44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 29, 2021 11:00AM
- Nov/29/21 2:24:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister can say whatever he wants, but on the official Immigration Canada website, it says that they are behind. It says in black and white that they are now processing 2019 applications. In one month it will be 2022. Businesses need help now, they need the means to address the labour shortage problem now.
When will the government get to work and offer real solutions?
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- Nov/29/21 2:25:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is not just about words, it is about action. As I have said before, we have historic levels of immigration, not just in Quebec but across Canada. It is good for the economy and it is good for the long-term prosperity of our country, and we are going to continue to work closely with all the provinces, even Quebec, to follow the course.
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- Nov/29/21 2:25:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the commissioner of the environment slammed the Liberals' record on climate change.
Since they took office, the commissioner said, and I quote, “Canada...has become the worst performer of all G7 nations”. Nevertheless, the government is still subsidizing oil companies so that they can increase production—but in the hopes that they will do so in a cleaner way.
What a smart bunch. They are still trying to put out the fire with a flame-thrower. Will the government finally figure out that we need to put a cap on fossil energy?
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- Nov/29/21 2:27:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague for his question.
However, I would invite him to read very carefully the report from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, which clearly shows that his analysis pertains to the years before our government took office. The commissioner himself acknowledged that he did not look at the some 100 measures we put in place in our 2016 and 2020 action plans, namely, the $100 billion or so that we invested in recent years.
I look forward to seeing the environment commissioner's next report, which we hope will focus on the measures that we have implemented to reduce pollution in Canada.
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- Nov/29/21 2:27:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is the only government that has increased its greenhouse gas emissions since 2015, so it is in no position to lecture anyone.
If the government's plan were as good as my colleague claims, fossil fuel companies would not be celebrating. The Canadian Association of Energy Contractors was happy to announce last Tuesday that no fewer than 1,363 new wells would be drilled in 2022. That is an increase of 25% over this year. They are literally popping the champagne, and all this comes barely two weeks after COP26.
Can the government at least warn the industry that 1,363 new wells is a very bad idea?
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- Nov/29/21 2:28:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleague that we already have one of the highest carbon prices in the world. In terms of carbon pricing, we have surpassed Quebec, California and British Columbia, and we will surpass Europe in 2022.
Of all the countries in the world, especially oil- and gas-producing countries, Canada has the highest target for reducing emissions of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. We have also decided to cap greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector, which no other oil-producing country has done so far.
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- Nov/29/21 2:29:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no one is protected from COVID-19 until everyone is protected. The omicron variant makes this clear. For months, health experts, the WHO and New Democrats urged the government to ensure vaccines are available around the world. This is not just for equity reasons, but because it is essential to keep Canadians safe from new COVID variants. Not only did Liberals ignore this advice, but also they opposed developing countries manufacturing vaccines for their own citizens.
Will the Liberals stop defending big pharma and start protecting Canadians?
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- Nov/29/21 2:30:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the COVID‑19 pandemic does not recognize borders and will be overcome only through coordinated global action. We have been very clear from the start that no one is safe until everyone is. We committed to donate the equivalent of at least 200 million COVID‑19 vaccine doses to the COVAX facility by the end of 2022. We have committed over $2.6 billion in the global COVID‑19 response since February 2020 and have made an additional $1 billion available for the International Monetary Fund in related donations.
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- Nov/29/21 2:30:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the emergence of a new COVID variant is a serious reminder that, as long as the virus continues to spread, it could become more dangerous. The solution is to ensure that the entire planet is vaccinated. Canada can help achieve this, but instead prefers to protect big pharma. A Canadian company is even prepared to export vaccines to Bolivia, but the government is stopping it from doing so. When will the Liberals temporarily waive COVID vaccine patents to help everyone fight the pandemic?
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- Nov/29/21 2:31:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank my hon. colleague for her important question. As members of the House know, from the beginning, we have been strong advocates for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world, specifically through the COVAX system. That is why we will continue to work with our international partners to overcome potential barriers. We are also leading an initiative within the Ottawa Group to make these vaccines available to people around the world. We will continue to play a leadership role in ensuring that vaccines can reach every citizen on the planet.
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- Nov/29/21 2:31:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 27-year-old José of Greely called me on Friday from his parents' basement. I see the Liberals are laughing about that. He cannot afford a home. He has a job, the same job his mother had in fact, but while her family could afford a two-acre lot and a nice property to raise the kids, he cannot even afford a condo.
He wants to know why, during COVID, while wages were down and immigration was next to zero, housing prices rose under the current Liberal minister by 22%. Can she tell José why, according to Bloomberg, Canada has the second-worst housing bubble in the world?
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- Nov/29/21 2:32:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me talk about some of the very specific ways our government is helping Canadians with the very real challenge of affordability. A single parent with two children will receive $13,600 from the Canada child benefit. The average family in Saskatchewan will get almost $1,000 from the carbon price rebate. Seniors received an extra $500 this summer. A student will save more than $3,000 through our plan to eliminate federal interest on student and apprentice loans.
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- Nov/29/21 2:33:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the problem for José is he cannot start a family without a house and he cannot get a house because, under the current minister, housing prices are up 20%, led by increases in land prices. We cannot blame land prices on supply chains, because land does not have supply chains.
The reality is this. We have the second-biggest land mass in the world and the second-biggest housing bubble on planet earth, with only New Zealand, an island in the South Pacific, having more expensive housing. Can the minister please explain why, under her short tenure as finance minister, housing prices are up 22%?
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- Nov/29/21 2:34:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is very rich for the hon. member to talk about housing. When he was in office, his government invested just $250 million a year on affordable housing—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Nov/29/21 2:34:35 p.m.
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I am going to interrupt the hon. minister. I am having a hard time hearing him. I am going to ask him to start from the beginning again so I can hear the whole answer.
The hon. minister.
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- Nov/29/21 2:34:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to put our record on affordable housing against the Conservatives' record any day. They spent $250 million a year for every year they were in office on affordable housing. In contrast, we have invested over $27 billion as part of the national housing strategy. We intend to move forward on a housing accelerator fund, which will work with the municipalities to create more affordable housing and more housing supply. Ours is the government that introduced the first-time homebuyer incentive to enable more Canadians to have access to the dream of home ownership. Those are the facts.
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- Nov/29/21 2:35:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister's defence on housing is that not only are homes more expensive under the current government than they were under the previous Conservative one, but also the programming is now 100 times more expensive, so now it is more expensive for homebuyers and for taxpayers.
However, I noticed the Minister of Finance was too afraid to get up and answer a question about house-price inflation that she has caused. I was specifically asking about the 20% increase in both land prices and housing prices since she took her job. She cannot pass the buck to another minister or to another country.
When will she explain why house prices have risen so much?
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- Nov/29/21 2:36:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very glad that we are spending some time today talking about the Canadian economy. As finance minister, let me point out what is the single most important economic policy in Canada today, and that, as the emergence of a new variant on Friday has reminded us, is the fight against COVID. It is not over and the single most important tool in our tool box is vaccination. Therefore, I would like to urge the Conservatives to get on board and help us end this COVID pandemic.
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- Nov/29/21 2:36:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is why our first five questions on Friday had to do with that important issue.
There is also another important issue affecting all Canadian families, and it is especially brutal for middle-class families. That is the skyrocketing cost of living.
Prices have risen 4% on food, 6% on basic personal care items, 10% on transportation and 22% on housing.
The government has no plan for inflation. Does it realize that its policies are causing the lowest-income Canadians to pay much more and that they are being hit hard by this government's lack of authority?
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- Nov/29/21 2:37:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has taken action on the cost of living for families. One of the first things it did was increase the Canada child benefit.
The government has committed to reducing the cost of day care.
We understand how important it is to make sure that we are there for families, and we are going to continue to do that.
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