44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 14, 2023 10:00AM
- Dec/14/23 10:05:13 a.m.
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Merry Christmas and happy new year to you as well.
We have a dissenting opinion from the Conservatives.
The hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton.
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Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the official opposition, I want to start by thanking everyone in this chamber for their hard work over the last year and share merry Christmas wishes with colleagues and all staff who work on and around the Hill. I also want to wish a special merry Christmas to those in uniform who are serving our country, especially those overseas who will be sacrificing time with family and their usual Christmas traditions in order to serve our country and advance freedom and justice in a troubled world.
I wonder if the government House leader could update the House about the planned calendar of business for the rest of this week and the work when we return. In particular, Liberals have claimed that they want to pass Bill C-57 on Canada-Ukraine free trade as soon as possible. If they are serious, I will propose a motion following the Thursday question to bring the deal to an immediate and final vote.
The motion will be that, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House, all questions necessary for the disposal of the third reading stage of Bill C-57, an act to implement the 2023 free trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine, be deemed put and recorded divisions deemed requested and be not deferred.
I wonder if the government House leader could clarify whether the government intends to allow its bill to come to a vote or whether it intends to delay it for political reasons.
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- Dec/14/23 3:22:53 p.m.
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I appreciate the hon. member trying to run that, but obviously there is no unanimous consent on it.
Because of the “merry Christmas” that just came from the hon. House leader, I want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and happy holidays. I look forward, believe that or not, to seeing members again when we come back in January.
The hon. member for North Island—Powell River has a point of order.
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- Dec/14/23 3:24:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when my colleague from Manicouagan rose in the House, she eloquently commended all House staff and all staff responsible for procedure.
Now it is my turn to wish a happy holiday, a merry Christmas and a happy 2024 to everyone who helped simplify our work and who gave us their support along the way. There is no denying that the past parliamentary period has been difficult. I primarily want to thank my fellow whips, the government whip, the official opposition whip and the NDP whip. Despite everything, as my colleague said so well, we all work together to make Parliament run smoothly.
We hope that 2024 will be another positive year. I wish everyone health and happiness as they gather with their loved ones.
I wish the same to you, Mr. Speaker.
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- Dec/14/23 3:52:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, to begin, I would like to take this opportunity to wish a happy holiday and a good vacation to everyone in the House, but mostly to the people of Berthier—Maskinongé, who have worked so hard over the past year. I hope they get time with their loved ones. I wish the same for my colleague who just made his speech, because I know him well enough to wish him a merry Christmas.
If we know each other well enough to wish each other a merry Christmas, I imagine we know each other well enough to provide really good, accurate answers. That is the gift I want this holiday season. I would like for him to explain, in all honesty and frankness, the rationale behind this 18-month delay. Quebec has had equivalent legislation for 47 years, which means that workers' rights are not equal. It works very well in Quebec.
How is it that the government ends up introducing this bill after years of promises and then imposes an 18-month delay before it comes into force? I would like a real answer.
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- Dec/14/23 3:53:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague and wish him a merry Christmas as well.
The period of 18 months is there because we have a proud history of tripartism in this country, bringing employers, workers and the government together to make sure we get the balance right. It is in that spirit that we are giving all the parties time to prepare and because there are the most significant changes that Canada has ever seen and that we all agree on in federal collective bargaining, it cannot be rushed.
In particular, the Canada Industrial Relations Board needs time to build capacity and work closely with employers and unions on the implementation of these changes. When the bill comes into force, the following 18 months, as the member knows, will give the parties the time to adapt to the new requirements and obligations that this country has not seen before.
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- Dec/14/23 3:55:36 p.m.
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I wish a merry Christmas to all my constituents.
Those two pieces of legislation made it very difficult for unions to operate. It made it difficult to certify their members, easy to decertify them and tried to bury them in red tape. I was pleased to run under that banner and run again when we put pro-union and pro-worker legislation in our platform. This is a promise made and a promise kept.
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- Dec/14/23 5:24:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, if I may, I would like to take this opportunity to wish a merry Christmas and a happy Hanukkah to all colleagues here and to the residents of my community of Kelowna—Lake Country.
The member talked a lot about the cost of living and people needing help. People's paycheques are not going as far as they used to. I wonder whether he can expand a bit on how inflation and rising interest rates are affecting families and on how it was really the decisions of the government that have caused these.
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- Dec/14/23 7:05:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada is firmly committed to helping Canadians find an affordable place to call home in these challenging times. We have taken a leadership role, making historic investments in housing after decades of absence in the sector from all levels of government.
We are meeting the goals of our national housing strategy. We have recently introduced new measures to incentivize the kind of housing that Canadian families need now and the types of housing that the hon. member is discussing. We are continuing to work with our partners in government, in the housing sector and beyond to find solutions that will solve our housing shortage and bring relief to Canadians, especially our most vulnerable Canadians.
Merry Christmas to you, Madam Speaker, and to all the residents of St. Catharines.
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