44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 18, 2024 11:00AM
- Mar/18/24 1:02:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank all my colleagues and friends in the House. I thank my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, my colleague and friend.
I am rather distressed. How can the government members vote against this motion?
Canadians want to see us, as elected people, reflect the conscience of this country, the heartbreak across this country and the cries to stand up and to not be on the wrong side of history as innocent civilians continue to be slaughtered.
I could tweak the words of the motion before us; we all could. However, I do not see how we can fail to be united, as Canadians would like to see and as Greens will be, in supporting the motion. I beg the minister to consider how important a signal it would be to the world that we vote together in support of peace, of humanitarian values, of the release and the freedom of the hostages and of all the individual elements of this excellent motion.
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- Mar/18/24 1:34:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate the member hears that. Here is what Conservatives do support: a two-state solution negotiated by both parties in a negotiated settlement. What we do not support is the House calling for the recognition of a state that is governed today by Hamas terrorists, by an organization that we have called, in law, terrorist and banned from this country. This motion rewards terrorism. It would never be on the table if October 7 did not happen.
I want the member to tell that to the families of the hostages, the families of the victims who are still being held hostage in Gaza today. I want her to say that to them, if she would even bother meeting them, if any member of the NDP would even bother meeting with those families.
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- Mar/18/24 2:21:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are the ones who want to reduce all the social support that the federal government is currently giving to Quebeckers.
All that the Conservatives know how to do is make cuts. They want to cut support for the less fortunate, but we will be there and we will not let the Conservatives cut such badly needed support.
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- Mar/18/24 2:22:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to supporting the least vulnerable in our country. That is the party that wants to cut the Canada child benefit. That is the party that wants to cut support to our seniors. That is the party that wants to cut early learning and child care, which supports so many families. It is opposed to dental care. It is opposed to pharmacare.
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- Mar/18/24 2:23:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no one here is surprised to hear the Conservative leader talk about fear and falsehoods, because that is what he trafficks in every single day. It is his area of personal expertise.
What he is proposing is at least consistent. He wants to cut, cut, cut the support that Canadians get and he wants to cut the support Canadian families are getting from the price on pollution. That is $1,800 Alberta families would not get. That is $1,120 Ontario families would not get. Cut, cut, cut, that is all the Conservatives know how to do.
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- Mar/18/24 2:34:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians can see through the Conservatives. They know that the only thing Conservatives know how to do is cut, and the people who suffer the most are the most vulnerable. They want to cut the Canada child benefit. They do not support dental care, which is helping the most vulnerable among us. They do not support early learning and child care, which is helping make life more affordable for Canadian families. They want to push Canadians into poverty. We will not let them.
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- Mar/18/24 2:35:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite really believes her rhetoric about supporting Canadian families, why does she think that cutting support for them would help? Why does she not support early learning and child care? Why does she not support the Canada child benefit, which has helped to lift more than 2.3 million Canadians, particularly children, out of poverty? Why does she not support dental care, which is helping the poorest Canadians be able to take care of their health and their teeth? That is Conservative hypocrisy.
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- Mar/18/24 2:38:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, many people in the House profess to support members of the Canadian Armed Forces, yet when it came time to put their money where their mouths are, they were not there. When it came time to vote for a pay raise for members of the Canadian Armed Forces, every single Conservative voted against it. That is the height of hypocrisy.
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- Mar/18/24 2:46:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is very surprising to hear the member opposite talk about support for the most vulnerable Canadians. I am glad he is turning his attention there. If he cares about the families of P.E.I., I want to understand if he supports our early learning and child care system, which P.E.I. has been enthusiastically a part of, and which is putting money back in the pockets of P.E.I. families. Does he support that? Does he support dental care that the seniors of P.E.I. are enthusiastically supportive of?
That is real support—
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- Mar/18/24 2:59:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, did the MP from B.C. just accuse the Premier of B.C. of putting forward baloney policies for the people of B.C? Is the federal Conservative Party intending to step on the jurisdiction of the Province of B.C.? Is it intending to go against a system put in place in 2008 by a centre-right B.C. provincial government that the people of B.C. support? That is astonishing.
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- Mar/18/24 3:09:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government understands how important it is to support Canadians and to do so in a way that is financially responsible.
The fact that we have maintained our AAA credit rating is proof that that is what we are doing. That was reaffirmed last week. We have the lowest debt-to-GDP and deficit-to-GDP ratios in the G7.
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- Mar/18/24 4:37:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, earlier today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs addressed the House. If colleagues take a look and read what she said, it was really a true reflection of Canadian values. That is something we really need to highlight.
At the end of the day, this is a heart-wrenching issue that is having a severe impact on people in many different ways around the world. Here in Canada, I have had thousands of emails and all sorts of discussions, as many other members have. There has been a great deal of effort.
My concern, in part, is this: The member indicated at the beginning that he is going to support the motion. Does the member, as well as the Bloc, support every aspect of this motion? Are there any specifics that he does not support?
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- Mar/18/24 4:51:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that the leader of the NDP is passionate about the issue. It is also very clear that the government has taken all of the positions and has not stated in the House whether it supports the motion.
I would ask the leader of the NDP this: If the government does not support the motion, is he willing to, right here, right now, declare that his confidence agreement with the government is over today? I would like just a yes or no answer from the member.
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