44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 25, 2022 10:00AM
- Oct/25/22 2:51:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her empathetic leadership. As we close out Women's History Month, I have some thoughts on how women hold up their communities and make them stronger.
From the women working on the front lines, selflessly, simply because they want to serve, to women carving out careers and simultaneously caring for kids and senior parents, and to women marching in the streets for the right to choose, they are not invisible. We hear them and we stand with them.
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- Oct/25/22 2:52:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, $54 million was wasted on the arrive scam with millions of dollars missing, $680 million spent on vaccines that were thrown in the garbage after a reckless procurement process and now $400,000 spent on luxuries and hotel rooms for a weekend in London. The Liberal government has no problem wasting the hard-earned tax dollars that it takes from everyday Canadians.
When will the Liberals cap spending, cut taxes and give Canadians a break?
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- Oct/25/22 2:52:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the measures in our affordability plan is to provide a direct payment to low-income Canadians who are having trouble paying the rent.
What was the response of the new Conservative leader? It was to say no way and let us not give anything to low-income Canadians, certainly not those peanuts. While that might be fine for the Conservative leader who does not have rent to pay and who, in fact, lives in a big mansion paid for by the Canadian taxpayer, for low-income Canadians, $500 will help them get to Christmas. For low-income Canadians, that is real money, and we are there to support those Canadians.
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- Oct/25/22 2:53:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what this side of the House and the Conservative leader said was to not give a half-billion dollars to the Kielburgers. This side of the House has said not to do insider deals with people like Frank Baylis or the government's buddies at SNC-Lavalin.
We are hearing the same old, tired talking points from the Liberals while they are wasting hundreds of millions of dollars of Canadians' hard-earned money, when they can barely afford to heat their homes. Liberals are out of touch and Canadians are out of money. When will Liberals give Canadians a break?
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- Oct/25/22 2:54:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. Canadians who are watching at home remember that the last advice they gave to Canadians was about crypto. We will continue to invest in skills and people. We will continue to invest in our ecosystem. We will continue to invest in our critical minerals. We will continue to build an economy that works for everyone and for all Canadians watching at home.
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- Oct/25/22 2:54:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is acting like a child who has been handed a credit card with no limit, who makes only the minimum payments and who knows full well his children will be on the hook for what he spent. Want to go to London and stay in a luxurious $400,000 suite? Put it on the card. Want to send money to friends? Why pay $250,000 when you can spend $54 million on ArriveCAN? Put it on the card. There is no limit. Need to toss $680 million worth of vaccines in the trash? No problem. Just put it on the card.
Is there an adult among the Liberals who will step up and take the Prime Minister's credit card away?
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- Oct/25/22 2:55:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are forgetting what happened during the pandemic. The government was there for Canadians. The Government of Canada sent payments to support nine million Canadians who lost their jobs. We were there during the pandemic, and we are here now with the Canada child benefit, child care and support for people who have lost their jobs. We are here for Canadians, and we will not apologize for that.
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- Oct/25/22 2:55:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was a slip of the tongue, but no, we will not forgive them for adding $500 billion to the debt during COVID-19, including $200 billion that had absolutely nothing to do with COVID-19. That is the reality.
Let us talk about “ArriveSCANDAL”, the $54-million app that should have cost $250,000. It cost $8 million to do the updates on an app that never worked.
The government even claims to have paid millions of dollars to businesses that say they never received a penny. That is the reality.
The costly coalition is costing Canadians dearly. Can we have the list of Liberal lottery winners who won millions?
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- Oct/25/22 2:56:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am certain that many people here in the House were troubled by the member's previous question, when he criticized Canada's vaccine supply.
According to recent figures from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which were validated by other experts, the exceptional vaccine supply that Canadians had access to probably saved about 400,000 lives in Canada over the past year. That is 400,000 people whose lives were saved.
We must also take into account the millions of people who would have lost a loved one if Canadians had not made every effort to get vaccinated and to protect themselves, as well as their loved ones.
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- Oct/25/22 2:57:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is going to be a tough winter for seasonal workers in the regions. They have been abandoned by EI since the recent increase in the eligibility threshold to 700 hours. They are not facing a black hole anymore, they are facing a total vacuum.
That is why the interprovincial alliance of the unemployed is in Ottawa today. We're talking about 20 unions and worker advocacy groups from eastern Quebec and the Maritimes. They have come to tell the government that the comprehensive EI reform it promised cannot wait.
When will the government finally introduce its reform? What is the date? We want a date.
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- Oct/25/22 2:58:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know Canada needs an EI system for the 21st century. That is why we have been consulting widely with Canadians to build a system that works for everyone, including seasonal workers.
Although our temporary COVID support measures are winding down, regular EI benefits will continue to be available for workers, just as they were before the pandemic. With budget 2022, we are investing $110 million to extend the seasonal pilot until October 2023.
We know there is more work to do, and that is why we are committed to fully modernizing Canada's EI system. We look forward to launching our long-term plan.
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- Oct/25/22 2:58:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this kind of answer is no longer acceptable.
The government promised EI reform last summer. We are still waiting for it. In fact, it is a commitment that goes back to 2015. The government has been making promises for seven years all the while telling us that the reform is coming. The workers are fed up. They no longer have time to be patient only to end up being abandoned.
They are here today on Parliament Hill because they do not even qualify for EI anymore. They are in a vacuum. Will the minister's office at least meet with them?
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- Oct/25/22 2:59:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her question and her work. I know that she is really tireless when it comes to employment insurance.
I know there are a lot of great ideas on both sides of the aisle when it comes to EI reform.
On our side, we know it is important to do it. Our government is doing its consultations to ensure that employers and employees have access to a quality EI system for Canadians today and in the future.
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- Oct/25/22 3:00:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for seven years the government's mantra has been spend, spend, spend. It added $100 billion in debt before COVID and $500 billion of debt during COVID. It told us not to worry.
The Deputy Prime Minister said just over one year ago, “In today's low interest rate environment, not only can we afford these investments, it would be short-sighted of us not to make them.” However, now, in a leadership launch speech, the Deputy Prime Minister is distancing herself even from her own record, saying that now is the time for restraint.
How can Canadians trust the arsonist to put out the fire?
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- Oct/25/22 3:00:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite is talking about is CERB, the Canada emergency response benefit, which supported nine million Canadians in one of the most difficult periods of time that our country has faced. What he is talking about is the Canada emergency wage supports that supported millions of Canadians and prevented organizations and businesses from closing their doors.
Do members know what those supports did? They ensured that when the economy was ready to open up, when we were able to do that because public health measures worked and Canadians did what they needed to do to get this pandemic under control, people could go back to work, businesses could reopen and our economy could come back just as strong as before.
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- Oct/25/22 3:01:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, even the Parliamentary Budget Officer said half of the COVID spending was not even spent on COVID. The government said interest rates would remain low. It said there would be no inflation and then it said inflation would be temporary. Now inflation is out of control and the government is going to spend more on interest on the debt than we do on national defence.
The government's plan has not worked. How can Canadians afford any more of the government?
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- Oct/25/22 3:01:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me simply correct the record by saying, as I have said before, that we actually have the lowest deficit among G7 countries. It is hovering around 1%. That is almost zero deficit.
Let me also come back to the importance of the measures we put in place and the importance of supporting Canadians when they needed it most. It ensured not only that Canadians continued to take home a paycheque and continued to be able to pay their rent and their mortgages, but that our economy came roaring back even stronger than it was prior to the pandemic thanks to the smart investments we made and the fiscal responsibility we still maintain today.
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- Oct/25/22 3:02:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is in deficit fantasy land.
Our leader and our party have been calling for weeks for the Liberals to cancel taxes on Canadians, yet the Liberals are still planning to triple the carbon tax. I am going to ask this again today: Will they stop their punishing plans to increase the carbon tax and drive up the cost of gas, groceries and home heating, yes or no?
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- Oct/25/22 3:03:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote the member for Durham, who said, “We recognize that the most efficient way to reduce our emissions is to use pricing mechanisms.” We agree, and I will also quote the member for New Brunswick Southwest, who said, “The backstop will kick in, the feds will take it over, and...cheques will begin to roll out to New Brunswick”.
That is exactly what we are doing. We are fighting climate change and supporting Canadians.
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- Oct/25/22 3:03:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Sport recently announced the renewal of $25.3 million in funding over three years for gender equity in sport. This investment will help recruit and retain women and girls, and will support ongoing efforts to achieve gender equity in sport at all levels by 2035.
Can the minister explain how this new contribution will help women in sport?
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