44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/15/22 2:49:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlawful blockades at the borders across the country, including in Windsor and Coutts, have shown that the Liberals have not done the proper, serious work necessary to ensure that our borders are protected and that the citizens who live nearby are safe. These illegal blockades have hurt every Canadian and have stopped thousands of people from getting to work and supporting their families. We have long been calling for a safe border task force. Let us reinstate cuts from CBSA intelligence and make sure that municipalities are reimbursed for their costs.
Will the Prime Minister finally listen to our calls to ensure that safe borders are going to happen, or is he going to continue to listen to extremists? The bridge might be open now, but the threat has not stopped. Will he act?
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- Feb/15/22 2:50:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I share my hon. colleague's concern, and I can inform the House that I have been in routine contact with him and the municipal leaders in Windsor, including the mayor of Windsor. I have assured him that the government will continue to provide all the resources that the community of Windsor needs to keep the bridge open. That means, yes, making sure that police have the assets they need, be it tow trucks, barriers or whatever resources, so that we can keep the economy rolling and the bridge open and get Canadians back to work.
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- Feb/15/22 2:50:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what about Alberta? Yesterday the RCMP arrested 13 extremists blockading the border at Coutts. They seized guns, ammunition and body armour, including assault weapons with thousands of rounds. This comes after convoy leaders raised millions of dollars from foreign donors, with a stated goal of overthrowing the government. While I am happy to see that the blockade appears to be ending in Alberta, the fact remains that we had an armed militia active in Alberta. This is unthinkable.
Why did it take 18 days and proof of an armed threat to make the government act and protect Albertans and Canadians?
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- Feb/15/22 2:51:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for that very important question. I think it does reveal, and we agree, that what we have seen in Coutts, Alberta, and in a number of these illegal blockades across the country is that the threat is not yet gone. That is precisely why these measures in the Emergencies Act that we introduced yesterday will increase, for example, the financial scrutiny and consequences for these illegal acts and will also make available equipment and authorities that our law enforcement officials need to maintain and restore public safety and to protect Canada's interests.
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- Feb/15/22 2:52:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since the Government of Canada announced its ambitious plan for a $10-a-day early learning and child care system across the country, we have signed agreements with nine provinces and three territories. Already in some provinces, families are seeing a reduction in their child care fees that is making life more affordable, while those in my riding of Davenport in downtown Toronto are left wondering when Ontario is going to sign on and when they too will be able to benefit from our national child care program.
Can the minister provide any updates on the federal government's efforts to reach a child care agreement with Ontario?
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- Feb/15/22 2:52:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Davenport for that important question. We have now signed agreements with 12 provinces and territories across the country. That means that families from coast to coast to coast, except for in Ontario at this point in time, will have access to a 50% reduction in fees by the end of this calendar year.
I remain very optimistic that we will sign an agreement with Ontario. There is a fair deal on the table, with $10.2 billion that will go to helping families decrease the costs of child care and make life more affordable—
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- Feb/15/22 2:53:18 p.m.
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The hon. member for Abbotsford.
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- Feb/15/22 2:53:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are stressed. Paycheques do not buy what they used to. In fact, the costs of everything, including gasoline, groceries and housing, are at all-time highs. Families are getting left behind. Last April, I wrote to the minister to warn her of exactly that. I highlighted the dangers of uncontrolled borrowing and how excessive stimulus spending would stoke inflationary pressures. She either does not care or did not read my letter.
To the minister, what specifically is she doing to get inflation under control?
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- Feb/15/22 2:54:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue, in all aspects of Canadian life, to put forward a false narrative, and the latest false narrative we have been hearing today is about the economy.
The reality is that the Canadian economy is recovering strongly from the COVID recession. In the third quarter, our GDP grew by 5.4%. That is higher than the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and Australia. When it comes to our debt-to-GDP ratio, our AAA credit rating was reaffirmed in the fall by S&P and Moody's.
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- Feb/15/22 2:54:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will never get inflation under control as long as the minister keeps borrowing and spending like there is no tomorrow. Not only did the minister ignore our concerns, but she also ignored the warnings of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who questioned the wisdom of her stimulus spending, pumping more money into the economy when the cost of living is skyrocketing.
The minister is making the crisis worse. The problem is not transitory. Month by month, the inflation numbers are going up. When will the minister finally do something to protect Canadians against the skyrocketing cost of living?
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- Feb/15/22 2:55:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the real question is, when will the Conservatives stick with a policy or stick with a leader?
I was on the campaign trail in the summer, and so were the members opposite. They actually campaigned on proposed government spending that was higher than our own proposal. We proposed a deficit for 2021-22 of $156.9 billion; the Conservatives campaigned on a proposed deficit of $168 billion. I wonder if the party of flip-flops can tell Canadians where they stand today?
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- Feb/15/22 2:56:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the excise escalator tax increase will crush the bottom line of wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries. The excise escalator tax is automatic, and here is the kicker: It is based on the CPI index, meaning that because inflation is so high, the tax will be even higher than ever before, starting April 1.
This tax is based on inflation. It is taxing inflation, which will make inflation go up even more on these important value-added agricultural products. Will the Liberals commit to cancelling this inflationary excise tax increase?
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- Feb/15/22 2:56:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a bit rich for the Conservatives to be talking about supporting small businesses of any kind in this country. After all, before Christmas, when we proposed absolutely essential support for small businesses to help them get through omicron, what did the Conservatives do at that crucial moment? They voted against our measures. We will take no lessons about supporting business from them.
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- Feb/15/22 2:57:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that was not an answer to my question at all.
When Canadian winery, brewery, cidery and distillery workers and owners wake up on April 1, they will be hit with this automatic tax increase on excise, thanks to the Liberals. Of these producers, 95% are small businesses that have already been hit with payroll tax increases, labour shortages, increases in debt and slower sales due to perpetual lockdowns. Now is not the time to be increasing any taxes on small businesses, so will the Liberals cancel this bad April Fool's Day tax increase?
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- Feb/15/22 2:57:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me tell members what hurts Canadian small businesses. What hurts Canadian small businesses is when, solely for the sake of partisan posturing, people who were elected to this House to support the small businesses in their communities oppose the small business support that small businesses themselves are calling for.
Do members know what else has hurt Canadian businesses, whether small or large? It is the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge. Members on that side of the House were giving supper and encouragement to those causing the blockade. That is unacceptable.
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- Feb/15/22 2:58:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, February 15, is the day Canada celebrates its maple leaf flag.
What a way to celebrate. The flag is flying everywhere, more flags than ever before, in the streets of downtown Ottawa. It is being flown in demonstrations in the United States, in France, in New Zealand. The Canadian flag has literally become an international symbol of movements so unhinged as to seek the overthrow of democratically elected governments.
Does the Prime Minister realize that his reaction to the occupation of—
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- Feb/15/22 2:59:23 p.m.
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- Feb/15/22 2:59:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for commenting on the anniversary of the maple leaf, the flag that unites every one of us, especially the proud government members from Quebec, who are also proud Canadians, but also the proud Canadians across the way. It think it is important to take this time.
I really want to express my deep gratitude to my colleague for bringing this to our attention so we can all celebrate the anniversary of the maple leaf together.
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- Feb/15/22 3:00:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government's lacklustre response so far has made it not only an international laughingstock, but also a global incitement to disorder.
When questioned yesterday about how the crisis is affecting Canada's international reputation, the Prime Minister said he thought the turning point was the blockade at the Ambassador Bridge. The actual turning point, however, was when occupiers besieged his country's capital city, eliciting no response whatsoever from him.
After 19 days of inaction, he announced plans to deploy the statutory equivalent of a nuclear weapon: the Emergencies Act.
How can he possibly be that—
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- Feb/15/22 3:00:41 p.m.
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