44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 1, 2023 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, about the importance of the Atlantic Loop. It was mentioned in the budget. If he has enough time, could he also address the opportunities for offshore hydrogen development, particularly offshore wind? I know that he is working with the Province of Nova Scotia and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Could he speak to those two really important elements that matter to Atlantic Canada and his work in the days ahead on those issues?
89 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, certainly we are working very hard on the Atlantic Loop. It is an enormously important infrastructure project. We are working collaboratively with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to advance this, which will essentially allow the phase-out of coal in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, as well as access to clean energy, which can help power a clean economy. Certainly, the hydrogen piece is extremely important. It is a high priority for Premier Houston and Premier Furey. We have been working collaboratively with both of them.
I was in Germany just a month ago working with the Germans on how we can actually move to export hydrogen as early as 2025-26. It is certainly something that offers enormous economic potential for Atlantic Canada.
126 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, the government is now moving to guillotine debate on its own budget bill, and there is really no reason to do it. The Standing Committee on Finance is already considering the budget bill at committee and has been for many days.
The only reason to do this is to completely shut down debate on a bill that many members, both in the Conservative Party and I am sure other political parties, want to debate to bring forward issues of concern from their ridings. I know people in my riding are extremely concerned about the cost of living crisis that this inflationary budget will only make worse as the government pours more gasoline on to the inflation fire. The Liberals have no plan whatsoever to actually balance a budget in any future budget year that is available in the document right now.
There was no reason to do this; the finance committee is already seized with the matter. It is already considering Bill C-47. The only reason to do this is to slam shut debate in the House of commons once again.
I will remind members that this government passed only one government bill to the next stage last week, Bill C-27. There were more private members' bills passed last week, and I am sure it will happen this week. This government has completely mismanaged the clock. It even has evening sittings and cannot pass government legislation on time.
242 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, certainly my hon. colleague is entitled to his opinions, but he is not entitled to his own facts.
The government has focused very much on affordability issues, including the grocery rebate and, certainly from a fiscal perspective, Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7. S&P just reiterated our AAA credit rating last week. I would invite the member to actually look at that document.
The budget implementation bill has had a lengthy debate in the House. We have debated it for five days, including two extended sittings, and it is being debated again today.
The bill would do a whole range of things that address affordability concerns, which my hon. colleague says are important to him. It will make a real difference for Canadian folks, and it is time to end partisan procedural games and get this bill to committee.
145 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, it is kind of like Groundhog Day. I do not know how many times I have risen in the House to speak to a Liberal gag order.
It seems as though the Liberals do not want to debate or talk about the issues. We want to talk about what is missing from the budget. My colleague just spoke about what the budget contains. One can either see the glass as half full or as half empty. We are saying that it is half empty.
I gave a 10-minute speech on housing and about how there is nothing in the budget to address the need for 3.5 million housing units. There is only one page of the budget dedicated to this essential issue. We spoke about seniors, who are entirely overlooked. When it comes to fighting climate change, the Liberals are giving billions of dollars to billionaire companies. That does not make any sense. We need to talk about that.
I have always naively thought that we were in the House to talk, to debate and to try to improve bills by presenting arguments. Today, we are once again in a situation where we are being told that the discussion is over, we are not going to talk about it anymore and we are moving on to other things. I find that unacceptable.
227 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows that the budget implementation bill was debated at length in the House. I know that many of my Bloc Québécois colleagues took part in this debate. This bill will support Quebeckers and all Canadians, for example, by increasing limits on certain withdrawals from a registered education savings plan, or RESP, and by capping excise duties on alcohol at 2% for a year.
I invite the Bloc to join us in referring this bill to committee for a more in-depth study.
91 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, this place sometimes demonstrates that it has a very short memory. I have to call out a comment that was made by the previous Conservative speaker talking about a guillotine motion.
It was common practice, during the days of the Harper government, to introduce a notice of time allocation on the very first day of debate of its government bills. It did not even give the House the courtesy of debating a bill for a few days. A time allocation was announced within the first hour of debate. Let us just call out rank hypocrisy when we see it. I am no fan of it being used either way, but to ignore our history is most egregious.
Does the minister have a comment on that? I would welcome it.
131 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, certainly, I do find the hypocrisy that comes from the Conservative side of the House on some of these issues to be a bit difficult to take. It is no different from the hypocrisy we hear about when they talk about the carbon tax, which formed a key part of the platform they were all elected on. We should not be surprised.
64 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, the minister referred to the number of hours we have had for debate. Something I hear the constituents ask in the riding of Waterloo is this: When will some of these measures that were put forward in the budget and will impact their everyday lives, including the grocery rebate, come into effect? I tried to explain the process in the House of Commons and explain that the legislation needs to pass before we get it there. It is unfortunate that tools like this need to be used.
If we can keep this legislation moving, how soon will Canadians be able to benefit from the measures within the implementation act? What kinds of measures should they be looking forward to? Perhaps that will ease some of their everyday challenges. We remain in uncertain times, and our government remains here to try to make life more affordable for them.
149 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, clearly, a range of measures are in the budget. Some of them will come into effect very quickly if we can move the legislation forward, and some will require more time and consultation.
Certainly, the grocery rebate is one that we want to see move forward very quickly. It was debated in the House as a separate piece of legislation a couple of weeks ago. It is clearly a priority on the affordability side.
There are many other things that are extremely important for Canadians. We need to move this proposal through to committee and get it through the House, so Canadians can have access to the kinds of supports and programming that will help them build prosperous futures for their families.
124 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I feel a little sorry for the minister, who now has to stand up in the House and defend an indefensible position.
The finance committee already agreed with the government that it would prestudy the bill. The purpose of time allocation is usually to move a bill through the House so a committee can start to study it, but all parties agreed to prestudy this very large bill to make sure to do our due diligence properly. I have not found a reason for time allocation to be moved while we are still debating it in the House.
After campaigning on not using time allocation, the Liberals are deciding to use it for a purpose for which it is not needed. Could the minister explain why this is being done?
132 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, we understand that, in a parliamentary system, the role of opposition can be to oppose. However, with this bill, the Conservatives have chosen to obstruct.
With only two days of debate, the Conservatives proposed an amendment that would not even allow the BIA to be scrutinized, which is an integral role of the parliamentary process. They have used concurrence motions and two committee reports to delay and obstruct debate in the House. Conservatives are putting more work into the delay tactics they are exercising than they are into scrutinizing this important piece of legislation. On this side of the House, we will do our job as parliamentarians.
109 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed to be faced with a time allocation motion yet again, as my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert so aptly pointed out as he was raising important issues. There are other issues that have not been raised yet.
Let us take employment insurance, for example. How is it that the federal government is taking money from workers for its budget and is refusing to conduct a real EI reform like it has been promising to do since 2015?
Are they moving ahead so quickly before too many people realize that this budget includes a provision recognizing Charles III? That takes nerve. I understand that the monarchy represents a significant expense, but I think it deserves a separate debate and a separate bill.
Do the Liberals want to move this quickly in order to hide the details they stuffed into this huge bill?
148 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Bloc Québécois members have many questions about this bill and the many measures it provides to help Canadians and Quebeckers. They will have an excellent opportunity to ask officials and witnesses questions when it is studied in committee.
I encourage those members to vote with us today to send this bill to committee and to ensure that Canadians receive these supports.
71 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, we know that over 100 MPs have already spoken at this stage of the bill.
Over 50 years ago, Tommy Douglas sought to have health care as a primary condition of being a Canadian citizen and dental care was part of that vision.
I would like the minister to elaborate on people such as seniors and persons with disabilities who will not get proper service, or must wait for root canals and other dental care. How much longer they will have to wait in pain is a reality we face. I would like to see those types of service expedited. They have waited long enough and it does affect their overall health.
114 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is absolutely right. I am probably one of the few members of this House who actually knew Tommy Douglas personally. It was part of Tommy Douglas' vision for medicare, more generally, to ensure that health issues, dental being a health issue, were addressed. In fact, Saskatchewan for a long time, led the way. Allan Blakeney brought out a dental care program in every school in the province to ensure that children had their teeth treated. It was eliminated by then Conservative premier Grant Devine.
This is an important step forward from a health perspective and we are very much committed to moving forward.
108 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I am participating in this debate because the budget implementation act really does impact the backyards of the people I am here to represent. There is a range of things in the budget implementation act, including measures in regard to cryptocurrency. We know that the world is changing. We know the economy is changing and sometimes we have really reckless advice from the leader of the official opposition, but it is important that we understand these things.
I would like to hear from the member how Canadians can also participate and have their voices heard. Even though the official opposition is trying to delay the legislation we are trying to pass, how do we engage more Canadians so that they can have their say and we can respond to their needs? I feel like this budget implementation act does do that.
I would like to hear the member's comments also on cryptocurrency.
155 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, certainly we are focused on serious issues that Canadians expect their parliamentarians to focus on. We are not making strange and awkward statements with respect to embracing cryptocurrency or trying to fire the governor of the Bank of Canada.
We are focused very much on ensuring that Canadians are part of this process. Definitely on this side of the House, members of Parliament reach out through town halls and a range of things to ensure that they are hearing the voices of Canadians. That is reflected in this budget implementation act. There is an automatic advance for the Canada workers benefit. There is a doubling of the deduction for tradespeople's tools. There are improved registered education savings plans. We are working to strengthen Canada's supply chains. We are supporting our friends in Ukraine. We are building a clean economy. We are putting in place dental care. We are investing in health care and we are working on affordability to ensure that Canadian families can move forward with confidence.
172 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate what many members on this side of the House have been saying.
Constituents in the riding of Provencher are very concerned with the increased cost of living, and we have seen the government put a disproportionate amount of emphasis in this bill, Bill C-47, on environmental spending and green spending, which is something that needs to be debated more rigorously.
We also know the government has chosen to take $13 billion of taxpayer money and commit it to Volkswagen for an apparent green initiative. My question is to the Minister of Natural Resources, who tabled this motion. Many of these initiatives are going to require the mining of critical minerals and other minerals in order for them to be successful here in Canada. Is he prepared to move legislation forward that would remove some of the regulations and roadblocks his government has set up that make mining in Canada virtually impossible?
158 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I am always very happy to talk about a clean industrial strategy for Canada. That was a very big part of this budget, as the hon. colleague talked about. It is about ensuring Canada will prosper and create jobs and economic opportunity in every province and territory in this country as we move through a transition to a lower-carbon future, which science tells us we simply must.
Certainly, we were very pleased to announce the Volkswagen investment in Canada. It is an enormous step forward. It will create jobs, it will create supply chains and it will ensure we are driving forward in a manner that will ensure Canada is prosperous in the future. I am, to be honest, shocked the Conservative Party is opposing the Volkswagen agreement. That is really appalling. I think voters in Ontario are going to think very seriously about this, as well as voters who are concerned about a strong economy in the future.
We are very focused on the critical minerals. I hope my hon. friend has read the critical minerals strategy for Canada. Part of that is about making our regulatory and permanent processes more efficient and working with provinces and territories through the regional energy and resource tables to align those processes and enable good projects to go ahead. We just announced the approval of two critical minerals projects in this country and we expect to see many more.
240 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
