44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 20, 2023 02:00PM
- Sep/20/23 2:35:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what Quebeckers understand is the cost of the environmental crisis. After all the forest fires and floods we saw all summer, and now with the hurricane season, what Quebeckers understand is that pollution can no longer be free in this country. They want the government to keep taking action for future generations. We will keep going. It is a shame that the Conservative Party has no plan to fight climate change.
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- Sep/20/23 2:35:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the minister thinks of a former Liberal finance minister, John Manley, who said that the Prime Minister's deficits are like stepping on the gas when it comes to inflation. This forces the Bank of Canada to step harder on the brakes by increasing interest rates.
Here is an example of completely ridiculous spending. The government spent $284 million to redo Canadian passports. That is a third of a billion dollars, and it was $123 million over budget. That is an outrageous waste.
Will the Prime Minister promise to stop burning Canadians' money?
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- Sep/20/23 2:36:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is my first chance to rise in the House as the Minister of Citizens’ Services. I would like to thank my wife, my constituents and, of course, the caucus. I look forward to working with everybody in the House to improve citizens’ services.
I am very happy to report that, thanks to the hard work of the now House leader, the passport backlog has been completely eliminated. In addition, our investment means that the printers are now five times faster and people can check their passport applications online. They will soon be able to renew their passports online as well. That is delivering better services for Canadians.
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- Sep/20/23 2:37:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, eight years of the Prime Minister has punished Canadians with an NDP-Liberal government that spent billions of dollars to double the price of a home, to double the rent and double the mortgage payment, all because of the Liberals' inflationary spending. They are building fewer homes this month than they did last month. Inflation is up; homebuilding is down.
When will the housing minister stand up and admit that the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost?
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- Sep/20/23 2:37:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with enormous respect for my hon. colleague, when her party leader was the housing minister, he advanced a program with $300 million that he said would build 25,000 homes. Fewer than 100 were built.
We have advanced programs that are going to build homes and that have been building homes. The reality is that we know we need to do more. That is why we are eliminating the GST on apartments to be constructed. That is why we are advancing a plan to change the way cities build homes. It is working.
We cannot do it alone, but we will bring communities and provinces with us. It is the right path forward. I hope the Conservatives join us.
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- Sep/20/23 2:38:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the cost of a home has doubled in this country. The minister who made international students sleep on the streets and lost track of a million people is now in charge of building homes in this country. How does one lose a million people? He is recycling broken campaign promises from eight years ago that will not fix the fact that buying a castle in Europe is now cheaper than buying a family home in Kitchener.
Are Canadians supposed to trust the guy who broke immigration to fix housing, or anyone over there to fix inflation?
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- Sep/20/23 2:38:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with respect, I think it is very dangerous when any member of the House starts playing politics with immigration. With respect, if the Conservatives think that breaking the immigration system is tied to the fact that we have welcomed—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Sep/20/23 2:38:59 p.m.
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- Sep/20/23 2:39:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, welcoming an ambitious level of newcomers is not breaking the immigration system, and we want to make sure communities are equipped to welcome them. We are not going to take lessons from the Conservatives, who failed miserably when it came to housing, by doing absolutely nothing. We have removed taxes on home construction. We are changing the way cities build homes.
We are going to build Canada and we are going to advance the measures to make it happen.
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- Sep/20/23 2:39:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they lost track of a million people.
After eight years of the Prime Minister, housing prices are at an all-time high, and many Canadians have lost hope of ever owning their own home. This is a direct result of the NDP-Liberal government's reckless deficit spending that has poured countless cash into the economy, driving up inflation, which has driven up interest rates, which has doubled mortgage rates.
Will the Prime Minister finally stop his inflationary spending so Canadians can once again keep a roof over their heads?
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- Sep/20/23 2:40:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope this feigned compassion on behalf of the Conservatives is not fooling Canadians, because on two previous occasions, the Conservatives voted against lowering taxes for the middle class in this country.
We have been criss-crossing the country over the course of the summer. Not a single Canadian has told us they would like us to cut our programs. Canadians are relying on the supports that our government is providing, and we are providing them in a fiscally responsible way.
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- Sep/20/23 2:40:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, former Liberal finance minister John Manley said that the Liberal deficit spending is like pressing a gas pedal on inflation while the Bank of Canada is trying to press the brakes on it by raising interest rates. Eight years ago, Canadians could afford to pay off their mortgage in 25 years. Now it takes 25 years just to save for a down payment.
When will the Prime Minister stop his reckless spending so Canadians can once again afford to buy homes?
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- Sep/20/23 2:41:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, just a few weeks ago, rating agencies confirmed Canada's AAA credit rating. That is because what we are doing is spending in order to support Canadians, but doing so in a responsible way.
We have just announced the next step in our plan to build more homes faster. What we will do is create more apartment buildings for more Canadian families right across the country. The response from the Conservative leader was that we do not need any more of those. Canadians do need their federal government, and this is the federal government that has their backs.
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- Sep/20/23 2:42:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this week, Calgary is hosting the World Petroleum Congress. Ottawa has sent three ministers there. That sends a clear message.
At the same time, they have the nerve to attend a United Nations meeting on climate change. Meanwhile, oil and gas companies are lining their pockets. Everyone knows that the main reason gas prices have gone up is oil and gas company profits.
Will the government announce an end to all oil and gas subsidies at the UN?
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- Sep/20/23 2:42:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, we have put in place a framework to reduce and eliminate subsidies to the fossil fuel sector.
Of course I was in Calgary. I gave a speech about climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors of the economy, and that, of course, includes the oil and gas sector.
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- Sep/20/23 2:43:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is subsidizing rich oil companies that have absolutely no need of subsidies. At the same time, it is withholding money needed for social housing and refusing to adjust seniors' pensions, who are being hard hit by inflation. This inflation has been exacerbated by oil company profits.
Why does Ottawa not take the money it gives to oil companies and invest it in social housing and seniors' pensions instead?
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- Sep/20/23 2:44:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sorry, but what my hon. colleague said is untrue.
We established a framework to reduce and eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. Obviously, this is a very important issue. We have to move faster on developing an economy that can prosper in what must be a low-carbon future.
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- Sep/20/23 2:44:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the government taxes vegetable growers, the truckers who transport those vegetables and the processors, then Quebec families are bound to have higher grocery bills.
While half of Canadians are surviving paycheque to paycheque, the Liberal-Bloc coalition seeking to drastically increase taxes thinks that Canadians are not paying enough. Not only does the Bloc Québécois support the carbon tax, but its members want to drastically increase it.
Why have the Liberals and the Bloc joined forces to impoverish Quebeckers?
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- Sep/20/23 2:45:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing for Canadians to hear a question like that.
This week, Canadians saw that we, on this side of the House, are taking action. What have we done for Canadians? We met with corporate CEOs from across the country to share with them the frustration felt by millions of Canadians and to tell them that enough is enough and that we need to do something to stabilize prices in Canada.
Rather than coming up with slogans, the Conservatives should unite with the Liberal caucus to act in the interest of Canadians. That is what people expect of them.
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- Sep/20/23 2:45:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we hear all sorts of excuses from the Liberal-Bloc coalition for drastic tax increases.
They say that the carbon tax does not apply to Quebec, but that is false. The second carbon tax, which the Bloc Québécois supports, will add 20¢ to the cost of a litre of gas.
After eight years, the Liberals have managed to convince the Leader of the Bloc Québécois to take more money from Quebeckers and send it to Ottawa. That is totally irresponsible if the goal is to help families who are struggling. Voting for the Bloc Québécois is costly.
Why is the Prime Minister endorsing the Bloc Québécois's wish to drastically increase taxes at Quebeckers' expense?
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