44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 12, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, again and again, there is more disinformation from the Liberal government. This is a flawed bill. The Liberals are keeping the directives they are giving to the CRTC secret until after the bill receives royal assent, and now they are forcing the bill through the House of Commons.
Why? Why is the government ramming this bill through, rather than providing certainty to digital first creators?
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Mr. Speaker, for some reason, the Conservatives have decided to abandon our culture and our artists.
The objective is the same. We want platforms to contribute to Canadian culture. We heard the concerns that were raised about social media, we got the message and we fixed them.
We are making it extremely clear. Users and their content will not be regulated. The bill makes platforms contribute. That is it. It is written in black and white in the bill: platforms in, users out.
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- May/12/22 2:35:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, seniors across this country are calling in to my office and pleading for parliamentarians to help alleviate the debilitating effect that the cost of living is having on them. Their dollar is not going as far as it was before, and it keeps getting worse. Many seniors on fixed incomes cannot make ends meet and they have lost hope.
Our seniors deserve better and our seniors need better. When will the government take realistic steps to lower the inflation that is devastating Canadian seniors?
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- May/12/22 2:36:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, who actually prolonged the age of retirement for seniors, from 65 to 67, on this side of the House we have been delivering for seniors, whether it be the increase to the GIS that has actually helped over 900,000 single seniors or, of course, during the pandemic when we took action to provide for seniors who needed support with special tax-free payments and a GST top-up. Of course, this summer, we are delivering on our promise to increase the OAS by 10% for those seniors 75 and up.
Seniors know that we have got their backs and we are going to continue to deliver for them.
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- May/12/22 2:36:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government has its hand in their back pocket, perhaps. For nearly eight months, we have been asking the government to take substantive action to ease the crippling cost of living for our seniors. Dental care in two years will do nothing to lower food prices today. A one-off, one-time payment last year does nothing to lower the cost of medicine tomorrow.
As a nation, we have relied on our seniors for their sacrifices, and now they are relying on us. Our seniors have been neglected. How can this Liberal government be comfortable with that?
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- May/12/22 2:37:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we on this side of the House have been delivering for seniors since 2015.
This actually allows me to talk a bit about budget 2022, which has made sure that seniors are supported. This includes $5.3 billion over five years for a dental care for Canadians program for seniors aged 65 and over with an income of below $90,000, as well as an additional $20 million for the New Horizons for Seniors program. We are also doubling the qualifying expense for the home accessibility tax credit. On this side of the House, we are delivering for seniors, and we are going to continue to make sure that we have their backs.
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- May/12/22 2:38:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is more misinformation.
I was speaking with a senior from Kelowna—Lake Country who said she and her husband had to go back to work part-time just to pay for basic necessities. She said she had her electricity bill in one hand while she was looking at her empty pantry, and they had to make the decision whether to pay the electricity bill or purchase food.
Inflation numbers do not capture all the costs that are increasing for people. Seniors on fixed incomes are some of the hardest hit. Can the minister tell us what specific actions the NDP–Liberal government is explicitly taking to reduce inflation?
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- May/12/22 2:39:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since the beginning, our government has been delivering for seniors. One of the first things that we did was restore the age of retirement back to 65 from 67. We have enhanced the CPP. We have raised the GIS for single seniors, which has helped over 900,000 seniors.
This summer, we will be increasing the OAS by 10% for those aged 75 and over. We are making high-speed Internet more affordable for seniors. In budget 2022, we announced the creation of a dental care program for low-income seniors. Seniors know we are delivering for them, and we are going to continue to do just that.
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- May/12/22 2:39:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only thing they are delivering is less prosperity.
When it comes to housing, the housing minister likes to talk about what he has invested. What he does not like to talk about, though, are results. Why is that? It is because there are none, when housing prices have doubled over the last seven years. If this housing minister had a radio show, it would be entitled “All Talk, No Rock”. Will the housing minister admit that his and his government's strategy has been an abject failure, with all talk and no rock?
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- May/12/22 2:40:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are dead set on making sure that we continue our investments in housing. Budget 2022 has prioritized affordable housing investments, help for first-time homebuyers and doubling the housing supply. We are making sure that, through the national housing strategy, we work with developers, the private sector, non-profits, municipalities and provinces to get the help Canadians need so that each and every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home.
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- May/12/22 2:41:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, gas prices are hurting Quebeckers and our businesses, especially in rural areas. In the meantime, oil companies raked in record profits in the last quarter: almost $3 billion for Suncor and $1.1 billion for both Imperial and TC Energy.
What is most infuriating is that regardless of these profits, the federal government is giving Trans Mountain $10 billion in loan guarantees. There was $2.4 billion for carbon capture in the budget.
Does the government agree that it is embarrassing to be subsidizing oil companies instead of helping people who are being bled dry?
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- May/12/22 2:41:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to point out that inflation is a global phenomenon caused by the pandemic, Putin's illegal war in Ukraine and China's zero-COVID policy. However, we understand that the cost of living and the cost of gas are a problem for Canadians. That is why our budget includes dental care for Canadians, doubles the first-time homebuyers' tax credit, establishes a home renovation tax credit and provides for a one-time $500 payment to people facing housing challenges.
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- May/12/22 2:42:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, dirty oil producers are double-dipping. Consumers are paying twice, once at the pumps and a second time through the taxes that fund the subsidies that the federal government pays to these oil companies, which are sitting on piles of money, like Scrooge. The simple fact is that the middle class is seeing all of their hard-earned money go to oil billionaires.
The oil companies do not need this money. Will the Deputy Prime Minister stop sending them public money and instead provide support for those most affected by the increase in gas prices?
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- May/12/22 2:43:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, allow me to talk about carbon capture, which goes beyond the oil and gas sector. Steel, concrete and aluminum, for example, are important industries in Quebec and are crucial to Canada's and Quebec's economies. These are other industries that need to reduce their emissions. Carbon capture will help these industries as well.
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- May/12/22 2:43:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, fuel prices are catastrophic for entrepreneurs in farming, fishing, trucking and the taxi industry.
These people are on the verge of bankruptcy. Entire industries in Quebec are suffering major losses without the least bit of support from the federal government. Meanwhile, the oil industry is reaping record profits and continues to be heavily subsidized.
When will the government stop showering our public money on oil companies and instead fund the victims of fuel prices and the energy transition?
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- May/12/22 2:44:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, I want to talk about the importance of carbon capture. We need carbon capture to meet our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Enhanced oil recovery is excluded from this tax credit. This will create good jobs in the technology sector and support the energy transition. It will also benefit Quebec's concrete, aluminum and steel industries, among others.
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- May/12/22 2:45:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is Mental Health Awareness Month. Everyone in the House can agree that the mental health of Canadians is a very important issue. Well, maybe not everyone can.
During the election, the government promised to invest $4.5 billion in funding mental health services through the Canada mental health transfer, including $250 million in 2021-22 and $625 million in 2022-23. However, there is no mention of the funding timeline in the federal government's budget 2022.
Why did the government break its commitment to fund mental health?
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- May/12/22 2:45:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has made historic investments in mental health, including $5 billion to the provinces and territories through ongoing bilateral agreements. We are also engaging with provinces and territories to inform the development of a new mental health transfer, building on the principles of the Canada Health Act, and sharing data on indicators and outcomes. We remain fully committed to the additional $4.5 billion over five years to ensure mental health care is treated as a full and equal part of Canada's universal public health care system.
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- May/12/22 2:46:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while it was trying to get elected, the Liberal Party used the words “mental health” 66 times in its platform, but we are losing 11 Canadians every day to suicide, and we still do not have a three-digit suicide prevention hotline. We are losing 19 Canadians every day to a raging opioid crisis that continues to worsen, and now the Liberals have broken their cornerstone mental health commitment from an election campaign fought just months ago.
Can the minister explain to Canadians struggling with their mental health why her party broke the commitment it so solemnly made to help them when it was looking for their votes?
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- May/12/22 2:47:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government is working to implement this crisis line as quickly and as effectively as possible. While the CRTC is completing its process, PHAC is working concurrently to ensure there will be capacity for the new line to connect people to the most appropriate support in the most appropriate way. We are also working closely with U.S. Admiral Levine, Dr. Delphin-Rittmon and their team to learn from the ongoing American crisis line implementation process, which started back in 2018.
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