44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 22, 2022 02:00PM
- Jun/22/22 3:03:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, by not following President Biden's lead, the Liberals have made Canada the only G7 country that has not reduced its gas tax.
We do not need to search high and low for proof that cutting the gas tax works. In Canada, on April 1, when the government increased the Liberal carbon tax, the Alberta government lowered its tax and even removed it. That has lowered inflation in Alberta.
If it works in Alberta, why would it not work everywhere in Canada?
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- Jun/22/22 3:04:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I would like to correct my colleague. Americans have not cut gas taxes, not yet anyway, because they know that lowering taxes for big oil does not help Canadians directly.
On this side of the House, we help Canadians directly by providing one-time payments to Canadians facing housing affordability challenges, direct payments to seniors, and direct payments to families with young children.
We are here to support Canadians. The Conservatives are here to support big oil. That is the reality.
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- Jun/22/22 3:04:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is taking people for fools when it comes to passports.
Today, it started issuing tickets with fixed appointment times to the people lining up outside the Montreal office. However, by 9:20 a.m., there were no more tickets left. According to TVA, the government gave out about 75 tickets, even though thousands of people are waiting for an appointment.
Is that really the best solution the government could come up with this week? If so, it really has a long way to go.
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- Jun/22/22 3:05:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, today, we adopted a new strategy to deal with applications in Montreal in particular. Hundreds and even thousands of people are waiting outside Service Canada offices. We gave out tickets for appointments. The director for Quebec assured me that senior management will be there all day to make sure that everyone in line gets the information they need and that those who are travelling in the very near future get an appointment.
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- Jun/22/22 3:06:22 p.m.
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How reassuring, Mr. Speaker.
Thank goodness the federal government was not responsible for getting people vaccinated. Remember how the vaccination centres were run? We were greeted at the door with information and instructions, even though millions of us were seeking an appointment at the same time. What a stark contrast to the passport process.
We pay half of our taxes to this federal government, yet it is incapable of getting us a simple piece of photo ID.
Will the government at least acknowledge its own utter incompetence? I hope it at least feels ashamed.
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- Jun/22/22 3:07:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a passport is a secure document. We must ensure the integrity of the process, which involves stringent screening measures. This document confirms Canadian citizenship, and the integrity of the process is paramount.
In addition, nearly 85% of the passport applications we have received are from first-time applicants, and that process is much more complex than a simple renewal. That said, we are here, and we have hired more staff. We are reallocating resources, and we will be there for Canadians.
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- Jun/22/22 3:07:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, residents in my riding are making hard decisions when it comes to everyday essentials. Paul, from Omemee, is caught in a catch-22, because he has to work more than 50 hours a week just to make a living. Barbara, a senior in Bobcaygeon, worries as her savings dwindle away. Scott, from Burnt River, has concerns that the ongoing cost of diesel could mean the end of his business. Brad, from Peterborough, must make tough decisions between gas for work and food for the family.
When will the Prime Minister end his reckless spending and finally address the cost-of-living crisis?
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- Jun/22/22 3:08:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that this is a difficult time for millions of Canadian families. Groceries are more expensive and bills are adding up. That is why we cut taxes for the middle class and for small businesses and lifted more than 1.3 million Canadians out of poverty. We are reducing child care costs for parents; we are delivering increased benefits for our seniors; we are also making investments to boost Canada's long-term growth and create well-paying jobs, all while lowering our debt-to-GDP ratio every single year.
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- Jun/22/22 3:08:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, inflation has risen almost a full point month over month to 7.7%, which is near record levels. Europe has reduced fuel taxes, and the U.S. president is now calling for a gas tax holiday. What is the Canadian government doing? It is increasing fuel taxes.
The last time world oil prices were this high was 2014, when the price of gas in Canada was $1.40, which is 70¢ less than today. The Minister of Finance says this is beyond her control, but she is ignoring her role in actually escalating inflation.
When will she take her foot off the gas on fuel tax increases?
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- Jun/22/22 3:09:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, certainly affordability challenges that are facing Canadians today are significant. It is incumbent on the government to take steps to ensure we are addressing that issue. As the hon. member knows, the Minister of Finance discussed last week the investments we are making to address the affordability challenges faced by Canadians of modest incomes.
We will continue to look at how we can actually work to ensure affordability going forward. Concurrently, we are working to address the energy security challenge, increasing the amount of oil and gas we are producing in this country to stabilize the global energy crisis, and allow it to be reduced over time, to get away from Vladimir Putin, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the impacts on energy prices.
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- Jun/22/22 3:10:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Brandy, from my riding, is a single mom struggling to get by. The higher cost of gas and groceries has forced her to go to the food bank. Now the CRA, after seven years of auditing her without finding anything, has decided that she has to pay $30,000 in back taxes, and the minister has taken no action to revisit her case.
Will the Liberals resolve Brandy's case and suspend the tax on gas, as Joe Biden is planning to do?
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- Jun/22/22 3:10:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government was there to support Canadians during the pandemic.
The Canada Revenue Agency is expanding its audit and recovery efforts, but I want to reassure those who are affected that we are also here to help them.
Anyone who needs help can contact the CRA to find a solution tailored to their unique circumstances, and I can reassure my colleagues that the CRA will proceed with empathy and compassion.
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- Jun/22/22 3:11:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability found that more than six million Canadians report having a disability. We need to create a Canada that is inclusive from the start. That is why the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion announced new funding today for licensed early learning and child care centres through the enabling accessibility fund, which is a federal grants and contribution program that supports infrastructure projects that improve the accessibility, safety and inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Can the minister share with us more about this important announcement?
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- Jun/22/22 3:12:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this morning I was pleased to join the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the President of the Treasury Board to announce that as part of our government's commitment to building a barrier-free Canada, we are investing $12.5 million in funding for 225 early learning and child care centres across Canada.
Through the accessibility fund, child care centres will receive specialized equipment so that children with disabilities can thrive in a safe environment that respects their needs. We are proud to invest in these organizations.
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- Jun/22/22 3:12:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Harper Conservatives, the Liberal government has an important tool to protect kids abroad from sexual exploitation: The Liberals can refuse passports to Canadians who are likely to travel abroad to exploit children.
However, the Liberals are not doing this. Since they have come to power, they have only revoked 13 passports for child predators and refused eight. There are 42,000 child predators in Canada.
To the Prime Minister, over the last seven years, how many passports has the government given to convicted child sex offenders?
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- Jun/22/22 3:13:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is extraordinarily important that we get the integrity of passports right. That is something that I have been communicating, and when someone is applying for a passport for the first time, it is one of the reasons that we ensure we are getting this right. When we are looking at children's passports, it is another reason that we want to make sure we have permission from both parents, and if there is a separation, that we go through the custody agreements, because at all costs, we must protect our children. That is exactly what we continue to do.
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- Jun/22/22 3:13:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, passports are a major issue. In an interview with Paul Arcand this morning, the minister said that she knew for months that the situation was going to become problematic.
She let the situation deteriorate. Her negligence is typical of this government. The number of applications the government needs to deal with has gotten so out of hand that we have lost count. The minister misled Canadians by telling them that they would get their passports on time when she knew full well such would not be the case.
Can she now set the record straight in the House and tell us how many thousands of people are waiting in line outside to get their passports?
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- Jun/22/22 3:14:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation in Montreal right now is like nowhere else in the country, with hundreds of people lining up at the three passport offices. With the Saint-Jean and Canada Day holidays coming up, we know that many Quebeckers want to travel.
We have now changed our strategy to ensure that people receive the services and information they need. We will continue to respond to the situation to ensure that Canadians receive their passports.
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- Jun/22/22 3:14:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, MPs' offices are outposts for Canadians for help in getting their issues fixed, and boy, with this incompetent Liberal government, the people of Oshawa need a lot of assistance: passports, airports, immigration, public safety, foreign affairs, CERB. It goes on and on. Our office is working around the clock fixing these Liberal failures.
When will the Liberals stop downloading their screw-ups on constituency offices, take responsibility for their chaos, get back to work and fix their mess?
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- Jun/22/22 3:15:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first I want to clarify something. The members opposite keep saying that public servants need to get back to work. Public servants at Service Canada have been in offices for months. They have been working around the clock. The people they are talking about who are working from home are the same people who delivered CERB to nine million Canadians. They are the same people who have delivered EI, OAS and CPP at the highest rate in 15 years.
We know there are challenges with passports right now. We continue to work around the clock, and public servants are working—
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