44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 23, 2023 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, the minister is getting all worked up talking about competition, saying it is important to promote it.
I have a proposal for him to promote competition. In Quebec, a lot of small businesses need help. We asked that the deadline for small businesses to pay back the emergency business account be extended by one year. Due to inflation and what they lived through with the pandemic, they are not able to reimburse the loan so quickly.
The government said it would grant them 18 days. What are they going to do in 18 days? They cannot do much. We proposed that the government extend the deadline for small businesses to reimburse the loan. We also offered to help in expediting passage of Bill C‑56. The government refused.
Is it telling us it has decided to abandon small businesses in Quebec?
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad that my colleague is talking about competition because we know all about competition in Quebec. Consumer protection is a value that Quebeckers hold dear. Right now, Quebeckers who are looking at my colleague must be thinking that the Bloc Québécois will certainly support a bill that promotes competition.
One of the problems we have seen recently involved the food sector. Bill C‑56 would give more power to the Competition Bureau to investigate, to undertake a comprehensive study. I am sure that Quebeckers at home are thinking that the Bloc Québécois will certainly vote in favour of Quebeckers because, if it believes in competition, it believes in Bill C‑56.
Bill C‑56 will create new tools to help Quebeckers. I am sure that people at home listening to us today are convinced the Bloc Québécois will do the right thing and support Bill C‑56.
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Mr. Speaker, I can hardly believe this.
Today, my colleague tells us it is urgent, that we must quickly pass Bill C-56 for its housing initiatives. The GST credit is a marginal measure to fight the housing crisis. Still, in the economic update, two days ago, we had a unique opportunity to invest in housing. However, most measures will only come into effect in 2025-2026.
We need billions of dollars in investments now. We need to build 150,000 new units a year in Quebec. In the agreement with Quebec, 8,000 units will be built in the next five years. There are 10,000 homeless people in Quebec. We asked for an emergency fund to prevent deaths in Granby, in Rimouski and in Saint-Jérôme. Not a cent was allocated. The crisis is here now. I can hardly believe we were told this morning it is urgent to vote on the bill, while the government put nothing in its economic update two days ago.
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- Nov/23/23 11:06:43 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is so urgent that we have to move a motion to force members to vote.
I understand why my colleague says this is urgent, I feel the same way. That is why the government believes it must move this kind of motion this morning. After 20 hours of debating, after five days of debate, it is time to act.
I have listened to my colleague and I share his views. That is exactly right. What we are facing as a government is that on the other side of the House people want to slow down the process. Ultimately, they are preventing us from moving forward for Quebec, for Quebeckers, for the entire country.
I know the member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert. He is someone who wants to get things done and move forward. He will convince his colleagues to vote for Bill C-56. He will help Quebeckers when it comes to housing. He will certainly help Quebeckers when it comes to affordability. That is what people are asking us to do. That is what we are trying to do today.
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- Nov/23/23 12:45:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to do so.
I was saying that I am always surprised to hear the Conservatives harp on the carbon tax day after day, when we know that it does not have a major impact on inflation. Serious economic studies tell us that the carbon tax causes inflation to rise by 0.1%.
The Conservatives keep harping on this. Not only that, but their leader recently said that the carbon tax would be the issue at the ballot box. We know very well that this tax does not apply to Quebec, which means that the Conservative leader does not care one iota about what is happening in Quebec.
I wonder what is really driving the Conservatives to talk about the carbon tax. Are they perhaps doing this to give their friends in the big oil and gas companies some overt, explicit support? Are they not ultimately oil and gas lobbyists?
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- Nov/23/23 12:46:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have just a couple of things.
The clean fuel standard, which applies in Quebec, is actually a carbon tax. While there may not be a carbon tax as such, there is a clean fuel standard. That is a carbon tax.
When I talk to my constituents, they want me, as their representative in the House, to ensure they have the ability to move forward and to make a living. I see farmers who have hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of carbon tax on irrigation operations, on grain drying, on heat for their barns and those sorts of things. It affects their bottom lines, and their prices are fixed.
It is about Canadians' well-being. If the carbon tax actually had a positive impact on the environment, then it would be worth looking at, but it does not. It has not, and it will not because it is a tax. It is only a tax, and it has no impact on improving the environment whatsoever.
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Madam Speaker, as usual, the Liberal members are awfully pleased with themselves. They are bragging about their government's achievements.
My colleague had a lot to say about housing. Unfortunately, the GST rebate in Bill C‑56 is not going to make much of a dent in the housing crisis in Quebec and Canada. It is a marginal measure, especially in Quebec.
The government tabled its economic update two days ago. Unfortunately, many of the measures in it will not take effect until 2025 or 2026. Quebec has 10,000 homeless people. I have seen them in Longueuil, Saint‑Jérôme and Rimouski. There are people on riverbanks. This is going to be very hard.
We asked the government to put an emergency fund in the economic update. Winter is coming, and it is going to be cold. We know that. It is going to be hard. I know people will die in Quebec, on those riverbanks, in small towns, all over the province. That is unacceptable.
We asked for an emergency fund to help address the problem, but we got nothing. Most of the economic measures will not take effect until 2025 or 2026, but we need to build 150,000 housing units a year starting right now. If we do not build them this year, there will be a backlog, and they will have to be built sooner or later.
When will the Liberal government get serious about this problem and come up with measures that will make a real difference?
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- Nov/23/23 1:12:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech, but once again it was little more than an infomercial for the Liberal government's action on housing.
That is rather unfortunate, because the housing crisis is a major problem, and the further along we get in the debate, the more we see that the government is not facing the facts when it comes to this crisis. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, we need to build 3.5 million housing units by 2030. That is a huge task. In a report published two weeks ago, the federal housing advocate even indicated that we need to build nine million housing units in Canada in the next 10 years. That is a huge task.
In the economic statement, the government announced the construction of approximately 30,000 housing units in 2025-26. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Any housing needs that are not met now are just going to accumulate. The government is not going to get off that easy. In Quebec alone, 500,000 households are in dire need of housing.
I look forward to hearing from a government that will stand up and say that we are on the verge of a serious humanitarian crisis in Quebec and Canada and that it is going to take strong action to deal with it. I look forward to hearing that.
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- Nov/23/23 2:06:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to rise in the House and highlight an outstanding accomplishment by a young girl from my riding in Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu.
On October 26, Ève Bilodeau won not one, but two gold medals in the extreme and kempo categories for girls 10 and under at the World Karate championships in Orlando, Florida.
Despite her tender age, she is already the pride of her family and her town. Moreover, she is literally shining an international spotlight on Quebec and proving that our homegrown talent can make it all the way to the top. Who knows, we might even see her at the Olympic Games one day.
Ève Bilodeau's athletic career is an inspiration. She encourages us to dream, and she has all our admiration.
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- Nov/23/23 2:30:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in its economic statement, the federal government seeks to encroach upon Quebec's jurisdiction over labour.
It wants to force interprovincial mobility on workers, especially health care workers. Otherwise, it is cutting health care funding. It forgot one thing, though: Things are done in French in Quebec.
For us, the plan means that bilingual workers from Quebec will be able to work elsewhere in Canada, but the workers who come to Quebec from unilingual anglophone provinces will be unilingual English doctors. In Quebec, things are done in French. This cannot work.
Instead of undermining quality of care in Quebec, could the federal government just mind its own business?
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- Nov/23/23 2:31:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my Bloc Québécois colleague, but he is completely wrong on this.
We transfer more than $700 million a year for immigration to Quebec. Most of that money is used to teach French to those arriving in Quebec. That includes anglophones who want to learn French.
We are there for labour mobility. We are there to train people in the language of their choice. We are there in partnership with Quebec every day.
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- Nov/23/23 2:31:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is right there in black and white: The government is threatening to cut health transfers if we refuse to swap our francophone workers for unilingual English doctors. Quebec does not need unilingual English doctors. We need doctors who can speak French and provide care in French. We need doctors that Quebeckers can explain their health problems to in their own language.
If the federal government wants to be useful, all it has to do is increase health transfers, and we will hire doctors.
Will the government stop taking Quebeckers' money and blackmailing them?
Enough is enough.
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- Nov/23/23 2:32:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, how very like the Bloc Québécois. It says that Ontarians should stay in Ontario, British Columbians should stay in British Columbia, and Quebeckers should stay in Quebec and talk only to each other.
We can work together. We can exchange workers. We can exchange doctors and collaborate. The Bloc Québécois always wants it to be one against the other. It does not have to be like that. Canada is much stronger than the sum of its provinces. We can work together.
The Bloc Québécois does not like that, but that is the truth.
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- Nov/23/23 2:42:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, asylum seekers are the responsibility of the federal government. That is why Quebec wants to be reimbursed for the services we provide, including housing and social services.
The federal government refuses to reimburse Quebec. The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said, and I quote, “I don't have $400 million just lying around”.
First of all, it is not $400 million; it is $460 million. Second, when the time came to help asylum seekers, Quebec managed to come up with the $460 million, so the minister will just have to come up with it, as well.
Will he reimburse Quebec?
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- Nov/23/23 2:43:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a relationship is a two-way street. Yes, we received the letter, but responsibility for asylum seekers is shared with Quebec. It is shared with all the provinces and territories.
I could also send a bill for $450 million to Quebec. We have sent Quebec $600 million. There is also a $700-million fund under the Quebec-Canada accord that grows every year. Whatever Quebec's immigration levels are, Quebec must assume its responsibility. We are prepared to sit down and discuss this with our respective finance ministers.
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- Nov/23/23 2:44:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if we look at the Constitution, we see that asylum seekers fall under federal jurisdiction. The federal government not only is not providing the services, but it is refusing to pay.
It is always the same thing with the Liberals when it comes to immigration and refugees. They say that they defend asylum seekers, but only when it comes time to make fine speeches. When it is time to truly welcome these people, the Liberals are not there. There is no service or reimbursement.
Quebec provides asylum seekers the services they need. Now, will the federal government do the one job that it is paid to do and reimburse Quebec?
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- Nov/23/23 2:44:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a lesson on the Constitution from the Bloc Québécois, I will leave it at that. What I can say is that, last year, we gave $700 million to Quebec under the Canada-Quebec accord. We gave it more this year. We even gave it too much without asking for any of it back.
All I am saying is let us have a reasonable discussion with our respective finance ministers. Let us sit down and lay our cards on the table and have a mature discussion.
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- Nov/23/23 2:45:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can tell him about discussions. The Quebec minister for Canadian relations said, and I quote:
The current policy of the federal government is: “We decide. You pay.” Ottawa prides itself on being the most generous country, one that welcomes all those who are suffering, but Quebeckers are the ones who have to pay. It makes no sense. This is definitely not a responsible policy.
That is what the Quebec minister for Canadian relations said. Quebec is welcoming and generous to asylum seekers. All it is asking for is the resources to continue to be that way.
When will the government reimburse Quebec?
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- Nov/23/23 2:45:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will give the same answer to the same question. Let us not forget that, in addition to the lump sum social transfer that is sent to all of the provinces, we are sending more and more money to Quebec every year under the Canada-Quebec accord, regardless of the levels in Quebec.
Quebec has a role to play in welcoming asylum seekers and all immigrants. We are prepared to sit down with Quebec to have a mature discussion between two responsible governments.
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- Nov/23/23 2:59:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this Liberal government awarded a contract worth $15 billion in taxpayer money to finance a battery plant in Windsor. There is just one problem: The plant will be staffed by 1,600 temporary foreign workers, not by Canadian workers.
Quebeckers are wondering whether local jobs will be protected at the Northvolt plant in Quebec, which taxpayers funded to the tune of $5 billion. Did the Prime Minister ensure that jobs would go to Quebeckers, or does he plan to bring in even more taxpayer-funded foreign replacement workers?
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