44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 24, 2023 10:00AM
- Oct/24/23 3:10:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Liberals continue to choose ideology over economic reality. The carbon tax continues to punish Canadians, who need to eat. Food banks across the country are seeing record visits, including from the middle class and those with full-time jobs. A quarter of our population is going hungry or cannot afford basic necessities. The Liberal-NDPs just do not understand basic math. If it costs more to grow food, it will cost more to buy food.
The Prime Minister is just not worth the cost, so when will the government stop punishing farmers and axe the carbon tax?
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- Oct/24/23 3:11:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to press pause on the rhetoric here and focus on what is important, and that is Canadian families. On this side of the House, we worry about Canadian families and are here for Canadian families, helping them balance their budgets, particularly in tough economic times. How do we do this? We have reached 3.5 million Canadian families and over six million children with the Canada child benefit, let alone building a national day care program. We are here for Canadian families.
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- Oct/24/23 3:12:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Nova Scotians are having to choose between heating and eating. A senior on a fixed income in my community told me that last year at the beginning of winter, it cost $850 to fill his home heating tank. This year, with the new Nova Scotia carbon tax put on by the government, it cost him an astounding $1,800.
The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. It is time to keep the heat on and take the taxes off. When will the Liberals axe the carbon tax so Nova Scotians can afford to heat their homes?
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- Oct/24/23 3:12:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows very well that the program he is referring to puts a price on pollution and puts more money in the pockets of Canadian families. He is now proposing to take it away so he can make pollution free again.
On the issue of affordability for seniors, I agree that seniors need help. That is why we raised old age security for people over 75. That is why we restored the age of eligibility from 67 to 65. That is why we increased the guaranteed income supplement for low-income single seniors by $947. One of the things those measures have in common is that Conservatives opposed every one of them.
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- Oct/24/23 3:13:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for seniors such as Oswald Hodder of Stoneville, after eight years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost.
Oswald recently filled his oil tank for the first time since this Liberal-NDP coalition imposed a carbon tax on Atlantic Canadian heating fuel. He was shocked to see $119 in carbon tax on enough fuel to heat his home for just one month.
Will this Prime Minister leave Atlantic Canadians alone, let them be warm, stop persecuting and bring them out of the cold?
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- Oct/24/23 3:14:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to once again refer to the Consumers Distributing catalogue of green products that the other side of the House would have brought up, if they had been allowed the opportunity, in their support for a carbon tax in their last platform. Who knows what Conservative staples they would have put in this catalogue: unicycles, porterhouse steaks, chateaubriand or gift certificates for the Savoy Hotel.
We do not know, but we do know that now, today, we make sure Canadians get cold, hard cash in their pockets. Eight out of 10 families do better.
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- Oct/24/23 3:15:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the relationship between Canada and Ukraine is a sacred one. Canada was the first western nation to recognize Ukraine's independence in 1991. Since Russia's further invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Canada has been a global leader in supporting Ukraine, and today we are continuing to build that relationship here in the House as we debate the modernized Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement.
Could the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development share with Canadians the importance of this agreement to Canada and Ukraine?
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- Oct/24/23 3:15:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Etobicoke Centre for his steadfast and unwavering support for a free and democratic Ukraine.
The modernized Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement would mark a new era in the Canada-Ukraine economic relationship. It is fundamental for Canadian businesses and exporters to participate in Ukraine's economic reconstruction when it wins the war and recovers from Russia's illegal and unjustified invasion.
Canada has stood with Ukraine from its first days as a nation, and we will continue to be there with whatever it takes for as long as it takes.
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- Oct/24/23 3:17:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 360 workers at the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation are on strike. With the rising cost of living, they are demanding fairer and more equitable wages. As we have seen in the past, the Liberals and the Conservatives alike will trample on workers' rights by imposing special legislation. We in the NDP firmly believe that these workers have the right to fight for better working conditions.
Can the Prime Minister assure us here and now that he will not trample on their rights by imposing special legislation?
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- Oct/24/23 3:18:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me assure members that this side of the House believes strongly in collective bargaining. We believe that the best deals are reached at the collective bargaining table.
We are working with both sides right now to bring an end to this as quickly as possible. We believe that the hard work must be done by the employer and by the union. Deals made at the table are the most resilient and the longest lasting.
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- Oct/24/23 3:18:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over 165,000 Canadians suffer from traumatic brain injuries every year. Brain injury patients are often shoved into expensive private care or left to fend for themselves. Decades of Liberal and Conservative governments have failed to support the more than 1.5 million Canadians currently suffering the consequences. Canadians deserve to be supported when they go through a health crisis.
Will the minister back my plan to create a comprehensive national strategy on brain injuries to promote awareness, prevention and treatment?
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- Oct/24/23 3:19:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, any time somebody sustains a brain injury, it has a devastating impact upon their life and the lives of those in their families.
The member is absolutely right. We have to do everything we can. That is why we are making critical investments across the health system, with $200 billion of additional money being put in. Those dollars are to ensure that we not only can see better health outcomes, but also can have better prevention and better care.
We saw a fantastic announcement in British Columbia. There is more to come in the rest of the country. Health transformation is happening.
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- Oct/24/23 3:20:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During question period, the government House leader and the member for Kingston and the Islands stated that I had provided misinformation about fires and batteries.
I would like to inform the House that the Bureau of Transportation's statistics says that 3.5% of hybrid and electric vehicles—
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- Oct/24/23 3:20:51 p.m.
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I hate to interrupt the member for Sarnia—Lambton, but in the Chair's eyes, it seems that is moving toward debate.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying before question period, Ukrainians are not only fighting for their freedom but also fighting for all of us, and we need to be fighting for them. Canada has been fighting for them under the government. We have been a global leader in supporting Ukraine. Canada has committed over $9 billion in assistance in financial, military and humanitarian development, along with other assistance. This includes $5 billion in financial aid, which is the largest amount of financial aid, per capita, of any country in the world, along with almost $2 billion in military support, about $350 million in humanitarian support and so much more.
These steps are significant. They are important, and they are having an impact, but it will not be enough until Ukraine wins this war. If we want to stop genocide in Ukraine, global food shortages and inflation around the world, and if we want to protect our own sovereignty and security, we must ensure that Ukraine achieves a decisive victory. That means ensuring not only that Ukraine wins the war by regaining all of its territory including Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, but also that Ukraine wins the peace, which means that it is secure as a member of NATO, that we secure reparations from Russia, that there is justice for Russian war crimes and that we help Ukraine rebuild.
This modernized Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, which we are debating today here in the House, is an important component in helping Ukraine do just that, in helping Ukraine rebuild. It would help strengthen Ukraine's economy. It would facilitate investment and send a message to countries around the world that Canada has confidence in Ukraine, that Canadian business people have confidence in Ukraine, that they want to invest in Ukraine. Those other countries and people around the world who are looking for strong, reliable places to invest can do that too.
This is an excellent piece of legislation. This is an excellent free trade agreement, as I said at the outset of my remarks. This is good for Canada and Ukraine, economically good for Canadian workers and businesses, and good for Ukrainian workers and businesses. It is also an important step in supporting Ukraine's victory, in supporting our collective victory.
I was talking earlier about President Zelenskyy's visits to Canada in 2019 and his most recent visit a few weeks ago. I hope that President Zelenskyy returns to Canada soon after Ukraine wins this war. I hope that he is not focused on speaking about the war anymore, but on rebuilding Ukraine after that victory. I hope that he is once again focused on what he was focused on in 2019, which was how we can continue to expand the relationship between Canada and the Ukraine, not only in building a more secure world but also in expanding trade and our respective economies, something for which this Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement would be the foundation. When that day comes, as I know it will, then we will truly be able to say that it is a great day for Canada and a great day for Ukraine.
It is a great day for Canada and a great day for Ukraine.
Slava Kanadi. Slava Ukraini.
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Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree that we want to help Ukraine in every way possible and that modernizing the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement is one way we can do that. I think this is a good step forward.
What concerns me about the bill we are debating today is that the whole process of bringing the new agreement to the House was flawed in every way in terms of the standard policy around bringing new trade agreements to this place. First of all, we were supposed to have a period of debate before beginning the negotiations so members could have some input into that. Second, there is policy around enough time after the treaty has been tabled, to see that, and then time to debate here. None of that was done for this bill. It has been done in the past, so it is not impossible. It is important that people here have a chance to properly debate our free trade agreements. I just wonder whether the member could comment on that.
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Mr. Speaker, I will say a couple of things. One is that I cannot speak in depth about the process. I can speak about the contents of the bill. As I said during my remarks, I really do think this is a great bill for Canadian workers and businesses and a great bill for Ukraine economically as well.
I would also say this when we think about the process around this bill: As I mentioned during my remarks, it was in 2019 that our Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy announced that they were going to negotiate a modernized CUFTA. COVID hit, and then came the war on Ukraine. Despite the war, Ukraine and Canada wanted to negotiate, so a lot has been done to try to finalize negotiations and bring this free trade agreement here to the House as quickly as possible under very difficult circumstances. I just hope that is something we take into consideration as we think about the process that got us here.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate and thank my colleague from Etobicoke Centre for his speech and his commitment. We have the pleasure of serving together on the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group. I know how deeply committed he is to Ukraine in general and also to the current situation, which affects him personally, as we all know.
The Bloc Québécois is certainly in favour of Bill C-57. We are also in favour of establishing trade relations with Ukraine. This will enable Ukraine to make a quick recovery once the conflict is resolved, once Ukraine's victory is confirmed. This will allow Ukraine's economy to recover quickly.
I have a question about this bill in particular, with respect to the trade agreements Canada enters into with foreign countries.
Why is the government still insisting on leaving clauses like the investor-state dispute settlement, which can hurt democracy in some cases? I would like to know if my colleague is familiar with this concept and what he thinks about it.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question and for his work. As he said, we work very well together on many issues and as members of the parliamentary friendship group. We all support Ukraine together. I appreciate his support.
Perhaps we should have a conversation outside the House regarding the details. From what I have seen and from all the advice from trade experts, I am confident that this agreement between Canada and Ukraine will benefit both countries.
I would be pleased to speak to him when I am finished here.
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Mr. Speaker, what has been really clearly demonstrated is that Canada and Ukraine, the people of the two countries, definitely share really strong ties. Canada is here and remains here for Ukraine.
Canada is naturally a trading nation, so to be able to increase the number of countries we trade with is always a benefit, but how would this perhaps benefit the people of Ukraine? I would like to hear the member's comments on that.
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