44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 29, 2022 10:00AM
- Sep/29/22 2:57:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the Conservatives are saying and what the Prime Minister said when he was in opposition, employment insurance is not a payroll tax.
However, any cunning opposition party can turn the situation to its advantage as long as there are people who contribute to EI without being entitled to collect it. Such opposition parties have also been able to take advantage of the fact that no government, be it Liberal or Conservative, has taken action in the past 25 years.
When will the minister finally reform the program to make sure it does not leave 60% of people who lose their jobs out in the cold? We want to know when.
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- Sep/29/22 2:57:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that EI benefits need to be more fair, more responsive and more adaptable to the needs of Canada's ever-evolving workforce. That is why we are committed to delivering a full-scale modernization of Canada's EI system. We look forward to launching our long-term plan to improve the EI system.
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- Sep/29/22 2:58:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when? It is irresponsible to delay the reform that has been promised for three elections now, and it is even more irresponsible to allow temporary measures to expire, knowing that there is no reform.
The minister is changing the eligibility rules at the end of the season for many seasonal industries. In the meantime, what happens to the workers who qualified at 420 hours last Saturday, before the minister raised the bar to 700 hours?
Their industries are shutting down for the winter and they are looking at a black hole, or worse, a vacuum, before them. What would the minister have them do?
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- Sep/29/22 2:58:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, although some temporary benefit programs offered during the pandemic are ending, regular benefits will continue to be available to workers, just like before the pandemic.
We look forward to launching our long-term plan. As I told my colleague, that will happen before the end of the year. It will be a very specific plan to improve employment insurance.
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- Sep/29/22 2:59:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation when we honour the children who suffered in residential schools and reflect upon those who never made it home. It is also a time to redouble our efforts to provide first nations with a better future, clean water, an end to poverty and the autonomy for those willing nations to control more of their money, their land and their decision-making.
Will the government discuss with the House how we can move forward together to achieve these goals?
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- Sep/29/22 2:59:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to see the Leader of the Opposition's ambition in this space, because that is exactly what we have been showing since 2015, an ambition to move forward on reconciliation. He hits all the high notes. We are talking about things like truth, equity and self-determination, things that we know are going to ensure a brighter future for first nations communities and individuals across the country.
We have done a lot. There is a lot to say and I certainly cannot cover it in 30 seconds, but I look forward to working with the party opposite to ensure we reach those goals together with indigenous people.
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- Sep/29/22 3:00:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government and inflation are driving up the cost of living, especially for rural Canadians.
Mike, a senior living in my riding, wrote to me on Monday, saying that over the past year, his rent has increased by 50%, fuel costs are up by 40%, his medications are up 22% and his food costs are up by 12%. Like many Canadians, Mike is struggling under the burden of the government's taxes on basic necessities and the idea of tripling the carbon tax.
Will the Liberal government cancel its planned tax hikes on gas, groceries and home heating today?
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- Sep/29/22 3:01:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that we need to be there for Canadians who are facing increased rent. That is why we introduced the Canada housing benefit, which is already providing an average of $2,500 to renters across the country who are struggling with the cost of rent.
However, we are not stopping there. We have introduced a one-time top-up to the Canada housing benefit of $500, which will go to help an additional 1.8 million Canadians. What are the Conservatives doing? They are playing procedural games to delay that legislation which will enable Canadians to receive that help now.
What the hon. member can do is talk to his colleagues to make sure that we pass this important legislation to get rental help to Canadians today.
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- Sep/29/22 3:01:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Deb, a constituent, found out she was being evicted from her affordable apartment due to Liberal inflation. She worked her whole life as a nurse, caring for others in need. Now, on a disability pension in her early sixties, she has no home security and a limited income that is being consistently eroded by new Liberal tax grabs.
Will the finance minister give Deb hope and dignity for a future where she can afford a home or will she condemn Deb to poverty in her senior years by tripling the tax on gas, heat and groceries?
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- Sep/29/22 3:02:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will take this opportunity to remind everyone in the House that we have a historic moment in front of us right now to come together and support the Canada disability benefit to lift hundreds of thousands of Canadians out of poverty, make life affordable for them and give them the dignity in which they deserve to live.
I know we can do it together, because I have heard everyone in the House say they want to do it, so let us do it.
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- Sep/29/22 3:02:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is an opportunity for Canadians to look back on Canada's historical relationship with indigenous peoples and to reflect on the path to reconciliation that lies ahead.
Can the minister tell the House about the measures the government has taken to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, including the creation of a national council for reconciliation and the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages? Can he explain why this is a crucial step toward reconciliation?
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- Sep/29/22 3:03:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, reconciliation is not easy. It is neither linear nor free, but we are determined to right past wrongs and address their impact on indigenous peoples, an impact that is still felt today.
Tomorrow, we encourage all Canadians to reflect, to listen and to show compassion for indigenous voices. Tomorrow is a day for residential school survivors and indigenous communities and leaders to have their say.
Bill C‑29 will respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action 53 to 56, while also promoting the implementation and independent review of the 94 calls to action.
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- Sep/29/22 3:04:13 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, as of September 19, Toronto police have recorded 31 homicides out of 302 shootings this year. Recent victims of gun violence include a Toronto police officer killed in a shooting rampage and a 17 year old who was killed in broad daylight in Scarborough. The vast majority of these shootings are conducted by repeat offenders and drug traffickers with illegal guns. What is the Liberal solution? Remove Chrétien and Trudeau Sr. mandatory minimums and target law-abiding hunters and firearms owners.
Considering these disturbing statistics, will the government remove its soft-on-crime Bill C-5?
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- Sep/29/22 3:04:54 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, serious crimes in the country will always carry with them serious consequences. Indeed, the crimes the hon. member is talking about do attract serious penalties.
What we would be doing with Bill C-5 is entirely the opposite. Failed Conservative policies on tough-on-crime, with minimum mandatory penalties and no possibility of conditional sentence orders, have only clogged the justice system with less serious cases that have resulted in the over-incarceration of indigenous, Black and racialized people in our system.
We are removing those to spend more time and more resources precisely on the offences about which he is talking.
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- Sep/29/22 3:05:37 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, we know exactly how the justice minister thinks.
Recently he told the Senate that he empathized with dangerous drug dealers, because they were only trying “to put bread on the table.” I am not making this up. Violent crime is out of control, proving the Liberals' hug-a-thug policy does not work.
While Canadian cities and communities are being terrorized by gangs and gun violence, the government refuses to hand out maximum penalties for these terrible crimes.
When will the minister abandon his soft-on-crime policy and start locking up dangerous criminals?
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- Sep/29/22 3:06:15 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, I would invite the hon. member to actually look at the transcript of that Senate hearing. If he believes an indigenous woman with a problematic addiction, who is trying to keep bread on the table for her three children, sells some prescription drugs on the side and then gets tackled with a minimum mandatory penalty, is the kind of serious offender we need to lock up for that period of time, I would suggest he is absolutely wrong.
Bill C-5 would allow us to allow people like that mother to get the help they need, all the while spending more time, judicial resources and penal resources on the serious drug traffickers.
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- Sep/29/22 3:07:01 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, the streets of Montreal are like a violent video game where the mission is to shoot anyone and anything.
Last week, a mother was taking a stroll with her partner in Longueuil when they were gunned down by a drive-by shooter. In response to this violence, what is the Prime Minister doing? He is proposing legislation that eliminates mandatory minimum sentences and reduces sentences for serious crimes in Canada.
Can the Prime Minister ask the families of the victims what they think of Bill C-5?
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- Sep/29/22 3:07:38 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, I am a Quebecker, I am a Montrealer, and I am aware of what is happening in Montreal, both in my riding as well as in other ridings in Montreal.
Our goal with Bill C-5 is to increase resources to deal with serious crimes, which will always have serious consequences. With Bill C-21, we are increasing the maximum penalties for firearms offences.
We are moving in the right direction to get tough on the crimes that deserve it.
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- Sep/29/22 3:08:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the pan-Canadian early learning and child care system is up and running from coast to coast to coast with all provinces onside. In British Columbia, parents would be able to work, contribute to the economy and make life more affordable for themselves, thanks to our federal government's investment in child care.
Could the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development update the House on the progress being made to date in my home province of British Columbia?
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- Sep/29/22 3:08:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it would be my pleasure to provide the House with that update.
First, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her tremendous years of advocacy on this issue. I was in Vancouver and Burnaby last Friday with the provincial government to announce of doubling of $10-a-day spaces in British Columbia, as well as savings of up to 50% by this December for families in registered child care. That is up to $6,600 a year for families in British Columbia. That is making a real difference in their lives.
I am excited about working with British Columbia and supporting families.
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