44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 8, 2023 02:00PM
- Feb/8/23 2:21:08 p.m.
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Following discussions among representatives of all parties in the House, I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence to acknowledge the tragic event that occurred today in Laval, Quebec.
I would now invite members to rise.
[A moment of silence observed]
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- Feb/8/23 2:22:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a bus crashed into a day care full of children. Unfortunately, we have learned that two children died and others are injured.
As a father, I can imagine the suffering of the families affected. We offer our support and our prayers to these families.
Can the Prime Minister update us on this tragic incident and tell us what the government will do to support the families and Quebeckers?
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- 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 2:24:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this Prime Minister, a study by the Bank of Canada has found that it now takes $1.7 million for someone to retire, to be able to feed themselves for the rest of their life.
After eight years, we have the highest inflation rate in a generation. With mortgage costs going up, with the cost of rent and groceries going up as a result of this Prime Minister's inflationary policies, people can no longer afford to pay their bills.
Will the Prime Minister personally take responsibility for these problems, so we can fix what he broke?
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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 2:25:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite those talking points, after eight years, it now costs $1.7 million for someone to retire, according to a Bank of Montreal study.
One now has to be a millionaire to be able to retire in this country. After eight years of this Prime Minister's inflationary deficits and taxes, and after eight years of doubling the cost of home heating with his carbon tax, increasing food prices by burdening our farmers and increasing the cost of everything through a half-trillion dollars of inflationary deficits, why does the Prime Minister not personally take responsibility for what he broke so that we can fix it?
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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 2:27:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister has done is double the rent to $2,200 a month as an average in the 10 biggest cities. He has doubled the home heating bills right across the country, and he has doubled the average mortgage payment to well over $3,000 a month. No wonder nine out of 10 young people who do not own a home believe they never will.
This is after eight years of inflationary policies that have driven up the cost of housing and driven up interest rates to pay for it. Why will the Prime Minister not admit that these things are broken after eight years of his leadership so that we can fix them?
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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 2:28:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said he was drawing the line to ban anyone from pointing out that things are broken after eight years of his leadership. His own Parliamentary Budget Officer has crossed the line, saying, “there is a system that is broken” and “anybody who has recently applied for a passport, Employment Insurance, Old Age Security and the list goes on” probably realizes very well that the “level of service Canadians are getting is not what one would expect from a world-class public service.” There is “room for enhanced leadership”.
Will the Prime Minister call to the carpet this rogue parliamentary officer for saying that things are broken?
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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 2:29:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, far be it from me to stick my nose in other people's business, but media reports suggest all is not well in the Liberal caucus. The Prime Minister is adding to an already long list of major problems.
Quebec and the provinces calculated they need $300 billion in new money for health care. The government ponied up $46 billion over 10 years, which nobody thinks is nearly enough.
Let us start at the beginning. Will the Prime Minister admit that this is not $200 billion in new money, it is actually $46 billion?
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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 2:31:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is progress. He is no longer pretending it is $20 billion a year; it is $4.6 billion a year. The provinces were asking for $28 billion. This is a far cry from what is needed to care for people. This requires a proper assessment of what it takes to care for people.
Now we see that the government is indexing underfunding. It is publicly announcing that a problem that is real today is going to be just as real for the next 10 years.
Can the Prime Minister admit that this money is not enough and commit to improving his offer?
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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 2:32:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the Prime Minister's meeting with the premiers, he had a chance to tell premiers not to double down on for-profit care and poach from our hospitals. However, Premier Doug Ford confirms that this never came up in any conversation. The Prime Minister had a chance to stand up for public health care and increasing staffing levels. Instead, he stood down.
The Prime Minister used to believe in public health care. Why the flip-flop?
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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 2:33:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, during the last election, the Prime Minister spoke out against the for-profit privatization of our health care system. He said that would not be innovation, and I agree.
However, it has been confirmed that, yesterday, he did not raise this issue in his meeting with the premiers. He had the opportunity to defend our health care system and he rolled over.
Why this big flip-flop?
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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 2:34:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years under the Liberal Prime Minister, Canadians cannot afford groceries, which are up 11%. They cannot afford rent; it has doubled. Nine out of 10 young people say that they will never be able to afford a home. To add insult to injury, he is tripling the carbon tax.
Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for the cost-of-living crisis that he created or at least get out of the way so we can fix it?
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