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Dec/8/22 2:14:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, border communities have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic and have yet to fully recover. Partly this is due to the shutdown of NEXUS centres, which has created an over 300,000-person backlog. NEXUS allows commuters, workers and travellers into the U.S. and Canada to cross rapidly, which is essential to the trade between both of our countries, the largest economic relationship in the world. In addition, the Windsor border blockade was a threat to our national economy. It cost municipalities nearly $6 million in policing costs to remove it. The federal government has yet to reimburse the city, leaving local taxpayers on the hook for a national security action and thus becoming a delinquent deadbeat. Even on Bill C-21, the Liberals have demonstrated ineptitude by not providing the necessary resources for our CBSA officers to stop gun smuggling. Ignoring our border communities is poor short-term policy that will have long-term consequences for our economy.

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Ms. Monique Pauzé (Repentigny, BQ)

Dec/8/22 2:15:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, December 8, is World Climate Day, a reminder of the very real threat of global warming and the need to take action to limit its effects on the planet. What are we seeing today? An increase in carbon, extreme temperatures and methane; shrinking boreal, equatorial and tropical forests; forest fires; acidification and lower oxygen levels in the oceans; melting glaciers and Arctic ice; drought; extreme flooding; declining biodiversity; food insecurity; climate refugees by the millions, and so on. The government is giving billions of dollars to help adapt to climate change. Money is good, but reducing our greenhouse gases is better. I sometimes feel that here in Canada, just getting the government to understand the urgency to act would be a win.

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Mr. Jamie Schmale (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, CPC)

Dec/8/22 2:16:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, more and more people are finding themselves on edge as they struggle to feed their families during this Liberal-made cost of living crisis. Grocery prices are up by 11%, rising at the fastest pace in 40 years, and are expected to rise another 5% to 7%. One in five families are skipping meals, with 1.5 million people using food banks in a single month. In Ontario, first-time food bank usage is up a whopping 64%. Nine in 10 are tightening household budgets as consumer debt rises 8.2%. The average credit card balance for Canadians is at a record high of $2,100. RBC estimates households will have to allocate 15% of their incomes to just debt servicing alone. As well, earlier this week the Auditor General confirmed what Conservatives have been saying all along, which is that this cost of living crisis has been made worse by the Liberal government’s wasteful spending and absolute refusal to put any controls in place. Canadians are out of money, the Liberals are out of touch and the Prime Minister and his costly coalition have broken Canada.

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Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Whitby, Lib.)

Dec/8/22 2:17:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Don Mitchell, the former mayor of Whitby, who served our town for over 30 years. He made the difficult decision to not seek re-election and to retire this year. Don was first elected in 1991 as a councillor and moved on to serve as mayor for over eight years. As a lifelong resident of Whitby and a lover of history, Don always worked to promote and preserve the rich history and heritage of our town while aiming to build modern and complete communities, both healthy and sustainable. Don stood up for what he believed in and was relentless in his commitment to preserve the environment and address climate change. Under Don's leadership, Whitby became a more inclusive, sustainable and healthy place to live. I have no doubt his legacy as mayor has left its mark on Whitby. On behalf of the people of Whitby, I want thank Don for all he has done for our community. He embodies the spirit and dedication it takes to build strong and more resilient communities, and I hope he looks back proudly on his work for Whitby and knows he made a real difference. I also want to wish him and his wonderful wife Liz all the best as they embark on this next chapter. Happy retirement to my friend.

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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn, CPC)

Dec/8/22 2:19:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, enormous deficit spending by the Prime Minister caused the Bank of Canada to hike interest rates for the seventh consecutive time this year. An average mortgage will cost Canadians an extra $7,000 in interest payments alone. The Prime Minister's reckless spending has already driven up the cost on gas and groceries, and his failed energy policies will make home heating costs double. He will further pile-drive Canadians financially when his failed carbon tax increases this year. Why will the Prime Minister not stop his wasteful inflationary spending and axe the failed carbon tax so Canadians can keep the heat on this winter and food on the table?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Dec/8/22 2:19:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are nothing if not consistent. They continue to ask us to stop being there to support Canadians. They opposed the child care agreements we signed with the provinces, which we are enshrining into law with legislation we are bringing in to today. They opposed the dental supports for low-income Canadians to make sure kids have the best start in life possible. They opposed the rental supports we moved forward with to deliver for Canadians. They stood against the kinds of supports we were flowing to Canadians through the dark times of the pandemic. We will continue to be there for Canadians and remain fiscally responsible, because that is what Canadians expect.

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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn, CPC)

Dec/8/22 2:20:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is easy for the Prime Minister to sit in his ivory tower, blame everyone else and spend even more of Canadians' money to cover his own inflationary mess. His inflation tax is going to cost Canadians an extra $3,500, according to the Governor of the Bank of Canada. The Prime Minister is the architect of sending 1.5 million Canadians into a food bank, half a million of whom were children. He is responsible for one in five Canadians skipping meals. He keeps failing, and Canadians continue to be on the hook for it. When will he understand that Canadians cannot afford any more of his failures and just want to eat and heat their homes?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Dec/8/22 2:21:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives say they stand with Canadians, but then they stand in opposition to measures that ensure Canadians can send their kids to the dentist. They stand in opposition to measures that will give families paying a large amount of their low incomes on rent an extra bit of help. They stand against, and continue to stand against, child care fees that have been cut in half across the country. That is not only giving opportunities for kids to get the best start in life and not only supporting parents when the cost of living and payments are so high, but it is ensuring that our economy grows as people participate fully in our growth.

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Mrs. Tracy Gray (Kelowna—Lake Country, CPC)

Dec/8/22 2:21:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continues to keep his head in the sand when it comes to people's home heating bills. Someone from my community reached out to me recently saying they had to make the tough decision of whether to pay for their Fortis home heating bill or buy groceries. He chose to heat his home, even though the bill went from $46 a month to $163 a month. He said that now he has to go to a food bank just to feed himself, the same food bank he used to donate to. Why is the Prime Minister tripling down on increasing carbon taxes for everyday Canadians who cannot even heat their homes now?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Dec/8/22 2:22:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have heard from Canadians right across the country that they are facing difficult times. We know how important it is to be there for Canadians, which is exactly what we are doing as a government despite Conservative politicians opposing that. We are there with dental supports. We are there with rental supports. We are there by cutting child care fees in half. I was just in the hon. member's province a few days ago to make the announcement that child care fees have been cut in half, saving families hundreds and even thousands of dollars a month. We will continue to stand with Canadians despite Conservative opposition.

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Mr. Richard Martel (Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC)

Dec/8/22 2:23:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians woke up yesterday morning to news that is the stuff of nightmares. The Bank of Canada announced an increase in the interest rate, the seventh increase in a year, thanks to the Liberals and their inflationary spending. For a family with an average mortgage, that represents $7,000 more in interest per year and then they still need to heat their home. We know that the carbon tax applies to residential heating. Will the Prime Minister cancel this tax so that Canadians do not freeze in their own homes?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Dec/8/22 2:23:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are all concerned about the rising cost of living for Canadians, but on this side of the House we are providing help to Canadians. The Conservatives continue to oppose it. We are there with help for dental care for children, we are there with help for low-income renters, we are there to ensure more affordable child care across the country. We will continue to be there for people, even though the Conservative Party continues to vote against our measures to help people.

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Mr. Richard Martel (Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC)

Dec/8/22 2:24:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is pretty ironic to hear the Liberals say that they understand Canadians' suffering when they have no problem handing out $32 billion in benefits to dead people and prisoners. What they need to understand is that we live in Canada. In winter, the temperature can drop to -45°C, and we are expecting record-breaking cold temperatures. Heating their homes in winter is not a luxury for Canadians. Will the Prime Minister promise to do the only honourable thing left, which is to cancel the carbon tax so Canadians can stay warm?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Dec/8/22 2:25:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable to see the Conservatives once again attacking the assistance we are providing to citizens, such as CERB. The member just ridiculed CERB. The reality is that, during the pandemic, the direct assistance we provided to Canadians and small businesses, to Quebeckers and Canadians all across our country, was essential not just to get through the pandemic, but to ensure that our economy bounces back as quickly as possible. We were there despite the Conservatives' opposition, and we will continue to be there to support Canadians.

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Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)

Dec/8/22 2:25:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the contract the government awarded to Sinclair Technologies, which is partly owned by Chinese interests accused of espionage, is extremely troubling. We know that the contract was just cancelled, but the government still gave a Chinese government-owned company access to the RCMP's classified frequencies. The contract was for a filtering system that ensures the confidentiality of the communications of the Prime Minister and foreign heads of state visiting Canada. No one thought any security checks were in order. Can the Prime Minister explain this?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Dec/8/22 2:26:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our eyes are always open when it comes to threats from hostile actors. We are very concerned about what happened with these contracts with Sinclair Technologies, and our government is looking at them carefully. We will take all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of our national security, and we will put measures in place to ensure that nothing like this happens in the future.

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Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)

Dec/8/22 2:26:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about those measures. The federal government has a Crown corporation whose mandate is to monitor communications security. It is called the CSE, the Communications Security Establishment. Nobody in government thought to ask CSE experts to assess the national security risk associated with this contract, which gave a company accused of espionage in the U.S. access to the RCMP's secret frequencies. Nobody in government thought to ask the CSE to look into this. What is the Prime Minister's explanation for that?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Dec/8/22 2:27:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we are concerned about the situation. That is why we asked the minister and officials to review two things. First, what should we do to ensure the integrity and security of our communications at this point? Second, how can we improve our systems to avoid problems like this going forward?

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Mr. Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, NDP)

Dec/8/22 2:27:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while sick children are suffering and our children's hospitals are overflowing, the Prime Minister is trying to blend into the background. Worried parents are filling the waiting rooms with their little ones, but this Prime Minister is nowhere to be found. People are looking for him, but no one can find him. This is not the time to play “Where's Waldo”. At Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal, at the Centre mère-enfant Soleil in Quebec City and everywhere else, the crisis is reaching unprecedented levels. Our public system needs help. There is nothing scarier for a parent than having a sick child. Why is the health of our children not a priority for this Prime Minister?

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Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Dec/8/22 2:28:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as a parent, I fully understand the concerns about families whose children require pediatric care. We are committed to ensuring that all families have access to the essential care and medications their children need. We will continue to work hand in hand with the provinces and territories to improve health care and deliver real results for Canadians. People know that our health care systems need improvement. The federal government will be there to ensure that the provinces deliver results for children and families.

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