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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 119

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 27, 2022 10:00AM
  • Oct/27/22 2:20:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a very clear difference on this side of the House with respect to what we are doing to support Canadians. Since we were elected in 2015, 1.3 million Canadians have been lifted out of poverty, and that includes over 450,000 children. We will not take any lessons from the Conservatives, who are looking to cut benefits, who are voting against supporting Canadians and who today actually have an opportunity to do the right thing, if they care about Canadian families, and vote to support dental and rental supports.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:21:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister spent $6,000 for one hotel room per night in London and then spent that evening singing up a storm and partying in that fancy hotel lobby, it was really an analogy for his whole government: a half trillion dollar party with other people's money and Canadians got the hangover; a million and a half visits in one month to the food banks; the fastest-rising interest rates in 30 years; the fastest inflation in four decades. When will the government realize that Canadians are out of money and the party is over?
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  • Oct/27/22 2:22:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition seems to have amnesia, because over the past two and a half years it has been this government that has supported Canadians in their darkest hour. We supported nine million Canadians with the Canada emergency response benefit. We supported millions of Canadians with the Canada emergency wage supports. We supported thousands of businesses and organizations with the CEBA. I only can imagine that the Leader of the Opposition is suggesting that we would not have done that and we would have seen a tank in our economy. We did not do that. We will not take any lessons from the Conservatives and we will continue to support Canadians.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:22:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals had a big party with other people's money. The only problem is most people were not invited to the party. The WE Charity was invited; it got half a billion dollars. The arrive scam contractors were invited; they got millions of dollars in contracts, in many cases to do no work, and many of the dollars are still unaccounted for. Of course, other Liberal insiders got the money. Even prisoners got CERB cheques. That is how they racked up a half trillion dollars in inflationary deficits that have bid up the cost of the goods we buy and the interest we pay. Will the Liberals realize that the money is out and the party is over?
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  • Oct/27/22 2:23:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be clear about what the Conservatives are saying. They are saying they would not have created CERB to keep millions of Canadians at home. They would not have created the wage subsidy that kept 60,000 workers employed in Alberta's oil industry alone. They would not have offered rent subsidies that kept tens of thousands of businesses afloat. Their cryptocurrency plan is not a plan. It is the worst plan this House has ever heard of. They have no plan.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:24:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as part of its money printing scheme, the government flooded the financial and mortgage markets with $400 billion of cash that bid up house prices faster than at any time in history. Home prices doubled under the Prime Minister, creating the second-biggest housing bubble on planet earth. The government said that rates would never rise and families believed it. Quoting CityNews, now that they have risen, “Rob and his wife have an adjustable-rate mortgage and say their payments have gone up by $2,000 a month.” They have three kids. They cannot pay it. What the hell do they do now?
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  • Oct/27/22 2:24:45 p.m.
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I want to remind hon. members to use parliamentary language. That is kind of pushing it. The hon. minister for Housing has the floor.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:24:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we understand the importance of keeping access to the Canadian dream of home ownership alive. The leader of the official opposition's voting record really shows that he does not actually care about making housing more affordable for working people across the country. All he has to offer is empty rhetoric and buzzwords. Now he wants to gatekeep rent supports for people who need it the most. He wants to gatekeep dental supports for kids. This is not a plan, and Canadians expect 7better.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:25:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the government and the NDP wanted to help Quebec families with dental care, they could have come to an agreement with the Quebec government. That way, 100% of the cost for Quebec children would have been covered based on the actual amount paid. Instead, they came up with a cheque that half of Quebec families will not be entitled to, and what is more, the spending will not be monitored. A person can go to the dentist and pay $20, but charge the government up to $650. It is absurd. Why did the government not just come to an agreement with Quebec? Would that have been too easy?
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  • Oct/27/22 2:26:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is going to help the families who need it most. Dental support is more than just dental support. Imagine a child who cannot afford to go to the dentist and who feels too embarrassed and shy to approach their friends or another little boy or girl in the schoolyard. Imagine a senior who had to get their teeth removed but did not have enough money to get dentures, so they isolate themselves. When a person does not have enough money to go to the dentist, that has real consequences, but the Bloc Québécois could not care less.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:26:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the answer is that the government did not even try to have talks with Quebec because it is not shopping for dental insurance, but majority insurance. The sole purpose of this cheque is to shore up its majority. In order for the NDP to support it, the government could not just give money to Quebec, it had to cut a cheque with a great big maple leaf on it. Therefore, it invented a flawed benefit that discriminates against Quebeckers and that will be paid out practically without any oversight, just like the CERB was. Why should Quebec pay more than its fair share so people in other provinces can go to the dentist, pass go and claim even more money than they actually paid?
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  • Oct/27/22 2:27:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question. The Canada dental benefit will be available to all eligible Canadian and Quebec families, including those covered by the public insurance plan. Our program will directly help families in need. There is no mechanism for opting out because it is not negotiated with the Quebec government.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:27:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people are going hungry in our country right now. That is shameful in a country as rich as ours. Today's annual report from Food Banks Canada shows that food bank use is at an all-time high. In a single month, there were 1.5 million visits. People are going without, but the Liberals refuse to stand up to the CEOs of the major grocery chains and make them pay what they owe us. When will the Liberals do something about the corporate greed that is keeping families from feeding their children?
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  • Oct/27/22 2:28:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. It is clear that we take this issue very seriously. That is why, when we were elected in 2015, we were there for families and for children and why 1.3 million Canadians have been lifted out of poverty since 2015, including 450,000 children. We will continue to be there for Canadians. Today, all members of the House have the opportunity to support Canadian children. I hope Conservative members will do the same.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:29:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, families are making difficult choices about what food they can afford and costs are only getting higher. Today, a report from Food Banks Canada proved that people just cannot keep up. At record rates, families are turning to food banks to get the help they need. The Liberals have a responsibility to support Canadians. Instead, they have sided with rich grocery CEOs who are hiding behind inflation to line their pockets. When will the Liberals hold big grocers accountable for the price gouging Canadian families are experiencing?
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  • Oct/27/22 2:29:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, everyone in the House is concerned about inflation and about the prices Canadians across the country are facing when they go grocery shopping. That is exactly why I called upon the leaders of these supermarkets and grocery chains across the nation to do their part to help Canadians. I called a number of them to say that we want to see action. In addition to that, I demanded that the Competition Bureau start an inquiry and a study to look at making sure there is no unlawful practice. We will do everything we can to support Canadian families at this time.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:30:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal-made inflationary fire is hitting Canadians' pocketbooks and Liberals will throw more fuel on that fire by tripling the carbon tax. Food Banks Canada says that a 40-year-high inflation in the cost of groceries is forcing 20% of Canadians to use food banks and one-third are children. The Liberals caused the inflation with their out-of-control spending, and now they are raising taxes when Canadians cannot afford it. When will the Liberals stop their inflationary spending and stop raising taxes?
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  • Oct/27/22 2:30:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us be clear about what the Conservatives are saying. They are saying that they would not have put in place the CERB, which helped keep millions of Canadians in their homes. They would not have put in place the wage subsidy, which kept 60,000 people in the oil and gas sector employed, in Alberta alone. They would not have done the rent subsidy, which kept thousands of businesses open. They want Canadians to be left on their own. We have Canadians' backs.
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  • Oct/27/22 2:31:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not serious about helping Canadians. He spent $24,000 on his hotel stay in London. That is the average annual rental cost in Canada and he blew it in four days. Families and students are going to food banks and homeless shelters because the Prime Minister's inflationary policies are driving up costs while he sings in luxury hotels abroad, finally putting his drama degree to use. He caused the inflation and interest rate hikes with out-of-control spending. How does he justify this to struggling Canadians?
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  • Oct/27/22 2:32:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the leader of the official opposition talks about taking on gatekeepers. However, we have found that he is the biggest gatekeeper, keeping Canadians away from rental supports now. He is the biggest gatekeeper who voted against the Canada housing benefit. He is the biggest gatekeeper who has voted against the housing accelerator fund. He is full of buzzwords and nonsense. He does not help Canadian families. On this side of the House, we are here to help Canadian families. He can change his ways today and vote to deliver much needed rental supports today.
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