44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 31, 2023 10:00AM
- Jan/31/23 2:15:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I stand in solidarity with the people of Iran who are demonstrating against a brutal regime. Their courage and resolve are recognized here in Canada, and the residents of Port Moody—Coquitlam see them. Iranians are protesting worldwide, at great risk to themselves, for the human rights of women. Thousands have been arrested and imprisoned and some have been executed.
Farhad Nakhaei was arrested at a protest in Chabahar, and Mahya Vahedi was arrested at work. Speaking their names in the House today is a show of my solidarity and sponsorship for their lives. Canada must not tolerate the Iranian government's brutality.
The New Democrats have asked the foreign affairs committee to look at listing the murderous IRGC as a terrorist entity, and we urge all parties to support our motion. I will continue to work with Iranian Canadians to seek justice for political prisoners.
Zan, zendegi, azadi. Women, life, freedom.
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- Jan/31/23 2:16:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about a quality that the House occasionally lacks, genius.
Astrophysicist René Doyon has just been named Radio-Canada's scientist of the year for his role in the design of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Launched into space in 2021, this telescope, the most powerful ever launched, is revolutionizing our knowledge of the universe. It is amazing us all with its photos of the most distant galaxies and of earth-like planets orbiting stars other than the sun.
This is all a result of decades of work by René Doyon as principal investigator of the Canadian participation, in collaboration with NASA and the European Space Agency.
This is the second time the Université de Montréal professor, originally from Beauce, has won the scientist of the year award.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to congratulate René Doyon and above all thank him for allowing us to dream by opening our eyes to all the potential the universe has to offer.
Bravo, René Doyon.
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- Jan/31/23 2:17:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Mohsen Shekari was a 23-year-old living in Tehran. In September, he was arrested by the Iranian morality police and charged for waging war against God for protesting. At the trial, he was denied the right to a lawyer, denied the right to an appeal, denied the right to see his family and sentenced to death.
Trials like these have been repeated hundreds of times since then, but they are trials the Liberal member for Richmond Hill actually called fair and legal. He used those words. There are no fair and legal proceedings against political prisoners in a country that does not have an independent judiciary.
The IRGC is still allowed to fundraise, organize and recruit here in Canada. Its members are regularly let into the country and are free to intimidate our own citizens. They have sympathizers in this very government.
The Prime Minister did not mislead Parliament when he himself voted to list the IRGC as terrorists, but he did mislead Canadians by not having the courage to do it when he had the chance. It is time for the Liberals to stop defending the IRGC, and it is time to start standing up to it.
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- Jan/31/23 2:18:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, six years ago on Sunday, six men lost their lives to an act of hate at the Centre culturel islamique de Québec in Sainte‑Foy.
The next day, vigils for the Muslim community were held throughout Quebec. I attended one in Montreal. It was freezing outside, but my heart was warmed by the sight of Quebeckers from all walks of life coming out in solidarity. Most of them did not even belong to the community directly affected by the attack.
The days that followed were a time of serious reflection in Quebec and Canadian society. The media did their best to explain who Quebec and Canadian Muslims were.
I am asking every member of the House and every citizen to remember the solidarity that we saw six years ago as we collectively try to combat islamophobia today.
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- Jan/31/23 2:20:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in eight years, this Prime Minister has doubled our national debt, adding $500 billion in inflationary deficit spending.
What did we get for that money? We got monthly payments for mortgages, and rents that doubled in eight years. Seniors are struggling to pay their grocery bills because of this government's inflationary policies over the past eight years. The crime rate has increased 32% after eight years of this Prime Minister.
Who has benefited? The consultants over at McKinsey, who received more than $100 million.
Yesterday, I asked the question five times: How much did this firm receive in total?
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- Jan/31/23 2:20:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we know, the situation is currently unstable. Times are tough for Canadians. We dealt with the pandemic. We were there for people and we are proud of that. It was the right thing to do.
Now that we are going through another difficult period with higher interest rates, we will continue to be there for people most in need. We will continue to act responsibly so that our economy continues to grow and provides good jobs for Canadians. We will continue to do our job.
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- Jan/31/23 2:21:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they are going to be there for the people most in need, like the $1,000-an-hour consultants over at McKinsey, a company that received over $100 million for work that public servants say was of little or no value. The total amount the government is spending on high-priced consultants is $15 billion. That is $1,000 for every single family in Canada. It is no wonder Canadians are eating increasingly at food banks after eight years of the government. It is no wonder seniors cannot keep the heat on.
Why will they not give us an answer? How much did McKinsey get in total?
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- Jan/31/23 2:22:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I remember my time in opposition looking at the member opposite, who sat in a government that had a poverty rate of 14.5%. Do members know how often the Conservatives talked about poverty or people in food banks then? It was never. In fact, what has happened under this government is that rate has been reduced by 56%. We have lifted literally over 1.5 million people out of poverty. I would point out that in the worst period of growth since 1946, which his government presided over, this government has seen more than 1.5 million jobs created since the Conservatives left office.
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- Jan/31/23 2:22:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there go the Liberals telling Canadians to stop all their complaining because they have never had it so good. The 1.5 million people eating from a food bank should stop their complaining because they have never had it so good. They tell those people going to a food bank and seeking help with suicide, which is becoming increasingly common, that they have never had it so good. They tell the 35-year-olds living in their parents' basement because the government's policies have doubled rent and mortgage payments that they have never had it so good. Why? It is because they are spending all their time with McKinsey consultants.
How much did those consultants get from taxpayers?
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- Jan/31/23 2:23:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the world is going through something incredibly difficult, we have a choice of what we can do. We can look people in the eye and tell them straight that they are in the most difficult time that humanity has gone through since the Second World War, or we can retweet what is going wrong in the world and make YouTube videos.
It is time for serious leadership. Do members know what has happened over the last eight years? Every time we put concrete solutions in place, the party opposite has obfuscated. The Conservatives tried to block supports for dental, supports for rent, supports for child care and supports for OAS.
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- Jan/31/23 2:24:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, now we have the Liberals' second tactic. First they tell Canadians they have never had it so good. Now they admit that it is miserable but it is everyone else's fault.
The rest of the world did not raise the rent in Canada. Rental rates are set here. We do not import our apartment buildings from Russia; we build them here in Canada. We do not set mortgage rates in Russia; we set them here in Canada.
After half a trillion dollars of inflationary deficits bidding up goods, and constant red tape preventing the construction of the homes we need, our young people are stuck in their parents' basements. Why do the Liberals not stop blaming everyone else and finally take responsibility for the misery they have caused in eight years?
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- Jan/31/23 2:24:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite had an opportunity to be in government and do something on poverty. The Conservatives did not have any targets. They did not talk about poverty. They did not talk about homeless shelters. They did not move on those things at all.
I have talked about what this government has done. The IMF is now saying that Canada will have the second-highest GDP growth in the world. As we work hard to lift Canadians up and do critical things like child care and dental care, instead of just amplifying anxiety and fear, why will the Conservatives not be part of the solution? I would say they have not been in this House. All they have done is block and obstruct real solutions.
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- Jan/31/23 2:25:30 p.m.
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I just want to direct all the members to look at their whips and seek advice from them in their signals. They are signalling to calm down and not shout out. I just want to remind everyone that their whip is working very hard and the deputy whip is too. Listen to them.
The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
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- Jan/31/23 2:25:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, now it is the Liberals' third tactic. First they say everything is great; then they say it is terrible, but it is everyone else's fault; then they say we should stop talking about how miserable people's lives are. The member seems to suggest that people are anxious because I am telling them that they cannot afford food. No, their stomachs are telling them they cannot afford food.
The Liberals seem to think that if I stop talking about the fact that seniors in northern Ontario cannot heat their homes because of the carbon tax, seniors will not notice that they are cold. They seem to think that if I do not talk about the 35-year-old living in his parents' basement, he will not realize that he is living there.
Why do the Liberals not fix the problems instead of telling people to shut up about them?
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- Jan/31/23 2:26:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are plain and straight about the difficult times that we are going through as a planet. I would suggest that when the member opposite had the opportunity to suggest, as an example, how people could deal with inflation, he recommended cryptocurrency.
This is the party that at every opportunity is actually not offering any solutions. In fact, the Conservatives are ignoring the fact that when they had a chance to act on poverty and when they had a chance to act on creating jobs, their party had such a bad record on the GDP that there were 14 times in history when there was more growth in a single year than the Conservatives had in their entire government.
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- Jan/31/23 2:27:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, ironically, the notwithstanding clause is a legacy that was strongly endorsed by Pierre Eliott Trudeau at the time. The rooster is about to crow for the third time.
According to what the minister said yesterday, he has nothing against the notwithstanding clause, he is against its pre-emptive use. The thing is, it can only be used pre-emptively. It is like a vaccine. We do not get vaccinated because we are sick, we get vaccinated to avoid getting sick, and we use the notwithstanding clause to avoid going to the Supreme Court. If it cannot be used pre-emptively, then what is the notwithstanding clause for?
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- Jan/31/23 2:28:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has always been clear about its concerns regarding the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause by the provinces and about the fact that we are weighing all of our options.
We are strongly committed to defending the rights and freedoms protected by the Charter, which was in fact created to protect minorities across Canada.
In the dialogue between Parliament and the courts, the first word should not be the last.
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- Jan/31/23 2:28:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the representative appointed by the Prime Minister has a rather unflattering view of Quebec. A discussion about Quebec's history and secularism would do Ms. Elghawaby some good.
The Prime Minister knew what he was doing. He and the Liberal Party will stop at nothing to strip the Quebec National Assembly of its authority, particularly when it comes to language and secularism, which must be protected. The notwithstanding clause is the last line of protection.
Are the Prime Minister and his government disavowing the legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau?
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- Jan/31/23 2:29:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Pierre Elliott Trudeau's Charter was created to defend the rights and freedoms of individuals. The same is true of René Lévesque's original charter. We are proud of Canada's traditions when it comes to charters and protecting minorities.
The pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause goes against the spirit of these charters and the dialogue between Parliament and the courts. As I just said, the first word should not be the last.
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- Jan/31/23 2:30:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Canadian Armed Forces had to be called into long-term care homes. What they saw in those homes were horrific conditions: seniors left for hours in soiled diapers and linens; seniors crying out for food and water, left dehydrated and hungry.
After seeing the report, the Prime Minister said he was sad and frustrated, but two years later there has been no action. When will the Prime Minister legislate standards in long-term care to protect our seniors?
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