44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 3, 2023 10:00AM
- Oct/3/23 3:46:13 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, first of all, congratulations on your election as Speaker. As far as my colleague's question goes, the answer is yes. Our government is constantly taking measures to make sure that federal government agencies meet their obligations under the Official Languages Act. That is what we expect of the RCMP.
I will be meeting with the RCMP commissioner tomorrow. I will definitely raise this important issue with him, because we truly believe in the Official Languages Act.
79 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:46:18 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, this new law was supposed to put an end to these cases of contempt for French at the federal level. Every single francophone will be paying close attention to what the new minister does.
This is the first blatant case of a federal agency thinking it is still okay to undermine French since the new Official Languages Act came into effect.
Will the minister demonstrate to the entire public service that those days are over, or will he demonstrate that it is still okay to undermine French?
89 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:46:58 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your new role in the House.
This year we are celebrating the modernization of the Official Languages Act, but we must also set the record straight and talk facts. The principle of bilingualism is a fundamental principle of both our country and our government. We expected the RCMP to live up to these principles and to fill bilingual positions with bilingual personnel.
66 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:47:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis is hurting hundreds of thousands of families across Canada. TVA recently reported the heartbreaking story of one Lanaudière family: a single mother and her three children who had to leave their home and move into a garage. We are a G7 country. This is outrageous. It is small wonder that the woman said she was living through “hell” at the moment.
Now the government is proposing to introduce a new tax. Even the Bloc Québécois is sold on the idea.
Does anyone think it is right to introduce a new tax when hundreds of thousands of families are struggling?
112 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:48:12 p.m.
- Watch
The hon. Minister of Housing.
5 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:48:20 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, let me begin by offering my congratulations and all the success in your new role.
With respect to the hon. member's question, I will not diminish the very serious challenges that families are facing across this country. In order to address Canada's national housing crisis, we are taking a number of different measures. We are investing in affordable housing in a way that no government has over the course of my entire life. In addition, in order to contribute to the ability for builders to build more homes, we are cutting taxes and changing the way that cities build homes through the housing accelerator fund.
When I compare our plan to theirs, members can trust that we will get more homes built, and that has been confirmed by finance officials at committee.
136 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:49:05 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal government, the average house price has doubled. The Prime Minister said, “it wasn't me”. After eight years of this Liberal government, the cost of rent has doubled. This Liberal Prime Minister said, "it wasn't me”. After eight years of this Liberal government, it now takes 25 years to save for a down payment for a home. This Liberal Prime Minister said, “it wasn't me”.
This Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost. If he is not responsible for anything, will he just get out of the way so that Conservatives can fix what he broke?
112 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:49:39 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it is telling in the member's question that no ideas on how we can build more homes have been introduced by the Conservatives.
With respect, we are moving forward with a plan that is cutting taxes for home builders. We are moving forward to increase the amount of money that we are going to contribute to help cities change the way that they build homes.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Hon. Sean Fraser: Mr. Speaker, as I hear members opposite yell, “We put a bill forward”, let us dig in on what it actually includes: A plan to raise taxes on home builders and cut funding for homebuilding. That will not lead to more homes getting built.
We have a plan to address the housing crisis. I hope the Conservatives join us.
137 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:49:43 p.m.
- Watch
I would like to remind members once again that only one member has the floor at a time. If members are patient and wait for their time to ask a question, we will obviously allow members the opportunity to do so.
Even if members look away from the Speaker, I can sort of guess where the voice is coming from.
The hon. member for Dufferin—Caledon.
67 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:50:35 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it is amazing, with a government that has accomplished so little, for the minister to be so proud. What he talks about is 5,000 units that are going to be built. CMHC says we need to build three million more units than we normally build. That 5,000 works out to 0.0016%, and he stands here bragging like he has accomplished something. The Liberals' lack of action has consequences and they are not worth the cost. Paula from B.C. is 71 and retired, and she is saying she is facing a 75% increase in rent.
If Liberals cannot actually do anything to fix it, will they get out of the way so the Conservative leader can fix what is broken?
125 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:51:21 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, with great respect, my hon. colleague deeply mischaracterizes both the nature of the plan and the impact that it is going to have. He is clearly only reading one sub-bullet when he is looking to the measures that will build 5,000 homes. I would point him to the estimates that the cut on GST for apartment construction in this country would have, showing that we expect to see up to 300,000 homes built. I point him to the recent change to the Canada mortgage bond program, which is going to add 30,000 homes a year over the next decade, which is 300,000 homes.
I could continue, but if he reviews the measures we have put together in their totality, he will see it dwarfs the effort Conservatives are putting forward.
137 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:52:02 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, millions of Canadians are struggling to pay the rent. Last month, TVA Nouvelles reported that a single mother with three children was forced to abandon her mould-infested apartment and live in a garage because she cannot afford to pay the rent anymore. She described the experience as hell.
The Prime Minister just is not worth the cost.
What is the NDP-Liberal government going to say to this single mother of three who cannot afford to pay the rent anymore and who is descending into depression?
96 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:52:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, what we are going to say to that single mother is that she cannot afford the Conservatives and their austerity that will make her life worse.
What we are going to say is our government has helped to lift 2.3 million Canadians out of poverty. What we are going to say is our early learning and child care program has cut child care fees by 50% across the country already. We are down to $10 a day in four provinces.
We will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to helping the most vulnerable.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
104 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:53:28 p.m.
- Watch
We are doing very well, but I would ask the member of Parliament for Grande Prairie—Mackenzie to please wait his turn and give the example to all of his colleagues going forward.
The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.
42 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:53:46 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, yet another report has come out saying that the number of Canadians who are in dire financial situations is jumping dramatically. More than half of all Canadians are now living paycheque to paycheque and are overwhelmed by debt. This is a national emergency. Liberals must help Canadians who are struggling to get by. Conservatives are sure never going to help them. Liberals need to get serious about tackling corporate greed that is jacking up prices for everyone. Canadians need a crackdown on price gouging and a windfall tax on the biggest profiteers.
When will Liberals finally take action?
100 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:54:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with the member opposite that the most vulnerable among us can expect nothing but pain and cuts from the Conservatives.
I also agree with him that we need to be there to support Canadians. That is why I was so proud to be there with my colleague, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, when we told Canada's grocers that they have to stabilize prices. We need to be there for Canadians.
That is why our government has imposed a COVID dividend on our banks and insurers: to pay for the price of supporting Canadians in those difficult days.
105 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:55:15 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, young kids are going to experience the worst impacts of the climate crisis, inheriting the mess made by governments today. The Canadian Climate Institute just released a report showing Canada's emissions are going up when we desperately need them to go down. The Liberals like to talk about climate change, but they have been dragging their feet on capping oil and gas emissions, prioritizing the profits of rich CEOs over our children's future.
Can the minister explain to kids who are watching why, eight years in, on the government's watch, Canada's emissions are still going up?
102 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:56:41 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that Canada is the only G20 country that has eliminated fossil fuel subsidies. No one else in the G20 has done that and we have done that two years earlier than all the other G20 partners.
Since 2015, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 53 million tonnes. That is the equivalent of removing, from our roads, 11 million gas-powered vehicles. We are the only country in the world that is going to put a cap on the emissions of the oil and gas sector. No one else is doing that. That is how we are fighting climate change and helping Canadians with affordability.
115 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:56:45 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, last year, the people of Pakistan experienced the most devastating floods in its history, wiping out critical infrastructure. There were 1,739 people who died, including 647 children, and an additional 12,867 were injured. While Pakistan is in the process of rebuilding, it has also helped house refugees fleeing Afghanistan.
Can the Minister of International Development please share with this House how Canada is supporting efforts to rebuild communities in Pakistan and Afghan refugees?
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/3/23 3:57:29 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to take this opportunity, as a member of the Black Canadian community, to really congratulate you for making history as Canada's first Black Canadian Speaker.
I want to thank the member for his advocacy on a really important issue. Pakistan has faced tremendous challenges with some of the most devastating floods of the region. While it rebuilds, it has also stepped up to help Afghan refugees. That is why we announced $14 million to support it, to provide health and essential services for the refugees and the host community. Canada will always be there.
103 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
