44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 11, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/11/22 11:33:51 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, almost two years have passed. Canadians toughed it out and got through this pandemic.
It is time for the government to table a plan that will let Canadians from all across the country plan for the return to normal life.
We are asking it to stop playing politics. The government must have a plan to reopen. Let us give Canadians hope.
When will the plan be tabled?
69 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:34:18 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for this very important question.
We know that the omicron variant is spreading quickly around the world. That is why the government quickly put health restrictions in place at the borders in order to continue protecting Canadians against the spread of COVID-19.
As stated earlier, our government is officially recommending that Canadians avoid all non-essential travel outside the country. Collectively and individually, we all have a role to play.
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:34:53 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, we do not want to hear about restrictions. We want a plan to reopen.
Almost 90% of Canadians are vaccinated. Protesters came to Ottawa with the message that they want some freedom back. The Prime Minister's partisan attitude turned this protest into a blockade that is now entering its third weekend.
Will the Prime Minister undertake to quickly and peacefully bring an end to the blockade?
69 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:35:30 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I agree with the member that the blockades are causing harm in our communities, so I would ask him to ask all of his colleagues on the other side to ensure we are all encouraging people to go home. As we have seen recently, the member for Carleton says he is proud of the trucker convoy. The anti-vax protests are exactly what he wants for his new political agenda, so let us encourage everybody to go home and to evacuate this blockade in Ottawa that is causing so much harm so that we can get on with our lives and continue to support Canadians and keep them healthy.
111 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:36:07 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, from the Liberals we continue to see the politics of division. Instead of talking to Canadians, they try to divide them. Instead of doing their job, they pass the buck to the provinces on what is squarely the government's jurisdiction: our international borders. It was the current Prime Minister who once said, “The role of the PM is to build a stronger country, not make it easier for some to break it apart.” Leadership means having conversations, even when they are with people we disagree with.
Is the Prime Minister prepared to have these conversations and to peacefully and quickly end the impasse this country is facing?
112 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:36:42 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, just last night the Prime Minister had a conversation with the leader of the Conservative Party and all other leaders. Of course we do not agree on all of the ways in which we are going to get out of the pandemic, but the single golden thread that has run through our strategies is that we have to get people vaccinated. It is nice now to see that the Conservatives have finally realized that we can have disagreements but we cannot break the law. That is why it is important that we all encourage the members of these illegal blockades to go home.
No one is above the law. I would think the Conservative Party, which is a party that claims to be the party of law and order, would do the same thing.
136 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:37:23 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve a plan from the government on when it will end the federal mandates. Countries around the world and provinces across this country are making that decision. Even Canada’s top doctor has said it is time to return to normalcy. Like the minister said, nine out of 10 Canadians have been vaccinated. Is the goal from the government 100% before it reopens? If that is the case, the Liberals need to tell Canadians that life will not get back to normal until 100% of Canadians are vaccinated.
Canadians have done the hard work. It is the time for the government to do its work. What is the plan to reopen?
115 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:38:03 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, what my colleague from Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes tends to like to ignore is that every person who gets vaccinated is one person fewer who is likely to experience severe outcomes, head to the hospital or, indeed, die from COVID-19. Canada is a big country and public health advice can vary across the country due to local epidemiological situations in various jurisdictions. As such, it is the responsibility of each government to take decisions that are most appropriate to the their local epidemiological context.
We also know Canadians want to finish this fight against COVID-19, and I would ask the member to encourage his community to continue to get vaccinated. I know there is a very high uptake in his community—
131 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:38:40 a.m.
- Watch
The hon. member for Manicouagan.
5 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, the federal government has finally realized that it is inhumane to reduce the GIS for the poorest seniors because of CERB.
It has introduced Bill C‑12, which will stop the reductions, but not until the July payment, even though seniors have been making sacrifices at the grocery store and even the pharmacy for the past year. Twelve months of daily sacrifices. This is crucial income for these seniors, but the government plans to keep reducing that income until the early summer.
How is it humanly possible to move so slowly?
95 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, we can all agree just how challenging this pandemic has been on seniors, and our government has been there from the start to support them. We committed to help seniors by issuing a one-time payment to those on GIS where it was reduced due to pandemic benefits. Additionally, as the member said, we introduced Bill C-12 to exclude any pandemic benefit for the purposes of calculating GIS going forward.
I urge the member and all those on the other side to put politics aside and support Bill C-12.
93 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:39:54 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the federal government should be better than that.
Six months will have passed between the point at which the government publicly admitted it had made a huge mistake in reducing the GIS for the poorest seniors in December and the point at which it will actually stop the reductions, in the payment to be sent out at the end of June.
The solution here is not complicated. All the government needs to do is stop cutting benefits for seniors.
How could this possibly take six months to implement?
90 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:40:33 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, low-income seniors rely on the different benefits that they receive and we know that they count on them to make ends meet. That is why we boosted GIS for seniors who need it most and we will deliver as soon as possible this one-time payment to seniors to compensate for any loss of GIS for taking a pandemic benefit. As soon as the minister was appointed, she worked with officials and took action. I have to say, I was proud during the economic and fiscal update when we announced this solution.
95 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:41:07 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the Association of Interior Realtors recently reported that the selling price of a typical single-family home in Kelowna has jumped to more than $1 million. That is up from $760,000 just the year before. The Liberals' housing plan is hurting families by making housing unaffordable and has been a failure. Home prices inflated $240,000 in just one year.
Does the minister honestly believe that a $1-million home is affordable for the average Canadian family?
80 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:41:51 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Since taking office, we have been wanting to address the critical issue of affordability and access to housing.
We were very clear in the throne speech. We are going to propose several initiatives, including the housing accelerator fund, a more flexible first-time homebuyer incentive and a rent-to-own program. We also plan to levy a 1% annual tax on the value of residential real estate belonging to non-residents or non-Canadians.
83 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:42:28 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the Liberals continue to be unclear with Canadians when it comes to their idea to introduce new taxes on home sales. The CMHC backed a study into the supposed benefits of such a surtax but the minister responsible for CMHC says he does not back that study.
Why is his department studying policies he says he opposes and wasting taxpayer dollars on an organization that conducted the study that endorsed the Liberals in the last election? Unless it is about helping Liberal friends.
85 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:43:08 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.
I would just like to remind her that it is hard to take the Conservatives seriously on the issue of affordability and access to housing when they voted against a tax on non-resident foreign buyers. Just last week, the member for Calgary Centre reiterated her opposition to this measure.
The Conservative Party may not want to address the problem of foreign investors driving up the cost of housing, but we will. I would like to clarify that we will not be imposing a capital tax on—
97 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:43:56 a.m.
- Watch
The hon. member for Beauce.
5 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:44:01 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
I am going to tell him a little secret. Constituents of mine who are struggling could not care less about the country's GDP when they are having a hard time putting food on the table. Many people have to choose between heating their homes and eating tonight.
A year ago, we were all cleaning our groceries. Now the groceries are cleaning us out.
When will the minister give us the tools and solutions to fight constantly rising “Justinflation” across the country?
94 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/11/22 11:44:37 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, we cut taxes for the middle class twice and raised taxes for the 1%. The Conservatives voted against that.
We created the CCB, which is indexed to inflation. The Conservatives voted against that.
We came up with a plan and the funds to create a national early learning and child care plan for Canadians. The Conservatives voted against that.
61 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
