today, we are offering our own omnibus motion of sorts. It is a motion that would give Canadians a break and get their lives back to normal. We do not think that is too much to ask for. We are calling on our colleagues on the NDP and Bloc side to help us help Canadians. They have a chance today to put Canadians first. Our message to our friends in the Bloc and the NDP is not to vote for Conservatives, but to vote yes for Canadians. They can do the right thing, and vote yes for Canadians. The same opportunity exists for the Liberals. The Prime Minister can continue to be petty and stubborn, because boy oh boy, a lot of the things that he is doing are just pure stubbornness, or he can do the right thing and agree with our common-sense ideas for Canadians. Today, he has the chance to show leadership: to stop his childish games and stop blaming Russia, or the pandemic or whatever excuse he brings up, and recognize that Canadians need him to get to work. Instead of spending all his time and energy on wedging Canadians and trying to figure out ways to try to hurt Conservatives and make Conservatives look bad, for once the Prime Minister could look beyond his own political future. Our motion would immediately provide relief for families, seniors, farmers, small business owners and commuters who are suffering from high prices. It would give hope to Canadians who are hoping to save up for a home or to those who just want to travel and visit their loved ones. It would help millions of Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet in this affordability crisis. It would help millions of Canadians who work in the federal sector to be able to go back to work. So far, the Prime Minister has utterly failed these people. He has abandoned them in order to play political games. Today, we are offering our final chance. This is our final opposition day motion. Today, we are offering a final chance to put vindictive, petty politics aside and deliver the relief that Canadians need before the summer holidays begin. It is such an important time, and this year more than ever Canadians want hope. Conservatives are offering that hope. We ask today that the Prime Minister take the opportunity to give Canadians hope and opportunity, and know that things can be better for them, for their children and for this country.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Jun/7/22 10:28:59 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I really believe it is quite the opposite that the interim Conservative leader is talking about today. When we talk about the Conservative Party's approach, what we have actually witnessed is more of a destructive force inside the chamber. It it to stop everything and not allow anything to pass. It is all about personal attacks coming from the Conservative Party. Its members tend to ignore the issue of the pandemic or the war that is taking place in Europe, based on issues like inflation. As the Conservatives are so focused on that, I can assure people who are following the debate today that the government, and this Prime Minister, will continue to focus their attention on the economy, on the pandemic, on the war and on the issues Canadians are interested in most. When will the member opposite start refocusing the Conservative Party, so that we can start to see more attention given to the issues Canadians are concerned about every day, not just the one day in which they propose a motion?

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Hon. Candice Bergen

Jun/7/22 10:30:20 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that we hear from that member a lot, and I appreciate the hard work he does, but there are four amazing Liberal women in the House. I would have loved to hear from one of them, and I would be happy to answer another question. It shows how absolutely out of touch so many of these Liberals are that this member would stand up and say Canadians do not care about affordability and they do not care about restrictions being lifted. This is all they are talking about. This is all Canadians are talking about, and they are not only angry, they are also scared. They are worried. They are afraid for when the gas prices are going to stop going up. We thought 80¢ a litre was something and 90¢ was a lot, but we have $1.20 or over two dollars a litre in some provinces. I would suggest that the member maybe consult with some of the strong women who are sitting around him, because I think they would tell him that moms, dads, teenagers, young people and seniors are incredibly worried about the cost of everything, and they are worried about the Prime Minister, who refuses to lift restrictions that the rest of the world has moved on with. He needs to get with the program. That is what I would suggest.

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Mr. Mario Simard (Jonquière, BQ)

Jun/7/22 10:31:36 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I read in the Journal de Québec this morning that Suncor's profits are basically set to triple from $4 billion to $11 billion for the coming year. The same is true for Imperial, which will have profits of $6.2 billion. As we know, Boris Johnson's government has imposed a 25% tax on oil companies' profits. Earlier, I heard my colleague say not to vote for the Conservatives, but to vote for Canadians. I think she said that wrong. What she should have said was do not vote for the Conservatives, vote for the oil companies. Does my colleague agree with me?

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Hon. Candice Bergen

Jun/7/22 10:32:14 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would say Conservatives certainly have a very different approach from the Bloc when it comes to oil, gas and natural resources in our country. We believe the natural resources in Canada are amazing things that the world needs, and in this time when we want to fight emissions and be responsible, the world needs more Canadian oil and gas energy, and we are incredibly proud to be champions of Canadian oil and gas. What we need are the jobs that come from that, and the opportunity. The Liberals have shut down any hope of pipelines being built. They shut down any hope of any kind of infrastructure being built, and then they raised taxes on Canadians. The Liberals actually want gas prices high. The Prime Minister does not pay for his gas, but he wants Canadian moms, dads, single parents, people living in poverty and people in rural areas of this country to pay a heavy price for fuel. Conservatives want to see Canadian oil and gas expanded. We want all Canadians to have access to our amazing oil and gas, and not have to pay these ridiculous taxes that do nothing but fill the Prime Minister's coffers.

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Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Jun/7/22 10:33:25 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we proposed taxing the windfall pandemic profits of big corporations and sending them back to Canadians through the GST rebate and the Canada child benefit as a way for the federal government to provide immediate relief to Canadians and make the wealthy pay their fair share. The official leader of the opposition has put forward an extension of wanting to work with us, but this motion is quick to cut taxes and other sources of revenue for the government, while offering nothing in terms of consumer protection from big corporations raising their prices above and beyond inflation. Can the member comment on why the Conservatives think cutting taxes at the pump would actually stop big oil and gas from just raising their prices? Can she—

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The Deputy Speaker

Jun/7/22 10:34:19 a.m.
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The hon. leader of the official opposition with a brief answer.

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Hon. Candice Bergen

Jun/7/22 10:34:22 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that question. Here is the problem: The more we see the Liberals buy NDP policy like that, which is big government, big spend and a few people getting a few cheques here and there, the worse off Canadians are. Canadians are much worse off now than they were six years ago. The Liberal-NDP plan is to spend, spend, spend on big government, and tax, tax, tax, and maybe throw a cheque here or there to a few people. It is not working. Conservatives believe Canadians need more money in their pockets, less taxes, less spending and less big government to unleash the power of entrepreneurs, of workers, of labour and of our natural resources. That is how we create economic opportunity, but right now we would like to see taxes decreased at the pump for Canadians.

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