44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 8, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/8/22 2:56:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, polls say that fewer than one in five Canadians expect their financial situation to improve this year. Almost 60% of Canadians are having a tough time putting food on their tables, and the average family grocery bill will go up $1,000 this year. Constituents are emailing me copies of the highest home heating bills they have ever received, and payroll taxes will take about $700 off the average family's paycheques this year. People are being squeezed.
Why is the government not addressing the unmanageable squeeze that is being put on hard-working families, making it difficult every day to just pay for basic necessities?
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- Feb/8/22 2:56:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to supporting the most vulnerable Canadians. It was our government that introduced the CCB, which is indexed for inflation and which has already lifted almost 300,000 children out of poverty. It is our government that increased the GIS. That is also indexed to inflation, and it has helped over 900,000 seniors.
When we formed government in 2015, more than five million Canadians lived in poverty. By 2019, that number had dropped to 3.7 million.
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- Feb/8/22 2:57:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in my riding of King—Vaughan, constituents are concerned with keeping their homes. Years ago, I worked in banking and met many people returning the keys to their houses because they simply could not afford to make the payments with the skyrocketing interest.
What has the government done to ensure we do not go back to the 1980s and 1990s, a time when we saw many Canadians lose their homes?
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- Feb/8/22 2:58:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Since 2015, our government has invested nearly $30 billion for affordable housing, brought in Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, and we have a plan worth over $70 billion, which has already helped over one million Canadians find the homes that they need.
We have more work to do, and we will work with provinces and territories, and municipalities as well, to make sure we are building more housing supply to ensure that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home.
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- Feb/8/22 2:58:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for the past eight months, the government has been making cuts to the guaranteed income supplement for seniors who received CERB. We are talking about seniors who have to work part time to pay for the basics, such as their rent or medication.
This morning, after eight months, the government introduced a bill to right this wrong. Do my colleagues know when this bill will come into force? It will be in June.
If the situation of seniors is serious enough to give rise to a bill, why is the government continuing to make cuts until June?
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Mr. Speaker, we know just how difficult this pandemic has been on seniors, and on this side of the House, we have been there to support them. As announced in the fiscal update, we will be delivering a one-time payment to fully compensate those affected in 2020, and today we introduced Bill C-12 to exclude any pandemic benefits for the purposes of calculating GIS going forward.
I hope that we can count on all parties' support to quickly pass this bill to prevent any future reduction in GIS for low-income vulnerable seniors who took pandemic benefits. I hope we can all get behind this.
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- Feb/8/22 3:00:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, by the time this government stops making cuts to the guaranteed income supplement for seniors, the government will have been depriving them of the basic essentials for 11 months.
During those 11 months, inflation had time to reach the highest levels in 30 years. For 11 months, seniors had to leave more and more food on the shelves at the grocery store because it is too expensive. Their rent has probably gone up. For 11 months, all of their expenses went up while the government cut their benefits.
Is this how seniors deserve to be treated?
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Mr. Speaker, our government's priority has been there to support those most vulnerable, especially those seniors, and that is why we worked so hard to strengthen income security for seniors, including the increases to the GIS, which has helped over 900,000 low-income seniors. That is also why we introduced Bill C-12 to exclude pandemic benefits for the purposes of calculating GIS going forward. We are also making major investments through a one-time payment for seniors affected.
On this side of the House, we will always be there for seniors.
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- Feb/8/22 3:01:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for 130 days the government has refused to fill the position of the federal ombudsman for victims of crime. To be clear, the ombudsman's job is to make sure the federal government meets its responsibilities to victims. The government is still pushing ahead with legislation that would make life easier for violent criminals by eliminating mandatory jail time, all while this critical role for victims is being silenced.
Could the minister tell the House why this important position remains empty?
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- Feb/8/22 3:02:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, indeed we share that concern for helping, protecting and working with victims of crime to ensure that the criminal justice system works not only more efficiently, but also more empathetically and passionately with respect—
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- Feb/8/22 3:02:18 p.m.
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The member for Salaberry—Suroît is rising on a point of order.
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- Feb/8/22 3:02:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the interpreter is unable to do their job properly because the sound quality is poor.
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- Feb/8/22 3:02:45 p.m.
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We are going to ask the hon. Minister of Justice to do that over again and make sure his microphone is in the right place.
I will ask him to repeat his answer, and hopefully we can hear him.
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- Feb/8/22 3:02:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question, and I share his concern about helping—
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- Feb/8/22 3:03:06 p.m.
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I am going to interrupt the hon. Minister of Justice and ask the hon. Minister of Public Safety to answer while the technical issue is being taken care of.
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- Feb/8/22 3:03:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think we can all relate to having technical difficulties in one way or another. I believe what my colleague, the Minister of Justice, would say is that we are obviously very concerned with filling this position as quickly as possible so there is an ombudsperson in place and we will make sure that we do that.
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- Feb/8/22 3:03:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no matter who answers, the message is the same: Victims do not matter to the government. Leaving the ombudsman position empty is a deliberate decision by the government. In 2016, the Liberals immediately replaced the outgoing ombudsman for federal offenders, but they will not show the same respect for victims.
We should not be surprised that the Liberals put the rights of criminals ahead of victims yet again. The mandated review for the victims bill of rights is already a year overdue. The message the justice minister sends over and over to victims is clear: Victims do not matter.
Again, when can victims expect the ombudsman position to be filled?
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- Feb/8/22 3:04:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the work that this government continues to do to uphold victims' rights. In fact, this government restored many of the cuts that were made under the last Conservative government as a way of demonstrating the concrete, tangible support for victims.
We will continue to use our open, transparent and merit-based process to fill this position. I know that is something that the Minister of Justice is very much seized with.
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- Feb/8/22 3:05:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the truth is that Liberals are soft on crime in words and action. It has been four months. Victims of crime do matter and it cannot be swept away like yet again, one of the Liberal scandals.
Silke from Bonnyville is scared and feels unsafe in her own home. She says, “With every strange noise we look out the window and a false alarm from our shop sensor gives us adrenaline overload. Every slow-driving vehicle makes our hairs stand up”.
That is normal in Lakeland. It has been four months. When will the Liberals appoint the federal ombudsman for victims of crime?
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- Feb/8/22 3:05:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I share the sentiments of my hon. colleague, and I understand that it is important that victims have an office they can approach. That is why I know the Minister of Justice will appoint this position as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, this government will continue to invest in all of the resources and supports that are needed for victims. We know that throughout the pandemic there has been an alarming increase in gender-based violence, and we will always be there to support victims.
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