44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 31, 2022 11:00AM
- Jan/31/22 2:47:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think this is a moment when we have to acknowledge that the protests that have occurred have made their point. I would ask the member opposite to encourage the people who are outside to continue in a way that is peaceful, that moves beyond what we have seen. Ottawa is being paralyzed right now. We are seeing imagery that is not appropriate—
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- Jan/31/22 2:48:07 p.m.
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I am going to ask the hon. government House leader to hold on for a second. I am sure the hon. member for Portage—Lisgar wants to hear an answer to the question she asked.
I will let the hon. government House leader continue from where he left off.
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- Jan/31/22 2:48:26 p.m.
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I will just say this, Mr. Speaker. I was in opposition for about seven years and there were times when I was overheated in my rhetoric. There were moments when I got too carried away with what I believed passionately at the time. There is a moment where we need to de-escalate. There is a moment where we need to bring it down and I am asking the members opposite, instead of going outside with these protests, to—
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- Jan/31/22 2:48:49 p.m.
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The hon. member for North Island—Powell River.
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- Jan/31/22 2:48:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling. The cost of groceries is going up. Gas and heating are getting more and more expensive, and the price of housing is soaring. In a recent poll, 60% of Canadians said they were having difficulty feeding their families. Liberals are not making it better for Canadians, especially vulnerable seniors, who are being told they must wait months longer for their GIS payment.
When will the government help hard-working Canadians who are struggling every day just to get by?
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- Jan/31/22 2:49:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we absolutely appreciate that there are many Canadians, particularly vulnerable seniors, facing affordability challenges. In the fall economic update, we presented our government's plan to support those seniors with a one-time payment. We will be there for those seniors who need our support.
I want to thank and congratulate all the Canadians who are behind Canada's very robust economic recovery from the COVID recession.
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- Jan/31/22 2:50:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the problem with that answer, just like the problem with the minister's announcement in the fall economic statement, is that it does not in any way do justice to the urgency of those seniors. They have lost their home now because the government decided to claw back their guaranteed income supplement, and they are not getting any relief.
They are out on the street and they are freezing in the cold. We have heard reports of people who have already lost their lives. The fact of the matter is that waiting until May is not good enough. It is why we joined with Campaign 2000 to call for an emergency payment for those people, and also to make sure there is a fund to get them housed right away, not in May, so when—
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- Jan/31/22 2:50:56 p.m.
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The hon. Minister of Seniors.
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- Jan/31/22 2:51:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think we can all agree how challenging this pandemic has been for seniors, particularly the most vulnerable.
That is why we are working extremely hard to strengthen income security for seniors, including through the increases to the GIS, which have helped over 900,000 low-income seniors. We also know that seniors who access income supports did so because they needed it during this crisis. They should not be penalized for it now, and that is why we are making a major investment through a one-time payment for those seniors affected. We have always been there for seniors, and we will always continue to have their backs.
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- Jan/31/22 2:51:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my constituents in Mississauga—Malton are worried about the rising cost of housing. They want to see federal leadership to create more affordable housing. Unfortunately, while our government delivers that leadership through the national housing strategy, Conservative Party members continued to repeat disinformation about a non-existent home equity tax in right-wing media last week.
Can the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion please set the record straight again in the House on the Conservative disinformation about a home equity tax?
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- Jan/31/22 2:52:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Mississauga—Malton for his advocacy on affordable housing. I want to welcome the opportunity to remind those spreading misinformation that our government is not considering charging capital gains or surtaxes on primary residences. Any suggestion otherwise, including from the Conservative Party, is absolutely false.
While they continue to make up claims, we will focus on making sure each and every Canadian has access to a safe and affordable place to call home.
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- Jan/31/22 2:52:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just because the Prime Minister dressed up in racist costumes so many times he cannot remember them all does not mean every single Liberal is a racist. Just because the Prime Minister tried to help a corporation avoid prosecution after it stole from some of Africa's poorest people does not mean all Liberals are racist. Just because about a half-dozen Liberal MPs who are racial minorities have complained about his treatment of them does not mean all Liberals are racist. That is guilt by association.
Why does the Prime Minister not opt instead for personal responsibility?
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- Jan/31/22 2:53:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope I have been clear in all of my comments that I respect the hon. colleagues on the other side, just as I believe they respect the colleagues that are on this side, the work we do and the people we are. There are times in our political discourse where we see things that are abhorrent, and all I would ask is that we call it out equally.
When I saw swastikas on the street and when I saw what had happened, I felt it was time to move on. What I would ask is this: Instead of trying to inflame the situation, let us de-escalate the situation and work together to find a way to stop the lockdown of this city, so that citizens can move forward with their lives and any legitimate grievances can be fairly heard.
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- Jan/31/22 2:54:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree. We should always call out evil symbols and the individuals who are individually responsible for putting them up. I remember a January 2018 event at which the Prime Minister stared straight at a swastika and, instead of condemning it, said, “Thank you for coming, sir.” We on this side condemn evil symbols whenever they are used.
I respect the member. I just wish his government would respect the thousands of people who are fighting for their livelihoods right now and trying to do their best to get this country back on track.
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- Jan/31/22 2:55:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are in a time of global crisis, a time when so many are being adversely affected by this pandemic, and our hearts go out to every one of them. The way in which we have discourse for each other will define this moment for all of us.
Those who are peacefully protesting have made their point. It is time to go home and do it a different way than continuing to lock down this city and continuing to do what is happening. It is deeply disturbing for Canadians to see the way this city and our symbols are being treated.
I would ask the Conservatives to also join with us to ask that they go home. Let us do this responsibly. Let us have responsible dialogue. I respect the member opposite. Let us do this the right way.
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- Jan/31/22 2:55:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberals have shown no respect for the people. This country right now is like a raw nerve, and the Prime Minister is jumping up and down on it again and again with his inflammatory rhetoric. We are talking about people who have 14-year-old kids who are suicidal after two years of lockdowns.
I just spoke to a waitress whose business was wiped out by lockdowns. I am talking to truckers, who have been delivering foods to our plates throughout this. These are the very people, honest, hard-working and shirt off their backs types of people, that the Prime Minister keeps attacking.
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- Jan/31/22 2:56:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, I encourage the member to just think, as he is talking about de-escalating and having civil discourse, about his tone and how he is approaching this issue.
This is a time that is incredibly delicate. We are in a moment in which a raw nerve is being touched. How we talk to each other and how we deal with one another—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jan/31/22 2:56:56 p.m.
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Order, please.
I am going to interrupt the hon. government House leader and just wait until everything calms down.
I will let him start from the top, because I did not have a chance to hear it all. I am sure the hon. member for Carleton, who asked a question, wants to hear the answer. We are just not hearing anything because of the noise.
The hon. government House leader, please proceed.
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- Jan/31/22 2:57:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have an instinct, and that instinct is that Canadians expect us today, when they are seeing what has happened over this weekend, to watch the dialogue in this chamber. They expect us to be as respectful as possible, to dial down our rhetoric and our language, to engage with one another and to find an off-ramp from the escalation that has occurred. This is not healthy.
In a healthy democracy, we have respectful debates that do not involve some of the things we have seen. All I am asking for is for us to engage in a constructive way. If we could attempt in this place and at this hour to be equal to that, I hope we can move forward on that basis.
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- Jan/31/22 2:57:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more. I was at an overpass as the truckers went by, and what I saw were cheerful, patriotic and optimistic Canadians who want their freedom back and want their livelihoods back. They are standing up for their fellow Canadians: the 60% of families who fear they cannot feed themselves, the 28-year-old kid living in mom's basement because he cannot afford a home and the small businessman wiped out by endless lockdowns by incompetent politicians.
These are the people who are standing up and fighting for their livelihoods and their freedom. Why will the government not finally stand with them?
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