44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 13, 2023 02:00PM
- Dec/13/23 2:26:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is yet another example. The Prime Minister has had eight years to build that bypass, but has not even begun to do so. That is so typical of this Prime Minister, who makes announcements and spends loads of money but produces zero results. The same goes for affordability. He spent $87 billion on housing affordability, but that just doubled the cost. According to the Bank of Canada, the cost of housing is the worst it has been in 41 years.
Will the Prime Minister finally reverse his inflationary policies, which have doubled the cost of housing for Canadians?
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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 2:28:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for eight years, the Prime Minister and NDP-Liberal government have not been worth the cost. He said that he was taking on all this debt so that Canadians would not have to. Now we learn that Canadians are spending more on household debt interest than at any time in Canadian history, more than the American families were during the 2008 financial crisis, which almost brought down the global economy.
Will the Prime Minister reverse the inflationary, high-tax policies that have indebted Canadians and driven up their interest rates?
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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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Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot even afford to feed themselves a couple of bags of McDonald's after eight years of the Prime Minister taxing their food.
Speaking of food, do members know the only problem with his school food framework? It does not fund any food. It funds politicians to talk with bureaucrats who talk with lobbyists about establishing a conversation towards consulting. It funds bureaucracy and not families.
Speaking of one way he can make food more affordable for everyone, including our kids, will he pass Bill C-234, the common-sense Conservative bill to take the tax off?
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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 2:30:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is the Prime Minister who is burning a hole in the pockets of Canadians.
We voted against his plan to quadruple the carbon tax, a tax on heat, gas and groceries.
When I raised the issue of the cost of $100,000 for one farm in my riding, which will rise to $400,000, I asked the Prime Minister if he would call the family and tell them how they are going to pay the tax. He said he would reach out to them and have a conversation about how they are going to pay a $400,000 carbon tax bill.
Can the Prime Minister tell the House what he told that family about how they are going to come up with 400 grand in more taxes?
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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 2:32:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday at the UN, Canada voted in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza. I wholeheartedly commend the Canadian government's wisdom in choosing to join a major international movement.
That said, an important nuance needs to be made. This is not a rejection of Israel's right to defend itself. This is not an endorsement of Hamas, but an indignant response to the loss of human life.
To foster peace here at home as well, can the Prime Minister ensure that legislation will be amended to criminalize hate speech and incitement to violence, even under the guise of religion?
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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 2:33:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my call to the Prime Minister is this: Let us end 2023 with dignity.
If everyone here in the House were to unanimously vote for peace, including peace in our own streets, and if everyone were to eliminate hate speech under the guise of religion, then everyone would win. Our streets would be safer, and we would all have a clearer conscience.
Will the Prime Minister accept my suggestion?
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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 2:35:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the number of forced evictions reported in Quebec continues to rise at an alarming rate. Where are these people going to live? Over two million affordable housing units have been lost because of the Liberals and the Conservatives.
Just last week, the Conservatives voted to scrap all funding for social and affordable housing. The government says it wants to draw inspiration from certain measures Canada took in wartime.
Where has this war effort to fight the housing crisis been over the past eight years?
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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 2:36:12 p.m.
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Before we continue with oral question period, I would like to remind the Prime Minister and members that they must not refer to other members by their family name. They must use their title or the name of their riding.
The hon. member for Vancouver East.
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- Dec/13/23 2:36:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people in Halifax are having to live in fishing tents this winter because of the lack of affordable homes.
Just last week, the cut-and-gut Conservatives voted no to funding community housing, and the out-of-touch Liberals keep delaying critical funding to build affordable homes. The housing minister says he wants to draw inspiration from what Canada did in wartime to fix the housing crisis. A catalogue is not going to cut it.
Part of the effort involves a national rent control initiative. Will the Prime Minister bring forward rent control to curb sky-high rent?
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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 2:37:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister did not answer my question about the Carleton Mushroom Farms, which faces a $400,000 carbon tax bill when the Prime Minister is done quadrupling the tax.
When we spoke about this on November 29, he said that he looked forward to hearing about the sustainable practices that the farm has put in place. I can tell him that I helped the farm actually get natural gas in order to power some of its operations, which is a lower-emitting form of energy. However, they are still going to face a massive tax increase.
How would the Prime Minister advise the farm to pay it: by raising prices on Canadians or by shutting down production and bringing in more foreign food?
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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 2:39:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is backing off the things he is doing. Ironically, he is the one who brought in a temporary pause because his caucus was revolting regarding home heating oil.
However, my question was about the Medeiros's Carleton Mushroom Farms. The Prime Minister claims he has government programs to help farmers use more natural gas, at the same time as he is quadrupling the tax on natural gas, which is perhaps the reason why Canada ranks 58th out of 64 when it comes to climate index performance. The Prime Minister does not have a climate plan; he has a tax plan.
How will the Prime Minister advise the Medeiros farm to pay the $400,000 bill he is sending it?
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