44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 31, 2023 10:00AM
- 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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- Jan/31/23 2:30:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as a nurse, I have seen first-hand the challenges that seniors faced during the pandemic, including in my own community of Brampton. That is why we welcomed the new standards released today by the Health Standards Organization and Canadian Standards Association, which are the result of extensive consultations across the country. We have also provided $4 billion to support provinces and territories in their efforts to improve long-term care in their jurisdictions. We will continue to work together to ensure that all Canadians continue to live with dignity and respect, regardless of where they live.
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- Jan/31/23 2:31:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our seniors need sufficient funding and legislation, and the government has done neither.
In 2021, the Liberals declared that a “two-tier system would worsen access and health outcomes for all of us” and that innovation in health care comes from “improving and expanding our public health care system”. Now, those same Liberals are willing to let Doug Ford and Danielle Smith use federal funds to further privatize health care.
Does the Prime Minister need the link to his party's website?
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- Jan/31/23 2:31:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful for that question. As Minister of Health in the Canadian government, I have a special responsibility to ensure that the principles of the Canada Health Act are respected by everyone in this country. We are very proud of the fact that our health care system is publicly funded and very proud of the principle of equal access for everyone. All the health ministers and all the first ministers agree on that, and we will all continue to work together to make sure that these principles serve the workers and the patients.
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- Jan/31/23 2:32:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are paying the price after eight years of Liberal incompetence, mismanagement and corruption. Liberal insiders like McKinsey have never had it so good, with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contracts for work that government departments are saying they could have done instead. It is just like the WE scandal, and Canadians are worse off than ever, with soaring interest rates because of out-of-control Liberal spending and a 40-year high in food inflation.
Can anyone on that side tell us why Liberal crony handouts are more important than lowering the cost of living for everyday Canadians?
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- Jan/31/23 2:33:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will soon, in this House, have an opportunity to come together once again and make life better for hundreds of thousands of Canadians with disabilities. We are about to embark on a third reading of Bill C-22. I expect and hope that everyone here will understand the severe levels of poverty of our Canadians with disabilities, and we will work together to make life better for them.
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- Jan/31/23 2:33:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, eight years of Liberal mismanagement leaves a legacy of being the most expensive government with some of the worst outcomes in history. While Liberals help their cronies with millions of dollars in handouts, Canadians have never had it so bad. One in five Canadians are skipping meals; they are out of money and accessing charity services. Two former Liberal finance ministers agree with the Conservatives. Bill Morneau admitted that the Liberals overspent during the pandemic, and now, even former Liberal finance minister John Manley is warning that the Liberals' reckless spending is fuelling inflation.
Why is the government determined to make Liberal insiders rich off the empty stomachs of Canadians?
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- Jan/31/23 2:34:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, sometimes the opposition graces us with the good fortune of saying the quiet part out loud. The pandemic spending that kept my neighbours fed and a roof over the heads of their children was not overspending. That was essential to protect the well-being of Canadians who live in my community. We stepped up to make sure that businesses could keep the lights on and their doors open, and that is something I would do a hundred times out of a hundred. I see people every day who still have a job because of those measures. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Conservative leader held a press conference to say he would never support those big, fat government programs. Thank God we are in government because people are still employed as a result.
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