44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 28, 2022 11:00AM
- Mar/28/22 2:19:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we witnessed a historic moment last night. The Canadian men's soccer team qualified for the 2022 World Cup with a crucial 4-0 win over Jamaica.
Congratulations to the entire team, which was led by the talented Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David and Cyle Larin. The perseverance, determination and mutual support shown by the team, especially following Alphonso Davies' myocarditis diagnosis, are a reflection of our Canadian values.
I also want to congratulate the team members behind the bench, especially head coach John Herdman. As a former coach, I know first-hand the sacrifices and efforts they have had to make to guide the team to the top.
This victory will have a big impact on the popularity of amateur sport across Canada, just as it will on the soccer club in my region, the Venturi de Saguenay, led by Maxime Pepin Larocque.
We will be watching Canada's team, and we are behind them all the way. We hope they will make us proud, as the Canadian women's team did.
Go, Canada, go.
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- Mar/28/22 2:20:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Alzheimer's impacts so many of our families, friends and neighbours. It is a terrible disease. Anthony “Tony” Ng was able to see the signs of dementia develop in his father years ago. When he saw those signs developing for himself, he joined the Toronto Memory Program. This year, he is a recipient of the National Citizen Scientist Cornerstone Award. It is an award that recognizes clinical trial volunteers who personally have made an extraordinary effort to support local Alzheimer's research.
He is supported by his wife Kathie in this work, and they are described as medical research heroes. I thank Tony for everything he is doing to advance Alzheimer's research.
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- Mar/28/22 2:21:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me share a personal experience.
On Saturday I went grocery shopping with my wife, as we do almost every week. Several people stopped me in the aisles to tell me one thing: Everything costs more now, milk, cereal, meat, coffee, absolutely everything. Add to that the price of gas, currently at $1.85 a litre in my riding, Mégantic—L'Érable.
People are worried about this new NDP‑Liberal government. They can no longer make ends meet. Instead of negotiating his political future behind closed doors, can the Prime Minister tell us how he plans to help feed Canadian families?
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- Mar/28/22 2:22:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives keep talking down the Canadian economy and spinning economic fiction.
Let me share a few facts. First, Statistics Canada released data showing that our GDP is growing by 6.7%. Second, our economy has seen the largest growth in the G7. Third, next year, our economy will be the fastest growing in the G7. Fourth, our GDP is now back to pre-pandemic levels. Those are the facts.
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- Mar/28/22 2:23:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first, I invite my colleague to come grocery shopping with me and to talk to people. Second, the Conservatives proposed a simple solution last week and that is to temporarily stop collecting GST. Third, everyone knows that eggs, milk and cereal do not magically appear on store shelves. They are transported in trucks that run on gas that is now more expensive. Those are facts.
Fourth, not only did the NDP‑Liberal government vote against our proposal, but it is also planning to add new taxes on April 1. The New Democrat perspective in this new NDP‑Liberal government is starting to show through. When will it stop seeing the middle class as a never-ending source of revenue?
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- Mar/28/22 2:23:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the official opposition has brought up the important issue of affordability, and there has been some great news on this front today. We signed a child care agreement with Ontario worth several billion dollars.
We have officially signed agreements with every province and territory. This is good news for families, good news for Canadians and good news for Quebeckers. It is all good news on this side of the House.
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- Mar/28/22 2:24:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the first announcements made by this NDP-Liberal government last week involved setting conditions for the provinces to enter into discussions on health care and transfers.
Now, nothing will get in the way of this government interfering in provincial jurisdictions. The NDP-Liberal centralist coalition will impose not one, not two, but five conditions on the provinces.
The Minister of Health is incapable of scientifically justifying the need to maintain federal vaccine mandates, but now he wants to lecture the provinces. The solution is to trust the elected officials in the provinces. Why is this government incapable of doing that?
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- Mar/28/22 2:25:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, trusting and working together is exactly what we have been doing over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with record investments in health and safety worth $63 billion, in addition to $43 billion through the Canada health transfer.
Most importantly, this exceptional collaboration has saved tens of thousands of lives in Canada. Tens of billions of dollars have been injected to support household incomes. We are very proud of this, and we will continue to work together.
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- Mar/28/22 2:25:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the PBO released a report that literally blows the doors off the environment minister's talking points on the carbon tax. The tax will cost Canadians, and it is not neutral when we include the cost to the economy. Six in 10 Canadian families are actually now going to be losing money.
Will the minister admit the carbon tax is just voodoo economics, or is he going to say the PBO experts got it wrong?
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- Mar/28/22 2:26:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we thank the Parliamentary Budget Officer for his work, which confirms that the price on pollution has a progressive impact and gives eight out of 10 families more back through the climate action rebate than they pay. Putting a price on carbon pollution is recognized as one of the most efficient ways to drive down emissions and fight climate change.
Again, let me point out that the Conservative member for New Brunswick Southwest is on the record as saying that his province should go back to using the federal carbon price. We agree with him.
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- Mar/28/22 2:26:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know this is question period, not answer period, but perhaps the member and the government should actually read the report before they give a statement in the House. The PBO analysis is absolutely clear. I am not surprised that the government does not do the hard work of the complicated calculations, because it has a Prime Minister who says, “I don't think about monetary policy”.
Either the minister or the government is incompetent because they did not do a full analysis of the carbon tax, or they knew it and were just hiding it from Canadians. Which one is it?
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- Mar/28/22 2:27:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that the majority of households would receive more in climate action rebates than they pay, and that is eight out of 10 families. I am not sure where the hon. member is getting his numbers from.
Speaking of numbers, this year, a family of four will receive up to $745 in Ontario, $830 in my home province of Manitoba and $1,100 in Saskatchewan and Alberta. We are fighting climate change and increasing affordability.
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- Mar/28/22 2:27:50 p.m.
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We are on question six and it is getting hard to hear already, so just keep it civil.
The hon. member for La Prairie.
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- Mar/28/22 2:28:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it would be so simple to give Quebec the means to take care of its responsibilities in health care. All Quebec is asking for is for the federal government to pay its 35% share.
However, Ottawa keeps wanting to dictate how Quebeckers' money should be used. It wants to come across as a saviour, when every year it cuts its share of health funding. It is Ottawa's fault that the system is underfunded. It is like a firefighter who is also a pyromaniac: It sets a fire and then tells us how to put it out.
When will Ottawa recognize that the expertise is in Quebec City, not in this Parliament, especially not on the benches across the way nor the ones next to us?
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- Mar/28/22 2:28:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to say more about the important investment we announced on Friday: a $2‑billion unconditional top‑up to the Canada health transfer, in addition to the $45 billion, effective April 1, to reduce wait times for treatments, surgeries and diagnostics, which have done so much harm over the past few months. It is time to clear the backlogs in order to prepare the health care system for future challenges.
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- Mar/28/22 2:29:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not as though this government is known for excellence even in its own areas of jurisdiction.
Everything it touches in its own jurisdictions turns into a fiasco. The Phoenix pay system is not even able to pay its employees. At the immigration department, the backlog is never-ending. It is chaos for Ukrainian refugees. First nations do not even have access to clean drinking water.
The list is long. There is one fiasco after another. Now the federal government is telling us that it is going to look after health care, one of Quebec's jurisdictions. May I say that this makes us very nervous?
Why does the federal government not just increase health transfer as everyone is asking it to do?
It is simple.
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- Mar/28/22 2:29:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my suggestion is that, after question period, we go invest in shirt manufacturers. At the rate the Bloc Québécois members are tearing their shirts in outrage every day, there is money to be made.
The Bloc Québécois should recognize that it is perfectly possible for Ottawa and Quebec to work together, that it is possible to work together for all Quebeckers.
As the Minister of Health clearly stated, there are no conditions attached to the $2 billion. That is something the Bloc Québécois does not want to hear.
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- Mar/28/22 2:30:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the President of Ukraine is criticizing the international community for being too slow to impose sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, Canada is home to the global headquarters of Russia's largest uranium producer.
The company is owned by the Putin government, but this sector has been virtually untouched by the Liberals' sanctions. There is no way to know how many assets have been frozen in Canada or whether the sanctions are hitting Putin where it hurts. The people of Ukraine are fighting for survival and deserve more than empty rhetoric.
Will the government finally tell us how many assets have been frozen as part of the sanctions on Putin?
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- Mar/28/22 2:31:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question and for the opportunity to clarify a few points.
When we impose sanctions, we are making the assets of individuals or entities completely useless and depriving them of value. They cannot be sold or transferred. In short, no transactions are possible. Going against sanctions is also a criminal offence.
We will impose further sanctions, because it goes without saying that we must continue to put pressure on the Russian regime.
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- Mar/28/22 2:31:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, that was not the question my colleague was asking. Ukrainians are fighting for their lives. President Zelenskyy is pleading for help as Putin commits war crimes against the Ukrainian people. Zelenskyy has said that governments have been too slow in implementing all possible sanctions to stop the Russian invasion. We still do not know if the sanctions are being enforced, and we still do not know if they are being enforced effectively and if Russian assets are being frozen.
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