SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

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

Mar/19/24 12:23:56 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, while the common-sense Conservatives focus on their Conservative priorities, which are to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost after eight years. After eight years of this Prime Minister, everything costs more. Two million Canadians now line up at food banks. A few days ago, Montreal police were forced to intervene when chaos broke out at a food bank that did not have enough food to feed all the hungry people. I would point out that these people are going hungry while living in Canada. After eight years of tax hikes and inflationary deficits, people can no longer pay their rent. The cost of housing has doubled. In the Prime Minister's hometown of Montreal, the cost of housing has tripled because of his inflationary policies, even as he has spent $89 billion on housing. After eight years of this Prime Minister, we are experiencing a crisis of crime, auto theft, extortion and violence caused by repeat offenders. After eight years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost. He only wants to raise taxes on Quebeckers and other Canadians, and I would like to point out that he is doing that with the Bloc Québécois's support. The Bloc Québécois wants to drastically increase the tax on gas and diesel for Quebeckers in the regions. With the Bloc Québécois's support, the Prime Minister wants to destroy certain natural resource industries. On May 1, a decree will be issued to shut down the forestry sector for reasons that make no sense. This decree infringes on Quebec's jurisdiction. That is why the common-sense Conservative Party supports the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent's bill that would scrap the duplicate approval process for natural resource projects. We want Quebec to have the power to decide how it will protect the environment and jobs. We trust Quebeckers, while the Prime Minister and the centralizing Bloc Québécois are trying to concentrate all the power in Ottawa by destroying jobs in the Saguenay region and elsewhere in Quebec. We are the only party with common sense. When we say that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost, it is because he claims that the tax hike is intended to protect the environment. A headline in today's Journal de Montréal reads, “For the first time, Canada is the most polluted country in North America”. This comes on the heels of the news that Canada ranks 62nd out of 67 countries on fighting climate change. All these taxes, all the attacks on our natural resources, have done nothing to improve the environment. All they have done is make life harder for Canadians and Quebeckers. Fortunately, the Conservative Party has a common‑sense plan to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. That is common sense. That is what we are going to offer.

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Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Mar/19/24 1:09:18 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, if the member is concerned about homelessness and initiatives this government has put forward, I would encourage him to not be tempted into voting against all the opposed items the Conservatives will be putting up. As I indicated, two of them, the Reaching Home program to address homelessness and the Canada housing benefit, are on the chopping block as a result of the opposed items the Leader of the Opposition has put forward. The reality of the situation is that, while he says we are subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, we have phased out the fossil fuel subsidies. The only way we continue to subsidize, in any way, the fossil fuel industry is to help to deal with abandoned orphan oil wells. That member might that think that it is not our problem, because they were companies from 50 years ago. We should leave the wells there, and that would be the end of that. Unfortunately, governments at the time did not think it was good to ensure that the proper money was in place to deal with those wells later on, so now society has to pick up the tab. That is the unfortunate reality. However, it is something that we have to do in our environmental interests.

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Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Mar/19/24 1:41:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, over the past year, I toured Quebec on the housing issue. I travelled all over Quebec. I met with over 70 organizations representing 15,000 members. These are people who work with the most vulnerable, namely, women who are victims of domestic violence and people with intellectual disabilities. We talked about housing and homelessness. No one—not a single person—talked to me about the carbon tax to deal with people who do not have shelter or housing. I was told that we need investments, that we need to invest in social housing and the most vulnerable. No one talked to me about the carbon tax. When I hear my Conservative colleagues say that they are close to the disadvantaged and the people who care for people, I cannot believe that they would say that.

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Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

Mr. Scot Davidson (York—Simcoe, CPC)

Mar/19/24 2:08:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is ridiculous. The rural communities of York—Simcoe are not eligible to receive the rural top-up on the carbon tax because they are classified as being part of Toronto by the government, and now, not a single community in northern York Region has received any housing funding from the Liberals' overhyped housing accelerator fund, but Toronto has received half a billion dollars. A clear message has been sent to the residents of Georgina, East Gwillimbury, Aurora, Uxbridge, Bradford and the Chippewas of Georgina Island. According to the Liberals, they are not Toronto enough for housing funding, but they are too Toronto to get the rural top-up. The Liberals are out of touch. They are hiking up the carbon tax by 23%, though it does nothing for the environment. Their housing fund will not build a single home, including in fast-growing places such as York—Simcoe. Enough is enough. Conservatives will spike the hike, axe the tax and bring in homes Canadians can afford.

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Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

Mr. Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, NDP)

Mar/19/24 2:29:29 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, indigenous communities live in overcrowded housing that is in desperate need of repair. The Auditor General's report released today shows that 80% of housing needs are not being met. The Prime Minister would never accept this in Toronto. Why does the Prime Minister have a lower standard for indigenous communities?

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Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

The Speaker

Mar/19/24 2:31:52 p.m.
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Order. Of course, questions can be asked of the government regarding administrative issues of government and, of course, to committee chairs. It is important for Canadians to understand, though, that when questions are asked of committee chairs, it has to be regarding committee business that is before the committee right now. After consultation, we realize that this is not the issue that is here before us. I see that the hon. Minister of Housing is rising on his feet.

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Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

Hon. Gudie Hutchings (Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Lib.)

Mar/19/24 2:46:25 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the member opposite of the rural top-up coming to the carbon rebate. A family of four in Alberta is going to see $2,160. A family in my riding is going to see $1,430 when they live in a rural area. My friends, we know what it is like. That is why we are there to help people with the carbon rebate. That is why we are there to help with the child care benefit. That is why we are there to help with housing. We are there to help Canadians in rural areas as well.

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Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

Mr. Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach, NDP)

Mar/19/24 2:52:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Edmontonians are experiencing a double housing crisis. Rent is increasing at the fastest pace in the country while we are seeing the lowest vacancies rates we have had in a decade. The Conservatives' slogans will not build affordable homes, and the Liberals are not fixing the problem they have created. The NDP's protecting renters fund would help save affordable homes and give renters the hope they need. Will the Liberals commit to including this fund in the budget so Edmontonians do not go homeless?

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Context: House Hansard - 291 - Mar/19/24

Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Mar/19/24 2:53:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his advocacy. I had the opportunity to be in Edmonton recently to meet with the mayor and the provincial minister in Alberta, as well as with my colleague, the member for Edmonton Centre. We are working hard to advance additional funding to support community-based organizations that support Canadians who are living without a roof over their head. We also very recently had the opportunity to share an agreement with $175 million behind it that will build thousands of homes in Edmonton, including more rentals, which will help reduce the cost of rent and continue to support people who are looking to find a place to live. There is no silver bullet for the housing crisis, but we will pull every lever at our disposal to help solve it by working together with Edmonton and Alberta.

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