44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 10, 2023 10:00AM
- Feb/10/23 11:11:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians are lined up at food banks and Liberal insiders are lining their pockets. We continue to see it time and time again, with the Prime Minister furthering the interests of his friends, just as the former finance minister, the intergovernmental affairs minister and now the trade minister have done. It is sweetheart deals and hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the case, to Liberal insiders while Canadians struggle to keep the heat on.
Canadians expect better from their government officials and they deserve accountability. Canada's Conservatives will continue to press the government to be accountable to Canadians. We are going to give Canadians that accountability and will continue to call on the minister to resign and repay the tens of thousands of dollars she gave to her insider friends.
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- Feb/10/23 11:12:40 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, Canadians are facing a cost of living crisis, with inflation at a 40-year high, seniors worried about putting food on the table and university students going to food banks.
After eight years of the Prime Minister's incompetence, we have high interest rates, doubling of mortgage payments and out-of-reach residential rent rates.
After eight years of the Prime Minister mismanaging our economy, job postings are not being filled and investors are heading south, and all the while the Liberal government is doubling the national debt.
After eight years, Canada is missing all of its environmental targets, but the Liberals will triple the carbon tax, driving up the cost of everything and making home heating more expensive.
After eight years of the Liberal government, Canadians have had enough. The Conservatives will keep the heat on and take the tax off.
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- Feb/10/23 11:13:42 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, earlier this year, the Université de Sherbrooke ranked first in the international STARS program, a system that rates higher education institutions' sustainable development performance. This is an unprecedented achievement.
This prestigious recognition attests to not only the institution's leadership position when it comes to sustainable development, but also its ability to drive change to inspire and push our societies and our country to become greener, more responsible and more inclusive.
To tackle current environmental issues, over 75% of Université de Sherbrooke's departments are involved in research related to sustainable development issues, and over 90% of the departments offer courses related to these issues. We can be proud of the vision of the university's leadership and the commitment shown by all faculty, staff and the entire student body in taking this educational institution to new heights.
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- Feb/10/23 11:14:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, millions of Canadians are grappling with the reality of our country's colonial past and present, but our institutions are not, and this House is the worst among them.
Yesterday I sat at the public accounts committee and listened to the Auditor General plead with the government to finally do what is right and end the systemic racism present in the federal prison system. It is no secret that indigenous people make up the vast majority of those in our prison system while only making up a minority in Canada. These are shameful results.
Instead of holding the government truly accountable, the Leader of the Opposition is only making things worse, with reckless rhetoric and failed tough-on-crime policies that harm Black and indigenous communities without making things safer.
I call on the Minister of Public Safety and the Leader of the Opposition to sit down and listen to the indigenous people who are living the consequences of this colonization.
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- Feb/10/23 11:15:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is Teacher Appreciation Week and I would like to salute them.
This year's theme is most appropriate: “Everyday we measure the significance of your role.” Indeed, every day we entrust our teachers with the most precious thing in the world, our children.
We send them to learn, grow and develop under their teachers' watchful eye. Our teachers put their hearts and souls into their work and spend long hours teaching in conditions that are often difficult. Every day they find ever more creative ways of using their limited resources to create small miracles. They hold the future of Quebec in their hands and know how to care for them.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to thank them for their dedication to our children. On a more personal note, I would like to highlight the exceptional dedication of the teacher closest to my heart, my wife Line, her sister Francine and her father Gaétan, who have 60 years of combined teaching experience.
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- Feb/10/23 11:16:58 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, two days after the tragedy in Laval, we are all still in shock. Families are in mourning, parents and children have been scarred for life, and parents everywhere have to explain the inexplicable to their kids.
In this time of unspeakable tragedy, let us pay tribute to the exceptional efforts of first responders, as well of Mike Haddad, a father on the scene who took immediate and decisive action. He said, “The real heroes are the child care workers and the children.... In my opinion, the most important thing now is how the parents who lost their children are doing. I will survive, my kids will survive.” He said that he would never forget “the voice of the little girl whom they were unable to locate”.
Like many, I have the great joy of being a father and a grandfather to two preschool-age granddaughters. I cannot imagine the pain the parents are feeling as a result of this despicable act.
Now more than ever, we must be observant and not hesitate to ask for help. These children will stay in our hearts forever. Their lives were shorter than our memories of them will be, because we will never forget them.
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- Feb/10/23 11:18:22 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this year is the 50th anniversary of the city of Cambridge, Ontario, my hometown, which was formed when Galt, Preston, Hespeler and Blair were amalgamated in 1973. As someone who has lived in Cambridge for many years, I am proud to call Cambridge my home.
This year, we are celebrating the beauty of our architecture, our natural environments, our booming restaurant industry, our inspiring arts and culture community, our contributions to television and film, and the history and heritage that shaped our community. We remember the people of Cambridge who made the city what it is today. This year, let us come together to celebrate the past, present and future of Cambridge. Let us continue to build on the legacy of those who have come before us and create a future that is brighter than ever before.
I invite all in this House and everyone across Canada to visit Cambridge to celebrate its 50th birthday.
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- Feb/10/23 11:19:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, here is another week and another condemnation for the Liberals. The Parliamentary Budget Officer they appointed condemned their own government for saying it is “not worth the effort” to recover $15 billion of COVID overpayments to wealthy corporations. Worse, they have not changed a thing. The Auditor General said so, too. They hired 10,000 more tax collectors.
That is $15 billion. Is $1,000 per Canadian household, per family, not worth it? Are they kidding?
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- Feb/10/23 11:20:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, all one has to do is go into Canadian communities across this country to understand the importance of the various COVID-19 emergency programs that were introduced. Whether it was CERB or whether it was the wage subsidy, these programs helped the country through. At a time when Canadians needed their government, their government was there.
Where was the opposition? The opposition was talking about austerity. It was talking about making cuts. We will not defend that kind of agenda. We will put forward a progressive agenda that helps Canadians.
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- Feb/10/23 11:20:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the government says it is not worth collecting $15 billion from its well-connected, wealthy corporate friends. Today, the Liberals are standing by that. If someone’s grandmother owed $15, the CRA would call that grandmother until she paid back every last cent, but $15 billion is not worth it. They must be kidding.
Will they commit to getting the illegal money back from big corporations so that Canadian families can afford to pay their bills?
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- Feb/10/23 11:21:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it turns out the Conservatives apparently are following the lead of their leader, who was staying up very late at night, as we understand, watching crypto episodes on YouTube. What he is missing as a result of that, and what they are missing, is the public record.
At the public accounts committee last week, the commissioner of the CRA made it very clear that the verification work is ongoing with respect to determining whether individuals and businesses were actually eligible for the support they received. This work is vital. We committed to it as a government and they supported it, so let us let it continue.
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- Feb/10/23 11:21:58 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, they have not changed a thing. The Auditor General said so. There are $15 billion of illegal payments to corporations and more taxes for ordinary Canadians.
After eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians are the ones cutting back. They are cutting back on meals; one in five is skipping them. Seniors are turning their heat down because of the Prime Minister's punishing carbon tax. They are cutting back on the things they want after eight years of the Prime Minister making everything they need more expensive.
Canadians are the ones feeling the Liberal government's austerity. Will it take responsibility or get out of the way so we can fix it?
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- Feb/10/23 11:22:38 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we reduced taxes for middle-class Canadians on two separate occasions, and both times the Conservatives voted against it.
I would like to address the Statistics Canada report of this morning, which indicated that 150,000 new jobs were created in January alone. This is well above market expectations, and we know that the best thing for Canadians struggling to meet the rising cost of living is to have a good, well-paying job.
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- Feb/10/23 11:23:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years under this Prime Minister, inflationary policies have shattered the dreams of middle-class Canadians. They are the big losers of this government's decisions. Middle-class Canadians are excluded from the Liberals' aid programs because they are too rich, but they are not rich enough to benefit from the Prime Minister's generosity to his friends. Nine out of 10 young Canadians will not be able to fulfill their dream of home ownership, which is really sad.
Will the Prime Minister take responsibility so that we can finally give Canadians the right to dream and have a better future?
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- Feb/10/23 11:23:52 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives are talking about the middle class. We cut taxes for middle-class Canadians twice. The Conservatives voted against those measures. This morning, we learned that 150,000 new jobs were created in Canada. One-third of those jobs, or nearly 50,000, were created in Quebec. Our priority is to ensure that we have good, well-paying jobs for Canadians, and this morning's figures are proof of that.
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- Feb/10/23 11:24:30 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, what we voted against are this government's inflationary policies of the past eight years.
This week, the big grocery store chains announced that the price of groceries is going to increase again in the next few months. Last year, prices went up by 11%. This year, the average family is going to pay $1,000 more for groceries, so they can eat, so they can put butter, bread, meat and vegetables on their table.
That is the reality that the Liberals do not want to see, but that is how it is right now in Canada. Will the Prime Minister admit—
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- Feb/10/23 11:25:09 a.m.
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The hon. Minister of Sport.
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- Feb/10/23 11:25:13 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, our government is taking a responsible attitude and helping the people who need it the most.
For example, we created the Canada dental benefit for children under 12. We introduced a $500 top-up to the Canada—
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- Feb/10/23 11:25:29 a.m.
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I have to interrupt the hon. minister for a moment.
The hon. member will please allow the minister to answer the question.
The hon. minister.
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- Feb/10/23 11:25:40 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was saying that our government is taking a responsible attitude by helping those who are most in need at this difficult time.
What we do not understand is why, every time we want to do something to help Canadians, the Conservatives oppose it, just as they did when we cut taxes for the middle class twice.
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