44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 12, 2023 11:00AM
- Jun/12/23 2:19:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the collaborative tone of the Leader of the Opposition.
From the start, we have always said that a public inquiry was a possibility. Mr. Johnston did not recommend a public inquiry and explained why. It is a difficult decision to make in the circumstances for national security reasons.
However, we look forward to working with the opposition parties to discuss the next steps of a public process, such as the type of potential inquiries, the mandate, the people who could lead this inquiry. We look forward to having these conversations.
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- Jun/12/23 2:19:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, ever since this Prime Minister came to power, rent has doubled. Mortgages have also doubled since this Prime Minister came to power.
He spent half a billion dollars, which drove up interest rates and inflation. He is also giving money to local governments that are preventing affordable housing from being built.
Will the Prime Minister finally reverse his inflationary policies, balance the budget and get rid of the red tape so that we can finally build affordable housing?
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- Jun/12/23 2:20:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, we saw very dangerous forest fires across Canada. We saw the importance of climate action.
What did the Conservatives do? Did they work with us to support Canadians at such a critical and dangerous moment? Did they support our industrial plan to build a green economy? No, they played partisan games. It is irresponsible.
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- Jun/12/23 2:21:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, doubling housing costs is not going to stop forest fires.
The Prime Minister has doubled housing costs with half a trillion dollars of inflationary deficits and by giving billions of dollars to local gatekeepers who block housing construction with the second-slowest housing permits of any country in the entire OECD. Now the deficits the Prime Minister is running risk increasing interest rates further and causing people to lose their homes to higher mortgage prices.
Will the government introduce a balanced budget to bring down inflation and interest rates so Canadians do not lose their homes?
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- Jun/12/23 2:21:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the OECD, what the Leader of the Opposition should know and should be sharing with Canadians is that last week the OECD forecasted Canada would have the strongest economic growth in the G7 over 2023-24.
What is truly appalling, and frankly really disappointing, is that these Conservatives, at a time when forest fires have been raging across our country, would prefer to play partisan games rather than support our sensible measures to build the clean economy we desperately need.
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- Jun/12/23 2:22:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question was about the doubling of housing costs. The Prime Minister has brought in half a trillion dollars of inflationary spending, which has doubled rent costs, mortgage payments and the down payment needed for the average house, and now the IMF says that Canada is the country most at risk of a massive mortgage default as our households have the most debt as a share of GDP of any country in the G7. That debt is about to collide with soaring interest rates, driven by the government's deficits.
Will they eliminate the deficits and balance the budgets to bring down inflation and interest rates before Canadians lose their homes?
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- Jun/12/23 2:23:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear the Leader of the Opposition cite the IMF, and I hope that means he is aware that it is the IMF that confirms Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7 and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 by some measure.
I really have to point out to the Canadians listening the appalling behaviour of this reckless and irresponsible opposition, which has been blocking sensible, important measures to support Canadians at a critical time.
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- Jun/12/23 2:23:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not just homeowners. Because the government has been giving billions to local gatekeepers who block affordable housing construction and because its inflationary policies have doubled rent, students are now living in squalor. One used to be able to get a full apartment for $840 before the Prime Minister. Now CBC is reporting that a student from Guelph has had to pay $840 just for a room in an apartment she shares with six other students that is mould- and insect-infested and does not even have running water.
Will the Liberals reverse their inflationary policies so Canadians do not—
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- Jun/12/23 2:24:32 p.m.
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The hon. Deputy Prime Minister.
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- Jun/12/23 2:24:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to point out to Canadians the utterly irresponsible behaviour of the Conservative Party in the House last week, which was blocking our budget legislation. The Prime Minister, over the weekend, made a very important trip to Ukraine to show Canada's support for Ukraine at this crucial moment. Meanwhile, do members know what the Conservatives were doing? They were blocking our legislation, which would indefinitely deny most favoured nation trading status to Russia and Belarus. Whose side are they on?
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- Jun/12/23 2:25:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, David Johnston made a dignified decision to resign in order to protect the public's confidence in democracy. However, he should never have been put in that situation.
Starting in February, the public and the majority of the House began calling for an independent public commission of inquiry into Chinese interference, to be led by a commissioner chosen by the House of Commons to examine both electoral interference and financing issues, threats of espionage and intimidation of the diaspora. It was the right choice. It is still the right choice.
Will the government launch this inquiry before we rise for the summer? Time is of the essence.
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- Jun/12/23 2:26:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we look forward to working with our colleague from La Prairie, his leader and the other party leaders to strengthen Canadians' confidence in our democratic institutions.
Mr. Johnston's departure gives us all an opportunity to bring down the partisan temperature and discuss how we can work together on the next steps in a public process. We look forward to talking with the opposition parties to determine how we can do this in a responsible and serious way.
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- Jun/12/23 2:26:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as far as the Bloc Québécois can see, Mr. Johnston's departure is not restoring public trust in democracy. The problem is his botched report. His suggestion to hold public hearings is nothing but a ploy to avoid a serious inquiry. This report proves that an independent public inquiry is essential.
Today, the government is finally showing some openness to the idea, and that is good news for democracy. However, the government needs to state its intentions first.
Does it want to relaunch David Johnston's hearings under a different name, or is it making a clear commitment to a genuine, independent public inquiry?
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- Jun/12/23 2:27:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said at the start of question period, that has always been an option.
I know that the Bloc Québécois will never form the government, but the Conservative Party is well aware that a public inquiry involving the most heavily protected national security information cannot proceed irresponsibly.
I think that everyone would benefit from a substantive discussion on how to approach the next steps in the public process and, if a public inquiry is the option chosen, how it will proceed, what its terms of reference will be and what the timeline will look like.
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- Jun/12/23 2:27:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, interest rates have shot up so quickly that families are struggling to pay their mortgages. We can give an example of someone in Toronto. An average family that bought an average home a year and a half ago would have to find over an additional $27,000 by the end of this year. That is a shocking amount.
What advice would the Prime Minister give to these families that are struggling with the cost of a mortgage for how they can come up with this additional amount of money?
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- Jun/12/23 2:28:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are absolutely aware that housing is a significant challenge for far too many Canadians. That is why I am really glad that we have now put in place something we promised to do, which is the tax-free first home savings account. That is going to help a lot of first-time homebuyers save for that crucial home. I am also really glad that we have now put in place a $4-billion housing accelerator plan.
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- Jun/12/23 2:29:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, none of that helps a family that is struggling with the cost of a mortgage right now.
Here is a similar example. In Montreal, a family has to come up with an additional $13,000 a year. That is crazy. Families are already struggling to make ends meet.
What advice does this government have for these families when it comes to paying their bills and their mortgage?
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- Jun/12/23 2:29:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government absolutely agrees that housing may be the biggest challenge facing Canadians and Canadian families.
That is why we have already put in place a tax-free first home savings account. This will be important, especially for young Canadians.
We have also put in place a housing accelerator fund to help municipalities create more of the housing that Canada really needs.
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- Jun/12/23 2:30:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been eight months of denials, foot-dragging and cover-ups from the Liberals when it comes to foreign interference in our election. Here are the numbers: countless promises of protecting our democracy, hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Trudeau Foundation, one special rapporteur, zero answers and zero results. The Prime Minister now gets to go back to the drawing board, where he can keep delaying this investigation, continue his cover-up and find someone else to do his bidding.
The opposition has agreed to the new request. When will he give up the charade and finally commit to a public inquiry?
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- Jun/12/23 2:31:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we think that a discussion about issues as important as protecting Canadian democratic institutions from unacceptable foreign interference would benefit from all of us lowering the partisan temperature. That is why we believe the decision of Mr. Johnston to leave the special rapporteur role gives all of us an opportunity to discuss what the next steps are in a public process.
The opposition says it wants a public inquiry. What would be the terms of reference of that inquiry? How would they protect necessary national security information in the interests of Canada? What would be the timeline? Those are the conversations we are anxious to have.
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