SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 134 - Nov/24/22

Hon. Steven MacKinnon (Gatineau, Lib.)

Nov/24/22 2:16:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this morning in Gatineau, I had the pleasure of participating in the grand opening of Gatineau 2, the first net-zero carbon archival centre in the Americas. This $330‑million building was built on time and on budget. Gatineau 2 is a real leader in the global documentary heritage community. The Gatineau 2 building has already received the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships' gold award in the infrastructure category, and that is only the beginning. This project creates major economic spinoffs for our region and is a significant source of specialized jobs. I invite Canadians to enjoy the green spaces around the complex. Programming is being developed to bring the area to life. I want to recognize the efforts of the Library and Archives Canada team, particularly Leslie Weir, the librarian and archivist of Canada, and Nathalie Ethier, the project director. Gatineau is once again making a name for itself, and I am very proud.

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Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

Nov/24/22 2:17:49 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-222

Mr. Speaker, off the top, I would like to send out congratulations to Kimo Linders of Penticton for winning the small business of the year award from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada last night, as well as to the amazing Penticton Vees, who just won their 21st game in a row in the B.C. Hockey League. I also want to talk about Bill S-222, which will be debated Monday morning. This is a small, but mighty bill that simply asks the federal government to consider the environmental footprint of building materials when constructing infrastructure. This was my private member's bill in a previous Parliament and I was inspired to bring it forward by the new mass timber technology pioneered by Structurlam in my hometown of Penticton. With new materials such as mass timber, we can build safe and beautiful buildings that will also help us in our fight against climate change. I hope everyone here will support Bill S-222 to literally help build a better future for Canada.

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Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)

Nov/24/22 2:18:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today I would like to acknowledge the 100th birthday of Françoise Poulin. Originally from the small village of Saint-Prosper-de-Dorchester, she moved at 18 to Quebec City, where she met the father of her seven children. Someone should make a movie of her life. When she had an appendectomy at the Hôtel-Dieu hospital, she fell in love with her nurse and future husband, Joseph Dutil, and moved to their home in Saint-Hyacinthe where she still lives today. Living in that house is a way of keeping her husband's memory alive and honour the life they shared for 32 years. A widow at 55, she redefined herself from a wife and mother to a strong, independent, caring and loving woman devoted to her family and loved ones. She passed down her determination and courage to the next generations. These are generous, honest, hard-working, good people. I could go on and on because her sons Richard, Alain and Dany are three of my good friends. They are great guys. I wish Mrs. Poulin a very happy birthday. She has earned it, and it is her turn to enjoy the love.

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Mr. John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, CPC)

Nov/24/22 2:20:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last weekend, I attended a church Christmas bazaar. I stood behind a senior who was putting five for $3 raffle tickets into a cup for a $50 dollar grocery store gift card. She turned to me and said that she hoped she would win because she could not afford groceries anymore. What a sad indictment of how the Liberals and the Prime Minister, helped by the NDP, have broken our country in so many ways. Inflation is at a 40-year high, 1.5 million Canadians rely on food banks since September and housing affordability and rental costs are out of control. Young Canadians feel they have been lied to and let down by the Prime Minister and are despondent about their future. The problems that exist are structural. They are self-inflicted wounds created by a government so blinded by its ideology that it is impossible for it to come up with the solutions needed, and one-time bribe payments will not solve anything. The only solution is a change in government to give Canadians control of their lives, to restore their hopes, to restore their dreams and to restore the dignity of that senior who stood in front of me last weekend.

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

Nov/24/22 2:21:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with December just around the corner, I would like to highlight some events that are happening in Cloverdale—Langley City this holiday season. The City of Langley's Magic of Christmas Festival is taking place December 3 and 4. This event happens at the Timms Community Centre. It provides fun for the whole family and features a holiday artisan market. On December 4, the Cloverdale Business Improvement Association is hosting the Surrey Santa Parade of Lights, where I will accompany a decorated vintage truck. The event collects donations and unwrapped toys for local food banks. On December 7, the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce presents the December charity luncheon. This event raises money for the Cloverdale Community Kitchen to provide Christmas hampers for those in need. The Langley Christmas Bureau, with more than 100 volunteers, will assemble toy bundles and accept donations to purchase gift cards for families in need. This year, the bureau is located in Langley City Hall and will receive donations until December 15. I thank everyone who volunteers in our community and works so hard to make sure that all residents of Cloverdale—Langley City will have a wonderful holiday season. Mr. Speaker, from my family to yours, to my colleagues in this chamber and to all residents of Cloverdale—Langley City, seasons greetings, merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah and best wishes for a happy new year.

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The Speaker

Nov/24/22 2:22:20 p.m.
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I would remind hon. members that Standing Order 31 allows individuals to give a bit of a report of what is going on in their ridings, and they last 60 seconds. That is all the time allotted. I noticed a few of them going over the time. They are great stories and I do not want to cut them off, but I would ask members to try to keep them in the 60-second parameter.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Nov/24/22 2:22:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Governor of the Bank of Canada said that, had the government shrunk its deficit, inflation would not be as high. Because of today's exorbitant deficits, inflation is costing every Canadian an extra $3,500. Now that the Prime Minister can confirm that the deficits caused inflation, will he shrink them so Canadians can pay their own bills?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Nov/24/22 2:23:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, we chose to be there for Canadians. We helped families, we helped workers, we helped small businesses, we helped community centres and not-for-profit organizations. We were there to support people so we could get through the pandemic as well as possible. Not only was the pandemic a less serious health crisis here than in many other places around the world, but we also got back to a growth economy faster than many of our neighbours. Our opponent wanted to make cuts, but we delivered the goods.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Nov/24/22 2:24:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's top Newfoundland and Labrador minister said that he is “sick and tired” of people complaining about heating their homes in the cold weather. It is no wonder that they are complaining. According to the CBC, the Prime Minister's favourite media outlet, the “federal carbon tax could leave seniors out in the cold”. One seniors advocate said that her members are feeling “extreme difficulty” with the cost of living. Instead of telling Atlantic Canadians to pay up and shut up, why does this government not reverse its costly carbon tax on home heat?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Nov/24/22 2:24:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, instead of mischaracterizing what members on this side of the House say, the leader of the official opposition should actually take a look at what, for example, the Parliamentary Budget Officer says in regard to our price on pollution, which actually returns more money to the vast majority of Canadians in areas where it is imposed. The price on pollution not only fights climate change but also supports hard-working families where they most need it. We are pleased that families in Atlantic Canada are now going to be getting the carbon incentive rebate regularly. We will continue to fight climate change and support Canadians while we do it.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Nov/24/22 2:25:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, well, if the Prime Minister says I should take a look at the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report, I think I just might. I have it right here: “A Distributional Analysis of Federal Carbon Pricing under a Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy”. I will go to page 13. The net cost to Albertans is $2,282. In Saskatchewan, it is $1,464. In Manitoba, it is $1,145, and in Ontario, it is $1,461. This is the excessive cost above and beyond the rebates that people will get. That is what the Parliamentary Budget Officer says. The Prime Minister will not believe it. Would the Speaker send over a page so they can deliver this report so the Prime Minister can believe his own eyes?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Nov/24/22 2:26:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, remarkably, buried in that rhetorical attack, was something quite important. For perhaps the first time, the member of the official opposition has finally recognized that there is a rebate associated with the price on pollution, that we give back more money every year than the average family pays, related to the price on pollution. We are actually there to support Canadians even as we fight climate change. The leader of the official opposition does not much care for the fight against climate change but he should care about putting more money in people's pockets. That is why he should support our price on pollution.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Nov/24/22 2:27:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no one has ever denied that there is a tiny rebate. What we have said is that the rebate does not come anywhere near paying the cost that people have to pay for higher—

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The Speaker

Nov/24/22 2:27:39 p.m.
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I am going to interrupt the hon. Leader of the Opposition. When one is reading from something, it is not a problem, but when one is holding it up, it becomes a prop. I am sure the hon. member knows that. He probably just forgot. I will let him continue.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre

Nov/24/22 2:27:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that some consider a report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer to be a prop. I consider it to be firm evidence that the size of these rebates is smaller than the cost that people pay in higher taxes. This is definitive proof, and it shows that Canadians will pay more the higher the tax gets, all for a policy that has failed to deliver a single, solitary climate change target. It has failed. It costs too much. Will the government cancel it?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Nov/24/22 2:28:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, maybe to the Leader of the Opposition, hundreds of dollars in Canadians' pocket is a tiny amount, but I know that it matters to Canadians. Hard-working families receiving support for the carbon price they are paying is making a huge difference, as is the $500 top-up to the Canada rental benefit and delivering on dental care. All of those things are things the Leader of the Opposition thinks Canadians should not get. He voted against them. Instead, he moves on recommending that they invest in Bitcoin to avoid inflation. Well, that would have destroyed half their savings. We will continue to deliver support for Canadians while he plays rhetorical games.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Nov/24/22 2:29:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those rebates would not be enough to pay for two hours in the Prime Minister's favourite London hotel, where he pays $6,000 a night. Let me look at the costs of this tax. It is $2,282 for the average Albertan, when fully implemented; $1,464 for the average Saskatchewanian; and similar costs for people right across the country. These are net costs, above and beyond the tiny rebates he has offered. Now that he has the evidence, now that it is right here in a report from an officer he appointed, will he believe the facts and cancel the tax?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Nov/24/22 2:29:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the very same report the Leader of the Opposition is touting, it spells out that indeed the price on pollution is compensated for by a larger rebate than the average family pays out in a given year. The average family of four, including families in his riding of Carleton, do better off with our carbon price incentive. That is because we know that fighting climate change is important to Canadian families, and making ends meet is as well. That is why we continue to step up on support for families, while he continues to nickel and dime them.

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Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)

Nov/24/22 2:30:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here in the House, the Prime Minister has not been taking Chinese interference in funding election candidates seriously, to say the least. However, he thought it was serious enough to ask his intelligence services to get to the bottom of it. He is right about that: China has been increasing its efforts to interfere with democracy. He even talked to the Chinese President about it at the G20. What the Global News report has revealed is, at the bare minimum, a glaring weakness in the political financing system. There is a very simple way for the Prime Minister to immediately correct this. Will he bring back public funding of political parties?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Nov/24/22 2:31:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our federal political party financing system is one of the most rigorous, robust, accountable and transparent of any level of government. If the Bloc Québécois has trouble getting money from Canadians, that is its problem, but we will continue to follow the rules and do our fundraising in public. We will continue to trust the existing system instead of trying to create new systems to help the Bloc Québécois.

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