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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Feb/15/24 2:45:01 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, when the Minister of Environment and Climate Change said the government would stop investing in new road infrastructure, he made it very clear that he never considered northern communities. Many indigenous communities still lack all-weather roads. In fact, most of the communities in my riding are still using dust roads. For years, they have been calling on the government to invest in road infrastructure. I have a simple question. Why is the minister against Nunavut getting their roads paved?

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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Mr. Peter Fragiskatos (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Feb/15/24 2:45:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank the member for what she brings to the House. I know her advocacy on a range of issues matters and does make a difference. On this side, Liberal MPs, since 2015, have ensured that this government invests in infrastructure and invests in roads and highways. I will give examples of northern infrastructure investments. We are talking about $10.5 million for the Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway rehabilitation in Northwest Territories, $10.5 million for active transportation projects in Whitehorse and Watson Lake in Yukon, and projects in Nunavut as well.

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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, NDP)

Feb/15/24 2:46:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Environment's recent comments that the Liberals have stopped investing in new road infrastructure and that the current system is perfectly adequate to respond to Canadians' needs is anti-northern and anti-indigenous. It is a death knell to isolated communities like Wasagamack, St. Theresa Point and others that have been forced to call states of emergency because climate change has made their ice roads unreliable. Other Liberals have been actively engaged in finding solutions on this front. Will the Minister of Environment retract his comments, work with his colleagues and first nations to build the all-weather road access they desperately need?

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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Mr. Peter Fragiskatos (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Feb/15/24 2:47:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that infrastructure investment is absolutely vital to economic growth. As part of our infrastructure policy, we are talking about almost 400 road and highway projects that have been invested in at the federal level. That is just one example of a fund that is at work. I have mentioned already northern examples. Let me give the example, of course, of the Gordie Howe Bridge, which that side, the Conservatives, opposed. There were $6 billion for Gordie Howe Bridge, and $153 million to enhance the Trans-Canada Highway in Newfoundland to make sure there are improvements there, the twinning of the highway to be specific, and we will continue.

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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Mr. Peter Fragiskatos (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Feb/15/24 2:49:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a bit rich to continue to hear the Conservatives talk about road infrastructure in particular, but infrastructure in general, which they continued to cut in their time in office and would do the same if they were back in power. In the GTA, and I will give examples, there are $2.3 billion to build the Scarborough subway extension; $1.9 billion to build the Eglinton cross-town west extension; over $2 billion to build the Yonge north subway extension; $4 billion to build the Ontario Line; and there are other examples from the GTA. I thank the Liberal members of this caucus for advocating for all of this.

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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Mr. Peter Fragiskatos (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Feb/15/24 2:52:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is very interesting. The member should have checked the record. It is stunning. As a B.C. MP, he voted against over $1 million for the 100 Mile House Horse Lake Road Bridge replacement in that province. It is an example of Conservative hypocrisy on the other side. On the one hand, they want to stand for infrastructure investment and support roads. On the other, any time the current government attempts to do that, they vote against it. We will continue to work with provinces and municipalities to make that a reality.

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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Mr. Jacques Gourde (Lévis—Lotbinière, CPC)

Feb/15/24 2:57:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister's radical Minister of Environment has declared open war on vehicles. He said that their government decided to no longer invest in new highway infrastructure. He did not clarify that statement. He went even further by adding that the Liberal government is going to block big projects. The radical environment minister is going to block big projects like the third link between Quebec City and Lévis. Why is the Liberal government attacking workers in Quebec City and Lévis who are trying to go to work?

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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Hon. Steven MacKinnon (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Feb/15/24 2:58:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows very well that, since the beginning of its mandate, our government has invested billions of dollars in highway infrastructure projects across Quebec and Canada. We will continue to do so, as we did in Kamouraska, for example, with Highway 185 and as we will surely do with other projects in his riding that he will surely vote against.

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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Mr. Jacques Gourde (Lévis—Lotbinière, CPC)

Feb/15/24 2:59:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when was the last time that the muzzled radical minister travelled through the Lévis-Quebec City area without his limousine? Building a third link is a necessity, not a luxury. Quebeckers in remote areas pay taxes and send their money to Ottawa, which is supposed to build roads and reliable infrastructure for them too. Will the Prime Minister stand up for the interests of Quebeckers and remote regions, instead of going along with the foolishness of his radical environment minister, who is anti-third link ? Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Hon. Steven MacKinnon (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Feb/15/24 3:00:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that member knows full well that our government has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure and highway projects in Quebec, as it has elsewhere in Canada. We are the second-largest country in the world. It comes as no surprise to us that we need to invest in building better roads for the public, for trade and for everyone. However, that member consistently votes against our highway investments. He systematically votes against everything the government does for Quebec. He should stand up and admit it.

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