44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 28, 2022 11:00AM
- Nov/28/22 2:21:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, providing dental care for all Canadian children under 12 is not a promise that will not work. That is a commitment that starts this Thursday and means that never again will Canadian parents of young children need to choose between buying the groceries, paying the rent or taking their kid to the dentist. That is something for us all to celebrate.
When it comes to fiscal responsibility, Canada has a AAA rating, and the lowest debt and deficit in the G7.
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- Nov/28/22 2:22:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question was about home heating.
The New Democrats have voted to raise home heating prices. They voted against our motion to take the carbon tax off home heating, and did it right before a winter when analysts expect that home heating prices will double. Now the Liberals are saying they will buy everyone a heat pump, which insurance companies say will not be insured because people need a backup heat supply in order to keep the pipes from freezing.
Instead of coming up with new schemes, why do the Liberals not just cancel the tax so Canadians can stay warm this winter?
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- Nov/28/22 2:22:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly think we can all agree that affordability is an incredibly important issue for all Canadians. That is why we have done a number of things, including the doubling of the GST benefit, enhancing the workers benefit and making investments into energy efficiency to ensure we are addressing affordability.
It is also the case, no matter what the opposition tries to say, that eight out of 10 Canadian families actually get more money back than they pay for the price on pollution.
I would say that every member on that side of the House, including the Leader of the Opposition, campaigned on a platform to put in place a price on pollution. What does he say to his constituents now?
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- Nov/28/22 2:23:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I say to my constituents that we want them to have lower, not higher, heating bills.
As for his claim, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said that, when we take into account both the financial and economic cost of the government's carbon tax, 60% of people paying it will pay more than they get back in any rebate. That is published information, and it is only going to get worse as the Liberals triple the tax with the help of the NDP.
We are heading into a cold winter. Canadians need to heat their homes; it is not a luxury. Will the Liberals cancel their plan to triple the tax?
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- Nov/28/22 2:24:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with respect, the hon. member has now made the most bizarre argument I could possibly imagine when it comes to inaction on climate change. He is now suddenly opposed to heat pumps.
Heat pumps have the ability to reduce pollution in our community and bring the cost of power down or heat for homeowners who live in my community. This is particularly important as we are coming up on the winter season. I was so pleased to make the announcement in my hometown last week that we would provide an upfront grant of up to $5,000 for homeowners to help them lower their heating bills every month.
We are going to continue to do what is right for climate change, because we know the cost of inaction is simply too great to ignore.
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- Nov/28/22 2:24:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the recently published government strategy on the Indo-Pacific, it says, “In areas of profound disagreement, we will challenge China, including when it engages in coercive behaviour [or] ignores human rights obligations”. There is a wave of protests across China right now, and there are now reports of government crackdowns against those protests.
If the government is serious about what it put in its strategy, then will it indicate to Beijing that the peaceful protests should be allowed to go ahead and that any crackdown should be resisted?
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- Nov/28/22 2:25:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are following the unfolding events in China very closely. We remain in close contact with our embassy and consulate.
We believe in freedom of expression at home and abroad, including in China, and that protesters should be able to peacefully protest and share their views without fearing for their safety. We will continue to follow the events very closely.
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- Nov/28/22 2:25:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me summarize the situation. Global News has reported on Chinese interference in the 2019 election. At least 11 candidates may have received funding from China. Intelligence services informed the Prime Minister's Office as far back as January 2022. We are trying to get to the bottom of this, but we are not getting any clear answers from either the Prime Minister or the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as though secrecy somehow served democracy.
I will put the question another way. Are we to understand from the government that the Global News story is false?
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- Nov/28/22 2:26:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we take all threats of foreign interference very seriously. That is precisely why we created not one, but two independent committees, which have confirmed the results of both the 2019 and 2021 elections. We will continue to provide all the tools that the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security needs to protect our democratic institutions.
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- Nov/28/22 2:27:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, even if there was no Chinese interference with the funding of 11 candidates, we know that a real risk still exists. We need only think of the Chinese researchers at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, the secret police stations in Toronto and the espionage at Hydro-Québec. It is naive to believe that there is no threat of Chinese interference in elections.
Instead of being self-congratulatory, will the government recognize that public funding of political parties is a good way to protect the integrity of our elections?
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- Nov/28/22 2:27:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we obviously share our colleague's belief that it is important to protect the electoral system and the integrity of our elections. That is why the government took action several years ago by creating a committee chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council and with intelligence experts to ensure that Canada's elections are free and open. That is exactly what this group confirmed in 2019 and also in 2021, which is good news.
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- Nov/28/22 2:28:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling to keep up with rising food costs. Canada's biggest grocer, Loblaws, made $556 million in profit in three months. While first-time visits to food banks go up by 64%, Loblaws' CEO is just getting richer. The NDP called on the Liberals to make this right and to make companies pay their fair share, but Canadians have yet to see any action.
Will the Liberals stand up for everyday Canadians and make these people pay their fair share?
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- Nov/28/22 2:28:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government is absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone pays their fair share. That is why we are taking action by permanently raising the tax on financial institutions and insurers by 1.5%, by introducing a Canada recovery dividend of 15% and by introducing a luxury tax on luxury private planes, yachts and luxury cars.
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- Nov/28/22 2:29:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the demand for food support is on the rise across the country. People back home, children, seniors, low-income families, everyone is going hungry. In the meantime, Loblaw is raking in the profits on the backs of struggling families. CEOs and their shareholders are profiting from a crisis of their own making. The greed of these big grocery chains is callous.
Why are the Liberals refusing to make them pay their share to help people who are hungry?
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- Nov/28/22 2:30:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government committed to making everyone pay their fair share and that is what we have done.
We have taken measures such as the permanent 1.5% income tax increase on banks and insurance companies, implementing the 15% Canada recovery dividend and the tax on luxury cars, planes and boats.
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- Nov/28/22 2:30:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is the only country in the developed world to increase the carbon tax during affordability crisis. Even Japan got with the program and cancelled its plan to increase the carbon tax.
The Liberals keep raising the tax, yet emissions keep going up, and they have not hit a single emission reduction target. Even the Governor of the Bank of Canada said if the government axed the carbon tax, the Liberal inflation would be reduced.
Why would the Liberals not stop forcing their failed carbon tax scheme on Canadians?
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- Nov/28/22 2:31:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week we heard really good news for Atlantic Canadians. Three Atlantic provinces are going to get access to the climate action rebate that is going to put more money in their pockets.
Even more good news is that hundreds of millions of dollars are going to flow into Atlantic Canada to transition from dirty, expensive fuel oil to cleaner forms of energy. Heat pumps rule. We are making life more affordable and fighting climate change.
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- Nov/28/22 2:31:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is a tax plan and not a climate plan.
The Liberals' failed plan is sending more Canadians to the food banks, and there are more families that have to skip meals. They keep failing on the environment. They have not fixed the economy. They keep charging Canadians even more.
Why will the Liberals not get out of the way, give Canadians a break and axe the tax?
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- Nov/28/22 2:32:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives never met an environmental program that they did not want to cut.
I mentioned on the last day that they gutted our environmental laws, and they cut $350 million from the climate action budget. For 10 long years, the Conservatives did absolutely nothing on climate change.
We are on track to meet our emissions target. We are doing something about climate change. We are building the economy of tomorrow.
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- Nov/28/22 2:32:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal carbon tax has driven up the cost of home heating, fuel and groceries.
Canadians are suffering. People are wearing their winter coats inside of their homes to keep down heating costs. Mothers are diluting their babies' milk to stretch it. However, Canada pitifully ranks 58 out of 63 countries on climate action.
Will the Liberal government stop forcing their failed climate tax on suffering Canadians?
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