44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 13, 2023 02:00PM
- Dec/13/23 2:26:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader continues to rise in the House to talk about austerity.
Last week, we saw the true nature of the Conservative Party's austerity. The Conservatives voted against help for dairy, egg and poultry farmers in Quebec. They voted against funding for the Plains of Abraham. They voted against help for people in the Magdalen Islands following hurricane Fiona. What is worse, the member for Mégantic—L'Érable voted against funding for the rail bypass in Lac-Mégantic. That is truly shameful, and Quebeckers will never forget it.
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- Dec/13/23 2:27:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservative leader was out partying last week, all Canadians got was an order of cold McNuggets. The only thing his 30-hour, $2-million tantrum achieved was show Canadians the true colours of the Conservative Party of Canada. When it was time to support our veterans, how did the Conservatives vote? They voted against it. When it was time to support our farmers, how did they vote? They voted against it. When it was time to ensure services to first nations, how did they vote? They voted against it.
Everyone can see who they really are.
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- Dec/13/23 2:28:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the audacity of the Conservative leader knows no bounds. Just last week, he voted against a national school food program, and now he rises to talk about affordability. Let us be clear. The Conservative leader has no long-term vision for this country, with or without the glasses.
It takes more than a couple of bags of McDonald's to feed Canadians. That is why we are going to continue to step up and be there with investments for Canadians, while he talks about cuts and austerity, and then goes and votes for cuts and austerity.
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- Dec/13/23 2:30:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, we have seen exactly why, whatever his justifications, they have chosen to vote against initiatives to help Canadians. Whether it was dental supports for the hundreds of thousands of kids that we have already brought in, or more supports for seniors, they chose to vote against them months ago. They are continuing to step up to vote against the programs that matter.
While they seem to not care about climate change, and want to sit back and watch the world burn, they are going to watch Canadians' food sources burn as well.
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- Dec/13/23 2:31:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we recognize that the price on pollution is a key part of actually making things more affordable for the long term for Canadians by pushing and encouraging innovation.
Indeed, our departments reached out to the farm family of the very successful large mushroom farm in the member opposite's riding to talk about the programs we have that can move them off their dependence on fossil fuels.
We know there is work to do and we know there are investments to make, but that is how we fight climate change and build a better future. We have a plan to fight climate change. Conservatives have no plan because they do not even recognize that climate change is real.
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- Dec/13/23 2:33:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the impact of the crisis, the war and the violence in the Middle East is being felt around the world, particularly in Canada, a country whose strength lies in the diversity of its people from different backgrounds, who are now grappling with anguish, anger and fear, all at the same time.
That is why we are working so hard to fight anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. We are doing everything we can to bring people together during these difficult times, so that people remember who we are and our values as Canadians.
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- Dec/13/23 2:34:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I commend and thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for his approach and his desire to see less violence and division in our country. That is a desire that we all share and that we will continue to work on.
However, we recognize that this is a delicate and difficult situation, particularly when it raises issues of freedom of speech and freedom of conscience.
Unfortunately, there is no simple solution. The only thing we can do is to work hard and make an effort to bring people together. That is exactly what we are going to do.
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- Dec/13/23 2:35:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we said that we would use every tool at our disposal to make housing more affordable, we meant it.
This week, Minister Fraser announced that we will be bringing back a concept established in wartime and holding consultations to create a home design catalogue that will speed up home construction.
This initiative is one of our bold, innovative ideas to modernize and accelerate home construction in Canada. It is another example of how the federal government can take the lead to ensure that all Canadians have a place to call home.
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- Dec/13/23 2:37:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have shown a consistent willingness and desire to work with the provinces in areas of their jurisdiction, in co-operative ways, and we are going to continue to, including on the issue of rent control.
However, there is not just one way to approach the housing crisis; it is something we are doing on many fronts. It is not just the catalogue; indeed, we are building more apartments and co-ops by removing the GST on construction, and we are eliminating barriers to get more homes built faster by working directly with cities. We are helping Canadians save up for a home with the first home savings account.
I know there is more to do, and we are going to continue to work with all governments to take bold action to tackle housing affordability.
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- Dec/13/23 2:38:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for farms across this country that are shifting towards natural gas and lower-emitting ways of heating and using their various machinery, we have put in place significant programs to help them with that.
That is something we are going to continue to do, because it is part of our plan to both fight climate change and build a net-zero economy of the future. We have a plan. The Conservative Party of Canada has no plan to fight climate change. Indeed, it thinks we should be backing off on all the things we are doing instead of continuing to fight climate change and grow a strong economy.
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- Dec/13/23 2:40:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we recognize that climate change is a reality. We recognize that we need to help families and businesses across this country reduce their emissions and continue to prosper and grow in a world where the cost of inaction on climate change is increasingly exponentially.
That is why we have put in place programs to support farms, programs to support Canadians and, indeed, to get off home heating oil, for example, and transition to heat pumps. These are things that we are doing as part of our plan. The Conservatives have no plan.
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- Dec/13/23 2:41:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the price on pollution is simple: Activities that cause pollution cost a bit more. However, most Canadians get more money back than what they pay, with cheques being sent to Canadians every few months. Big industry pays more than the regular Canadian pays because industry pollutes more, and, as a result, industries have an incentive to reduce their pollution. The ideologically driven MAGA Conservatives are calling for pollution to be free again and for the government to take those regular cheques to Canadians away from them.
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- Dec/13/23 2:42:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are there to support families, but multi-million-dollar farms that are successful will continue to be encouraged to look for ways to use their machinery and to heat their produce in ways that are lower emitting. That is what fighting climate change is all about. It is encouraging successful farms, like the Medeiros family farm, to continue to be successful but to do so in ways that reduce their emissions. We know it cannot ever be free to pollute again, despite what the Conservative Party wants.
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- Dec/13/23 2:44:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, more than just about anyone else in this country, farmers understand how important it is to protect the land for future generations and to pass on the bounty to their children and grandchildren of a great, important job that feeds the rest of us. That is why farmers are so focused on the future, and that is why we are there to support them with a plan and investments that help them reduce their emissions while they continue to put food on all our tables. We have a plan for that. The Conservatives refuse to even admit that there needs to be work done to reduce emissions. That is not the way to build a future, not in Carleton and not anywhere—
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- Dec/13/23 2:45:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 97% of farm fuel emissions are exempt from the price on pollution. The average farm across this country pays a little less than $1,000 on natural gas emissions through the price on pollution. Therefore, one can only imagine how much natural gas this successful mushroom farm must be using for their cost of the price on pollution to be that large. We will happily work with the farmer to switch toward a lower-emitting approach to doing their business well and protecting future generations.
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- Dec/13/23 2:47:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we recently launched an historic program that will provide dental care to children under 12 across the country. We have now extended the program to seniors across the country. We are ensuring that seniors do not have to choose between taking care of their teeth and paying their bills.
We will continue to work with the provinces and territories, including Quebec, to ensure that Canadians who need it can have access to proper dental care without having to worry about the bill and to improve the oral health of all Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
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- Dec/13/23 2:48:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are having very good conversations with our counterparts in Quebec, as we always do, about how we are going to help Quebeckers and provide them with the care and services they need. We are here to work with them, and we are going to continue those discussions with the Quebec government, not with the second opposition party in the House of Commons in Ottawa.
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- Dec/13/23 2:49:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Innovation has already accepted the resignation of the CEO and chair. When allegations are made and issues arise, it is both appropriate and necessary for there to be a review of the matter. Those investigations and reviews are currently under way. We look forward to the results of those investigations.
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- Dec/13/23 2:50:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are making cheap political points. The Conservative Party of Canada cannot take yes for an answer.
The independent officers of Parliament are investigating. A third party review of the allegations is under way. We are committed to ensuring organizations that receive federal funding adhere to the highest standards of governance.
When it comes to fighting climate change and drawing in investments from around the world, we have a plan and we have a focus on doing it in the right ways to grow the economy and support Canadians. The Conservatives have no plan whatsoever. All they can do is try to play partisan political games.
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- Dec/13/23 2:51:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has already addressed this question and investigations are under way.
The work we are doing on fighting climate change is already cutting pollution while building a strong and competitive economy. While we work to advance our ambitious climate action, the Conservative Party has no plan because fighting climate change simply does not matter to it. The Conservative leader is turning his back on future generations on both the environment and the economy by refusing to commit to Canada's targets, like his mentor Stephen Harper did when he withdrew from the Kyoto accord.
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