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Mr. Scott Aitchison (Parry Sound—Muskoka, CPC)

Feb/7/24 2:13:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after years of the Prime Minister, life has never been so expensive. Rent has doubled and mortgages have doubled. New home construction was down again last year, and the housing bureaucrats of the government predict that it is going to be down again in 2024. The Liberal-NDP cost of living crisis is forcing Canadians to choose every month between paying their rent, putting food on the table and heating their homes. Of course, the Prime Minister is performing in his favourite of plays. He criss-crosses the country, taking pictures, spending even more money and delivering worse results. The out-of-touch Prime Minister is paying city gatekeepers all across Canada for a picture and a promise that Liberals will do better. An entire generation of Canadians who are locked out of home ownership are living the pain every day of the government's endless empty promises. A Conservative government will ignite action in cities by tying federal funding to housing results, not promises. Only a Conservative government will bring it home.

175 words

Housing

Mr. Jaime Battiste (Sydney—Victoria, Lib.)

Feb/7/24 2:14:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the extreme weather emergency in Sydney—Victoria following the unprecedented snowfall of more than 150 centimetres this past weekend. Once again Cape Bretoners are faced with the impacts of climate change and must persevere. I would like to thank the first responders, volunteers, employees at public works and all those who have stepped up to help, including the local Coast Guard College. Their efforts are appreciated, and I ask that everyone continue to lend a hand to their neighbours while helping each other get through this difficult time. Please know that the federal government is providing support, both financial and human resources, to help with the challenging cleanup efforts. As Liberals, we will always act in situations of emergency. We are here to support people today, and we will be there tomorrow too. Cape Bretoners are known for their kindness, compassion and willingness to help each other; because of that, we will get through this together.

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Mr. Jeremy Patzer (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC)

Feb/7/24 2:15:54 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-234

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. The Liberals have known for a while now that their carbon tax is a scam, but they refuse to give it up. Their latest idea is to rename it, telling Canadians that it is a good thing that they raise the tax again on April 1. The Liberals keep ignoring what Canadians have been telling them for years, and they are still offside with their coalition partners in the NDP, who voted with Conservatives to at least give our farmers some relief from the carbon tax cash grab. Instead of reducing costs for the farmers and for the people buying their food by passing Bill C-234, the government would rather work to prevent this tax relief from happening. There is no reason to think the Liberals are interested in fixing what they have broken. If they get their way, their carbon tax will be higher and higher year after year, even though the minister admitted he is not measuring whether it is reducing emissions. Conservatives stand ready to stop this nonsense. Canadians can count on us to axe the tax and to bring the much needed relief they deserve.

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Mr. John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, CPC)

Feb/7/24 2:17:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the former Speaker of the House of Commons was forced to resign after a scandal that saw an SS soldier recognized in this place last September during President Zelenskyy’s visit. I want to read a few quotes about the former Speaker during the period that led to his resignation. “I can’t see, based on the conversations I have had, how he can continue to have the support of Liberal members of Parliament,” said the Liberal House leader in calling for the Speaker to resign. “What happened on Friday is completely unacceptable. It was an embarrassment to the House and Canadians,” said the foreign minister. Last week, after months of denial, written evidence in an email came to light that the Prime Minister did in fact invite the same SS soldier to a government reception in Toronto, so where is the same condemnation for the Prime Minister from those cabinet ministers and Liberal MPs who threw the former Speaker under the bus? The Prime Minister and his office are guilty of the exact same sin as the former Speaker, and because he is, he deserves the same punishment for embarrassing our nation once again. Like the Speaker before him, the Prime Minister needs to resign.

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Mrs. Brenda Shanahan (Châteauguay—Lacolle, Lib.)

Feb/7/24 2:18:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been hearing a lot about food prices and food waste. In the riding of Châteauguay—Lacolle, Les Complices alimentaires is offering an innovative way to tackle those issues. Based in the RCM of Jardins-de-Napierville, the organization takes less-than-perfect fruits and vegetables from local vegetable growers, then processes and freezes them. Thanks to solidarity pricing, the organization can distribute them at reduced prices via a network of retail locations throughout the region. Les Complices alimentaires has just received financial assistance from the Public Health Agency of Canada through the healthy Canadians and communities fund. The organization will use this funding to develop its model so that it can be implemented elsewhere in Canada. This is how we support our communities to make them even more resilient and united.

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Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)

Feb/7/24 2:19:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, more than 660 million women and girls are living in conflict zones, which is a 50% increase in the last six years. In Ukraine, two-thirds of those who are internally displaced are women. In Sudan, women make up 69% of those displaced, and 90% of the people crossing into Chad are women and girls. In Afghanistan, a United Nations expert said that 20 years of progress for women's and girls' rights have been erased since the Taliban took over, and in Palestine, 70% of the victims in Gaza are women and children. Heartbreakingly, two mothers are being killed per hour in Gaza right now. Canadian organizations can alleviate this suffering and promote human rights, yet every year, Canada's investment is a fraction of what we have promised. For budget 2024, the government must listen to experts, to those 100 organizations that wrote to it, and do what is best to stand up for those around the world who need our support.

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Mr. Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'Île, BQ)

Feb/7/24 2:20:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after the English-only Grey Cup controversy, and the hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Punjabi was used in place of French, Louis Riel must have turned over in his grave. This Saturday, francophones had to endure more disrespect, this time at the NHL all-star game in Toronto, where the national anthem was performed in English only. Need we remind people that Canada is supposed to have two official languages and that its national anthem was originally written in French? Only a tiny little bit of the original French version still gets heard. That shows contempt for francophones and contempt for Quebeckers. More and more, Canada is erasing French from its history and emblems. Quebeckers feel a growing sense of exclusion from Canada. The time has come for Quebeckers to make the necessary decisions.

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Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus (Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, CPC)

Feb/7/24 2:21:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this Prime Minister, the number of auto thefts in Canada has skyrocketed, and this can be directly attributed to the Liberals' soft-on-crime policies. While the Prime Minister prefers to hold summits and have discussions, for the past three days, the Leader of the Opposition has been proposing common-sense solutions to combat this scourge. First, we will amend the Criminal Code to keep car thieves behind bars. We will not release them into the community like the Liberals do. We are going to get to the heart of the problem and create a specific aggravating factor when the offence is committed for the benefit of organized crime. We will provide the CBSA with the equipment and personnel it needs to do its job properly, by significantly increasing the number of border officers to scan containers. We will even do this without dipping further into taxpayers' pockets. We invite all parties and all members to join us in our efforts to combat crime.

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Mr. Wilson Miao (Richmond Centre, Lib.)

Feb/7/24 2:22:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we embark on the lunar new year, Asian communities in Richmond Centre and across Canada are ready to join the world to celebrate the spring festival and to welcome the Year of the Dragon. This is the time when we gather with friends, families and loved ones to celebrate this festive season with the rich tradition of the lunar calendar. The lunar new year is an opportunity to celebrate the traditions that enrich Canada's diverse social fabric. Let us take a moment to acknowledge and recognize the contributions of Asian Canadians to Canada. As we celebrate the Year of the Dragon, I would like to wish everyone a successful, prosperous and healthy year ahead. To our communities in Richmond Centre and across Canada, happy lunar year. Bonne année lunaire. Chúc mung năm moi. Saehae bok mani badeuseyo. Gong xi fa cai. Xin nian kuai le.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Feb/7/24 2:23:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing, which has doubled since he promised to make it more affordable. In fact, we have now learned that, according to Rentals.ca, rent has increased by more than 20% in two years across the country. In other words, it costs nearly $400 more. Will the Prime Minister cancel his policies that caused the crisis, stop funding the bureaucrats who are preventing construction and eliminate the deficits to lower interest rates?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Feb/7/24 2:24:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was the Conservative member for Dufferin—Caledon who described our ambitious approach to housing best when he said that our Minister of Housing seems to come out every day with a new program, a new announcement or a new cheque for Canadians. He is right. We have worked hard week after week to conclude new agreements under the housing accelerator fund and to provide new tools to accelerate the construction of affordable housing. While the Conservative leader insults the municipalities, we remain focused on our goal to accelerate housing construction.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Feb/7/24 2:24:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are announcements, programs and cheques, but no housing. That is the only thing missing. People cannot live in the programs and announcements of this Prime Minister, who is not worth the cost. Housing starts are in free fall, down 28% in December relative to the previous December. Will the Prime Minister put an end to programs that are driving up interest rates and creating bloated bureaucracies so that we can build housing?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Feb/7/24 2:25:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only thing the Conservative leader is offering is insults and more insults aimed at elected officials from Quebec. He described the home of a family in Niagara as a shack. He is using the homeless as accessories for political photo ops. The reality is that a responsible leader will take action to invest in communities and housing. That is what we are doing by eliminating the GST on the construction of new apartments and by making funding announcements, including $900 million for Quebec to invest in housing. We are here to invest and build. He is here to hurl insults.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Feb/7/24 2:26:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are hundreds of millions of dollars for bureaucracy. We do not need bureaucracy, which has grown by 50% since this Prime Minister took office. We need housing. According to his housing agency, there will be a shortage of 3.5 million homes. However, this week, the CBC said that there will be a shortage of five million homes, since we expect massive population growth and a drop in construction. Where are those five million families going to live?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Feb/7/24 2:26:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he talks about bureaucracy, but, on the contrary, we are investing in municipalities to reduce red tape and speed up housing construction. We have made about 30 housing accelerator announcements across the country to build more housing faster, providing for greater density, better zoning, faster approval to use vacant land and more affordable homes. We are there to make real investments, while he would rather insult people.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Feb/7/24 2:27:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those are the same promises he made eight years ago before he doubled housing costs. He is not worth the cost of housing, which is up 100%. In the last two years alone, according to Rentals.ca, rent is up 20% or $400 for the average family. Now we learn that construction is in free-fall, down 28% last December versus the December before. Will he stop funding bureaucracy and driving up interest rates, so we can bring homes Canadians can afford?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Feb/7/24 2:28:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our housing ambition can be best summed up by the Conservative member for Dufferin—Caledon who said that it seems that every day our Minister of Housing has a new program, a new announcement or a new cheque for Canadians. That is exactly right. We continue to work hand in hand with Canadians and with municipalities across the country, municipalities he would rather insult, to get more homes built faster. The investments we are making, including things like taking the GST off purpose-built rental housing, which the Conservatives voted against, will continue to create more homes for Canadians right across the country.

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Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)

Feb/7/24 2:28:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people cannot live in announcements and programs; they need homes that have walls, floors and ceilings. The Prime Minister doing another selfie in front of a construction site will not do that. In fact, construction was down 28% in December. After eight years of the Prime Minister's promises and spending, will he accept our common-sense plan to build homes and not bureaucracy?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Feb/7/24 2:29:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just last week I was in Kitchener–Waterloo making an announcement for the housing accelerator program for Waterloo. What the Leader of the Opposition seems to have missed is that we were standing in a freshly completed building for seniors. In fact, $33 million of funding from the federal government a few years ago allowed that building to be built today. We are building things today that people are moving into in the coming weeks. We are announcing how we are building things for tomorrow, while he just chooses to insult Canadians, insult mayors and insult our intelligence.

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Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, BQ)

Feb/7/24 2:30:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government wants a three-year extension on its deadline to comply with a ruling on medical assistance in dying for mental illness. Imagine what will happen if the Conservatives form government. That is not what we want, but the alternative is not much better. Just imagine what will happen if the Conservatives come to power: They would delay MAID forever and a day. They would never act on it. Does the Prime Minister realize that he is acting as though he is afraid of the religious right?

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