44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 8, 2023 02:00PM
- Feb/8/23 2:23:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague said, our hearts go out to the families affected by this senseless tragedy.
Nothing can erase the grief and the pain that these families and this community are experiencing. We will be there for them in the coming days, months and years as they endure unimaginable grief.
I also want to thank the first responders and all those who intervened to help and make the situation safe. We will continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers.
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- Feb/8/23 2:25:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that many people, including seniors, are struggling, but it is not true that we have not been there for the past eight years, on the contrary.
We increased old age security by 10% for seniors aged 75 and over. We increased Canada pension plan benefits. We increased the guaranteed income supplement for single seniors. We made high-speed Internet more affordable for vulnerable seniors. We doubled the GST tax credit, which helped seniors.
We will continue to be there for seniors. We will continue to be there to support them through these difficult times. We know that is how we will get through them together.
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- Feb/8/23 2:26:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that the member opposite speaks about fixing things. When we took office, one of the first things we had to do was reverse the cuts that the member had voted for that would have raised the age of retirement to 67 years old instead of 65.
We continued to step up with increasing GIS by 10% for our most vulnerable single seniors and, in the years following, we have consistently been there for seniors. Conservatives continue to call for more cuts and more austerity, while we have been there to support seniors, and we will continue to be there.
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- Feb/8/23 2:27:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the past eight years we have stepped up on investing in housing. We have invested in low-income rentals, and we have made sure that seniors have extra supports so they can retire with dignity. The previous Conservative government consistently nickelled and dimed seniors and veterans and refused to support young families. These are the kinds of things we have been working on, and yes, there is more to do. This is why we were so surprised that the Conservative Party stood against extra supports for low-income renters and supporting families to send their kids to dentists when they could not afford it.
These are things we will continue to do.
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- Feb/8/23 2:29:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, through a very difficult pandemic, yes, there have been challenges for service delivery. That is why this government has been stepping up. One area we are stepping up in is recognizing that our universal public health care system needs more support. That is why we are moving forward with investments worth $198 billion in additional money to support provinces and territories in delivering better health care for Canadians.
Whether it is with more access to family doctors, better mental health supports, better support for frontline health workers or better data and information to underpin our system, we are there to invest as Conservatives continue to push cuts.
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- Feb/8/23 2:30:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the next 10 years, the federal government will invest an additional $198 billion in health care systems across the country, and that includes $46 billion in new money for the provinces and territories. The purpose of this money is to provide access to family doctors, provide access to better mental health services, especially for our youth, ensure that frontline health workers get appropriate support, and create better data and information systems for Canadians.
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- Feb/8/23 2:31:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while my hon. colleague talks about what the provinces want, we are focused on what Canadians need.
Canadians need more family doctors. They need more mental health help. Canadians need to see that frontline workers in hospitals and other facilities are better paid and supported. Canadians need to know where their medical records are and they need better information to understand the system they rely on.
That is what we are doing in partnership with the provinces. We are going to improve health care systems for tomorrow.
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- Feb/8/23 2:33:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure my hon. NDP colleague will be pleased to know that he has been misinformed.
One of the very first things I said when I sat down with the premiers yesterday was about respect for our universal public system and how the principles of the Canada Health Act are foundational for this government and for any money that we flow to the provinces and to health care systems across this country over the coming years.
On this side of the aisle, we will always stand up for universal public health care.
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- Feb/8/23 2:34:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will repeat my answer to make sure that my NDP colleague hears me properly.
The first thing I said when I sat down with the premiers yesterday to talk about health care and the investments that the federal government will make to help people is that we need to uphold the Canada Health Act and continue with our universal public system, which provides services to Canadians across the country.
That is a fundamental principle that we will always defend. We are always there to defend our public health care system.
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- Feb/8/23 2:35:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we recognize that Canadians are going through difficult times right now following the challenges of the global pandemic and global inflation. That is why we chose to step up to support Canadians last fall with a doubling of the GST credit, which has helped 11 million Canadians; moving forward on supporting lowest-income renters; and making sure that all families can send their kids to the dentist. Unfortunately, the Conservatives, despite their rhetoric, stood against those last two measures and refused to help Canadians who need it. They are abandoning the middle class in favour of cuts and austerity.
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- Feb/8/23 2:36:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to see the lengths to which Conservatives will go to pretend the pandemic never happened. It was a very difficult time for Conservative politicians at the federal level. They were not convinced about vaccines and did not like all the supports we were sending to Canadians, even though it not only ensured that millions of Canadians were kept safer during the pandemic but also allowed our economy to bounce back stronger than just about any of our fellow economies did.
In regard to supporting Canadians, our price on pollution puts more money back in the pockets of families. At the same time, we are investing $500 million so that families can upgrade their home heating.
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- Feb/8/23 2:37:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while opposition members are simply focused on frightening seniors, what we actually saw 10 years ago was that they raised the age of retirement from 65 to 67 years, which we returned to 65 when we first took office. Then we moved forward with an increase in the guaranteed income supplement of 10% for the most vulnerable single seniors; that party voted against the increase.
We continue to step up in ways to support Canadian seniors right across the country and lift more of them out of poverty while Conservatives continue to argue against those investments.
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- Feb/8/23 2:39:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as a government we stepped up to support Canadians during the pandemic. As a government we continue to step up to support Canadians during these difficult times of high inflation and high interest rates. That is why we put forward initiatives to double the GST rebate for 11 million families. That is why we moved forward with rental support for the lowest-income renters and dental supports for families who cannot send their kids to the dentist.
Despite all the rhetoric from the Conservatives, they cannot dodge the fact that they voted against those initiatives.
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- Feb/8/23 2:40:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, throughout our history, Canada and Canadians have faced some extremely difficult times.
We are going through a difficult time right now. Instead of throwing our hands up and saying that everything is broken, we know what Canadians are doing. They are there for one another. They are rolling up their sleeves to help one another. That is how we know that they appreciate the fact that we are investing in support for dental care and for low-income renters.
Our hon. colleague voted against these initiatives. We will continue to be there despite the Conservatives' opposition to investing.
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- Feb/8/23 2:41:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are taking action to help Canadians who are facing difficult times. Yes, there have been challenges with service delivery in the wake of the pandemic this past year. We will continue to work to improve services and support Canadians. That is what Canadians expect.
Unfortunately, the Conservative Party voted against help for dental care and help for low-income renters. It has nothing to offer Canadians except recommendations like investing in cryptocurrencies to avoid the effects of inflation. That is ridiculous and irresponsible.
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- Feb/8/23 2:42:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers and all Canadians understand full well that it will take additional investments in our health care system. That is what we are doing.
They also know full well that money is not the only solution. We need more family doctors, more support for mental health care, more help for frontline workers, more data, more information to improve the quality of care. That is what we are working on, together with the provinces.
While the Bloc Québécois is looking to pick another fight, I am very eager to work with the provincial premiers to get results for Canadians.
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- Feb/8/23 2:44:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, the federal government invested an extra $72 billion to keep Canadians safe and secure. Yes, we are here to deliver services and help Canadians, especially those in the armed forces and on indigenous reserves.
We know we can deliver the best services to Canadians by working hand in hand with the provinces and territories. Canadians are counting on us, so that is what we are doing. We will work hand in hand, not constantly pick fights like the Bloc.
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- Feb/8/23 2:45:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our top priority on this side of the House is always the safety of our communities. That is why we have continued to make innovations and investments in bail reform and why we continue to work with the provinces and territories on these issues.
We will make sure we are keeping Canadians safe, but the Conservatives' so-called focus on community safety does not explain their opposition to stronger gun control laws. We are going to continue to step up to make sure there is a freeze on handgun ownership across this country and that we keep assault-style weapons banned across the country. The Conservatives continue to be in the pockets of the Canadian NRA.
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- Feb/8/23 2:46:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will continue to be there for victims of crime. We will continue to ensure there is less violent crime so that fewer people are made victims.
When we moved forward on our bill, Bill C-75, we did not change the criteria for when accused persons can be released. The bill put in place a reverse onus for certain firearms offences, meaning it is up to the accused to prove they can be released. The law is clear that people should be detained if that is necessary to protect public safety.
I know the Minister of Justice will continue to work with his counterparts across the country to ensure we are keeping people safe.
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- Feb/8/23 2:47:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice will continue to work with his provincial counterparts to see what improvements can be made, but while the members opposite continue to attack the improvements that were made to the system, they are misinforming Canadians.
When we brought out, for example, the criteria for when accused persons can be released, they were not changed by Bill C-75. The law is clear that people should be detained if that is necessary to protect public safety. The bill also put in place a reverse onus for certain firearms offences, meaning it is up to the accused to prove they can be released.
We are going to continue to stand up for Canadians.
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