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Mr. John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, CPC)

Dec/2/21 4:31:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as a product of Quebec myself, that was beautiful. I know, as we have stood in this House over the last several days, one of the things this member in particular has been talking about is the issue of guns and gangs, which is enveloping major cities across this country, including the city of Montreal. The throne speech did not speak that much about the issue of guns and gangs, and I wonder if the member recognizes that. What are some of the solutions the member has for solving that problem?

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Mr. Jean-Denis Garon

Dec/2/21 4:32:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for raising this issue. We have been very clear about our proposal over the past several days. We are asking the minister to create a joint task force immediately, because it is within his authority to do so. The fact that we have to keep asking for this clearly shows that the federal government is not doing its job and that there is a lot more to do. For once we are talking about an issue that falls under Ottawa's jurisdiction, so the federal government needs to assume responsibility and do its job.

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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Dec/2/21 4:32:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I hope my question will not be considered out of order, because it is not about the throne speech. I know the riding of Mirabel includes Kanesatake. I raised my concerns during question period regarding the toxic waste that is in the riding on the Mohawk territories and in the community of Kanesatake. Does my colleague have anything to add to that?

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Mr. Jean-Denis Garon

Dec/2/21 4:33:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is a very emotional issue for us, and I thank the former leader of the Green Party for raising it. At this time, it is difficult to know how much of the area in question is polluted. We expect that the Quebec and federal governments will team up and look into this situation and that by working together, they will stop playing ping-pong on this issue. This is a critical issue for our region, in Oka, Saint‑Benoît, Saint‑Placide, Saint‑Joseph‑du‑Lac and Kanesatake, where the people are the first to suffer. This affects a large part of my riding, and I thank the hon. member for bringing it up in the House.

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Ms. Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, BQ)

Dec/2/21 4:34:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my learned colleague from Mirabel for his speech. I enjoy hearing him talk about green finance so much that I would like to hear more, in case he wants to tell us something else. I am thinking in particular about the money that banks invest in oil and drilling. I thought that I heard somewhere that this money sits around for a long time and is not used for anything, when it could be put to use for something else. What does my colleague think?

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Mr. Jean-Denis Garon

Dec/2/21 4:34:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are interested in finance that generates long-term investments. Long-term growth is generated by investments that are sustainable. Likewise, long-term pollution is generated by sustained investments in the most polluting markets. We want to increase the banks' transparency because we believe that consumers will respond in an informed way. We also believe that greater use should be made of taxation to ultimately incentivize financial institutions and investment funds to invest in the technologies of the future, as well as to reduce the risks that—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Dec/2/21 4:35:28 p.m.
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Order. The hon. member for Shefford.

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Ms. Andréanne Larouche (Shefford, BQ)

Dec/2/21 4:35:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my brilliant economist colleague from Mirabel is a hard act to follow. I do not know if I will be able to reach the bar he set, but I will give it a shot. As I rise today for my first speech in this 44th Parliament, I am filled with immense gratitude. I would like to begin by thanking all of my volunteers, the members of my office team, my family, and my partner. I will stop here with the acknowledgements, not only because I am afraid that I will forget someone, but also because I want to save some time for my speech. However, before I begin, I do want to thank the voters of Shefford for placing their trust in me for a second term in these unusual times. This election was held in the middle of a pandemic, and now we can finally see what it was all for. Here we have a new throne speech. My first impression is that this speech is full of things that interfere in areas under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces, such as housing, police reform, mental health, natural resource management, violence prevention, and women's services. As well, it fails to mention major issues like health transfers, the energy transition, green finance, EI reform, agriculture, and, most importantly, seniors. My colleagues will understand that, as the critic for the status of women, gender equality and seniors, my speech will focus on the following areas: seniors, health, women, and the economic recovery. First, I noticed that seniors are completely left out of the Speech from the Throne, even though we have seen that they continue to suffer the effects of the pandemic. Their financial situation, which was already precarious long before the pandemic, has been exacerbated by the crisis, yet there is nothing for seniors aged 65 to 74, the ones the government always leaves behind. The government could have taken advantage of the Speech from the Throne to right another wrong. I am referring to something that simply does not sit well with the seniors' groups I consulted, this idea of creating two classes of seniors: those 75 and up and those 74 and under. They should all be eligible for an OAS increase of $110 per month starting at age 65, as the Bloc Québécois is proposing. It gets worse. In its Speech from the Throne, the government said nothing at all about seniors. I may be repeating myself, but it could have also addressed the GIS clawback that seniors who received the CERB are facing. As early as spring 2020, ACEF groups contacted the Minister of National Revenue to share their concerns on this issue, but they got no response. In August 2021, I sent a letter to the former Minister of Seniors, and my colleague, the member for Joliette, sent a message to the Minister of Finance. The election campaign started, and nothing happened. We have since sent letters to the new Minister of Seniors and the Minister of Finance. Let me stress that our solution is simple. Drastic times call for drastic measures. We want CERB, in this case, to be considered employment income, not an “other benefit”. That is actually what it is. Seniors who had to leave their jobs because of the pandemic were entitled to CERB. They should not have an average of $400 clawed back from their cheques. They should all be entitled to a review of their file based on their actual income. The impact on their monthly income is huge. They have to decide which medications to buy, they cannot afford good food, and they could lose their housing. For some, this is taking a significant toll on their health. If pandemic recovery is still a priority for this government, it should make massive investments in health care and help lift the most vulnerable seniors out of poverty. Instead of interfering in areas under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces, as it is attempting to do by setting standards for long-term care homes and mental health, it should focus on what it can and should do: respond to Quebec and the provinces' demand to raise federal health transfers from 22% to 35%. That means increasing transfers from $42 billion to $60 billion, a difference of $28 billion per year. The government has not made its intentions with respect to health transfers clear, but this is an absolutely vital issue, especially in light of events that have exposed what goes wrong when the system is chronically underfunded. Since the 1990s, neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals have invested enough. They have even cut their health transfers. Quebec and Canadian provinces all agree that health transfers should be increased. The only ones objecting to fixing the chronic underfunding of health care systems are the Liberals, who were the only party that voted against a motion on this subject in the House of Commons that had the support of FTQ, CSN, CSQ and CSD leaders. The third point I want to make is about gender-based violence, a topic that is particularly important to me as my party's status of women critic. The national action plan to end gender-based violence is already in place, but a 10-year plan is far too long. The government needs to stop conducting studies and take action by sending the necessary money to Quebec. The federal government may not know what to do, but Quebec does. The Bloc Québécois has always said that funds allocated to combat domestic violence should come from Canada health transfers. Quebec is once again in a class of its own when it comes to family and social policy and the structure of its support network. Quebec has a single, cohesive, integrated network to provide health care services and social programs. The federal government's one-size-fits-all policies often overlap with existing Quebec programs, and it is harder for the Government of Quebec to implement its programs when it does not have full control. This reality cannot be ignored and must be taken into account to ensure that any federal involvement is designed to be effective and to respect the ways in which Quebec is different. The recognition of Quebec's special status needs to be an integral part of the process. Any federal involvement must be positive for Quebec and must support Quebec women and girls. I could have spoken about many other issues, but that is what I hope will be brought forward in the next Parliament, only with a lot more teeth than what we read in this very meagre throne speech. On climate change, the government must not just say that Canada needs to put words into action and that time is of the essence. It must make far more commitments. For example, it must put a cap on oil and gas production, not increase it by focusing on fossil fuels. There is no such thing as clean oil or coal. The Liberals must stop their greenwashing. The government has yet to table a plan with concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach the 2030 target. It must admit that the Trans Mountain expansion is pointless and cancel this project. The money saved must be used to fund the green transition and a green recovery, as was already proposed by the Bloc Québécois in the post-COVID-19 recovery plan it released when Parliament resumed in September 2020. It proposed creating real green financing by encouraging the banks to invest heavily in the green recovery, clean energy, green technologies and energy efficiency, which will provide real protection for our environment in the long term. We also need to ensure that the economy grows with targeted and prudent spending support, including the extension of support measures, as well as targeted support for affected industries, such as culture and tourism. Both of those economic sectors are so important to Shefford. We will keep a close eye on how Bill C-2 is implemented and propose improvements. We also need to combat inflation and address the very important issue of the labour shortage, for which the Bloc Québécois made seven very worthwhile proposals during the last campaign. We also need to work on family reunification and on a refugee resettlement program, and, really, the issue of immigration in general, since it remains so problematic and takes up so much of my office staff's time. We also need to work on the issue of social housing and homelessness. In closing, I would point out that getting out of this crisis calls for a clear plan, and we saw no such thing in the throne speech. To bring this full circle, let us look at seniors again. One way to protect people from the effects of inflation is to ensure decent purchasing power, especially for seniors. That is why people must be outraged. As the great Quebec humorist Yvon Deschamps once said, one is always better off being rich and healthy than sick and poor. That was true in the 1960s and it is unfortunately still true in 2021 for far too many disadvantaged seniors. We should be appalled by the disregard being shown to those who built Quebec and Canada. We must do something about it.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.)

Dec/2/21 4:44:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, where I could agree with the member is that there are a couple of issues, both health care and environment, which are very important issues to Canadians. Where I tend to disagree with the member is on the issue of a plan. Just because an opposition member says there is no plan, does not mean there is not a plan. Actually, it is quite the opposite. There is a detailed plan. All one needs to do is read it or listen to members from the Liberal caucus who are standing up and speaking. There is a plan and it is tangible. Even during the election, independent sources made it very clear that the Liberal Party had the best plan when it came to the environment. Would the member not agree that Canadians in all regions, including the province of Quebec, recognize that the national government needs to play a stronger role in long-term care facilities and mental health, both of which are very important issues for my constituents and, I would argue, for her constituents too. Does she not agree that the federal government does have a role to play, given that constituents of both our ridings want to see that?

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Ms. Andréanne Larouche

Dec/2/21 4:45:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the less said about studies showing who had the best plan for the environment, the better. We heard all sorts of things. In the last Parliament, we saw that when the time comes to give a bill some teeth and ensure that the objectives are not just fine words, it is important to include specific targets in a bill in order to hold the minister accountable. We were not able to do that. The Liberals opposed it in the last Parliament. The government continues to make massive investments in oil and the coal industry. We saw what happened in Glasgow. Clearly, with regard to the environment, the Liberals will have to try a little harder to walk the talk. As for mental health, the federal government is meddling in Quebec's jurisdiction. I am tired of the federal government's paternalistic attitude, its lecturing and its attempts to interfere in health care, which is our jurisdiction. Why does it not transfer health care to us? Believe me, Quebec will be able to— The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès): Order. Questions and comments. The hon. member for Elgin—Middlesex—London.

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Mrs. Karen Vecchio (Elgin—Middlesex—London, CPC)

Dec/2/21 4:46:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is wonderful to see you back in the chair. It is also wonderful to ask a question of my colleague, who I have worked very closely with when it comes to women's issues. Throughout this pandemic, we have seen an increase in the number of deaths and in domestic violence cases, which have gone up rampantly. We have seen huge changes in these numbers. I wonder if the member could share with me some of her solutions to this. As we know, there has been nothing and we continue to see a rise in this. What are some of the things the government can do to ensure the safety of women?

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Ms. Andréanne Larouche

Dec/2/21 4:47:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what we saw most often during the pandemic was women trapped 24 hours a day with their abuser, women who had trouble breaking out of that cycle of violence. As I mentioned in my speech, 10-year action plans take too long, because the time to act is now. We have had 18 femicides in Quebec this year, and that is far too many. The money could go through Quebec, which already has an all-party committee in place and an action plan to fight violence against women, but implementing it will obviously depend on the transfers Quebec receives. Ottawa therefore needs to transfer funds to Quebec. The same thing goes for housing, because the other problem is that we have to find somewhere for these women to stay. Right now, there is a freeze on funding transfers for women's shelters, so these women are having trouble finding a place to live. That is why I mentioned in my speech how important it is that we take action and transfer money for more housing so that Quebec can implement its action plan to fight violence against women. Ottawa will soon be introducing legislation related to the Department of Justice that will require careful consideration by the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. I know that my colleague and I will meet again on that committee, and I look forward to working with her.

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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Dec/2/21 4:48:24 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my dear colleague from Shefford. I want to ask her a question because she talked about the Trans Mountain pipeline. I am all for getting rid of that pipeline. We cannot meet the Paris targets if we increase oil sands production. However, many members seem to be misunderstanding something. I will say this in English because I want it to be really clear. There are two pipelines. There is the old one, which is leaky and was bought in the 1960s. It was, until the floods, bringing crude oil from Alberta to a refinery in Burnaby. That one I do not think anyone had any trouble with. It had been running for a long time, it was just old, and we spent way too much money for it. The one everyone wants stopped is the expansion that would carry a different product for purposes of export in tankers. It is diluted bitumen, which is a product that is inherently of low value, does not have markets, is impossible to clean up should it spill and massively—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Dec/2/21 4:49:48 p.m.
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I really apologize, but I have to give the member the opportunity for a very short answer. The hon. member for Shefford has 10 seconds remaining.

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Ms. Andréanne Larouche

Dec/2/21 4:49:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in my lifetime, I have fought against the idea of transporting more oil in pipelines. When it comes to pipelines leaking, it is not a matter of “if”, but “when”. That sums up the entire problem with respect to the environment. That is why we need to stop investing in any new pipelines and embark on an energy transition.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Dec/2/21 4:50:15 p.m.
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Order. It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, Health; the hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam, Housing; the hon. member for North Island—Powell River, Seniors.

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Mr. Gary Anandasangaree (Scarborough—Rouge Park, Lib.)

Dec/2/21 4:50:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am delighted to speak this afternoon from the unceded lands of the Algonquin people. I want to acknowledge that I represent Scarborough—Rouge Park, the lands of many indigenous nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit. I want to first thank the people of Scarborough—Rouge Park for their incredible support. I was able to secure over 63% of votes in the last election, and it is my third time representing the great people of Scarborough—Rouge Park. Of course, I could not have done this without the incredible volunteers. I had over 600 volunteers who worked day and night. We knocked on over 115,000 doors. They inspired me greatly, the young men and women who came out day and night. I had to set a very high bar for the type of campaign I ran. It was a very positive campaign. It was not about taking down the opposition; it was about presenting a very positive vision of Canada. I was very proud to do that throughout the campaign. I want to take the time to acknowledge those who were part of my core team, including Shauna, David, Waleed, Gavin, Piyush, Ella, Anojini and Asma who worked diligently to get the results we got; my election day chair Gowthaman; and campaign managers Joshua and Dorine. They were incredible in their efforts. I also want to thank the donors, those who cooked, those who put up signs, those who scrutineered, those who did everything possible to make this election a success, including the very responsible staff at Elections Canada. Endeavours such as politics involve the entire family and I would be remiss if I do not acknowledge the steadfast support of my loving wife Harini and my children Sahanah and Bairavi, who, as every election comes and goes, seem to be getting older and wiser, I might add, but who continue to guide me in all the things I do, including my mother, who has always been my rock and my strength. I want to congratulate all my colleagues who been elected for the first time and re-elected, and their families for their sacrifices. I will now reply to the Speech from the Throne and I will be splitting my time with my dear friend from Oakville North—Burlington. The primary focus of our government over the past two years has been to end the fight on COVID. This is a very important fight that has taken many Canadian lives, but we know we are at the forefront in leading this fight, including the procurement of vaccines and ensuring that those in Canada are vaccinated. Of those eligible, 82.3% have had their first dose and 79.6% have their second, which is an incredible feat for any country. We are also on the cusp of administering the third dose to Canadians. This fight has always been taken by front-line and essential workers, many from very marginalized communities. I want to thank them and acknowledge their incredible efforts over the past two years. In my community, the Scarborough Health Network, the TAIBU Community Health Centre, the City of Toronto, led by Dr. Eileen de Villa, and others have been instrumental in this fight. I would be remiss if I did not thank and acknowledge them and their families for their service. Some of the things that have been highlighted over the last two years include mental health. We have lost many people due to mental health over the past few years, but particularly during COVID. I had a very dear friend who took his life, and I know many others are struggling. The Speech from the Throne directly responds to the issues of mental health and addiction. Long-term care homes have been a significant challenge. In my riding, in one particular institution, over 53 people died, including one personal support worker. The Speech from the Throne responds to that. Just last week, I had the privilege of visiting the Tony Stacey Centre. It was initially built as a veterans home for seniors. I was able meet with the chair and some of the staff. There are long-term care homes across the country that are in a similar state of disrepair, but because of the hard work of their management, staff and universal care, they have been able to pull through with minimal loss of life. It is really a sad reflection of the state of our long-term care homes. This is an area where the federal government has a very important role to play, one that is outlined in the Speech from the Throne. I want to talk about the resilience of our economy. There are a number of things we need to do, but, first and foremost, it is heartening to see that we have been able to recover 100% of the jobs we lost during the pandemic. Our GDP is close to pre-pandemic levels. By all accounts, our economy is starting to throttle in full force. However, there are very important lessons we need to learn from the pandemic, including the need for child care. In our case, we proposed $10-a-day child care. I believe eight provinces have now signed on, with the exception of Ontario and New Brunswick. It is a very important initiative and so fundamental for families. When our kids were young, we had such difficult choices to make, balancing work and other things in life, including, and most important at that time, child care. This will transform families. It will transform the ability of women to be in the workforce in full form. I am very excited about this. I hope the Province of Ontario will soon sign onto $10-a-day child care. We have heard about housing affordability and the cost of living. With the measures we are introducing here, including child care and incentives for first-time homebuyers as well as rent-to-own programs, we know they will support families in Scarborough—Rouge Park and everyone in Canada. The need for bold climate action is so prevalent, as we see floods on both our east and west coasts, as well as very erratic temperatures across the world. We know that some countries may not even exist in a decade or two. As a result, the need to accelerate the fight on climate change is so important. Locally, I want to highlight a couple of things that are happening in my riding of Scarborough—Rouge Park. Earlier this year, the federal government committed to investing $2.26 billion toward the Scarborough subway extension. It is the single-largest investment by any federal government in Scarborough and is a very important tool in the fight against climate change. As well, there is a need for the extension of the Scarborough LRT East to Malvern. The City of Toronto has put in $1.3 billion and I am hopeful that the federal government, through permanent public transit funding, will be able to put its share into this. The second part of our action on climate change is the Rouge National Urban Park, which is the model for the rest of Canada. I know we will build on that as we build national parks in other urban centres, including Windsor, Saskatoon and places like Halifax. I would like to acknowledge and reflect on the recent findings in Kamloops and the other children's graves found around the country. It is heartbreaking and it requires a collective effort on the part of all of us, not only to double down on the 94 calls to action but to also ensure that we have truth, accountability and justice. We need to move forward on this to ensure that the survivors who need closure will be able to get it through interlocutory and any other supports that can be provided by the federal government. There is a lot more in the Speech from the Throne, but I commit to continue to collaborate with my colleagues across the aisle. I want to ensure that, like the historical vote we had yesterday, we are able to work together to better the lives of Canadians, to ensure that justice exists for the survivors of residential schools and to ensure we move toward a path of reconciliation.

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Mr. Jamie Schmale (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, CPC)

Dec/2/21 5:01:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the words of the member opposite, as well as his work in the previous Parliament on the indigenous and northern affairs committee. My friend across the way talked about child care in his speech, and I am going to ask him the same question I asked his colleague a few moments ago. The government was running substantial deficits prior to the pandemic, and it ramped up the spending after the pandemic hit. It was, in fact, printing money, and inflation is on the rise. The solution from the Prime Minister seems to be to solve inflation by coming up with yet another government program. We know that nothing is really working on that side of the House. Indigenous communities are still waiting for boil water advisories to clear. Veterans are still waiting in line, and we have a housing crisis. I do not think it is smart to put yet another program in place when we cannot even figure out the ones we have. Does the member think it is fair to have the kids of today actually paying for their own child care, even if they do not know it yet?

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Mr. Gary Anandasangaree

Dec/2/21 5:02:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I always enjoy working with my colleague. He was a very constructive member of the committee. However, I have to disagree with him. Child care is so fundamental to families in Canada. When I was knocking on doors, I spoke with many families about the need for affordable child care. Ontario is a rare exception in that it has not signed on. I am very hopeful that it will sign on. It will be transformational, and it will ensure that more people are in the workforce, particularly women. This is an important step. We have learned an important lesson through the pandemic, and it is high time we implement this. We are long overdue for a national child care program. The $10-a-day program would serve that purpose. I look forward to working with my friend opposite on other initiatives that the government brings forward.

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Ms. Kristina Michaud (Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, BQ)

Dec/2/21 5:03:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague’s speech. I have a question for him about immigration. Quebec is experiencing a serious labour shortage, and immigration seems to be one of the solutions. However, we know that the Department of Immigration is one of the most dysfunctional departments in the federal government. I do not think that it is right to have staffers in our members' offices spending half of their day dealing with immigration cases that are gathering dust on someone's desk. I get the impression that the Department of Immigration does not have enough resources or people working to deal with the growing backlog. What solutions does my colleague have in mind? Should we immediately inject more resources into the Department of Immigration? Should we transfer some of these responsibilities to Quebec so that at least everything will be in the same place and there will be less buck-passing between the two levels of government? What does he believe are the solutions?

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