44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2024 10:00AM
- May/2/24 2:51:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the recent federal budget, we put forward a plan to establish fairness for every generation that would ask the wealthiest to pay a little more so we can fund the things that really matter to the people who have been struggling the last couple of years.
We have plans that would reduce the cost of living by reducing the cost of housing and solving the housing crisis. We have a plan to launch a national school food program to make sure that hungry kids have food on the table.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Hon. Sean Fraser: Mr. Speaker, as I give this answer, the Conservatives jeer because they do not support the measures that would help vulnerable people in this country. We will stand up for the middle class. We will stand up for the vulnerable. It is a shame the Conservatives will not join us.
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- May/2/24 2:53:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Halifax is home to thousands of researchers with limitless potential, and it is essential to provide the support necessary to fully unleash that potential.
Halifax researchers are making advancements in ocean science, brain repair, lithium ion battery technology, pediatrics and so much more. Their work contributes to the economic and social prosperity of Canada and improves the lives of all Canadians.
Could the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry please tell us how budget 2024 would support research and researchers in Halifax and across Canada?
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- May/2/24 2:56:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if I am speaking to the Laval University professor or the Minister of Public Services and Procurement.
After nine years of this Prime Minister, the cost of living has never been higher. People are struggling. Mortgages, housing, food, everything costs more. This Liberal government is not worth the cost and neither is the Bloc Québécois.
As a small reminder, it is the Bloc Québécois who voted for a $500-billion budget. We are talking about $500 billion in centralist and inflationary spending supported by the Bloc Québécois.
When will this Prime Minister stop his wasteful spending so that Quebeckers do not have to turn to food banks and can live in dignity again?
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- May/2/24 2:58:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years of budget chaos, this government, supported by the Bloc Québécois, continues to promote inflationary spending and throw money out the window. The Bloc Québécois talks about the importance of health transfers, but it is voting for $500 billion in centralizing spending. The interest on that will be more than total health transfer amounts.
The more this government spends, the more the Bloc Québécois supports it. When will the Prime Minister stop wasting Canadian taxpayers' money?
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- May/2/24 6:43:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the member who just spoke has a scintilla of conviction in what she just said about the lack of funding for the military, why is she going to be voting in favour of the budget and propping up the government that has nothing but disdain for our troops?
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- May/2/24 6:43:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, “scintilla” is not a word I hear a lot. I appreciate the vocabulary from the member, although the tone is certainly not appropriate. I want to do everything I possibly can to work together, as I said in my speech, to ensure that things are better.
Was the budget an NDP budget? If the member had maybe caught my speech a couple of days ago about the budget, I was very clear that it was not. However, the division that we consistently see, the trying to tear down this institution, is unhelpful. I will do everything I possibly can to honour the institution and to work as hard as I possibly can to ensure that people in the armed forces get what they need. It may not be perfect, but we need to move forward, and we need to do that together.
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- May/2/24 7:15:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I salute my colleague, and I thank him for his service. We worked together on the Standing Committee on National Defence.
In budget 2024, we allocated money specifically for military housing, child care and so on. Before the holidays, there were 30 hours' worth of votes in the House. Those votes included votes to increase military salaries and investments for them.
Having voted against military spending before the holidays, will he now vote in favour of the budget and military spending?
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- May/2/24 7:31:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us get something straight from the beginning. We all know that climate change occurs. It happens over thousands of years. The member prefaced her so-called question with some false statements.
Now, I am unaware of any plans to make a youth climate corps, but where in this budget are the Liberals going find the money to do something like that when they cannot even set aside the money to keep Canadians safe and secure by funding our military?
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- May/2/24 7:55:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have heard that in multiple studies that we have undertaken. Any time we are talking about factors that affect morale, recruitment and retention, that comes up. It has always been thus, but with the cost of living being what it is, many people are rooted in a community in a way that earlier generations were not, because of connections to employment that do not transfer very well or housing. If somebody bought a house 10 years ago in one community and then gets re-posted across the country, that creates a significant hardship. Yes, I think there is a lot of awareness at the committee, if that is what the member is asking.
I do not have a copy of the budget with me, but if the member is referring to the chart that I am thinking of, it is zero dollars this year, zero dollars next year, $1 million the year after that, and $14 million by 2029. That is not going to build enough houses to make even a dent in the backlog in housing.
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- May/2/24 7:56:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, picking up on the point made by the member for Calgary Rocky Ridge, about 4,500 units need to be built to house the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces on bases across Canada.
We saw the government deliver its latest budget, which provides $61 billion in unfunded deficit spending, yet when it comes to investing in housing for the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces for this coming year, the government is providing a big fat zero, a big fat zero the following year, and then a mere $1 million in the third year.
What does that say about the government's priorities when it comes to its lack of support for the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces?
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- May/2/24 8:43:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will note his original question with regard to working with first nations on accessing and developing economic opportunities in the resource and energy sector, addressing the systemic barriers that have excluded indigenous peoples, including first nations, from prosperity and decision-making for too long, must be addressed.
That is why budget 2024 announced the investment in the indigenous loan guarantee program. This program would provide up to $5 billion in loan guarantees to indigenous groups, unlocking access to affordable capital for indigenous communities and governments who want ownership stakes in natural resource and energy projects. The budget contains another $3.5 million to help indigenous communities undertake their own investment analysis and due diligence, so they can have the confidence that they are investing in viable projects. On top of that, there is another $2.4 billion in the budget for indigenous communities, which would go toward more safe and affordable housing and investments in education.
Unfortunately, the Conservatives are pledging to hold back these vital investments and initiatives, including the very same indigenous loan guarantee program that was widely endorsed by the First Nations Major Projects Coalition.
This is no surprise coming from the party led by a leader who is ideologically opposed to reconciliation. This is the same Conservative leader who voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and in favour of taking away indigenous peoples' rights to free, prior and informed consent. The leader of the Conservatives has also said that residential school survivors need a “stronger work ethic” and has cozied up to residential school denialists, even speaking at an event for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, which runs paid campaign ads that try to deny the impact of residential schools.
As a minister in the Harper Conservative government, the Conservative leader gutted environmental protections and failed to consult meaningfully with indigenous peoples on major projects, making it harder, not easier, for projects to get built. Frankly, these Conservatives have an awful track record and it is not a surprise they are trying to gut the vital mechanisms that are investing in indigenous-led projects, such as the Canada Infrastructure Bank. On this side of the aisle, we are always going to invest in indigenous-led solutions.
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