44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 13, 2023 11:00AM
- Feb/13/23 2:39:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to be very candid this morning, because in my opinion, the Bloc Québécois has lost all credibility if it believes that asylum seekers are crossing the border for an all-inclusive vacation package or feels that the situation asylum seekers are facing is a joke.
This is not a joke to us. We take this situation very seriously. On this side of the House, we continue to protect the world's most vulnerable people by working with our provinces and territories to find lasting solutions.
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- Feb/13/23 2:40:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is making up scandals when it comes to Roxham Road, but the real scandal is that Roxham Road has become a network for the exploitation of asylum seekers, in cahoots with the American authorities. The real scandal is that U.S. customs officers have become smugglers, right under the government's nose. The real scandal is that Ottawa knows about this and accepts it.
The safe third country agreement must be suspended. That is the only way to stop the exploitation of migrants and to command respect from the Americans.
When will the federal government take action?
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- Feb/13/23 2:40:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the real scandal is the Bloc Québécois ad comparing the migrants' journey to an all-inclusive vacation. It is truly sad. These folks are fleeing countries under extremely difficult situations, with their children, and trying to rebuild their lives to the best of their ability. The least we can do is to welcome them with dignity, not with insults.
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- Feb/13/23 2:41:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, violent attacks on public transit are becoming the norm. Just in the past few days, a woman had her face slashed with a knife on the TTC, and a Winnipeg transit passenger was attacked by a man with a machete.
Canadians deserve to feel safe when they ride public transit. When will the Liberals take responsibility for these violent crime incidents and do the work to keep our communities safe?
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- Feb/13/23 2:41:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concern, which is precisely why a number of my colleagues and I have been in direct contact with the City of Toronto to make sure it is getting the support it needs when it comes to mental health, homelessness, poverty and other social determinants that lead to crime. We are also providing additional supports for law enforcement.
At each and every critical juncture when the Conservatives have had an opportunity to support these measures, what have they done? They have voted against. If they are serious about protecting our communities, they should support the policies of this government, because that is how we are going to better do that.
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- Feb/13/23 2:42:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have had eight years to deal with violent crime, and it has gone up 32% in that time. In fact, gang murders are up 92%. Everything the Liberals have said they are doing for public safety has resoundingly failed Canadians. Maybe if the minister would stop going after the tools used by sport shooters, hunters and farmers, and instead focused his attention on going after repeat violent offenders getting out on bail in our communities, we would see a decrease in crime; we would see results in our communities.
When is the Liberal government going to wake up and do the work to keep our communities safe?
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- Feb/13/23 2:42:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are doing that work. We are doing that work by introducing a national ban on assault-style rifles, which have been used in some of the worst mass killing shootings in this country's history. We are doing that work with Bill C-21, which would raise maximum sentences for hardened gun traffickers.
What is my colleague doing with regard to that bill? Her and her party have been filibustering it. They should stop doing that. They should study the bill. They should support our policies. They should also support the investments we have provided for law enforcement and for addressing the root causes of crime when it comes to the building safer communities fund. They voted against each and every one of those things. They should reverse course.
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- Feb/13/23 2:43:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when people think of Canada, they think of a prosperous, peaceful and safe country. Unfortunately, the situation has been deteriorating for the past eight years. The Prime Minister has been in power for eight years and violent crimes have increased by 32%. In major cities, people, and women in particular, are afraid to walk alone. That is not Canada.
When will this government protect victims instead of criminals?
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- Feb/13/23 2:44:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are strengthening the system to support victims. We have made significant investments to protect victims in many cases. What is the best thing for victims? It is a judicial system that works, does not have backlogs and is more efficient.
We are in the process of allocating resources for the most serious crimes to eliminate backlogs in the system and help victims. We will continue in that vein while the opposition continues to pick fights.
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- Feb/13/23 2:44:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are doing everything right, but they are still having to stretch their budgets to keep up with rising food costs. All the while, grocery companies are making billions. The math is not adding up. All parties agreed with the NDP to initiate a greedflation study, but the Liberals have continued to stand by while CEOs are raking in record profits.
People want the government to hold grocery chains accountable for their role in food prices. Why do the Liberals let grocery CEOs off the hook, letting them wriggle out of their responsibilities and refusing to charge a windfall profits tax?
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- Feb/13/23 2:45:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government absolutely believes that, in Canada, everyone should pay their fair share. That is why we introduced a 2% tax on share buybacks. In the United States, the tax it introduced was a 1% tax on share buybacks. We have also introduced a tax on luxury yachts, cars and planes and a 15% COVID recovery dividend tax on banks and insurance companies.
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- Feb/13/23 2:46:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with everything from illegal police stations to election fraud and attempts to spy in our airspace, Canadians are rightly concerned about foreign interference by the Chinese government and others. It is up to the government to defend Canadians from threats to our democracy. Right now, they are letting Canadians down by not following the lead of other nations. We need better contact points for Canadians being threatened and intimidated, more support for our institutions and greater protections from foreign spies.
When will the government stop dragging its feet and take action to protect Canadians from foreign interference and spying?
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- Feb/13/23 2:46:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, foreign interference is a persistent, ongoing threat that we take extremely seriously. Since day one of being elected, we have implemented several measures to help national security and protect our institutions through things such as creating the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, the critical election task force, and the SITE committee, which provided national security training for campaigns.
There is more to do, but on this side of the House, we have always taken national security seriously and we have implemented measures to strengthen our democracy.
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- Feb/13/23 2:47:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the past 20 years, Prince Edward Island has become an important hub in the bioscience sector with 60 companies and more than 2,300 skilled workers now calling our province home. With leadership from the P.E.I. BioAlliance, and investments from the province and the Government of Canada, the sector has enjoyed dynamic growth, which has diversified the economy of P.E.I.
Last week, the Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency made a major announcement in Charlottetown to build on this success. Could she update the House on this fantastic news?
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- Feb/13/23 2:48:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his tireless advocacy for the bioscience sector. I was pleased to be in Charlottetown last Friday to announce an investment of more than $25 million toward the design and construction a BioAccelerator, a new biomanufacturing facility in Prince Edward Island. This new 75,000-square-foot facility will help spur new product development, increase skills and training, and support bioscience companies in that area. This is just one example of how ACOA continues to help communities and the economic situation in Atlantic Canada.
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- Feb/13/23 2:48:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this weekend's military incidents in the skies over the Canadian Arctic concern us all as Canadians.
We know two things for sure. First, for eight years, this government has shown zero interest in asserting Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.
Second, for eight years, this government has been playing a petty little partisan political game to delay buying F‑35s, which are essential to our national defence.
Will the Prime Minister own the sad fact that he has been playing political games for eight years instead of adequately funding our military equipment?
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- Feb/13/23 2:49:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no matter the threat, we have acted and will continue to act swiftly to protect Canada's safety and sovereignty.
Over the past week, we have seen NORAD doing what it does best, our two countries working together seamlessly and transparently to ensure continental security.
We are continuing to monitor the situation, conduct recovery operations and take whatever action is necessary.
I want to take a moment to thank the women and men who serve within NORAD for their service.
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- Feb/13/23 2:50:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the violations of our airspace and sovereignty over the past couple weeks should be a wake-up call. Over the last eight years, the government has had ample warning from our intelligence agencies and our military, and despite these warnings, Canada is vulnerable. It is vulnerable because the government has failed to counter foreign interference, stop funding of Beijing's military research, upgrade NORAD's early warning system and acquire modern fighter jets.
Does the government now understand how vulnerable this country is?
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- Feb/13/23 2:50:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will begin by assuring my colleague and all members in the chamber that Canada has acted and will continue to act swiftly and decisively to protect our safety and our sovereignty. Over the past week, we have seen NORAD doing what it does best, with our two countries working seamlessly together to ensure continental security. We are continuing to monitor the situation. We are conducting recovery operations, and we will take whatever action is necessary.
I do want to take a moment to thank the women and men who serve NORAD to protect Canadians and our sovereignty every day.
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- Feb/13/23 2:51:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling to afford to feed themselves, all the while the Prime Minister is treating himself to $6000-per-night luxury hotel rooms and having Canadians pick up the tab. Now we know that he had his officials cover it up.
After eight years of the Prime Minister, Liberals are out of touch, and Canadians are out of money. Will the Prime Minister repay Canadians the $6,000-per-night he spent on the luxury suite that Canadians had to pay for?
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