44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 1, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, in Nova Scotia and in Ontario, November is officially recognized as Lebanese Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the generations of cultural, economic and civic contributions of Lebanese Canadians.
November holds great significance for Lebanese people all over the world as independence day, Eid Al-Istiqlal, is celebrated on the 22nd.
In my own province, the Lebanese presence dates back to the 1800s.
In 2018, I was part of the provincial government that proclaimed November as Lebanese Heritage Month.
Again, this year, celebrations will be held from Yarmouth to Halifax to Sydney. I am proud to have introduced Bill C-268 to recognize Lebanese Heritage Month nationally and honour, share and celebrate our culture.
I am equally proud to work with Senator Jane Cordy on Bill S-246 to do the same. I encourage all members to mark Lebanese Heritage Month in their communities, join our parliamentary friendship group and support these important bills.
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- Nov/1/22 2:18:33 p.m.
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While I have your full attention, I want out to point two things. First, the rules state that members are not supposed to walk between the Speaker and whoever is speaking in the House. The other is that the S. O. 31s are 60 seconds long. I would not want to cut anybody's message off.
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- Nov/1/22 2:19:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first inflation ballooned thanks to the Prime Minister's $500-billion inflationary deficit. Then he added inflationary taxes that are making it even more expensive for our businesses and farmers to produce goods and services. Now these deficits are raising the interest rates for Canadians. Everything he does makes things worse. Canadians are telling him to stop raising taxes, stop the inflationary deficits and stop the inflationary spending.
Will he listen to them and stop?
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- Nov/1/22 2:19:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I am hearing from Canadians is that they are concerned about the cost of living, the cost of dental care for their children, and the cost of rent if they are low-income earners. That is why we have introduced concrete measures to help Canadians.
Canadians are also confused about the fact that the Conservative Party chooses to oppose dental care assistance for children. The Conservatives choose to oppose direct assistance for low-income renters. If they really want to be there for Canadians, they should support our plans to help them.
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- Nov/1/22 2:20:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, everything he does makes the problem worse. It started with half a trillion dollars of inflationary deficits; more money chasing fewer goods equals higher prices. Then he brought in more inflationary taxes. With the help of his costly coalition partner, they want to triple that tax. Now his deficits are driving up interest rates faster than at any time in 30 years.
There is really one thing for him to do, which is to stop, stop the inflationary taxes, stop the inflationary deficits, stop driving up the cost of living. Will the Prime Minister do the honourable thing, the compassionate thing and stop taxing Canadians?
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- Nov/1/22 2:21:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the investments we made during the pandemic to support seniors, to support young people, to support workers, to support small businesses not only helped people significantly through the difficult years of the pandemic, but also ensured that our economy came roaring back faster than many other economies around the world. That is why we have continued to be there to support Canadians, not just because it is the nice thing to do but also because it is the way to ensure that our economy grows in the best possible way for all Canadians.
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- Nov/1/22 2:21:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he claimed he had to add that half a trillion dollars of debt because of COVID, but according to his own Parliamentary Budget Officer, 40% of the new debt he added in the last two years alone had nothing whatsoever to do with COVID.
The Prime Minister has added more debt than all previous prime ministers combined, saying that low interest rates would make it a costless proposition. Now we learn from Desjardins Bank that Canadians will spend more on debt interest from the federal debt next year, $50 billion, than we typically spend on health care transfers to the provinces.
Why is the Prime Minister giving the money to bankers and bondholders instead of doctors and nurses?
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- Nov/1/22 2:22:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our investments to support Canadians through the pandemic, our investments to support them right now with the GST credit that will help families with hundreds of dollars at a moment they need them, to support low-income families pay for rent, to support low-income families with help for dental care, these are the things that will make a difference right now in the way we move forward. The Conservatives are talking about cuts to EI, cuts to pensions and taking money away from Canadians by ending the climate action incentives that has most Canadians far better off with the investments we are making to fight climate change.
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- Nov/1/22 2:23:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it kind of reminds me what he was saying about the carbon tax, that paying higher taxes would make people better off. We found out from the Parliamentary Budget Officer that was not true. Then he said that he would take on all the debt so Canadians would not have to. Not only are they stuck with a higher national debt with more interest payments, but now their personal debts are going up. According to Equifax, the average Canadian household has more credit card debt than at any time in Canadian history and the Prime Minister's inflationary policies are driving up interest rates on those costs.
If the Prime Minister really took on all that debt so Canadians would not have to, who is going to pay those Canadians' credit card bills?
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- Nov/1/22 2:23:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition were truly concerned about the cost of living for Canadians, he would be supporting our measure to support families with the cost of dental care for their kids and help with our support for low-income renters as well.
I am also astonished that the Leader of the Opposition has been silent on the matter of the use of the notwithstanding clause pre-emptively to suspend people's fundamental rights and freedoms. I call on the Leader of the Opposition to stand up for workers' rights, to defend people's rights and freedoms, and condemn the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause to suspend workers' rights.
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- Nov/1/22 2:24:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no one has done more to attack workers' rights than the Prime Minister, who eats up their paycheques with 40-year high inflation.
Who did he give the money to? He spent $54 million for the arrive scam app, an app we did not need and that did not work. It sent 10,000 wrongly into quarantine and it could have been designed for a quarter million dollars in a weekend, but took $54 million instead. Some of the companies the Prime Minister said got the money said they never received it.
It is time for the truth. Will the Prime Minister support our motion to call in the auditors?
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- Nov/1/22 2:25:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know we are all astonished to hear the Leader of the Opposition miss an opportunity to stand up for the rights and freedoms of workers. That is something we expect him to continue to do, alongside all of us in the House, in condemning the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause.
On top of that, he is also talking about cuts to EI. When he criticizes us for being there and ensuring that EI and CPP are there for workers into the future, he calls that tax increases.
We are going to be there to support people paying for EI. We are going to be there to support people with their pensions. We are going to be there for dental and rental; he is not.
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- Nov/1/22 2:26:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our hospitals are at the breaking point. So said the Regroupement des chefs d'urgence du Québec, Quebec's association of urgent care chiefs, this morning. In a letter, they said that the lack of resources means emergency rooms can no longer care for people whose clinical condition is unstable and potentially fatal. Just days ago, the Toronto Star reported that the Prime Minister is plotting to undermine Quebec and the provinces' united demands for increased health transfers. He wants to divide them and force them to drop their $28‑billion demand.
Does he realize this is really not a great time for a ploy to deprive our hospitals of $28 billion?
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- Nov/1/22 2:26:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all Canadians deserve a health care system that works, with doctors and nurses who can provide treatment and mental health services and who are there to help Canadians who need help. Our systems are experiencing major challenges right now.
That is why we are stepping up with more money. This is not just about more money; it is about results for Quebeckers and all Canadians. That is why we want to work with the provinces to achieve the best possible outcomes within a health care system that works for all Canadians.
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- Nov/1/22 2:27:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have a Prime Minister who is trying to divide the provinces, and we know his intention is to isolate Quebec. He wants to negotiate an agreement on his own terms with the weaker provinces. He wants to be able to go to the Premier of Quebec last, present him with a fait accompli and say, “Here is the deal, so either sign it or get lost”.
I see that some people are wondering whether I am talking about this Prime Minister and the health transfers or his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and the night of the long knives.
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- Nov/1/22 2:27:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us set aside the partisan politics for a moment. We can all agree that Canadians deserve better health care and services. They deserve better access to family doctors. They deserve better access to mental health services. We are here to work with the provinces, but we want concrete results. Simply putting more money into a system that does not work is not the answer. The system needs to be improved. That is where we are very willing to work with Quebec and all the provinces and territories.
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- Nov/1/22 2:28:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the weekend, the Minister of the Environment begged the oil companies that are making record profits to invest in renewable energy. Instead of begging, the government should stop throwing billions of dollars in public money at the oil industry. According to a report, except for Japan, Canada leads the G20 in financing oil companies. The Liberals promised to end these subsidies by 2023. That is in two months.
Is there a contingency plan for ending these subsidies, or was it all just talk?
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- Nov/1/22 2:29:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we have always said, we will be phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by the end of 2023. That is something we promised for 2025, but we accelerated the timeline because we know how important it is.
We will do that while investing in the transition to greener energy, in the decarbonization of our industries, and in creating good jobs for our workers in all sorts of industries, because we know that all Canadians expect a better future thanks to a green shift and investments in better technologies.
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- Nov/1/22 2:29:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that people are struggling right now with the cost of housing and the cost of groceries. We know they are struggling with the cost of heating their homes and that those prices continue to go up.
We have tried, in this place, to work with Conservatives to take the GST off home heating. It is a long-standing NDP position, but they would rather put their fundraising against the climate and ahead of reducing costs for Canadians in this difficult time.
Will the Liberals do the right thing and work with us to take GST off home heating now, in the fall, before people have to keep paying higher and higher prices?
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- Nov/1/22 2:30:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we brought in a price on pollution that applies in provinces across this country, not all of them but many of them, and we know that we return more money to average families to help with the cost of paying their bills than the price on pollution costs them.
That is why we are going to continue to step up with affordability measures for families, whether it is the climate action incentive that lands in their bank accounts four times a year, the GST credit return that is coming to them in the coming days or support for rental and dental. We will continue to be there for Canadians.
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