SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 174 - Mar/28/23

Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus (Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, CPC)

Mar/28/23 2:11:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was saddened to learn that Sergeant Maureen Breau was killed yesterday evening while performing an arrest in Louiseville. Sergeant Breau had more than 20 years of experience with the Sûreté du Québec. It is true that every time an officer loses their life in the line of duty, it is a painful reminder of the constant danger they face every day they wear the badge. We do not put our lives at risk when we go to work in the morning, but police officers do. It is a reality they face every day. It is a reality their partners, their children and their families also face every day. I offer my condolences to Sergeant Breau's family. I want them to know that we all feel powerless when tragedy strikes, but that will not stop us from celebrating how important Sergeant Breau was to public safety or what she meant to her friends and to so many other people. Being a police officer is not a job, it is a calling. By answering that calling, Sergeant Breau demonstrated her selfless regard for the people she served. Rest in peace, Maureen.

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Mrs. Kelly Block (Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, CPC)

Mar/28/23 2:12:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the current Prime Minister, everything feels broken and Canadians are struggling. In Canada, it is understood that, if one follows the rules, works hard and contributes to their community, they will be able to make a good living, buy a home and raise their family in a safe neighbourhood, and that the government will ensure the right conditions exist to make this possible. After eight years of the Prime Minister, the contract is broken. While the Liberals continue their high spending, inflation has hit 40-year highs, destroying Canadians' savings. Canadians are losing their homes and hundreds of thousands more are using food banks. They are hurting and the Liberal government refuses to take responsibility. The finance minister has promised to show fiscal restraint in today's budget, but we have heard these promises before. Canadians need a government that will be fiscally responsible and remember its contract with its citizens. If the current government will not, it needs to step aside so Conservatives can.

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Ms. Lena Metlege Diab (Halifax West, Lib.)

Mar/28/23 2:13:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week was a difficult one in Halifax West as our community dealt with the stabbing of two staff members at Charles P. Allen High School. Thankfully, both Ms. Light and Mr. Rodgers have now been released from hospital. We wish them well in their recoveries and I will be keeping them in my prayers. I would like to extend my gratitude to the staff, students, first responders and community members who helped during and after this horrific event, especially grade 10 students Rory Chadwick and Easton Schlender who assisted Mr. Rodgers as they waited for paramedics to arrive. CPA's principal, Stephanie Bird, has done an incredible job supporting her staff and students as they begin the process, and I thank her for that. We are wounded but are filled with hope as our community is there to support one another in this difficult time.

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Mr. Taylor Bachrach (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP)

Mar/28/23 2:14:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are few things more devastating for a small rural community than learning that its main employer is closing its doors. That is the news the people of Houston, B.C. received last month when Canfor announced it is closing its sawmill in that community. Three hundred mill employees are going to lose their jobs. That is 10% of the community's population and there are hundreds more who work for local contractors and other businesses. Mayor Shane Brienen sees a path forward for his community, but he has called on the federal government to help. I spoke with Scott Rowsell from the forestry consulting company Pro-Tech, and he talked about the need for a program like the job opportunity program from 2009 to help displaced forestry workers. The steelworkers have called for reinstatement of the EI flexibility that was put in place during the pandemic, yet the government has done nothing. The B.C. government is there in Houston, on the ground, working with the community and coming up with a plan. I implore the federal government to be there for the community during this difficult time.

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Ms. Kristina Michaud (Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, BQ)

Mar/28/23 2:16:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for our police officers, the price of public safety means putting one's life on the line every day, with no guarantee of going home safe and sound. Yesterday, in Louiseville, policewoman Maureen Breau was killed in the line of duty during an arrest. Sergeant Breau joined the Sûreté du Québec in 2002. She had over 20 years' experience on patrol and had been a relief supervisor since 2019. This tragedy reminds us that there are no routine police interventions, each one is critical, even for experienced officers. Let us never forget the important work that our police officers do and the respect that they deserve. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to offer my deepest condolences to Ms. Breau's family and loved ones. We also stand in solidarity with the entire squad at the Maskinongé RCM. Finally, we wish a speedy recovery to Ms. Breau's colleague who was also injured during this intervention.

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Mr. Michael Barrett (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, CPC)

Mar/28/23 2:17:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians need the truth about Beijing's interference in our democracy and to know what the Prime Minister is hiding and why he refused to act in defence of Canada. The Globe and Mail reported that Beijing “employed a sophisticated strategy to disrupt Canada's democracy in the 2021 federal election campaign” and that “their proxies backed the re-election of [the member for Papineau's] Liberals”. For weeks the Liberals blocked the Prime Minister's chief of staff from testifying, and it was only under the pressure of Conservatives and an outcry from the public that the Liberal obstruction collapsed. It is no wonder the Liberals are blocking the truth. The Prime Minister has benefited from dictator dollars through the Trudeau Foundation and a sweetheart book deal pushed by the Communist regime's propagandists. The Liberals' plan to have a secret committee with secret evidence, secret hearings and a secret conclusion is just not acceptable. A fully independent public inquiry is the only way to credibly investigate Beijing's interference in our democracy and to uncover what and when the Liberals knew about this foreign interference in our democracy.

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Ms. Valerie Bradford (Kitchener South—Hespeler, Lib.)

Mar/28/23 2:18:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my appreciation for the brave men and women who serve as firefighters all across Canada. Their dedication to keeping our communities safe from the dangers of fire and other emergencies is truly admirable. This week, firefighters from Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and across Canada are descending on Ottawa to advocate for legislation to better protect those who so selflessly protect us. They are bringing to light the risks posed by PFAS used in firefighting protective gear, as well as regulatory shortfalls that have resulted in firefighters at several major airports not being well-positioned to respond quickly to aviation emergencies. It is our responsibility as legislators to ensure the safety of our firefighters and the public they serve. We must work collaboratively to find alternative solutions to PFAS-laden gear and address the regulatory gaps to ensure the safety of those who travel through our airports. I want to express my deepest appreciation to all firefighters for their service, dedication and sacrifices.

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

Mar/28/23 2:19:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the former Liberal finance minister, Bill Morneau, the future Liberal leader, Mark Carney, the current Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, and now the Minister of Finance have all admitted that deficits and added debt fuel inflation. When presenting the last budget, the Minister of Finance stated that they were absolutely determined to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio, that it had to continue decreasing, and that it was a line they would not cross. Is the Prime Minister going to cross that line today?

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

Mar/28/23 2:20:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know that the members opposite cannot wait to see the budget. I can assure them that our priority is to help Canadians. We will be there with targeted measures that will help Canadians with the cost of living. We will be there with health care services and more money for the provinces to provide dental care assistance, which the Conservatives voted against. We will also create jobs for the middle class in a growing green economy. Those are the government's priorities. We will continue to be there for people.

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

Mar/28/23 2:21:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here is what has happened over the last three days in Canada: On Saturday night, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death at a Toronto subway in an unprovoked attack by a repeat offender. On Sunday evening, a father was stabbed to death outside a Vancouver Starbucks with his wife and daughter present. On Sunday night, a man was stabbed on a Toronto city bus and taken to hospital. On Monday night, a sergeant, a police officer, was killed near Trois-Rivières. In addition, in the early morning of this day, a young girl was shot to death in Calgary. This is part of the 32% increase in violent crime since the Prime Minister took office. Will he reverse the policies that caused it?

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

Mar/28/23 2:21:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like all Canadians, we are deeply concerned with some of the very heinous crimes that we have seen over the past number of days, with the increase in violent attacks on innocent Canadians and on those serving the public through law enforcement. It is extremely concerning. That is why we will continue to be there to make investments in public safety. Unlike Conservatives, who cut funding for police officers, we have invested in public safety. We have invested in municipal police officers, as we have invested in community safety programs, strengthened gun control and continued to strengthen consequences for violent offenders. We will continue to be there to keep Canadians safe.

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

Mar/28/23 2:22:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people are tired of hearing about his concern. They want to know what he is going to do to reverse the damage he has caused. He brought in a bail system that allows repeat violent offenders back on the street again and again, sometimes released the very same day. In Vancouver, the same 40 violent offenders were arrested 6,000 times in a year. That is 150 arrests per criminal each year, as a direct result of the Prime Minister's easy bail system. Will he replace bail with jail for repeat violent offenders?

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

Mar/28/23 2:23:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work on bail reform, including working with the provinces to ensure that we have a fair, responsible system that keeps Canadians safe right across the country. If the member opposite were really serious about moving forward on keeping communities safe, he would back our upcoming Bill C-21 at third reading to make sure that we are keeping assault weapons out of the hands of people across the country, strengthening gun control to freeze handguns and continuing to move forward. Instead of being in the pockets of the NRA, we are focused on Canadians.

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

Mar/28/23 2:23:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is unbelievable. He thinks that a hunter in Nunavut is responsible for the stabbings in downtown Vancouver. That is ridiculous. Under his policy of targeting law-abiding citizens, while we are allowing repeat violent offenders to go out on the street again and again, we have seen a 32% increase in violent offences. In fact, one of the detectives close to the case in Toronto said that the offender was out again on numerous releases, with probation and prohibited bail. If one can name it, he has been released on it. This is a full-scale justice system failure. Will the Prime Minister reverse it?

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

Mar/28/23 2:24:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, amidst all this tragedy, it is interesting to see the lengths to which the Conservative leader will go to avoid talking about his desire to weaken gun control in this country and bring assault weapons back into the communities where they were banned over the past couple of years by the government. We have put a freeze on handguns in the market across the country. We are strengthening gun control, and every step of the way, the Conservative Party stands against it. That is why I am asking Conservatives, with their concerns about public safety right now: Will they step up and accelerate the passage of Bill C-21 when it comes back to the House for third reading?

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

Mar/28/23 2:25:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we were in office, in the last year, there were 124,000 fewer violent crimes than there were last year. Violent crimes, including murders, have skyrocketed under this policy of the Liberal Prime Minister. He is targeting law-abiding hunters and farmers rather than the repeat violent offenders who are committing the crime. Why would the Prime Minister not look at the evidence, which has demonstrated that our streets have now turned into war zones after eight years of his policy? Will he replace bail with jail for repeat violent offenders?

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

Mar/28/23 2:25:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite himself brought up what they did under the Harper government in those years. What they did was loosen gun control laws. What they did was make it easier for people to buy assault-style weapons. That led to direct increases in gun ownership, and unfortunately, in violent crime across the country. That is why we are trying to bring back stronger gun control legislation, despite the Conservatives' ideological opposition to gun control. We will continue to put the safety of Canadians and their communities first. We will continue with stronger gun control laws right across the country.

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Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)

Mar/28/23 2:26:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about interference. Media reports have alleged that a Liberal MP advised a Chinese diplomat to halt the release of Canadians in China. On Friday, The Globe and Mail reported that the Prime Minister had been informed of that conversation in 2021, but he did not consider it serious enough to intervene. However, it was serious enough for the Liberal MP to leave the caucus. It was serious enough for several sources to leak the information. It was serious enough for the media to publish it. Is everyone else wrong to think this is serious, or is this another example of the Prime Minister's poor judgment?

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

Mar/28/23 2:27:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague should pay careful attention to the facts he presents here in the House. He should check his facts, because it is important not to mislead the House. The fact is that we have always taken the allegations we heard very seriously. We have always taken action and made sure that action was taken when necessary. Rather than playing partisan games, we will continue to rely on the experts and authorities to get the job done and keep Canadians safe. We are not looking to score political points, which is unfortunately what the Bloc Québécois and the Conservative Party are trying to do.

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Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)

Mar/28/23 2:28:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should pay more attention to his credibility, because credibility is key. Every piece of information that the Prime Minister has received from intelligence services about Chinese interference since 2019 goes in one ear and out the other. Whether it is out of complacency or naivety, we are not sure. The truth is that he does not have the credibility to lead the investigation. He does not have the credibility to choose the commissioner, let alone the rapporteur. He does not have the credibility to give any sort of mandate. The only credible move is for him to launch an independent public inquiry. When will he wake up?

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