44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2022 11:00AM
- Feb/14/22 2:55:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight months of pressure, the government is finally admitting that cutting the guaranteed income supplement for the poorest working seniors was heartless.
Now that the government has admitted that it made a mistake and that this mistake plunged seniors into poverty, there needs to be a quick solution.
The deputy minister told us that IT problems are making it impossible for the government to compensate the victims faster. Seniors cannot wait until May because of a computer glitch.
What is the minister going to do to pay back these senior victims faster?
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Mr. Speaker, we know how difficult this pandemic has been on seniors. 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. Last week, we also introduced Bill C-12 to exclude any pandemic benefits for the purposes of calculating the GIS going forward. I am calling on all parties to quickly pass this bill to prevent any future reduction in the GIS for low-income, vulnerable seniors.
This is something we can all get behind, and I hope the hon. member will move forward on it.
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- Feb/14/22 2:56:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a fault confessed is not half redressed when it keeps people from being able to put food on the table. These seniors have been making sacrifices for eight months. What makes my colleagues think that seniors would be reassured to hear that they still have months of hardship to go through because of an IT problem?
As we saw during the pandemic, the government is capable of getting its chequebook out quickly, so it should start writing cheques. When will seniors be able to shop for groceries with dignity? What is the minister going to do to speed up the one-time payment to the most vulnerable seniors?
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Mr. Speaker, our government's priority has been to support the most vulnerable, especially the most vulnerable seniors. That is why we worked so hard to strengthen income security for them, including increases to the GIS, which have helped over 900,000 low-income seniors. That is precisely why we introduced Bill C-12 to exclude any pandemic benefits for the purposes of calculating their GIS. We are also making a major investment through the one-time payment to get that money out as quickly as possible.
We are always going to be there for seniors.
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- Feb/14/22 2:58:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nine months before Kabul fell, 23 Liberal MPs sent a letter to the Minister of Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs warning them of the dangers Afghan interpreters and those who serve Canada would face when the Taliban took over. They pleaded to help them immigrate to Canada with their families as soon as possible.
Why did this fall on deaf ears? Why did the government ignore their own MPs and abandon thousands of Afghan interpreters and our allies, leaving them in harm's way?
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- Feb/14/22 2:58:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to reflect on the fact that during the fall of Kabul, there was an absolute emergency. We did what we could to rescue thousands of vulnerable Afghans who are now living in Canada.
I am pleased to share that there are more than 7,500 Afghan refugees living in Canada today. The situation in—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/14/22 2:58:54 p.m.
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I am going to have to interrupt the hon. Minister of Immigration.
We will let the hon. minister continue.
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- Feb/14/22 2:59:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the situation in Afghanistan is terrible, but it is why we have made a world-leading commitment to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees. I am pleased to share with the House that there are now more than 7,500 in Canada today, and we will not waver until we succeed in our mission to welcome 40,000 into our country.
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- Feb/14/22 2:59:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they were busy knocking on doors. There is no pride in only achieving 20% of that target. The minister should be ashamed of himself for abandoning them and then standing up for an election instead of helping those Afghans. The minister should be thanking the veterans, NGOs and those of our NATO allies that actually stepped up when his government failed to.
UNHCR testified that it had a plan to evacuate Afghan refugees back in January 2021. The government knew about it and ignored it.
Why was an election plan more important than an evacuation plan?
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- Feb/14/22 3:00:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the veterans organizations, the NGOs and our NATO allies that were helpful in rescuing Afghan refugees, some of whom are now in Canada. However, the politicization of this event by the member opposite is a disgrace. He said I should be ashamed of our record on Afghanistan, but I remind him that he campaigned, during the election he spoke about, to bring precisely zero Afghan refugees here. Moreover, if we look at their platform, we will see that they campaigned on a commitment to end the government-assisted refugee stream altogether, which has resettled thousands of Afghan refugees who now call Canada home.
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- Feb/14/22 3:00:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have learned that on December 30, 2020, 23 Liberal—not Conservative—MPs wrote a letter to the ministers of foreign affairs and immigration asking that former Afghan mission staff be given safe passage to Canada.
The Prime Minister said in September 2021 that the situation had developed too quickly and that he had not had time to respond and to draw up a plan.
Even though 23 Liberal MPs were making this request in December 2020, the Prime Minister said in September 2021 that he had not had time to do anything. Why is the Prime Minister not listening to his own MPs?
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- Feb/14/22 3:01:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the support of members of Parliament on both sides of the aisle in the House for their contributions to the effort in Afghanistan. I hope we continue to receive that support and advice from the conversations they are having in their communities.
One of the things that came from my conversations over the course of that campaign was the opportunity to engage with the government to say that we should be doing more and we should be increasing our ambitions. The situation in Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul is precisely why we have decided to step up and make one of the most substantial commitments out of any country in the world to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees. I am proud we made that commitment and I am pleased to be the minister responsible for making good on it.
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- Feb/14/22 3:02:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government knows that immigration is critical to Canada's economic recovery.
Rural and northern communities are facing significant demographic challenges and often have a tough time attracting and retaining newcomers, who choose to settle in big cities.
Could the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship tell the House how the rural and northern immigration pilot is helping communities like Sudbury attract and retain more newcomers?
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- Feb/14/22 3:02:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Sudbury for this important question and for the opportunity to practise my French.
Immigration is essential to the entire country's economic recovery. Through the rural and northern immigration pilot, we have welcomed over 420 newcomers to 11 rural communities, including Sudbury. These are people who work in our hospitals and in our businesses. They are new neighbours who are making enormous contributions to our communities.
I look forward to continuing my work to welcome more newcomers to large and small communities across Canada.
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- Feb/14/22 3:03:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hear regularly from Canadian charities working overseas about the damage direction and control regulations are causing. These silly regulations force charities to spend millions of dollars in unnecessary legal fees and obstruct genuine partnership by requiring donor control.
Could the government tell us if it will finally listen to the sector and support our efforts to end outdated and neocolonial direction and control regulations?
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- Feb/14/22 3:04:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can tell my hon. colleague across the way that the Canada Revenue Agency is working with all charities to ensure that they comply with the law and government rules. We will continue to do our job.
If my colleague has any specific questions, I encourage him to contact my office.
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Mr. Speaker, for far too long, direction and control regulations have limited the collaboration between charities and other organizations. That is why I am proud to sponsor Bill S-216 in the House. Bill S-216 would replace direction and control with an accountability framework that would allow for constructive and equal partnerships between charitable organizations and the communities they serve.
It has already passed the Senate unanimously. Will the government commit to working with us to ensure the bill passes during the 44th Parliament?
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- Feb/14/22 3:05:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our organization will continue to work to end discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation and disability. This includes evaluating existing processes where there are concerns.
In this regard, at the national summit on Islamophobia earlier this year, I had the opportunity to announce that I had asked the taxpayers' ombudsperson to conduct a systemic examination to address the concerns of Muslim communities.
I have appointed a member of the Muslim community to the advisory council on the charitable sector, and these actions will help the CRA pave the way for a process that is more inclusive and more representative of Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, respectfully, that was a much worse answer than I was expecting. This is a question about direction and control. Again, to the minister or some minister, we want an answer about direction and control regulations.
Bill S-216 has been before this Parliament and the Senate for years in the same form. Surely the government is aware of it. Surely the government has heard from someone in the development sector. Could we please get an answer to the question? Could we please get some good news instead of nonsense talking points on completely different issues?
What is the government's position on reforming direction and control?
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- Feb/14/22 3:06:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure my colleague opposite. The Canada Revenue Agency respects the rules and regulations and the measures in place, and it will do what it can to ensure that people respect the agreements with the government.
We will continue to work toward that goal with our partners in the community.
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