44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 1, 2023 10:00AM
- Dec/1/23 11:14:24 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, CEBA loans saved hundreds of thousands of businesses and millions of jobs across Canada during the pandemic, but recovery has been slow.
I received messages from two businesses in my riding: the Ginger Room hair salon, managed by Nicole Doyle, with eight employees; and the Fish Bowl Cafe, managed by Jessica Fetchko, with nine employees. At this time of hardship, one is struggling with lower sales and the other with higher costs. Both are extremely worried about their ability to pay back their CEBA loans and are having to choose between cutting staff hours and very high interest loans.
In response, the Liberals only extended the repayment deadline by 18 days. Why is this Liberal government so inflexible on this simple request, and why is it choosing to put the small businesses in my riding in danger at such a tough time for our communities?
On behalf of the many small businesses in my riding of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, I call on this Liberal government to extend the CEBA loan repayment deadline. There is still time to do the right thing.
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- Dec/1/23 11:15:31 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Club FADOQ St-Félix. Rather than having just one big party for the 50th anniversary, its members decided to celebrate all year long.
I can say that they have had plenty of opportunities to do so, because the seniors of Saint-Félix-de-Kingsey are extremely active. They never stop, and it is pretty obvious. Their schedules are so full, one would say they have full-time jobs. From pétanque to board games and card games, from dinners and dances to sports, conferences and even theatre, these seniors are unstoppable.
The St-Félix club has 153 active members. The village has a population of 1,500. The rest of the FADOQ network should be jealous of that. It is inspiring to see these seniors on the go. It is heartwarming to see that they are so active, so tightly knit and so involved in their community. They set an example for others to follow.
Long live the Club FADOQ St-Félix and happy 50th anniversary.
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- Dec/1/23 11:16:26 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of the current Liberal-NDP government, we continue to discover more ways that this Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. This week, the Chiefs of Ontario, representing more than 130 first nations, sued the NDP-Liberal government over its job-killing carbon tax, saying that it is discriminatory against indigenous peoples, especially those living and working on reserves and that it disproportionately harms indigenous Canadians and their constitutional rights. The Chiefs of Ontario had to sue this Prime Minister because he failed, for almost a year, to respond to their request to axe the tax.
Eight years of this Prime Minister have made life unaffordable and Canadians see that he is not worth the cost. Indigenous Canadians can count on common-sense Conservatives to have a common-sense plan to respect them, to stop dividing Canadians and to turn hurt into hope by axing the tax on everything for everyone and bringing home lower prices for all.
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- Dec/1/23 11:17:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, every day that we hear the leader of the official opposition speak, we have a better understanding that the leader of the Conservative Party is just not worth the risk. Let us think about it: Just last week, an explosion took place at the Rainbow Bridge. The leader of the Conservative Party watched Fox News and ran into the chamber and said there was a terrorist attack. That is what he implied in his question to the Prime Minister. How irresponsible is that, for a leader of Canada's official opposition? That is not leadership. That in fact demonstrates that he is not worth the risk.
Let us take a look at the collective vote that the Conservative Party had on the Ukraine-Canada trade agreement. It is an agreement that is powerful and would make a difference not only here in Canada but also in Ukraine. How did the Conservative Party vote? It voted no. I would suggest again that, with the MAGA element within the Conservative Party today coming from the leadership, that leader is just not worth the risk.
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- Dec/1/23 11:18:41 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is Friday and the Prime Minister is still not worth the cost. We know that, this summer, Canada's economy actually shrank while the American economy grew by nearly 5%, all because of higher government spending, which leads to higher interest rates and higher inflation.
Canadians are getting poorer and no amount of rattling off statistics is going to change that fact.
When will the government finally commit to balancing the budget and axing the tax so that Canadians can afford to eat, heat and house themselves?
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- Dec/1/23 11:19:15 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, while the Conservatives continue to talk down the Canadian economy, I would like to take the opportunity to remind them about some of the key results of our economic plan so far.
Canada is working because Canadians are working. Our GDP today is actually 4.1% above prepandemic levels. That is higher than Italy, the European Union, France, the U.K. and Germany. The IMF projects that Canada will have the highest economic growth in the G7 in 2024.
I would note that this is the same report that showed significantly upward revision in Canada's growth over the second quarter.
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- Dec/1/23 11:19:53 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, they can talk all they want but the plan is not working. We have never spent so much in this country to achieve so little. Government spending went up by more than 7% and the economy still shrank by 1.1%. We have the lowest GDP per capita growth today and for the next 40 years of any advanced economy, according to their own budget.
Canadians get higher taxes, higher spending and more regulation. They are getting poorer.
Why do they think that plan is working for Canadians?
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- Dec/1/23 11:20:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, what the Conservatives do not realize is that when they continue to talk down the Canadian economy, they are talking down Canadian workers, Canadian innovators and Canadians, who are working hard to build up our economy. On this side of the House, we know that Canada is the best country in the world. That is why I am glad to share some more good news.
Canada had the strongest growth in the G7 over the course of 2022. The IMF predicts that we will see the strongest average growth in the G7 in 2024.
Earlier this month, Moody's reiterated Canada's AAA rating and that is not something that the Harper Conservatives could attest to back in their day.
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Madam Speaker, we are talking down the economic malpractice that is coming from that side.
These numbers tell a very different story. Worse, they are actually even tied with those guys.
Just yesterday, the first nations leader sued this government, claiming that the carbon tax unfairly punishes indigenous communities. There is legislation in front of the Senate right now that will help indigenous Canadians and all Canadians by taking the tax off the farmers who grow the food, so that Canadians can afford to buy the food.
Why are the Liberals ordering their senators to block the bill that this House passed?
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Madam Speaker, it is still clear that the Conservative Party and its members do not really understand how indigenous people are not indigenous Canadians but, in fact, indigenous people of their own nations. The idea of self-determination is something that this Conservative Party just cannot wrap its head around. The colonial Conservatives just will not quit.
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- Dec/1/23 11:22:10 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years, Canadians can no longer afford the excessive costs of this Prime Minister. Next year, Canadians will pay more in interest on the debt than is put towards health care. The government is putting bankers ahead of nurses and orderlies. Some two million Canadians are using food banks every month, including more and more middle-class families. Children are asking Santa for boots and snowsuits to keep them warm, rather than toys to play with.
Will the Prime Minister finally understand that it is time to put an end to his inflationary policies that increase the price of everything?
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- Dec/1/23 11:22:49 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
When it comes to helping Canadians, the Conservatives need to understand that that is exactly what we are doing by introducing the affordability bill. I know my colleague; he is a man of influence in this party. He is a man people listen to. He must convince his colleagues to vote in favour of the bill. If he wants to give Canadians a gift between now and Christmas, he can help us overhaul competition, because he knows, and Canadians who are watching us know too, that the best way to stabilize prices in Canada is to have more competition.
Will he use his influence once and for all to help Canadians?
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- Dec/1/23 11:23:23 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we all did it. We voted for this bill at second reading. I have absolutely no idea where the minister is going with this.
What I do know, however, is that the Journal de Montréal reported yesterday that children are now forced to ask Santa Claus for snowsuits. One child even asked him for a gift card to pay for a good Christmas dinner. That is the reality.
Does the minister have enough clout in this cabinet to persuade the Prime Minister to end the inflationary policies that have forced children to trim down their Christmas wish lists?
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- Dec/1/23 11:24:04 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, talking about Christmas presents, I have an idea for the Conservative Party of Canada: It could give Canadians a Christmas gift for once.
Third reading of the affordability bill is just around the corner. If the Conservatives mean what they say, why not prove it to Canadians and vote in favour of competition reform? The best gift that Canadians could get is help in stabilizing prices across the country. People tuned in are wondering what, after eight years, the Conservatives are going to do for them.
In the lead-up to Christmas, they have a chance to do something for everyone. Will they?
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- Dec/1/23 11:24:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Quebeckers are happy to do their part to welcome asylum seekers. The problem is that the federal government is not asking us to do our fair share. It is asking us to do twice as much. Quebec takes in 48% of Canada's asylum seekers. Ottawa is asking us to pay nearly five times our share, meaning 100% of the bill, or $460 million in total, and that is without taking into account integration capacity.
Instead of lecturing us, will the federal government finally do its part and reimburse Quebec?
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- Dec/1/23 11:25:25 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question in French, and I would also like to answer in French.
I would remind her, as I am sure she knows full well, that the agreement we have with Quebec gives it the power and jurisdiction to choose its immigration thresholds. We are working very well with Quebec, and we will continue to work with our Quebec counterparts to create an immigration system that meets our needs, the needs of Quebec and the needs of francophones in Quebec.
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- Dec/1/23 11:25:57 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are talking about the Canada-Quebec agreement, which stipulates that Quebec must take in a share of asylum seekers that is at least equal to its percentage of Canada's population. That is not a problem, but we are currently taking in twice our share, or 48% of asylum seekers. In the meantime, British Columbia is taking in 10 times fewer. The four Maritime provinces combined have welcome 285 people. That is not even 1%.
In Quebec, we will continue to do our part, but will the federal government ensure that we are not the only ones?
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- Dec/1/23 11:26:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.
Again, Quebec is the only province that has an agreement with the federal government on immigration. We send Quebec more than $700 million a year, including for work on the integration of immigrants into French-speaking society in Quebec.
We will continue to work with Quebec. As my colleague mentioned, he has a meeting with the Government of Quebec to discuss immigration thresholds and how we are going to work together to ensure that we properly welcome refugees and asylum seekers.
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- Dec/1/23 11:27:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, today marks the 42nd World AIDS Day. Countless Canadians have lost someone to AIDS, and Canada is heading in the wrong direction as new infections are increasing, especially among indigenous communities. For an annual investment of just $100 million, HIV in Canada could be eliminated. People living with HIV, and organizations like HIV Edmonton, have the tools to do this work; they just need the proper resources.
When will the government provide the funding needed to make the elimination of HIV a reality?
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- Dec/1/23 11:27:52 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on this World AIDS Day, ensuring that Canadians have access to testing and treatment for HIV is a top priority for our government. That is why we recently announced nearly $18 million in funding to make decentralized forms of HIV testing, including HIV self-test kits, more widely available across Canada. HIV self-test kits are helpful in reaching those who are undiagnosed, by offering greater accessibility, privacy and convenience. They can also reduce stigma.
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