44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 8, 2022 02:00PM
- Jun/8/22 2:50:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear that protecting and promoting the French language is a priority.
I am not here to pick a fight with the Bloc either. Quite the opposite, in fact. I want to work closely with the Bloc and ensure that Bill C‑13 gets adopted, because it will make a difference in the lives of Canadians.
What we saw this week in committee was members wasting time. I hope that the Bloc Québécois and all of the opposition members will really work with us to pass Bill C‑13 as soon as possible and to hear from the witnesses who have important information to share that will help us pass a good bill.
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- Jun/8/22 2:51:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the President of the Unites States has ordered the release of their strategic reserve to help struggling families with record high gas prices at the pumps. There is an idea for our jet-setting Prime Minister for his meeting in Los Angeles. We know he likes to import American cultural problems to paper over his lack of leadership.
Could he instead import good ideas from our neighbours to the south, like taking action on high gas prices, instead of this habitual dividing of Canadians, or does he want to maintain his reputation as Canada's divider-in-chief?
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- Jun/8/22 2:51:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the same question as yesterday.
We certainly recognize the current impact that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is having on global energy prices around the world. That is something that is of concern to all countries, all democratic countries. It is something that we are working actively on with our partners in the United States and in Europe to address. We have announced that we will be increasing oil and gas production by 300,000 barrels a day by the end of the year, alongside our American friends who are doing likewise. We are working to stabilize energy prices.
Here at home, we are working to ensure affordability for Canadians on an ongoing basis.
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- Jun/8/22 2:52:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he is the divider-in-chief and ditherer-in-chief.
Canadians have long appreciated that most groceries are exempt from GST. This keeps groceries affordable for families. Yesterday, when the Conservative opposition voted to temporarily do the same by suspending GST on gas and diesel to help Canadians with out-of-control prices at the pumps the speNDP-Liberals voted against it.
When will the Prime Minister put affordability ahead of Liberal tax-and-spend ideology?
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- Jun/8/22 2:52:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from day one, this government has put affordability at the forefront. The opposition voted against middle-class tax cuts. They voted against the day care program to ensure affordability for Canadians. They have voted against affordability measures since 2015 and they continue to do so.
Here we are working on practical solutions to address the energy crisis that is facing the world. We are working to ensure that we are increasing our production, working with our partners around the world to address this issue, to stabilize energy prices and to ensure affordability for Canadians going forward.
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- Jun/8/22 2:53:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the price of gas and diesel is hitting a record high across Canada, making it more expensive for Canadians to live their everyday lives. The Liberal government keeps blaming our oil and gas companies but it is the Liberal energy policies that have put us in this place. Energy workers build our communities, help the disadvantaged and provide billions of dollars to national programs.
When will the Prime Minister stop blaming our natural resources sector, take responsibility and suspend the GST on gas and diesel?
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- Jun/8/22 2:53:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand the important role that energy workers play in this country. I have spent much of my time, since being appointed to this post, in Calgary working with the energy sector.
I would actually suggest to my colleagues across the way that they perhaps meet with some of the energy sector workers to understand that they are focused, very much, on ensuring that we are doing what we need to do to address energy security issues, to address affordability issues and, yes, to fight climate change.
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- Jun/8/22 2:54:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is determined to phase out Canada's oil and gas sector, and now our labour minister is surprised that we do not have enough workers in this industry to keep up with demand. As prices for gas and diesel keep climbing, the Liberal government knows its policies have put us here. Its years of industry-killing legislation and laying off thousands of workers are ruining families and lives.
When will the government take responsibility for this cost-of-living crisis and provide Canadians with some relief?
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- Jun/8/22 2:55:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, certainly it is important that we are thinking about how we actually create good, economic prospects for people across this country and that we are creating jobs and economic opportunities.
I was very pleased last week to launch the regional energy and natural resource tables, which are about building, on a province-by-province, territory-by-territory basis, a future that is going to create those jobs and economic opportunities in a manner that would actually drive growth and prosperity and in a manner that is consistent with meeting our moral obligation to our children to fight climate change.
I certainly look forward to working with the energy sector as move forward in that direction.
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- Jun/8/22 2:55:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when people lose their jobs, they count on employment insurance to keep their homes and feed their families while they look for new work.
However, the EI system has been broken for far too long. There are more people who pay into EI that do not qualify for benefits when they need them than who do. After almost seven years in government, the Liberals finally tried to fix something about the EI system in the latest budget bill, and they fell flat on their face.
When are the Liberals finally going to fix the EI system and do right by Canadian workers?
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- Jun/8/22 2:56:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are working very hard to modernize employment insurance. Quickly, when we got into the pandemic, we recognized that the EI system had not kept up with the way Canadians work. That is exactly why we are working to improve the system in terms of adequacy, in terms of access and in terms of the individuals who pay in and who do not yet have access.
The member knows very well that we are working very hard on this file.
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- Jun/8/22 2:56:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today the Conseil national des chômeurs et chômeuses is launching its employment insurance campaign. It highlights this government's monumental failure to deliver on its promise to reform employment insurance.
The pandemic has shown that the current system is not working. For example, self-employed workers, freelancers and women are being forgotten. We need real reform so that workers have access to good benefits to make ends meet.
When will the Liberals finally fix the EI system to help struggling families?
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- Jun/8/22 2:57:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has revealed that Canada must adapt its employment insurance system to the realities of the 21st century.
Our government is currently holding consultations on how to modernize the system to make it more responsive to workers and employers.
We need to strengthen the rights of workers hired through digital platforms and establish new provisions in the Income Tax Act to include that work in the calculation of hours needed to qualify for employment insurance and the Canada pension plan.
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- Jun/8/22 2:57:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Russia's genocidal war on Ukraine has caused the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, with 14 million Ukrainians having fled their homes and about six million having fled to other countries. In my community in Etobicoke Centre and across this country, Canadians have opened their arms to Ukrainian refugees, opening up their homes, collecting donations, offering financial support and more.
Could the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship please share with Canadians what the Government of Canada is doing to support Ukrainians fleeing Russia's genocidal war on Ukraine?
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- Jun/8/22 2:58:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the member for Etobicoke Centre, who has been a tireless champion for Ukraine and Ukrainian Canadians from the beginning of this war.
This unjust war of aggression is an affront to humanity and the very values that underpin the international legal order. Canada has opened its arms to provide safe haven so far to 30,000 Ukrainians or more, who have already landed in Canada. It is not enough that they get here. They need to be supported when they arrive. We have arranged federal charters, including last week in my home province of Nova Scotia. We have established income supports, temporary accommodation, reception supports at airports and settlement services, including language training. We are going to continue to do what we can to demonstrate this is not a European problem. It is a problem for the world, and Canada will continue to play a leadership role.
Slava Ukraini.
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- Jun/8/22 2:59:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have heard from the parliamentary secretary the tremendous risk for and from unvaccinated air travellers. However, is it not true that many unvaccinated Canadians can actually travel by air with a negative antigen test?
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- Jun/8/22 2:59:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all Canadians are sick and tired of COVID, and we all agree on that, but just wishing it away or ignoring it will not simply make it go away. Over the past three months, we continue to see more deaths from COVID. There were over 1,700 in the month of May. The most important thing we can do to get through this pandemic is to drive up vaccination rates. We will continue to be informed by science and not the political games of the Conservative opposition.
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- Jun/8/22 3:00:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I find it fascinating. We do not want to wish away science. We want to wish away incompetence.
What is important here is to answer the actual question because, if an antigen test is good enough for some Canadians to get on an airplane, why is it not good enough for all Canadians? What is the difference between Canadians who are unvaccinated and who want to fly in Cumberland—Colchester, for instance, and those who live in northern communities? The answer is clear. The only difference is not medical science, but political science.
When will the government drop these vindictive mandates and let Canadians get back to prepandemic normal?
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- Jun/8/22 3:00:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday the member for Cumberland—Colchester tried to minimize the COVID‑19 deaths in this country by referencing deaths from other causes. Every lost life is tragic and, on this side of the House, we understand that it is the government's job to do everything we can to protect people and save lives, whether that is from COVID‑19 or any other cause. We owe it to them and all Canadians to remain focused on keeping them safe and our communities healthy, and we will continue to do that.
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- Jun/8/22 3:01:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health needs to get in line with the rest of the countries, all 55 of them, that have dropped all the mandates. He was informed the other day that Canadians who are unvaccinated can travel on ferries as long as the journey is less than 24 hours, so why are unvaccinated Canadians not able to travel on flights within Canada since they are all less than 24 hours? When is the Liberal government going to get rid of the mandates and get us back to prepandemic normal?
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