SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 102 - Sep/26/22

Sep/26/22 5:21:24 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-30

Madam Speaker, I will try to respond to my colleague while I finish my speech, talk about what needs to be done and suggest some solutions. I never thought I would have to say this, but I think that we need to protect the independence of the central bank. I never thought a politician would have to say this, but in light of the attacks by the member for Carleton, I have to say that we must indeed protect the independence of the central bank. There is one thing I think is fundamental, however. We must reduce our dependence on oil, and the government should therefore probably stop giving such astronomical subsidies to this industry. My colleagues and I know that the oil and gas sector is an bottomless pit for public funds. In Canada alone, through Export Development Canada, or EDC, we are talking about an average of $14 billion a year. If that money were reallocated in a better system with stronger social policies, we would have a much easier time tackling inflation.

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Context: House Hansard - 102 - Sep/26/22

Mr. Rick Perkins

Sep/26/22 9:14:56 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the offer and the kind words. I am sure he must have spent a great deal of time on Lake Banook, given his past life and previous success. The Red Cross obviously is a great initiative the government has set up. I am sure there will be more charities coming through in the next few days that will be looking to help. I hope the government would consider matching funds for those as well. The hon. member has family there, and what matters most is that when people know somebody in Atlantic Canada, they should just reach out to them and call them to let them know they are thinking about them and to ask what they can do as a friend or a family member to help them out. We tend to feel isolated in a situation where people are not going through their normal routines anymore, so for all those watching, if they have friends and family in Nova Scotia, and I am sure many people have already reached out, they should try to do that as much as they can over the coming weeks.

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Context: House Hansard - 102 - Sep/26/22

Mr. Mike Kelloway

Sep/26/22 9:38:18 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, the fund the member speaks of helps a tremendous number of groups, communities and municipalities, but what we need to do is act collectively. This is another important moment in time where we look at the fact that this is not just a once-in-a-blue-moon storm. These storms are happening on the east coast on a regular basis. Maybe it was not as strong as Fiona, but five years ago we had a very catastrophic flooding event in Cape Breton that was supposed to occur once in a century. They are repeating more and more. This government is committed to ensuring that we react and, more importantly, respond in the right way. There is that fund and other funds, such as the oceans protection plan, which has about $9 million invested in it. There are opportunities to work within departments and work with levels of government to ensure we put the right investments in place, but I could not agree more that we need to continuously up our game when it comes to protecting communities, economic development, social development and the environment.

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Context: House Hansard - 102 - Sep/26/22

Mr. Garnett Genuis

Sep/26/22 11:23:29 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I think a really simple thing for the government to do would be to say, as a policy statement, that it will work to identify all of the dollars that have been donated for this purpose and match those dollars insofar as it will set aside, in a fund for relief, the number of dollars equivalent to the amount it estimates has been contributed. That formal calculation does not have to all be done in one or two days. If the government says that now as a policy commitment, then it means that over time the government can engage those charities, work to identify who is involved in relief and what dollars have been contributed and then disburse the funds at a later point.

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