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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 103

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 27, 2022 10:00AM
  • Sep/27/22 2:12:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the new Conservative leader will put people first: their retirements, their paycheques, their homes and their country. On home ownership specifically, we need to restore hope. Right now, youth and newcomers cannot get a home, partially because local government gatekeepers block housing with heavy fees and long delays for building permits, leaving us with the fewest houses per capita of any G7 country. A Conservative government will require big cities that want federal infrastructure money to speed up and lower the cost of permits and approve affordable housing around all new transit stations. We will sell off 15% of the underutilized 37,000 federal buildings, turn them into housing and use the proceeds of sale to reduce our ever-large deficit. We are committed to giving indigenous Canadians more control over their housing needs. In other words, we have to get government out of the way and let Canadians build so that we can have some chance of affordability once again.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:13:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our new Conservative leader will put people’s paycheques, homes, retirements and country first. Canadians have lost hope in this government on affordability and service levels. By choosing to retain and increase the carbon tax, the government has failed to secure a brighter future for Canadians, much less to remedy the ongoing affordability crisis. This gross mismanagement has resulted in long lineups at airports and passport offices, delays in processing immigration and firearms' applications, and the list goes on. The Liberals have managed to hike the cost of everything, while offering nothing to serve Canadians' needs. Limiting farmers’ fertilizer use and imposing the carbon tax will mean less food production and higher costs for Canadians, who are already struggling to afford groceries. Why is the government choosing to decrease the availability of food altogether? The government can deflect, deny and blame all they want, but the facts remain: It has insufficiently addressed the cost-of-living crisis. It is too little, too late.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:14:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people in Atlantic Canada and some parts of Quebec are struggling to get back on their feet after hurricane Fiona destroyed the area. The devastation is everywhere. The storm knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Canadians. Roads have been closed, residents have been displaced, there is lots of debris and, unfortunately, there have been a few deaths. People watched their homes get swept away into the ocean. In the wake of hurricane Fiona, the immediate need is to provide food and shelter for those displaced by the storm. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces are being deployed to help with recovery efforts. Utility crews are working around the clock to repair downed lines and the government is matching donations to the Canadian Red Cross. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible hurricane. With this help, people in our region will pick up the pieces and rebuild. I commend all those back home for their resilience.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:15:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, who in the Liberal government is in charge of managing genetically modified seeds and pesticides? Is it the Minister of the Environment, the Minister of Health or the Minister of Agriculture? No, it is not even that complicated. The companies that manufacture GMOs are directly responsible for making the regulations. According to a document obtained by the CBC, the lobbyist for CropLife Canada, who represents the industry, was one of the authors of the new guidelines. This is not without consequences. If nothing changes, Health Canada could end up exempting a whole new generation of genetically modified seeds from assessments. This will sell even more pesticides, which will end up on our plates, and the Liberals want to let companies assess themselves. It is ridiculous. No exception, no exemption. We want a rigorous, transparent and independent process for the Monsantos of the world. The government needs to step up and protect the health of Quebeckers and Canadians.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:16:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise in solidarity with the wife of the leader of the official opposition and all who have been bullied because of their political beliefs. We are all here in the House because we want to change things. We have different visions. Some of us see Canada as a postnational society, others as a prosperous oil state. We see Canada as a good neighbour to Quebec. We may disagree, stand our ground and debate. It is normal for parliamentarians to feel anger, outrage and opposition, but not fear. We should not have to fear for our loved ones or ourselves. Democracy does not give people the right to say they are going to physically attack someone, burn down their house or assault their loved ones. That is an assault on democracy. It is not okay. Let us all, regardless of our political stripe, condemn these actions, which must not go unpunished. This has to stop, and now.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:18:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the new Conservative leader will put people first: their paycheques, their homes, their retirements and their country. It is time for action and it is time to return a sense of self-sufficiency to a people who have had it stripped away by the paternalistic, archaic and broken Indian Act. Canada's Conservatives, under our new leader, would restore to indigenous people more control of their land, money and decision-making. We would remove the bureaucratic gatekeepers and barriers in legislation and have a robust dialogue with indigenous communities who want to develop their resources and invite commerce to fight poverty. The time has come to have a national dialogue with indigenous and non-indigenous people of Canada on autonomy, taxation, capacity, transparency, accountability and property rights. We would repeal the current government's anti-energy laws and replace them with a new law that would protect our environment, consult indigenous people and get things built. Indigenous people would find, under a Conservative government led by our new leader, that they have an ally rather than an obstacle to reconciliation.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:19:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour a member of our Hill family who recently left us. For over 33 years, Luce Cousineau served us diligently and faithfully in the parliamentary restaurant. Her warm smile and laugh greeted us and her impeccable service took care of MPs, senators and staff from all sides of the House. She had discerning taste, earning her the nickname “Chef Cousineau” with her colleagues. She sampled new menu dishes and sent them back. Clearly she knew better was always possible. She was French Canadian, hailing from Rouyn-Noranda, and anyone who knew her knew she was a big fan of Leonard Cohen. What many of us did not know was that Luce was in the battle of her life with an adversary that ultimately won: cancer. Luce never complained. She always showed up and had that warm smile on her face, welcoming and accepting everyone with open arms. She will always be part of our Parliament Hill family. Her heart of gold and generous spirit will live on.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:20:47 p.m.
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Before continuing, I just want to remind the hon. members that S. O. 31s are 60 seconds, not much more, not much less. I would not want to cut any of them off. This is very important for every one of us and our ridings. Consider this a gentle reminder.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:21:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister has added more to our national debt than all previous prime ministers combined. The $500‑billion inflationary deficit has increased the cost of everything we buy and the interest that we pay. The finance minister has admitted that she wants to raise EI taxes by $2.5 billion. This will take earnings off of workers' paycheques. Will the government cancel these tax hikes so that workers can keep more of their money?
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  • Sep/27/22 2:22:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that the Conservatives finally understand that they need to support Canadians with inflation relief payments. Better late than never. I have a suggestion for the next Conservative flip-flop. It is time that they also supported our one-time payment of $500 to help vulnerable Canadians who are struggling to pay their rent. It is never too late to do the right thing, even for the Conservatives.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:22:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is never the right time to raise taxes on the working poor, yet that is exactly what the minister admits she will do. She admits that raising the EI premiums, the EI payroll taxes, will take $2.5 billion extra out of the hands of Canadian workers, and not to fund EI. She also admits through her own public filings that the government will take $10 billion more in EI taxes than it will pay out in benefits, money the Prime Minister will raid from the account and spend however he likes. Will the Prime Minister get his hands off the EI fund and the paycheques of our workers?
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  • Sep/27/22 2:23:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the EI contribution rate today is $1.58. Next year, it will go up to $1.63. Both of those rates are lower than the EI contribution rate was in every single year when Stephen Harper was prime minister, yet the new Conservative leader, who was actually the employment minister during those years, now wants to slash our contributions. Who do the Conservatives think was the better economic manager: Prime Minister Harper or their new leader?
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  • Sep/27/22 2:24:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we were terrific economic managers together, and we will be again. I am just getting a little practice on answering questions. We will be doing more of it when we are in government soon. EI payments have gone up for the average $60,000-a-year worker, from $930 when I was the minister to $948 now. That is a small increase, but the big $2.5-billion tax increase is just ahead. The minister admits the money will not even go to EI; it will go to government spending. Why will the Liberals not get their hands off the EI fund and the paycheques of our workers?
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  • Sep/27/22 2:24:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in 2015, a Canadian earning $49,500 a year paid $931 in EI premiums. Next year, that same Canadian will pay $807. That is nearly $125 less than she paid when the Conservative leader was the minister in charge. Yet again, Canadians really need to understand this: Whose policies do the Conservatives support: Stephen Harper's or their new leader's?
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  • Sep/27/22 2:25:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is both. The total payroll tax of a $60,000-a-year earner went from $3,400 under the previous Conservative government to $4,168 today. The reality is that none of that was necessary and the Liberals want to use the money for anything but EI. On top of that, now they plan to triple the carbon tax, raising gas, heat and grocery costs and killing jobs for many people in many sectors. Their policy is paycheques down and costs up, and in fairness they are succeeding at both. Will they stop that policy and cancel their tax hikes?
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  • Sep/27/22 2:26:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have already explained that Canadians earning around $50,000 a year next year will pay $125 less in EI premiums. However, now I want the Conservatives to come clean on what they want to do to our pensions. Their proposal is an irresponsible scheme to eviscerate our pensions. As Rob Carrick pointed out, “Canada Pension Plan premiums are not a tax” and “the CPP is the bedrock of a Canadian retirement plan”. The Conservatives want to undermine all of our pensions, but we will not let them.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:26:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely false. The Conservatives protected the CPP, increased benefits for seniors every single year we were in office and did it without any tax increases at all. We can do that again. Everybody agrees that we should keep contributing. Nobody agrees that we have to hike taxes on workers to do it. To get back to the carbon tax, the Liberals want to triple this tax on groceries, gas and heat at a time when Canadians can barely afford to pay their bills. They want to add 40¢ a litre to gas taxes right now with 40-year-high inflation. Will the government cancel this tax on Canadian energy?
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  • Sep/27/22 2:27:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us get serious. Canadians know that the Conservative leader does not have a serious climate plan, and that means he does not have a serious economic plan. The economic reality is that our most important trading partners, the U.S., the EU, our customers and our markets are all taking aggressive climate action. Canada cannot afford to fall behind. Our economy cannot afford it.
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  • Sep/27/22 2:28:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the CBC reports that the federal government is transforming Roxham Road into a permanent crossing and that this has already cost more than $500 million. The federal government has signed contracts up until at least 2027 for hotels, land and trailer leases, for goodness' sake. All this will stay until at least 2027. That is why they are not suspending the safe third country agreement. That is why they are not cracking down on criminal smugglers. They want it to last. Who does it benefit to make the crossing at Roxham Road permanent?
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  • Sep/27/22 2:28:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we believe in the strength of our asylum and immigration systems. We are working closely with stakeholders on the border situation. We are working with our U.S. counterparts on issues related to our shared border, including the safe third country agreement. We will always work closely with all of our partners.
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