44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 11, 2024 10:00AM
- Apr/11/24 2:36:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians who are tuning in, and we here on this side of the House, hear the voice of inaction.
What the people at home understand is that inaction does not a strategy make. Inaction is not a plan, nor is it an option.
On this side of the House, we have proposed a plan for Canadians: invest in more housing, invest in day care, invest in jobs, invest in growth.
We will let the Conservatives keep sloganeering. On our side of the House, we are focused on the issues that matter to Canadians.
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- Apr/11/24 2:37:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this government, let us examine its record.
Housing costs have doubled. Immigration wait times are interminable. Over 800,000 Quebeckers are using food banks every month. Our streets are less and less safe. Violent crime is on the rise.
The kicker is that the Prime Minister now wants to impose his incompetence on the provinces. That is like handing our front-door key to the crooks who just burgled our home.
Will the Prime Minister admit that he is not even competent enough to manage his own government and that he should just mind his own business?
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- Apr/11/24 2:38:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if my colleague wants to talk about crooks, how about we talk about the climate crooks on the other side of the House?
If the Conservative member wants to know the benefits of putting a price on carbon, he can easily find out. All he has to do is turn around and talk to the member behind him. She was part of the first government in North America to put a price on pollution, because that is the right thing to do. It is the right thing for the economy. It is the right thing for fighting climate change. It is the right thing for Canadians.
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- Apr/11/24 2:38:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, immigration minister Christine Fréchette reiterated the Quebec government's modest demands.
There is nothing spectacular or over-the-top about them. The minister is not asking for full powers over immigration; she is asking for the bare minimum. What she is asking for is a fair distribution of asylum seekers among the provinces, reimbursement of the costs associated with taking in asylum seekers, and adequate funding for French integration classes. I do not think that is too much to ask for.
Is the government going to agree to Quebec's requests, or are we about to end up with another of the squabbles the Liberals are so fond of?
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- Apr/11/24 2:39:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I agreed on with Minister Fréchette, when I met with her two weeks ago, was that we would exercise our full powers in our respective areas of jurisdiction under the Canada-Quebec agreement, in a reasonable and reasoned manner. This is what I intend to do with her in the months to come.
Canadians and Quebeckers will be well served as a result.
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- Apr/11/24 2:39:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, their discussions are going so well that the Government of Quebec is thinking of holding a referendum on immigration.
The truth is that Quebec is so fed up with having the government laugh in its face that it is thinking of reaching out to the people. Considering the federal government's incompetence when it comes to managing its responsibilities, we all know that things would work a lot better if Quebec had full powers.
Is the minister going to respond to Minister Fréchette's highly reasonable requests, or would he rather wait for Quebec's entire population to vote on the federal government's immigration incompetence?
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- Apr/11/24 2:40:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, no country in the world would hand over all its powers to someone else. I agreed with Minister Fréchette that we would exercise our respective responsibilities in our areas of jurisdiction in order to serve Quebeckers effectively. That is what I intend to do. That is what the minister intends to do as well.
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- Apr/11/24 2:40:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the French prime minister is visiting Canada and Quebec. We all know the special ties Quebec has with that great country, the cradle of human rights and secularism. While monarchists here proudly sing God Save the King and the tragic history of the Acadians is trampled underfoot, I believe there is an opportunity to remind France that we still share some of the same democratic values.
Will the government pledge not to contribute in any way, directly or indirectly, to the challenge to Bill 21 on Quebec state secularism?
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- Apr/11/24 2:41:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned on several occasions, and as the Prime Minister himself has already mentioned, when Bill 21 goes to the Supreme Court, if it goes there, we will be there to intervene to defend the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and to defend rights like freedom of expression, the right to equality and freedom of religion.
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- Apr/11/24 2:41:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost, but do not take my word for it.
Heather from Newbury writes, “People need the cost of living brought under control now.” Carol from Strathroy says, “One more tax will take us down. We're already struggling.” To the average Canadian, the cost of the carbon tax on gas, groceries, home heating, farmers and families is punishing, not progress.
Will the Prime Minister axe the tax on farmers and help make food cheaper by passing Bill C-234 in its original form?
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- Apr/11/24 2:42:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would allow Danielle from Foothills to continue with her comments. She also added, “I would say that I probably ended up better off with that transfer.” She also said, “[so] I think a lot of people would be of the view that if you are going to implement some kind of revenue-neutral carbon pricing, that's probably not a bad way of doing it.” These are the words of Danielle from Foothills.
I am happy to inform Danielle that two and a half years later since she made that comment, it is now up to $1,800 for a family of four in Alberta.
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- Apr/11/24 2:43:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, even the NDP-Liberal environment chair admitted that the carbon tax has no impact on climate change, yet just last week, the Prime Minister increased the carbon tax by 23%, driving up the cost of gas, groceries and home heating. If farmers cannot afford to grow food, the government has failed. Let me remind everyone that if there are no farms, there is no food.
Will the Prime Minister help bring the cost of food down for Canadians, axe the tax on farmers and pass Bill C-234 in its original form?
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- Apr/11/24 2:43:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, instead of opposing battery plants, instead of standing up against sustainable jobs, that member and her caucus should remember that the vast majority of the fuels farmers use are tax exempt under the pollution pricing strategy. Farmers in the country are supported big time by adjustment policies, because they know, more than anyone, that climate change is a reality.
With respect to Bill C-234, that member should walk down to the front bench and tell her opposition House leader that he should call Bill C-234 and we will resolve it.
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- Apr/11/24 2:44:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal government is just not worth the cost.
Last week, the Prime Minister increased the carbon tax by 23%, driving up the cost of gas, groceries and home heating. However, on Tuesday, the Liberal environment chair revealed that there was no proof that the carbon tax reduced emissions, saying “there is no data specifically stating that the price on carbon resulted in an x amount of reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.”
Now that the carbon tax scam has been exposed by a Liberal, will the Prime Minister finally axe the tax?
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- Apr/11/24 2:45:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House are focused on making life more affordable for Canadians, but also on fighting climate change. The PBO and 200 economists across the country have been very clear that eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back. It works disproportionate to income.
Even the Conservatives actually used to know this before they got collective amnesia. Every one of the members on that side of the House ran in 2021 on a promise to put in place a price on carbon pollution. The hypocrisy that comes from that side of the House is unbelievable.
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- Apr/11/24 2:45:50 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, first nations and Inuit have been neglected by successive Liberal and Conservative governments for years. They have underfunded infrastructure for first nations by $350 billion. For Inuit, the gap is $75 billion.
The Liberals committed to closing this gap by 2030, but they are nowhere near their target. This means more mouldy homes, more crumbling schools and more contaminated water.
When will the Liberals fulfill their obligations to first nations and Inuit by closing this infrastructure gap?
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- Apr/11/24 2:46:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her advocacy in the House.
We thank the Assembly of First Nations for its partnership. We actually worked together with it on this report, and we welcome the important recommendations it brought forward.
We know decades of underinvestment and discrimination have led to this infrastructure deficit, which is indeed a crisis for indigenous peoples across this country.
Our government has put a stop to this, with record investments, by dramatically increasing up to 1,100% since 2016. We are taking action to close the infrastructure gap and we will not stop until it is done.
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- Apr/11/24 2:47:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are many residential school survivors and family members of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls in British Columbia who are non-status. This week, they are learning that their access to counselling is being cut-off because the Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, are underfunding first nations' health. These are community members who have experienced serious trauma and for whom counselling is a key part of their healing journey.
Why is the government denying survivors access to critical counselling?
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- Apr/11/24 2:47:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, violence against indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people must be put to an end. After the previous government dragged its feet for years, we called a national inquiry. We have an action plan that was co-developed with indigenous partners. We made progress.
For example, we built 12 new cell towers along the Highway of Tears in British Columbia and new shelters for indigenous women. We are supporting frontline indigenous victims services and 36 indigenous-led policing services. We will continue to do more.
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- Apr/11/24 2:48:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians know better than to trust the Conservatives' failed policies. On this side of the House, our government is focused on creating more good jobs, including in innovation and technology.
Last week, in my riding of Kitchener South—Hespeler, I was pleased to be with our government when we announced new measures from the upcoming budget 2024 to secure Canada's AI advantage.
Could the President of the Treasury Board please update the House on our government's announcement on AI?
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