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Ms. Viviane Lapointe (Sudbury, Lib.)

Oct/7/22 11:05:24 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, thanks to a $1.1-million investment from FedNor, the office of the northern Ontario Black economic empowerment program, or NOBEEP, officially opened its doors this summer in downtown Sudbury. NOBEEP develops and delivers support programs for Black entrepreneurs, which serves to address a gap in the northern Ontario entrepreneurship support system. In order to showcase Black-owned businesses and their success, NOBEEP also offers workshops and seminars, as well as mentoring and consulting services for entrepreneurs. This program is a valuable resource for people who are thinking of starting a business or have already started one. I applaud the outstanding work being done by the team at NOBEEP and the Afro-Heritage Association of Sudbury in setting up this program. Congratulations.

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Mr. Scott Aitchison (Parry Sound—Muskoka, CPC)

Oct/7/22 11:06:30 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in 1994, the people of Gravenhurst wisely selected John Klinck to be their representative, first as the councillor for Ward 3, then as a Muskoka district councillor and then, in 2000, as their mayor. After his 10 great years as mayor, the members of Muskoka district council wisely selected John Klinck to be their chairman, a role he has performed with grace and dignity for the last 12 years. I sincerely appreciate the many ways we have worked together over his 28 years in public life, and I will be forever grateful for the invaluable role John played in helping me become a member of this House in 2019. My friend John Klinck has always been a tireless champion for Muskoka, a consummate team builder, a relentless advocate for those who are less fortunate and a kind and generous man. On behalf of all Muskokans, I offer John a heartfelt congratulations on his well-deserved retirement. For his friendship and his lifetime of public service, from the bottom of my heart, I thank him.

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Ms. Yvonne Jones (Labrador, Lib.)

Oct/7/22 11:07:37 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, shortly after celebrating her 105th birthday, a well-known and respected Inuk elder from Makkovik, Labrador, Ms. Muriel Andersen, passed away peacefully. She was born on Dunn Island, Labrador, in 1917. She endured a lot in her life, living through two world wars and two pandemics and surviving residential schools. Ms. Andersen lost her husband at a young age and was left to raise her children on her own. She is the matriarch of a long line of Labradorians. Her family includes six children, 21 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren and 28 great-great-grandchildren. She will be remembered as a strong, hard-working woman who loved to help others. She is truly a daughter of Labrador, and we thank her for her tremendous contributions over 105 years to the people of Labrador. May she rest in peace.

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Mr. Chandra Arya (Nepean, Lib.)

Oct/7/22 11:08:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased that our federal government is investing $15.2 million to construct a new library and performing arts and cultural centre in downtown Barrhaven in my Nepean riding. The facility will also include a community centre for seniors and an outdoor urban plaza. This will provide Nepean residents with flexible spaces to foster social interactions and community engagement for years to come. This project includes a 15,000-square-foot cultural centre, a 3,000-square-foot seniors’ space and a 25,000-square-foot library. I would like to acknowledge and thank the many organizations and individuals who advocated for this, including the Barrhaven BIA, the Barrhaven Seniors' Council and its president, Don Winchester. I give a special thanks to Ottawa city councillor Jan Harder, who was instrumental in proposing this project.

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Mr. Scott Reid (Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, CPC)

Oct/7/22 11:09:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, many Afghans who bravely helped our military are still stranded in Afghanistan. One such case has been brought to my attention by a retired Canadian serviceman. A former Afghan police colonel, whose courage and competence helped save Canadian lives, has been unable for months to get confirmation from Canadian authorities as to whether his application to come to Canada has been filled out properly. I cannot get confirmation either, despite asking repeatedly. The colonel has to fill out Canadian immigration paperwork on a cellphone with limited Internet service while hiding from people who want to kill him. When he fills out an online form, Canada provides no confirmation that it has or has not been properly received. No amount of asking will convince Canadian bureaucrats to share this information, which could be passed back to the colonel, allowing him to complete the forms to our satisfaction, so he and his wife and children hide in a basement, more likely to be freed from their predicament by death than by a government that cannot be bothered to let him know what he has to do to meet our paperwork requirements.

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Mr. Mike Kelloway (Cape Breton—Canso, Lib.)

Oct/7/22 11:10:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise in the House today to commend the generosity and hard work of my constituents of Cape Breton—Canso following the devastating impacts of hurricane Fiona. Over the last 10 days, I have had the opportunity to visit organizations, community groups, the Canadian Armed Forces and first responders who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. In Reserve Mines, the local seniors and pensioners club worked to prepare over 9,000 meals last week just to ensure seniors had a bite to eat. At the Nova Scotia Community College's Marconi campus, staff have been hard at work preparing meals for countless power crews, personnel from the military and other first responders. I am sincerely humbled by the outpouring of support for the people of my riding from members of the House. To the leadership of Premier Houston, all MLAs, mayors, wardens, councillors and chiefs, I give a special thanks. I also thank the Prime Minister, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and the Minister of National Defence. I could go on with the many selfless and kind-hearted gestures I have seen around my riding. To those in the House, I want to say that it fills me with pride that despite this tragedy, the strength, resilience and character of my province will always prevail.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Oct/7/22 11:12:06 a.m.
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I just want to ask members to make sure that they stay within the time frame. Unfortunately, I may have to cut them off. The hon. member for Flamborough—Glanbrook.

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Mr. Dan Muys (Flamborough—Glanbrook, CPC)

Oct/7/22 11:12:18 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the new Conservative leader will put the people first: their paycheques, their savings, their homes and their country. Today, people feel like they have lost control of their pocketbooks and their lives. The cost of government is driving up the cost of living. It is the most expensive government in history. The more it spends, the more things cost. The result is that seniors delay their retirements or watch their life savings evaporate with inflation, families downgrade their diets because of 10% food inflation, and 30-year-olds are trapped in 400 square-foot apartments or, worse, their parents' basements because the cost of housing has doubled under the current government. As we head into Thanksgiving weekend, in a country as bountiful and blessed as Canada, it is shameful that so many Canadians are falling behind, and there are too many who are just hanging on by a thread. These are our citizens. We are their servants and we owe them hope.

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Mr. Michael Barrett (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC)

Oct/7/22 11:13:21 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the tired Liberal government is driving up the cost of living. Families are downgrading their diets because of the inflated cost of groceries. Seniors are watching their savings vanish with the cost of living rising. Young people have seen their hopes and dreams of owning a home disappear because the cost of a home has doubled under the current Liberal government. It is no wonder that people are worried. The Liberal government's answer is that it is going to triple the carbon tax and punish Canadians for just trying to get by. The Liberals label our farmers as polluters for growing our food and punish them with a carbon tax. The Liberals label parents as polluters for driving their kids to hockey and punish them with a carbon tax. The Liberals label tradespeople as polluters for driving their trucks to work and punish them with a carbon tax. The Liberals label seniors heating their homes as polluters and punish them with a carbon tax. Conservatives would scrap the carbon tax. We are dealing in hope for Canadians, for their families and for their country.

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Ms. Emmanuella Lambropoulos (Saint-Laurent, Lib.)

Oct/7/22 11:14:33 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Synthia Bussières, a 38-year-old mother of two, was killed alongside her children less than two weeks ago at the hands of her spouse, making it the eighth femicide in eight weeks in Quebec. We cannot become indifferent to this very important issue. These women who are killed by angry men are our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, our friends. Every woman who is killed is one too many. On behalf of the women's caucus, I am calling on all levels of government to step up. We have to find a way to end gender-based violence for good in this country. We must provide better support to women fleeing violence. We must teach our children at home and at school to recognize and value healthy relationships so that they can leave at the first sign of abuse and not when it is too late. All levels of government and society as a whole must take action against violence against women and girls.

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Mr. Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, NDP)

Oct/7/22 11:15:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this week, the NDP has been successful in making sure that Parliament addresses the issue of corporate greed in driving inflation, and not only in the House of Commons but also at committee. Since we have launched our initiative, I have been receiving correspondence from right across the country. I have had pictures from people in Nova Scotia that have shown huge price increases for the same product, in the same town, on the same day. I have had correspondence from employees in grocery stores who are confirming that these unreasonable price increases are happening, and we combine that with the fact that Canada collected $30 billion less in corporate taxes just from last year alone. I want to end by wishing my constituents a happy Thanksgiving. As they are struggling to pick out which kinds of food they can put on the family table this weekend, I want them to know that my colleagues and I in the NDP will continue fighting for them to ensure they have equal access to well-priced food.

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Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, BQ)

Oct/7/22 11:16:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Centre d'histoire de Saint-Hyacinthe is a private archival service accredited by the Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec, as are 38 other accredited archives. The centre has been in operation since 1992. With 1,500 metres of archives, the Centre d'histoire de Saint-Hyacinthe is truly ranked among the greats, alongside the Museum of Civilization, the Augustinian Monastery, the McCord Stewart Museum and the Canadian Centre of Architecture. The centre's president, Paul Foisy, just announced that for the past two years, 2020 and 2021, the history centre ranked first in all of its activities, namely, acquisitions, processing and presentation of records, exhibitions, and publications. The history centre also just recently announced that it acquired its 250th member. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I heartily commend the Centre d'histoire de Saint-Hyacinthe on keeping our collective memory alive, because, as William Faulkner so rightly said, “The past is never dead. It's not even past.”

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Mr. Randy Hoback (Prince Albert, CPC)

Oct/7/22 11:17:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the new Conservative leader will put the people first: their savings, their paycheques, their homes and their country. After years of government mismanagement and the Liberal-made backlogs, it is time to get the gatekeepers out of our immigration system. Rural Canada, like the riding of Prince Albert, is in desperate need of doctors, nurses and other professionals who provide essential services to our communities. As Canada faces a labour shortage crisis, we need new ideas to empower workers to fill our workforce gaps. Red tape and bureaucracy should not stand in the way of achieving one's career goals. Conservatives are bringing hope to doctors, nurses and newcomers who are dreaming of coming to this country, with a system that guarantees that, within 60 days, an immigrant applying for work in their profession will get answers based on their skill sets, not based on where they come from. There has been enough talking, enough rhetoric and enough broken promises. It is time to remove the gatekeepers, to get more doctors, more nurses, more skilled workers and more inflation-proof paycheques for our hard-working skilled immigrants.

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Mr. John Aldag (Cloverdale—Langley City, Lib.)

Oct/7/22 11:18:51 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on May 17, 2021, the remains of 215 children were found buried on the site of the former residential school in Kamloops. On June 14, 2021, volunteers from the community of Langley put up 215 crosses and children's clothing at the Derek Doubleday Arboretum, to remember and honour those children who did not make it home. The idea came from Cecilia Reekie, a former Langley school trustee and an “intergenerational warrior”, a term to replace “survivors”, as encouraged by Kwantlen Chief Marilyn Gabriel. Cecilia was inspired by the sight of crosses with clothing when she visited Kamloops after news of the discovery. One year later, this memorial to the missing children still stands. I attended the candlelight vigil at the arboretum on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation last Friday and, once again, was moved by this display. I thank Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society and United Churches of Langley for organizing this vigil. I give special thanks to Cecilia Reekie for all the work she has done and continues to do to make sure everyone remembers the children who never returned home.

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Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle, CPC)

Oct/7/22 11:20:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Liberal economic policy can be summed up in four words: “smaller paycheques; higher prices”. Smaller paycheques come into effect in the new year when this government takes a bigger bite out of the paycheques that Canadians work so hard to earn, but higher prices are here today. Because of Liberal deficits forcing the Bank of Canada to flood our economy with money, prices are at record highs. Hard-working moms and dads picking up groceries this weekend for the Thanksgiving meal are in for a sticker shock. Turkey is up 15%, and potatoes are up 22%. Those prices are going to rise even further after the government triples its carbon tax. Why will this government not give Canadians a break and cancel its plans to triple the carbon tax?

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Hon. Randy Boissonnault (Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Oct/7/22 11:21:45 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have four words for Canadians: “We have your backs.” We have doubled the GST credit, thanks to the Conservatives who flipped their idea to oppose us and are now supporting us. Guess what. They can see the light once again, and they can vote for dental supports. They can vote for housing supports. I have four more words: “Do the right thing” and “Vote for our bill”.

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Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle, CPC)

Oct/7/22 11:22:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Liberals have their hands in Canadians' back pockets taking more and more out of the paycheques that Canadians work so hard to earn, and prices are continuing to rise because of this government. Any relief that Canadians may hope to experience will evaporate in a very short period of time as inflation continues to hurt Canadian families. Once again, we know that inflation is caused by Liberal deficits and we know that prices are going to go up even more when they triple the carbon tax. An easy way to help Canadians with the cost of living crisis that the costly coalition has caused is to cancel their plans to triple the carbon tax. Will they do that?

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Hon. Randy Boissonnault (Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Oct/7/22 11:22:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in the middle of a global pandemic with heat in the air caused by global warming, the residents of Edmonton Centre, in the middle of the last election, said to me, “Please fight climate change”. It was the number one thing every day on their doorsteps. We already had a 9% reduction in emissions in 2020. The plan is working, but I can tell members that the number one thing that the Conservative opposition could do to help Canadians is to vote for Bill C-31.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Oct/7/22 11:23:23 a.m.
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I just want to remind members. I was able to clearly hear the official opposition House leader a while ago, but I was having difficulty hearing the answer from the Minister of Tourism. There are other opportunities to ask questions or make comments during question period. I would ask members, unless they are being recognized, to please hold on. The hon. official opposition House leader.

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Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle, CPC)

Oct/7/22 11:23:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is because Conservatives care about the environment that we fight the carbon tax, because it does not work. The Liberals have missed every single one of their emissions targets, but they are succeeding in making prices go even higher. Gas prices in markets across Ontario have risen 16¢ in just two days. That is making it even more difficult to attend Thanksgiving dinners as Canadians have to pay more to drive home or to fly. How much more will Canadians have to pay after they triple the carbon tax?

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