44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 31, 2022 11:00AM
- Jan/31/22 2:56:56 p.m.
- Watch
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.
72 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 2:57:13 p.m.
- Watch
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.
128 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 2:57:55 p.m.
- Watch
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?
108 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 2:58:38 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I have a fundamental difference, and that is that I do not believe my enemy is across the aisle. I believe that our enemy is this pandemic and that we need to end this pandemic, get everybody vaccinated, and move forward in such a way that the concerns he is talking about, being affected by a global crisis, mean that they are supported.
This is a time of collective trauma. It requires us to be compassionate, to work with one another and to understand that our common enemy is the virus and not one another.
97 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 2:59:13 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in Beijing is this Friday. The entire world will be celebrating the glory of China, even as the country commits genocide against Uighurs, its own people.
We cannot blame the athletes. It was this government, not them, that decided the games could go ahead in China.
Will this government at least muster the courage to finally acknowledge that what is happening in China is real and that the Uighur people are being subjected to genocide?
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 2:59:50 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. This is my first time rising in the House, and I appreciate the opportunity to greet my constituents in Brome—Missisquoi.
The Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee are responsible for deciding whether we will participate in the Olympic Games. Our athletes, the two committees and other countries decided to send athletes to the Olympics in China.
Our government has been clear and consistent. We have always maintained that we support democracy and human rights. That is why, in co-operation with our allies, we will not be sending an official delegation—
105 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:00:28 p.m.
- Watch
Order. The hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean.
8 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:00:31 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it is strange that Canada is participating in a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, yet this government is unable to tell us why. It does not have the courage to tell us that it is because China is committing genocide against the Uighur people. It does not want any investigations into it. It did not want the games to be delayed or moved. It has agreed to a diplomatic boycott, but it refuses to tell us why.
Is this Canada's diplomatic role?
Is this what the Prime Minister had in mind when he told the world that “Canada is back”?
106 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:01:06 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we take the allegations of genocide against the Uighur people in China very seriously. That is why we have always expressed these concerns, that is why we are not sending political representatives to the Beijing Olympics, which begin on Friday, and that is also why we have asked the UN human rights committee to investigate the matter.
I would therefore like to correct my colleague, who says that we are not showing leadership and are not investigating the issue. On the contrary, we want to get to the bottom of this extremely concerning issue.
97 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:01:43 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, last month the Associate Minister of Finance said, when it came to payroll tax hikes, that businesses “can afford this”.
How completely out of touch is this comment with small businesses? Considering the government went ahead with these tax hikes despite 30-year, record-high inflation rates, we have to assume the government believes that businesses can afford these as well.
Could the minister tell us how historically high inflation rates have to be before the government stops increasing taxes on small businesses?
87 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:02:24 p.m.
- Watch
- Re: Bill C-2
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to supporting small businesses, it is a bit rich of the Conservatives to presume to offer our government any advice at all. After all, before Christmas, when the omicron wave was rising, it was the Conservatives who opposed Bill C-2, a bill that included a lockdown insurance policy for small businesses and Canadians.
The Conservatives voted against it. Thank goodness they failed. Otherwise, our small businesses would have no support today.
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:03:07 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, record inflation, coupled with the government's brutal GIS clawback, has financially crippled many of Canada's hard-working seniors, forced to spend their golden years in the labour market just to make ends meet.
Our vulnerable seniors need to know that Ottawa is listening. That is why the Conservative opposition called on the government to reverse the CPP tax hike.
When will the government stand up, rise up, lean in to Canada's hard-working seniors and help them meet their basic—
86 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:03:48 p.m.
- Watch
3 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:03:54 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, seniors have worked all their lives, and they deserve to feel safe and financially secure later in their life.
That is why the government is delivering on its promise to increase the OAS by 10% for those 75 and older, strengthening the support for all Canadians later in life. Since 2015, we have restored the age of eligibility for OAS to 65. We have increased the GIS for single seniors and strengthened the CPP. During the pandemic we provided direct and immediate support for seniors. As always, we will be there for them.
95 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:04:27 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, with inflation reaching a 30-year high, the government continues to hurt Canadians with its poor economic policies.
Nearly 60% of people are finding it difficult to feed their families. If that is not bad enough, the government raised its CPP tax on Canadians, an extra $700 coming out of families' paycheques. This may mean nothing to this Prime Minister, but it matters to everybody else.
When will the government reverse its CPP tax and stop penalizing hard-working families?
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:05:01 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to irresponsibly perpetuate a false economic narrative and talk down the Canadian economy. The reality is that Canada is resilient and our economy is robustly recovering from the COVID recession. In Q3 our GDP grew by 5.4%. That was beating the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and Australia. We have recovered 108% of jobs lost to the pandemic, compared to just 84% in the U.S., and we had in November a trade surplus at a 13-year high.
86 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:05:45 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, in December, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced a consultation process on our new climate commitments. The minister also confirmed that he would table Canada's 2030 emissions reduction plan by the end of March 2022.
Can the minister tell the House how our government will build a strong foundation for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050?
63 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:06:21 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Kings—Hants on his continuing efforts to speak French in the House.
I would like to remind him that over the past few years, our government has implemented more than 100 measures and invested $100 billion in the fight against climate change.
As he mentioned, I will be tabling a plan in the House that will include many new commitments in the fight against climate change, including a net-zero emitting electricity grid by 2035, a zero-emissions act also by 2035, and a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector.
109 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:06:59 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, many in Canada's labour force are senior citizens struggling to get by. Many seniors are forced to work beyond the retirement age through no fault of their own. The CPP tax hike has added insult to injury to our seniors who have worked hard their whole lives. The out-of-control inflation has many working seniors feeling like retirement is a dream they will never have the ability to experience.
When will the government reverse the CPP hikes for our seniors?
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jan/31/22 3:07:41 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, since 2015 our government has been strengthening retirement support for seniors today and for future retirees. We have built a strong social net and pension system that all Canadians can be proud of. We have enhanced the CPP and the OAS and raised GIS for single seniors. That has helped 900,000 low-income single seniors. We are helping by investing in services, such as $70 million for the New Horizons for Seniors program and billions for home care.
We are going to make sure that seniors, now and into the future, have all the supports they need.
100 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
