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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 244

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 1, 2023 02:00PM
  • Nov/1/23 3:09:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can confirm today that the department has been working in close collaboration with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada on this issue from day one. As I said, the Minister of Innovation welcomes the decision of the Auditor General to proceed with an audit and he is prepared to answer questions from the Conservatives and all members of the committee next week.
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  • Nov/1/23 3:09:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 250,000 businesses are at risk of bankruptcy if the federal government does not push back the deadline for repaying the Canada emergency business account loans without loss of subsidy. If the government thinks it is expensive to help businesses, it has not calculated how much it costs to abandon them. How many companies will be unable to repay the loans in full? How many collections will it have to undertake to get its money back? How many workers will end up on employment insurance? When will the minister finally realize that causing 250,000 bankruptcies is going to cost her dearly?
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  • Nov/1/23 3:10:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government understands that small businesses are still trying to recover from the pandemic. That is why we recently announced a one-year repayment extension, more refinancing flexibility and more time to access loan forgiveness. This is in addition to our increase in the Canada child benefit and $10-a-day child care, which has enabled more women to enter the workforce than ever before.
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  • Nov/1/23 3:11:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, presenting information in this fashion is called disinformation. It is unbelievable that we have to explain to the government that forcing 250,000 businesses to go bankrupt is not economically viable, but we will keep trying. The government thinks that taking a hard line with our SMEs helps curb inflation. On the contrary, all these bankruptcies will increase the scarcity of goods and services, which could impact the prices people have to pay. This could in turn drive up the cost of living while hurting local economies. Why take such a risk when the government could simply show some flexibility with our SMEs?
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  • Nov/1/23 3:11:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not think that scaring our SMEs is a good idea. We were there for them with the Canada emergency business account, wage subsidies and rent supports. The federal government provided $8 out of every $10 of relief during COVID‑19. We are there for SMEs, and we are making the transition. It is now up to commercial banks to continue the work. We encourage businesses to make the transition as well, but we are still there and programs still have three years of flexibility and many different terms and conditions.
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  • Nov/1/23 3:12:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change said that he will not grant any more carbon tax exemptions while he is minister. He seems to think that people in the Atlantic provinces are the only ones suffering as a result of these taxes. Meanwhile, what is the Bloc doing? The Bloc is asking the government to drastically increase the Liberal taxes. It seems as though the Conservatives are the only ones who care about Quebec's interests. I have a question for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Will he get out of the way so that we can cancel the carbon tax across the country?
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  • Nov/1/23 3:13:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, I repeat that there is no federal carbon tax in Quebec. Not only do the Conservatives still not have a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent climate change, but they also have no vision on how to adapt to the effects of climate change. That is not just irresponsible; it is incompetent.
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  • Nov/1/23 3:13:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, a desperate Prime Minister admitted his punishing carbon tax is making life more expensive for all Canadians. He also said that if re-elected, the NDP-Liberal government will quadruple the carbon tax on home heating, gas and groceries. After eight years, the Prime Minister is now admitting he is just not worth the cost. Will the Prime Minister stop the gimmicks, stop the temporary measures, stop the bogus claims and axe the carbon tax for all Canadians for good?
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  • Nov/1/23 3:14:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if there was ever any doubt, the leader of the Conservatives has made it perfectly clear for Canadians that the Conservatives have no plan to fight climate change. They want to take Canada backward on climate action. The Conservatives all ran on a promise in 2021 to price carbon, but when they ditched Erin O'Toole, they ditched any progressive values they once had and the words “climate change” from their vernacular. Their lack of a plan on climate change is risky and irresponsible. They should get with the program and realize that climate change is a real problem in Canada and around the world.
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  • Nov/1/23 3:15:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the panicking Prime Minister is plummeting in the polls and the nervous Nellie Atlantic Liberal MPs are whining to please help save them. The NDP-Liberal government's solution is to put the carbon tax up 61¢ after the next election. In other words, people should vote Liberal to quadruple the carbon tax after the next election or vote Conservative to axe the tax. The flip-flopping Prime Minister now admits he is not worth the cost. Will the Prime Minister come clean and tell Atlantic Canadians how much the carbon tax will cost after the next election?
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  • Nov/1/23 3:15:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to come back to the Conservative leader's comment about the thunderous rally that was held on the east coast and perhaps refer to the gigantic one that was held in my riding. There is a user on Twitter called “The Answer Is No”, and it is kind of funny. They spread it around and criticize me quite often too. The trick is that they ask a question but the answer is always no. Last week, his question was whether the Conservative leader's gigantic rally drew more people than a Saturday at the St. John's dump. The answer was no, it did not. As one Mount Pearl resident noted, there were more people at the Cowan Plaza Bingo.
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  • Nov/1/23 3:16:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, COVID‑19 has proven how important it is to prepare for pandemics. Vaccinations are one of the most effective tools we have to help protect public health from COVID‑19 in general and to prevent severe forms of the illness. Can the Minister of Health tell the House about his visit to the new Moderna factory in Laval and its impact on Canadians?
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  • Nov/1/23 3:17:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question and his excellent work. Clearly, vaccines have saved millions of lives. Canada's response to the pandemic was one of the best in the world. I had the privilege of visiting the new Moderna plant in Laval last Friday. It is a site where future vaccines will be manufactured here, in Canada. Producing the next vaccine here, in Canada, is extremely important to protect our health and safety.
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  • Nov/1/23 3:18:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the desperation of the NDP-Liberal government proves the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Liberals admitted that the carbon tax exemption was not granted to western Canadians because they do not vote Liberal. The minister from Edmonton Centre and the member for Calgary Skyview are either so ineffective that the Prime Minister just ignores them or they actually agree that Alberta should pay more to keep the heat on. Will the Prime Minister take the heat off home heating for all Canadians, yes or no?
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  • Nov/1/23 3:18:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, we have the opportunity in Alberta to join the federal government and provide heat pumps for those who need it, but let us look at the facts. What have the MP for Calgary Skyview and the MP for Edmonton Centre, who happens to be me, done for Albertans? We have worked with the Liberal government to cut child poverty by over half. We have delivered a Canada child benefit to our ridings. We have implemented $10-a-day child care, and we got a new pipeline to tidewater, which is something the members on that side of the aisle could never accomplish. Two Liberals have done more than 30 MPs in six years. They do not like it, but we do, and so do Canadians.
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  • Nov/1/23 3:19:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is finally admitting he is not worth the cost. He removed his punitive carbon tax on home heating oil, temporarily relieving the burden on the backs of 3% of Canadians. Over 90% of Saskatchewan households are heated with natural gas. Are there higher taxes for them because they do not vote Liberal? Well, Saskatchewan cleaned its house in 2019, and now coast to coast to coast, Canadians are calling for a majority common-sense Conservative government that will axe the tax. How about them apples, Mr. Prime Minister?
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  • Nov/1/23 3:20:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a couple of times, heating oil is up to four times as expensive as natural gas. It creates affordability challenges. We have put into place measures that will ensure affordability and save families up to $2,500 a year going forward, but in a manner that also addresses the climate crisis. I would say to the hon. member, she also may want to do her homework on the programs in place that enable the replacement of natural gas-fired furnaces with heat pumps. It is called the greener homes loan.
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  • Nov/1/23 3:20:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, now, Quebeckers know that voting for the Bloc Québécois is costly. The Bloc Québécois voted in favour of the second carbon tax. The Liberal government decided to create two classes of Canadians: people from Atlantic Canada and everyone else. Quebeckers and other Canadians will not get the temporary carbon tax rebate. The Prime Minister says that it will not make any other exceptions. It is outrageous. After eight years, this government has lost control and Canadians are getting poorer. Can it regroup and cancel the carbon tax for all Canadians?
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  • Nov/1/23 3:21:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am rather shocked by the participation of my colleagues from Quebec who are in the Conservative Party. I would like my colleague across the way to ask his colleague from Louis‑Saint‑Laurent why, when he was at the National Assembly of Quebec, he said he was so happy with the carbon exchange. He said: [We are] glad...that there will be a greenhouse gas emissions registry, and the fact that this information will be made public confirms to us the desire for transparency that unites us all here in this chamber. It is truly shameful to speak out of both sides of one's mouth. Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • Nov/1/23 3:22:09 p.m.
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Order. The hon. member for Sudbury.
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