SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 173 - Mar/27/23

Mr. Marc Dalton (Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, CPC)

Mar/27/23 2:13:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in greater Vancouver, the dream of buying a home or even renting an affordable place has become a nightmare under the Liberal government. The Liberals do not care. They will not take any responsibility for the mess they have created. Reckless spending and the irresponsible doubling of our national debt have lit an inflationary fire. After eight years under the Prime Minister, the price of housing has skyrocketed. To compensate for the spending, the Bank of Canada has raised interest rates 1,700% in just one year. Families will be forced to spend thousands more when mortgage renewal comes. Whether one is a renter, a first-time homebuyer or a homeowner, Conservatives will fight to ensure housing is affordable. A change of government cannot come soon enough.

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Mr. Luc Berthold (Mégantic—L'Érable, CPC)

Mar/27/23 2:14:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister has been leading the Liberal government for eight years and is now being propped up by a costly coalition with the NDP. For an entire generation of young Canadians, the cost of living is at an all-time high, and the hope of building a life like their parents is fading little by little every day. In Canada, home ownership was an attainable dream for young people prior to 2016. Now, the Liberal Prime Minister's inflationary spending is making that dream impossible to achieve. Fully nine out of 10 young people believe they will never be able to afford a home because mortgage payments have doubled in the eight years since this Prime Minister was elected. More and more people, from the very poor to middle-class families, are turning to food banks because their paycheques no longer cover rising food prices. The 2023 budget must put an end to inflationary spending. The 2023 budget must make it possible for Canadians to take home more money with each paycheque. The 2023 budget must lower prices by cancelling tax increases. The 2023 budget must remove government barriers to housing construction. The 2023 budget must bring common sense back into this House.

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Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans, Lib.)

Mar/27/23 2:15:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of representing a community of active and engaged seniors in Orléans. That is why I was proud to attend the monthly breakfast hosted by the Rendez-vous des aînés francophones d'Ottawa, or RAFO, on March 19 to announce $99,450 in financial aid under the community spaces fund. The RAFO, which has over 600 members, was able to do major renovations to make its building more energy efficient and provide a better environment for its members. I would also like to honour and recognize in the House three outstanding women in Orléans who all celebrated their 100th birthday this year. Congratulations to Thérèse Gagnier, Germaine Dumoulin and Henriette Comeau. I wish these women a happy birthday.

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Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans, Lib.)

Mar/27/23 2:15:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of representing a community of active and engaged seniors in Orléans. That is why I was proud to attend the monthly breakfast hosted by the Rendez-vous des aînés francophones d'Ottawa, or RAFO, on March 19 to announce $99,450 in financial aid under the community spaces fund. The RAFO, which has over 600 members, was able to do major renovations to make its building more energy efficient and provide a better environment for its members. I would also like to honour and recognize in the House three outstanding women in Orléans who all celebrated their 100th birthday this year. Congratulations to Thérèse Gagnier, Germaine Dumoulin and Henriette Comeau. I wish these women a happy birthday.

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Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

Mar/27/23 2:17:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we electrify our energy systems, batteries will become more important. However, they have lifespans, and recycling will become an even more critical part of our future. I am proud to say that the city of Trail has become one of the biggest battery recycling hubs in North America. One company in Trail, Retriev Technologies, which is now part of Cirba Solutions, has been recycling all kinds of batteries for years. If people bring their used batteries to any recycling centre in British Columbia, they will end up at Retriev, producing valuable products such as cobalt cake and lithium salts. Next door is KC Recycling, the biggest lead acid battery recycling facility in western North America. Lead acid batteries are the batteries in all gas-powered cars and trucks in the world. They are completely recyclable. Much of the lead from KC goes directly back into the Teck smelter in Trail. All batteries can be recycled, and the city of Trail is leading the way to the circular economy of the future.

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Mrs. Caroline Desbiens (Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix, BQ)

Mar/27/23 2:18:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my friend, actor, director and producer Louisette Dussault took her final bow and left us last week. In addition to her multiple roles and productions, she was active as the president of the Conseil québécois du théâtre and worked for the Commission internationale du théâtre francophone. She contributed to the success of great Quebec works such as Les belles-sœurs and Demain matin, Montréal m'attend by the great Michel Tremblay. Devoted to Quebec, she was part of the women for sovereignty bus. I remember her magnificent interpretation of Panis Angelicus, which she dedicated to me and sang in her beautiful soprano voice when she sponsored the island collective project Les Marsouineries de L'Isle-aux-Coudres. What about the 750 episodes of La souris verte that won the hearts of children in Quebec? For six decades we have been singing: Ten sheepNine sparrows Eight groundhogsSeven rabbitsSix ducks Five antsFour catsAnd three chicksTwo weasels and one mouse.[We love our] green mouse.

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Mr. Philip Lawrence (Northumberland—Peterborough South, CPC)

Mar/27/23 2:19:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister's inflationary taxes and deficit spending, it no longer pays to work in Canada. One in five Canadians are skipping meals, and many are going to food banks just to survive. February marks the seventh consecutive month of double-digit food inflation. Rent and mortgage payments have doubled under the Liberal Prime Minister, and the dream of home ownership is quickly becoming a nightmare for many young people in this great country. A Conservative government would bring home powerful paycheques with lower taxes, so that hard work would pay off once again; bring home lower prices by ending inflationary carbon tax and deficit spending, which drive up inflation and create higher interest rates; and bring homes to Canadians that they could afford by removing government gatekeepers, freeing up land and speeding up building permits. Enough is enough. It is time to make Canada work for those who do the work.

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Ms. Ya'ara Saks (York Centre, Lib.)

Mar/27/23 2:20:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to welcome members of various organizations, such as Reena, the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, Community Living Toronto and many more, to Parliament Hill. They are joining us to advocate for affordable housing and support for Canadians with developmental disabilities. It is essential that we provide support for those with developmental disabilities through programs like the national housing strategy. In this way, they can be fully included in our society with dignity, individuality, independence, personal growth and community inclusion. Reena provides support across North York and the GTA, including a third intentional community, the new Frankfort Family Reena Residence. It will provide affordable housing for an additional 154 individuals. I would like to thank these amazing organizations for joining us and for all the transformative work they do in our communities, empowering those with developmental disabilities. In this country our strategy is nothing without us. We see those in the developmental disability community, and we care about them. They enrich our society and our communities each and every day.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Mar/27/23 2:22:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, there is a war on work with his taxes and other clawbacks. Workers can lose 88¢ on each additional dollar earned. There is no common sense in that. It is the opposite of a report card: The harder people work, the more they are punished. Will the Prime Minister end his war on work by cutting taxes so that hard work pays off once again?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Mar/27/23 2:22:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since 2015, we have put success for the middle class and all those who work hard at the heart of everything we do. That is why we delivered a Canada child benefit that lifted 435,000 children out of poverty. To date, we have created over 50,000 child care spaces by cutting child care fees in half. We have helped over 230,000 children have access to dental care, and we have added over two million jobs to the economy, increasing the participation of women by over 3%. The Conservatives voted against many of these measures. On this side of the House, we will continue to meet the needs of workers—

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The Speaker

Mar/27/23 2:23:18 p.m.
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The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Mar/27/23 2:23:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what we voted against is the Prime Minister's war on work, with higher and higher taxes and clawbacks that punish people for working hard. In fact, a worker can lose as much as 88¢ on the next dollar that he or she earns. There is no common sense in that. Why would people work more just to give it over to the Prime Minister? Will the Prime Minister reverse his antiwork taxes and give Canadians a break, so that hard work pays off and Canadians can bring home powerful paycheques?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Mar/27/23 2:23:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from the moment we first got elected in 2015, we put success for the middle class in this country at the heart of everything we do. This is why we delivered a Canada child benefit that lifted hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty and why we have invested in clean energy and new jobs that have helped Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We have also delivered a Canada workers benefit that the Conservatives voted against, which is supporting low-income workers and continuing to be more generous. We moved forward on supports for dental and rental for low-income Canadians that the Conservatives directly voted against. We will continue to be there for all Canadians, including workers.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Mar/27/23 2:24:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only place he has been is in the pockets of Canadian workers, taking away their money. He has raised taxes on paycheques, raised taxes on gas, raised taxes on home heating, raised taxes on food and raised taxes on small businesses. What does he want to do this Saturday? He wants to raise taxes again. Inflation is at a 40-year high. After eight years under the Prime Minister, Canadians cannot afford to eat, heat and house themselves. Will he show a little bit of restraint and commit, in tomorrow's budget, to no new taxes?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Mar/27/23 2:25:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have demonstrated, every step of the way, that we are there to support workers. We are there to support Canadians, and that is exactly what we did when we lowered the small business taxes to record levels and even allowed larger growth for small businesses while continuing to benefit from those. We have continued to step up on supports for workers and continued to step up on supports for families. That has created economic growth that has benefited everyone, as opposed to the trickle-down that the Conservatives still push, with tax breaks for the wealthiest. We have continued to grow the economy in meaningful ways for everyone.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Mar/27/23 2:25:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the trickle-down is his. He wants to take away everybody's money, centralize it in his own hands and promise that it will trickle down through his mighty bureaucracy and all the prodigious interest groups that gobble it up. There may be a few little drops that get down to the people who actually earned it in the first place. When I first said that deficits would cause inflation, all the experts disagreed. Now they all agree with me. In fact, even the finance minister has now come around to my view, admitting that deficit spending causes inflation. That is why people are paying more than at any time in 40 years. Will he cap government spending and put an end to the inflationary deficits tomorrow?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Mar/27/23 2:26:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we can tell that the Leader of the Opposition is still hoping and waiting for experts to endorse his plan to opt out of inflation by buying cryptocurrency, something that would have erased the savings of Canadians. The fact is that tomorrow, we are bringing forward a budget that is focused on affordability and supporting Canadians. It is going to be delivering health care results for Canadians right across the country and creating great jobs for the middle class in a clean and growing economy. Those are the focuses that we have been laser focused on over the past many years, for Canadians. We will continue to step up and be there to grow the economy and support all Canadians.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Mar/27/23 2:27:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the worst part of his inflationary policies is in the price of housing. We see that now Vancouver is the third-worst housing bubble in the world. Toronto is the 10th. They are worse than Manhattan; Singapore; London, England; and countless other places. The average required down payments, rents and mortgage payments have doubled under the Prime Minister. His inflationary policies have made life worse, and his gatekeeping friends prevent housing construction. Will the Prime Minister announce in tomorrow's budget serious penalties for the gatekeepers that drive up housing prices so that hard-working Canadians can have homes they can afford?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Mar/27/23 2:28:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know Canadians are struggling with the cost of housing, whether it is a young family looking to buy their first home or a student looking for an affordable apartment near campus. That is why we have taken action on so many fronts, from helping Canadians save up for their first home to investing in building and repairing more homes, including supporting local governments to fast-track the creation of 100,000 new homes. We are providing support for low-income renters, which the Conservatives voted against, and ensuring houses are used as homes, not investment vehicles, by curbing unfair practices that drive up prices, including banning foreign homebuyers and putting in a federal anti-flipping rule.

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Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)

Mar/27/23 2:28:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about Chinese interference. We have not forgotten about it. The Prime Minister has not managed to sweep it under the rug. On Thursday, the House of Commons voted in favour of holding an independent public inquiry into Chinese interference. The Bloc agrees, the NDP agrees, the Conservatives agree and 72% of Canadians agree. Even the member for Don Valley North agrees. Even the Liberal member against whom the most serious allegations have been levelled is calling for a real commission to investigate. When will the Prime Minister understand that his only defensible option is an independent public commission of inquiry?

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