44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 24, 2022 10:00AM
- Nov/24/22 2:45:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was not clear, but perhaps the interpretation was better.
Moving up the deadline by two years and threatening to keep the money if cities cannot turn on a dime is almost blackmail.
The federal government wants its infrastructure fund to be used quickly. We agree. However, it should be used intelligently and equitably for the best possible projects for all municipalities, both small and large. The government should collaborate instead of threatening our towns, which are doing their best. This is absurd, it will have to back down.
Can it promise today that all money not spent by March 31 will be transferred to Quebec and not put back in its own pockets?
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- Nov/24/22 2:46:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not share my Bloc colleague's pessimism. As my colleague the Minister of Canadian Heritage has said in this place several times, and rightly so, the member is desperate to pick a fight.
The good news is that we are trying to work collaboratively. In the nine other Canadian provinces, we have found the right way to invest this money together with the provinces, and we will do exactly the same thing with the Government of Quebec.
I look forward to visiting Quebec with my colleagues and sharing this good news with Quebeckers.
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- Nov/24/22 2:47:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are terrified. Last year we witnessed the largest number of murders in Canadian history. Fifteen Canadians are being murdered every single week. Since the Prime Minister took office, gang-related killings have doubled. Instead of fighting crime with tougher punishments, the Liberals are making it easier for criminals to get back on our streets to reoffend.
Will the Liberal government stop its soft-on-crime agenda?
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- Nov/24/22 2:47:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. What our party is doing in a variety of its policies is focusing our judicial and police resources on serious crime, with anti-gang measures, with tougher laws on guns, by eliminating certain minimum mandatory penalties and by allowing for conditional sentence orders in cases where there is no threat to public security so we can use resources on serious crime.
Serious crime will always carry with it serious consequences. That is a more just and equitable solution.
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- Nov/24/22 2:48:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our justice minister is tone deaf. Despite their arbitrary bans and complicated buyback program, gun crime has gone up steadily every year since the Liberals were elected. Gun smugglers, drug traffickers, drive-by shooters and kidnappers can thank the Liberal government, because now they can serve their sentence in the comfort of their own homes.
Once again, will the Liberals stop their soft-on-crime policy and focus on making our streets safer?
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- Nov/24/22 2:49:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is somewhat surprising to hear that colleague from the Conservative Party take issue with the $137 million we just invested in the CBSA to further tackle illegal smuggling, which the Conservatives voted against.
Let us stack their record against the record of those on this side of the House. It is one that will continue to equip CBSA with the tools it needs to tackle gun smuggling, one that will raise maximum sentences against hardened criminals who traffic and terrorize our communities with guns and one that will also address root causes of gun crime with $250 million for the building safer communities fund.
It is time for the Conservatives to get on the right side of this issue, and that is now.
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- Nov/24/22 2:49:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Laval police have just launched a major investigation into violent crime. About 150 officers are being assigned to this investigation, including personnel from the Sûreté du Québec, the RCMP and other police forces.
Everyone is working together to fight gun violence, except the Prime Minister. His soft-on-crime strategy has resulted in a 32% increase in violent crime across the country.
Does the Prime Minister realize that he is contradicting all police forces when he says, for example, that when a member of organized crime discharges an illegal firearm, it is not a serious crime?
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- Nov/24/22 2:50:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is exactly why we introduced Bill C‑21. The Conservatives have been quibbling with it since day one.
We need to pass this bill, which targets members of organized crime, aims to hand down very severe punishments to criminals and gives police more tools.
We will continue to bring forward legislation that makes sense, and we will continue to make investments to help our police and our forces at the border.
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- Nov/24/22 2:51:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the pace of climate change will make part of the planet unhabitable and intensify natural disasters here at home. The most vulnerable will suffer. What was the Minister of Environment and Climate Change's mandate at COP27? There was none. It was to maintain the status quo, salvage whatever we can and keep the oil companies happy. One environmental expert said that what happened in Egypt highlighted incongruities, contradictions, in Canada's positions. Canada has the highest per capita GHG emissions.
Is the Minister of Environment proud to be the worst?
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- Nov/24/22 2:51:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ with the hon. member. We received praise coming out of COP27 for our climate finance measures; for setting up a fund to help developing nations adapt to climate change; for committing to eliminating coal, eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and capping oil and gas emissions; and very importantly, for investing in the clean economy, with $9.1 billion in our emissions reduction plan. We will ensure our emissions come down and we build the economy of tomorrow.
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- Nov/24/22 2:52:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Conservative premiers want to take us back to the dark days of private health care. Ontario's Doug Ford openly talks about privatizing services. Heather Stefanson in Manitoba included it in her throne speech, and now Danielle Smith in Alberta wants patients to fundraise for their care. This is wrong. They threaten the very basis of universal public health care and make access dependent on wealth and privilege.
Will the health minister condemn these measures, enforce the Canada Health Act and protect patients across our country?
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- Nov/24/22 2:53:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to hear that question. First, I acknowledge the very severe pressure health care workers throughout our country are under; second, I recognize the pressure on patients, with backlogs in surgeries and backlogs in diagnostics; and third, we are also very concerned with the pressure and the ambition we see across Canada around the privatization of our health care system. We want to maintain accessibility, universality and fairness in the health care system across our country.
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- Nov/24/22 2:53:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, speaking truth to power is not always easy, but it is necessary. Canadians take inspiration from human rights defenders and leaders like Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who have the courage to speak up for what is right. Her actions, as well as those of Ukrainians, serve as a reminder that we must work together to create the world we want to live in.
Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs update the House on the visit of the Belarusian opposition leader in Canada this week and measures our government is taking to hold Lukashenko's regime accountable?
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- Nov/24/22 2:54:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this week I had the pleasure of seeing my good friend from Belarus, Sviatlana. We had the chance to discuss our new sanctions against Lukashenko's regime with respect to its complicity in Russia's war of choice. We also talked about the brutal disregard for human rights by the Lukashenko regime. Of course we want to do more, and we will do more to amplify the democratic voices within Belarus.
Impunity is not an option for those who commit human rights violations. There must be accountability, and Canada will seek it.
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- Nov/24/22 2:54:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, do the Liberals believe it is acceptable for Iranian Canadians to have to drive to a location far away from their homes to speak to their MP with a blurred background about their fear of reprisal for protesting Iran's brutal regime?
That is what is happening in Canada. We know Canada's spy agency is investigating credible death threats from the same regime against our citizens, who are begging for the government to keep them safe. What more does it need in order to act? When will it finally use the Criminal Code, list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and shut down its operations in Canada?
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- Nov/24/22 2:55:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to be unequivocally clear that on this side of the House, we stand with the women in Iran who are marching for their rights. That is why we designated the entirety of the Iranian regime using a sparingly used power under IRPA. This will allow us to go after those who are the most responsible, the senior echelons and the architects of these transgressions of human rights, including the members of the IRGC, whom my hon. colleague continues to underline here. We will give police enforcement all the tools it needs to make sure Canada is never a safe haven for any support for that regime.
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- Nov/24/22 2:56:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our questions are not about the overall integrity of the 2019 and 2021 elections, nor questioning whether overall our elections are free and fair. We are asking who knew what, when, about Beijing's interference in our elections.
The Prime Minister said, in response to questions, “I do not have any information, nor have I been briefed on any federal candidates receiving any money from China.”
The government is parsing its words and is obfuscating, so let me ask this question. Has the government received any information about election interference by Beijing?
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- Nov/24/22 2:56:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would begin by echoing the concerns that my colleague raises in the House when it comes to allegations of foreign interference. That is why we want to work together with all members in the House to assure Canadians that we will do whatever it takes to protect the integrity of our elections.
My colleague knows we have had independent reviews of both the 2019 and the 2020 election, which have confirmed that those elections were free and fair. We will continue to make sure our national security apparatus has all the tools it needs to make sure Canadians have their voices represented in the chamber.
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- Nov/24/22 2:57:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told the media that he has directed his security officials to share all the information they can with PROC about Beijing's election interference. However, at PROC, the Liberals gutted our Conservative motion for the production of documents by removing expressed mention of the PMO.
Will the Prime Minister assure the House that his office will hand over all relevant documents, or does he have something to hide?
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- Nov/24/22 2:58:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to assure my colleague and all Canadians that we are equipping our national security apparatus with all of the tools it needs to ensure that elections are free and fair. We are cracking down on foreign funding through the introduction of Bill C-76. We are providing additional resources to backstop the cuts that were made when the Conservatives were last in government. We will do whatever is necessary to continue to have a system that is transparent and accountable. Yes, that means working with the independent bodies within Parliament so that we can have elections that are free and fair.
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