44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 31, 2024 02:00PM
- Jan/31/24 3:03:28 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, this House used to be united in its unequivocal support for Ukraine, and then the Leader of the Opposition disparagingly referred to Ukraine as a faraway foreign land, something for which he has not yet apologized, and demanded that all his MPs, including MPs from the Prairies, where there are strong Ukrainian Canadian populations, vote against a free trade deal that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has deliberately and directly asked Canadians to support. When will he stand up for Ukraine?
80 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:04:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, let us talk more about CBC/Radio‑Canada CEO Catherine Tait's appearance at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage yesterday. Nothing she said provided anyone with any reassurance about her vision for Quebec news and culture. She will not be reinstating the 600 jobs she cut, a disproportionate number of which were on the French-language side. At this morning's scrum, the government floated the possibility of additional financial assistance for CBC/Radio‑Canada.
Will the Prime Minister commit to making any additional funding for Radio‑Canada conditional on jobs being reinstated?
99 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:05:14 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, in this era of misinformation, disinformation and the transformation of our digital and media universe, we need a strong CBC/Radio‑Canada to protect our culture, protect our democracy and tell our stories from one end of the country to the other.
We will always be there to stand up for CBC/Radio‑Canada and we will try to make the necessary investments so it can continue to fulfill its mandate to inform, entertain and strengthen democracy here in Canada.
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:05:53 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois will support the Prime Minister provided that he offers assistance to CBC/Radio-Canada on the understanding that jobs will be maintained.
However, CBC/Radio-Canada is not the only one struggling. All of our electronic news media are asking for the same wage subsidy that the federal government is giving, and rightly so, to our newspapers. Huge cuts have been made at Bell and TVA. Weekly newspapers are losing their means of distribution, and the news black-out on Meta is hurting the entire sector.
Will the Prime Minister give all news media the same consideration that he has shown to the crown corporation?
114 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, supporting journalists and local journalism is extremely important to this government, especially in these challenging times. That is why we introduced Bill C‑18, which will help our journalists operate at all levels.
We will continue to be there to defend an independent, free and professional press. We know that a lot of work remains to be done in these times of uncertainty. Unlike the Conservatives, we will be there to work with all parties interested in protecting journalism.
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:07:09 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing, which has doubled since he promised to lower it, but there is good news. Rent is down for the eighth consecutive month in the United States. Meanwhile, it has more than doubled under the Prime Minister. It is up 9% in the last year alone.
Can the Prime Minister explain why rent is going down in the States while it skyrockets under his leadership here at home?
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:07:43 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to give the Leader of the Opposition another opportunity to apologize for referring to Ukraine disparagingly as a faraway foreign land.
26 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:07:57 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the question was about rent in Canada. Rent prices have doubled after eight years under the Prime Minister. They have tripled in his home city of Montreal. Now, according to the homebuilders of Canada, they expect that construction numbers will actually plummet this year relative to prior years. They say that this will lead to higher prices, and they say we require “policy changes” to reverse it.
Will the Prime Minister finally accept a common-sense plan to build the homes so Canadians can afford the rent?
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:08:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, once again, I did not hear an apology to Ukrainians. I encourage him to do that. People are waiting for it.
At the same time, I can remind this House that we have signed dozens of housing accelerator fund agreements across the country that are leading to the construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes in the coming years. We have eliminated GST from purpose-built rental apartments, and we are moving forward on an interest-free savings account for first-time homebuyers.
Again, I encourage the Leader of the Opposition to apologize for referring to Ukraine as some faraway foreign land.
105 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:09:19 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it just proves what I said earlier. He is not interested in Ukraine. When I asked about rental prices, he started spreading disinformation about Ukraine. He could not care less about the war effort over there. He only cares about distracting from his failures at home.
One of his failures is that rents have tripled in Montreal. The builders association says that this year will be one of the worst.
Why has the price of housing gone down in the United States while it is ballooning here in Canada?
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:10:00 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, for well over 150 years, this House has been here to recognize the debates and follow what people have been doing. Hansard is the official record of this House. If the Leader of the Opposition is suggesting that Hansard, in which he said that Ukraine is a faraway foreign land, is somehow misinformation or disinformation, then he should come right out and say so.
As far as housing is concerned, we continue to invest across the country, including in Quebec. Quebec is matching the $900 million we proposed to help create housing—
96 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:10:40 p.m.
- Watch
The hon. member for Alfred‑Pellan.
7 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:10:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, affordability is a major concern for all Canadians. To support them and ensure that help is available, the Minister of Finance presented the fall economic statement.
Can the Prime Minister remind the House of the important measures contained in the fall economic statement and why the House needs to adopt them quickly?
54 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:11:37 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Alfred‑Pellan for the question.
The Leader of the Opposition spends a lot of time talking about affordability, but we have not seen a hint of a proposal or a real plan. If the Conservative leader wants to help Canadians in a meaningful way, he can vote in favour of the fall economic statement, which cuts the GST and HST on psychotherapy, cuts the GST on the building of co-operative housing and creates a new employment insurance benefit for adoption. Either he supports Canadians by voting for the statement, or he continues to push for cuts and austerity.
107 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:12:17 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, austerity is something Canadians are already very familiar with because rent has doubled everywhere in Canada under this Prime Minister's eight-year tenure. He promised to reduce costs, but he increased bureaucracy.
Yesterday, the builders' association reported that record low builder sentiment foreshadows troubling housing starts, underscoring the need for housing policy changes.
The problem is getting worse by the year. Will the Prime Minister agree to our common-sense plan and cut red tape in order to increase housing starts?
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:12:56 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative plan involves cutting dental care for Canadians, dental care that has already helped 400,000 children and that recently expanded to cover 400,000 seniors.
Their plan involves campaigning against cutting child care costs in half. It involves voting against our measures to provide concrete help to Canadians. Their plan offers cuts and austerity, not solutions.
60 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:13:39 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the question was about rent and instead he turned and made false attacks against me. Apparently, I am living rent-free in his head.
Here is the reality. Rent is going down in the States while it is coming up in Canada. Housing costs have risen 40% faster compared with the incomes of Canadians. Canada has the worst record in the G7 and the second worst in the OECD. If the Prime Minister's plan were really working, why is it that housing costs have doubled and our housing is becoming less affordable than that in almost any developed country in the world?
105 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:14:20 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am going to leave aside the question of where exactly he is living rent-free and focus on the supports we are giving to Canadians.
We are continuing to invest in meaningful ways in partnership with municipalities, with unions and building trades and with provinces across the country to solve this housing crisis that Canadians are feeling so acutely. Whether it is cutting the GST from purpose-built rentals, whether it is moving forward with the tax-free savings account for first-time homebuyers or whether it is putting $4 billion in the pockets of municipalities across the country to increase density and cut red tape, we are taking action on housing.
115 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:15:00 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, yes, he is taking a lot of measures to drive up the cost of housing. The cost of rent has doubled, as has the cost of a mortgage. I saw a headline today that said, “CMHC report on the rental market: Rent continues to rise at a staggering rate in Quebec”.
Meanwhile, housing starts are in serious decline. Will the Prime Minister finally stop building bureaucracy so that we can start building housing?
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/24 3:15:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader's housing plan mainly consists of accusing Quebec's elected representatives of being incompetent. The reality is that we are going to work with provincial and municipal elected officials in Quebec to make investments.
I also want to point out that the Government of Quebec doubled the $900 million that we put toward accelerating the construction of housing in Quebec to ensure that municipalities can do even more to address this housing crisis. That is a real plan, not insults.
86 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
