44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 21, 2023 10:00AM
- Apr/21/23 11:40:44 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the importance of the office and has very clearly indicated that we are actively seeking a replacement. The member can rest assured that it will be done in a proper form.
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- Apr/21/23 11:41:36 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conflict of Interest office does critical, important work to ensure transparency and accountability at the federal level. As I have indicated to the member, we are actively looking for a replacement. It will be done in due course and through a proper process.
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- Apr/21/23 11:59:21 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have already answered this question. I talked about making sure that there will be a replacement, and that will happen in due time with proper process.
As the Conservatives like to focus their attention on the Prime Minister, I would like to bring their attention to today, when we debated the budget implementation bill, which is an important bill for all Canadians. It is a bill that delivers on things such as the grocery rebate, which would be a benefit to 11 million Canadians.
There are all sorts of opportunities for the opposition. They can continue to repeat the same question, but my preference is to highlight some of the things that are happening in Canada.
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- Apr/21/23 12:00:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have always supported the work of the conflict of interest office. We are actively looking at a replacement for that particular position, and it will take place.
If I may, I will focus on what is happening in Canada today through budgetary measures, which include things such as the grocery rebate, as I mentioned, and the dental expansion program, which would help people during the difficult time of inflation. We can talk about the health care issue and how it is that the federal government is investing in future generations for health care services, which we all expect of the government.
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- Apr/21/23 12:01:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, we are actively looking for a replacement for that particular position. It will come in due course and follow a proper process. This is a government that has consistently respected the independence of our offices.
I would encourage members to change gears, get off the personal assassinations of character and start focusing on the issues that are important to Canadians, such as the economy.
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- Apr/21/23 12:05:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the government House leader said yesterday, it is somewhat hypocritical, some might suggest, for the Leader of the Opposition, who lives in a government-supplied home, who drives in a government-supplied vehicle and who receives many different government paid expenses, to be critical of other members.
At times, the Conservative Party needs to look in the mirror and realize that sometimes it is not good to throw stones at a glass house.
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- Apr/21/23 12:10:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to six petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.
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- Apr/21/23 12:18:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Questions Nos. 1290 to 1292 and 1294.
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- Apr/21/23 12:18:54 p.m.
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Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, if the government's response to Questions Nos. 1289, 1293 and 1295 to 1301 could be made orders for returns, these returns would be tabled immediately.
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- Apr/21/23 12:19:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, finally, I would ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.
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Mr. Speaker, I am wondering if the member could provide further thoughts in regard to the issue of health care and how important it was that we achieved the agreement to ensure we can provide ongoing support over the next decade to provincial and territorial jurisdictions. When I think of health care, I think of the core identity that Canadians hold very dear to their hearts. The expansion to include seniors, people with disabilities and now children up to the age of 18 is one of the ways we can deal with the issue of inflation, along with the grocery rebate that is being proposed.
Can he provide his thoughts, as he has to a certain degree already, on those two issues and the NDP's contribution to them?
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Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to address the Bloc member's concern regarding the issue of Bill C-47 versus Bill C-46. The member is quite right. We need to recognize that it has been a priority of this government to provide inflation relief in the form of a grocery rebate. That is why it was incorporated into Bill C-46. It is also the government's priority to try to get hundreds of millions of dollars to the provinces with respect to health care. That was also incorporated into Bill C-46.
As the member pointed out, it is also in the budget implementation bill. This is because we could not get agreement for the quick passage of Bill C-46 through the House. We only recently got the agreement to pass it. Following this logic, the member will recall how long it can take to get a budget implementation bill through the House from the last time we had one.
As a good example of that, today, there has already been an amendment to the budget implementation bill moved by the Conservative Party. The Conservative Party is going to hold up the budget implementation bill. Recognizing the importance of getting that grocery rebate to Canadians and getting the transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars to the provinces for our health care system, the government had to come up with Bill C-46 after we got agreement that we could get it passed in the House. That is the reason for this.
I know the member appreciates the explanation. I would even encourage the member to move the amendment so we can rectify the situation once we get to the committee stage. If I could, I would be the seconder.
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Mr. Speaker, one would like to think that things could happen relatively quickly. One would be surprised, in terms of the degree to which we finally got the consensus to get it through the House, in order to be able to support Canadians.
I would point out something that is really obvious. This emphasizes the contrast between the government and the Prime Minister versus the Conservative Party and the leader of the Conservative Party. Today, we had a good-news announcement. The federal government is investing in the future, through Volkswagen, by bringing in a megafactory. This will likely be the largest factory in the country. It is estimated that we are talking about literally the size of not dozens but hundreds of football fields. It is a gigantic factory.
I can say that not only is the federal government at the table with this, but so is Doug Ford. He is investing both cash and future infrastructure to support it. There is a reason for that. It is the idea that this is an investment in workers, as well as an investment in the future.
I would like to quote something that the leader of the Conservative Party quoted in a tweet. This is his mindset on the issue: “there are no lithium mines, no lithium processing facilities and no lithium ion battery makers in Canada.” We are in essence, the quote says, “a minnow compared to the United States, Australia and especially China.”
Well, that is the mentality of the Conservative Party. It does not understand that this does not have to be the destination. Canada can be a world leader, and that is what this investment is going to do.
It is so short-sighted. Again, it is not that all members of the Conservative Party would think the same way as the leader of the party. Progressive Conservatives may not think the same way, and as I said, we have Doug Ford 100% onside and investing in it.
This is an opportunity for Canada to enter into that green world in a very real and tangible way. We can look at seeing future lithium mines. We can look into a future with many more areas of development. It is estimated that, within a decade, the federal and provincial investments will be returned more than tenfold.
The Conservatives have a tough time thinking of the future or realizing the benefits of an investment of this nature. We can think in terms of the direct, positive impact that this is going to have on the automobile industry in the province of Ontario or in Canada as a whole.
Yesterday, in the chamber, we were talking about the aerospace industry. Members from the Bloc, myself and others were talking about how the provinces of Quebec and Manitoba have benefited. We talked about how important it was and is today that we support our aerospace industry, as we continue to do.
It is also important to support our automobile industry. We can think in terms of the future and the positive impact that this is going to have. I would hope that sometime between now and the next federal election, the Conservatives will have a flip-flop on their position on this issue. The net gains far outweigh the costs of what is being proposed by the Prime Minister and the Premier of Ontario today.
We need to start thinking about the bigger picture. We need to think of the quality middle-class jobs that will be there as we expand in an industry that is healthy for our province and create opportunities from coast to coast to coast. These opportunities may be in mining or parts distribution. All sorts of opportunities will be there going forward because of this investment. We will be working with the private sector, particularly Volkswagen, in building a state-of-the-art factory, potentially the single largest factory in Canada. We need to look at the tens of thousands of direct jobs, let alone the multiplying factor of indirect jobs.
I will continue the next time the bill comes up for debate.
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