SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 237 - Oct/23/23

Mr. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, BQ)

Oct/23/23 2:15:57 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, Érudit, a Quebec leader in disseminating scientific knowledge in French, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Érudit is a digital platform created to promote scientific publications. It owes its existence to the vision and genius of a consortium comprising the Université de Montréal, the Université Laval and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Today it offers 250,000 publications in 35 fields in the humanities, social sciences, arts and literature to more than five million users worldwide. The best part is that the vast majority of this content is available in French free of charge to everyone. Érudit is therefore a invaluable showcase for our researchers and for the knowledge they generate. It allows Quebec's star to shine across all of Francophonie. We are proud of Érudit for its 25 years of service to science in French. Congratulations, Érudit and continued success to a true Quebec treasure.

167 words

Mrs. Stephanie Kusie (Calgary Midnapore, CPC)

Oct/23/23 2:17:04 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal-NDP government is once again in the midst of a scandal and criminal investigation. The RCMP is currently investigating allegations of identity theft, forged resumés, contractual theft, fraudulent billing, price-fixing and collusion in the creation of the $54-million ArriveCAN app. Two whistle-blowers trapped in this scandal came forward to the media. This is the only reason we now know about it, as government officials were forced by their political masters to lie to Canadians about this contract. This investigation was hidden by GC Strategies, the Canada Border Services Agency and numerous Liberal ministers during our study last year. They deliberately withheld the truth from this House and from Canadians. The Liberal-NDP government will engage in criminal behaviour to pay their friends millions and continue their cover-up before they tell the truth. The Prime Minister once again has shown that he is not worth the cost.

156 words

All Topics

Mr. Ken Hardie (Fleetwood—Port Kells, Lib.)

Oct/23/23 2:18:12 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, last week I counted 158 times that Conservatives claimed things that demonstrated they were, let us say, factually perplexed. It is like the Liberal-NDP agreement of 18 months ago that delivers important help for Canadians. Conservatives turned that into a “coalition”. Then they mutated that into a “Liberal-NDP government”. Then they said, “an eight-year Liberal-NDP government”. Really? We have told them a million times to quit exaggerating. Conservatives blame the price on pollution for high food prices. I checked, and no big grocery CEOs are selling pencils on street corners. I am sorry, but there is no $120 Tory turkey driving those mega grocery profits either. Conservatives preach again and again that deficits, less than 1% of Canada's GDP, drive inflation. Either they do not really know what causes inflation, which makes the Conservatives far too risky, or they do know and they are deliberately, dangerously deceptive.

160 words

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Oct/23/23 2:19:47 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost. The cost of housing has doubled since he took office. The CMHC said that there has been a 63% increase in the number of Canadians who are using alternative loans. They pay as much as 15% per year for these alternative mortgages. Will the Prime Minister finally bring down his inflationary deficits to allow the Bank of Canada to lower interest rates so that Canadians can keep their homes?

83 words

Hon. Diane Lebouthillier (Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.)

Oct/23/23 2:20:31 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues opposite have no shame claiming that they want to march towards prosperity on a path of austerity. Canadians know that all the Conservative Party stands for is chop, chop, chop, cutting funding for small craft harbours, cutting support for fishing communities and cutting the crucial programs our communities depend on. The Conservative Party is like a shark that claims to be a vegetarian. They have no credibility. They are not worth the risk.

78 words

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Oct/23/23 2:21:13 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are already living with austerity. They keep chop, chop, chopping at the grocery store, at the gas station and now at home. We are seeing the rise of a new phenomenon of homelessness among middle-class seniors ever since the cost of housing doubled. One man in Calgary had his rent raised by $1,600. Now he is unable to find an apartment to rent. Will the government finally reverse its inflationary policies to allow for lower interest rates so that our seniors can keep their homes?

90 words

Hon. Diane Lebouthillier (Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.)

Oct/23/23 2:21:59 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I have the sad duty to announce that members on the other side of the House can no longer see clearly. They are so determined to make cuts everywhere that they have cut back on their own glasses. They have no plan, no vision. That is all the Conservatives have to offer us. They should put their glasses back on and keep them on, for heaven's sake.

70 words

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Oct/23/23 2:23:12 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing, which has doubled. We now see there has been a 63% increase in the number of Canadians who are going to alternative lenders to get mortgages because they can no longer get approved by the main banks. That means interest rates as high as 15% per year. We have not seen those types of rates since the last Trudeau was in power. Will the Prime Minister reverse his inflationary spending in the upcoming fall economic update so we can bring down interest rates and our Canadian people can keep their homes?

106 words

Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Oct/23/23 2:23:53 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, it is important that people understand that the hon. member's plan to have more homes built seems to be to cut funding to build homes. I was in Brampton last week, where we announced $114 million to help Brampton build more than 24,000 homes over the next decade. He plans to cut that. When it comes to getting more homes built, we are removing the GST on new apartments in this country. He plans to put it back on. We are going to continue to make the investments necessary. We agree that there are people struggling. The difference between us is we have a solution to the problem.

112 words

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Oct/23/23 2:23:59 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, he is absolutely right that he has a problem, a problem that he and his government created. After eight years, the Prime Minister has doubled rent and doubled mortgage payments, and now his plan is a $4-billion program that two years in has not built a single, solitary home. He also wants to target tax benefits for the construction of $10-million penthouse apartments. Will the Liberals instead reverse their inflationary spending so we can bring down interest rates and let Canadians keep their homes?

88 words

Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Oct/23/23 2:24:41 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, if the member wants to talk about housing program delivery, when he was the minister, he had $300 million go toward building only 99 homes over years. We are continuing to roll out programs that are literally changing the ways that cities build homes. We have helped build or repair nearly half a million homes through the national housing strategy, which his party voted against. He is now opposing measures that will make it cheaper to build the homes that Canadians need. We are going to get it done by continuing to incentivize home building and supporting the people who are going to put roofs over the heads of our neighbours. It is the right thing to do. It is a shame that he opposes it.

128 words

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Oct/23/23 2:25:19 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the national housing strategy of which he speaks has doubled housing costs. It doubled the cost of mortgages, rent and down payments. Yes, it cost many billions more than what we spent when we were in government, but we delivered housing that was half the cost of what it is today. Now, on to restaurants: Today, we learned that one-third of restaurants are losing money. That leaves them three choices: shut down, cut wages or raise prices for Canadians. Will the government reverse the carbon taxes and the inflationary increases to interest rates that are forcing our restaurants to go under and costing waitresses and servers their jobs?

114 words

Hon. Rechie Valdez (Minister of Small Business, Lib.)

Oct/23/23 2:26:07 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, as a former small business owner myself, I know that small businesses are the backbone of these communities. As a small business owner, I am glad the Conservatives are not in charge. Small businesses would not be saving $1 billion in credit card transaction fees. Women entrepreneurs would not have $7 billion of investment through our women entrepreneurship strategy, nor the $10-a-day child care that has put more women into the work force. The Conservatives have been voting against these efforts to support small businesses, including women entrepreneurs. They are not worth the risk.

98 words

Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)

Oct/23/23 2:26:48 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, 250,000 businesses are at risk of closing as early as 2024 if the government does not extend the repayment deadline for the CEBA loans. Imagine if we were to lose a quarter of a million businesses all at the same time. It is not surprising that, on Friday, the premiers of Quebec and the provinces all wrote to this government. They are calling on the government to extend the repayment deadline for our businesses by one year, without the loss of the forgivable portion of the loan. The premiers are responsible. Will the government grant their request?

100 words

All Topics

Hon. Rechie Valdez (Minister of Small Business, Lib.)

Oct/23/23 2:27:29 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, we are offering additional flexibilities for small businesses to repay their CEBA loans. They include a full one-year extension on the term loan repayment deadline, more flexibility on refinancing and more time to access loan forgiveness, which is both a balanced and fiscally responsible approach. We will continue to listen to small businesses across the country.

59 words

All Topics

Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)

Oct/23/23 2:28:07 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, once again, the government cannot see beyond the end of its nose. That is not what the premiers are asking for. They are asking for a one-year extension. Do the Liberals really think that the 250,000 businesses will be able to pay the money back faster if they close? How many workers will end up on EI if these businesses close? Have they calculated that? The premiers of Quebec and the provinces are unanimous. They understand that it is not right. When will this government understand that it is not right?

95 words

All Topics

Hon. Soraya Martinez Ferrada (Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, Lib.)

Oct/23/23 2:28:41 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. As he well knows, most companies have told us that if our government had not been there during the pandemic, many companies would have closed. We came up with a flexible solution that fits with our fiscal framework. We are going to continue to be there for companies, for all kinds of things. We have again made historic investments in companies in Quebec, and we are going to continue to do so.

81 words

All Topics

Mr. Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, NDP)

Oct/23/23 2:29:12 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, for two weeks, Israeli families have lived with the pain of loved ones either killed or still held hostage. In the last two weeks, the situation in Gaza has grown dire. Humanitarian aid is trickling in. Thousands have been killed, many of them children. Diverse voices are calling for a ceasefire, including the head of the UN, Canadian aid agencies and even some Liberal MPs. Will the Prime Minister join the NDP's call for a ceasefire now?

80 words

All Topics

Hon. Ahmed Hussen (Minister of International Development, Lib.)

Oct/23/23 2:29:50 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza was dire before these last weeks. We are doing everything we can to support Canadians on the ground. We are also committed to working diplomatically to prevent the conflict from spreading. We are working with our allies to ensure the protection of all Israeli and Palestinian civilians. We have been consistently calling on international humanitarian law to be respected. We were the first government to move to provide substantial humanitarian aid to both Israeli and Palestinian civilians, and we will continue our efforts in that regard.

94 words

All Topics

Mr. Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, NDP)

Oct/23/23 2:30:30 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the Hamas terrorist attacks continue. Rockets are being deliberately fired at civilians. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is worsening. More and more innocent Israelis and Palestinians are losing their lives in this horrific war. When will the government get serious about protecting the innocent and call for a ceasefire?

51 words

All Topics