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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 164

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 6, 2023 11:00AM
  • Mar/6/23 2:56:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here is how Canada has changed since 2015. After eight years under this Prime Minister, average mortgage payments have more than doubled. After eight years under this Prime Minister, the cost of groceries has gone up by 11.6%. In a G7 country, it is now extremely difficult for people to feed and house themselves. The Prime Minister says none of this is his fault. Will he at least admit that he has done Canadians wrong and accept responsibility for what he broke?
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  • Mar/6/23 2:56:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what are we hearing from the members opposite? Hopelessness. Useless words and facts that will not help Canadians. What we are not hearing from the members opposite is a plan. They have no plan for housing, no plan to fight climate change, no plan for the economy and no plan to make life more affordable. Their team has no plan. Fortunately, we are over here on this side.
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  • Mar/6/23 2:57:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister made a rather unexpected comment as the House was rising for a two-week recess. He said that we all want Roxham Road to close. That was news to us. For years we have been asking the government to close Roxham Road, explaining that Quebec has exceeded its capacity, that it is not safe and that it is creating an illegal human smuggling industry. Now he tells us that he wants to close Roxham Road. That raises a question: Why did the government recently renew the lease on the adjacent land for ten years if it truly wants to close Roxham Road immediately?
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  • Mar/6/23 2:57:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, closing Roxham Road is not a simple matter. It is essential that we work with the communities, with the province and with our partners in the United States. I will continue to work with our partners in the United States and in Canada to ensure that Canada meets its obligations to refugee claimants.
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  • Mar/6/23 2:58:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister also said that simplistic solutions will not be how it is done. We agree on that. Speaking of simplistic solutions, there are just 17 days left before the Conservative leader's ultimatum expires, but we will come back to that. We have a simple solution, not a simplistic one. It involves suspending the safe third country agreement. That way, there will no longer be any advantage to crossing at Roxham Road to file a claim for refugee protection that could be filed at any regular border crossing. That is the humane thing to do. When will the federal government suspend the safe third country agreement? It could do so as early as today. When will it do so?
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  • Mar/6/23 2:58:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, suspending the agreement with the United States will just move the problem elsewhere. It is not a real solution. It is essential that we work with communities across the country. It is essential that we continue our work with the United States and the provinces. I have a meeting with my counterpart from Quebec. I will continue to work with her and with the other provinces and communities to come up with a sustainable solution.
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  • Mar/6/23 2:59:18 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-11 
Mr. Speaker, these Liberals are so determined to have control over the lives of Canadians that they want to control what Canadians are able to see on the Internet. The online censorship bill is a back door for the Liberals to silence their critics. Social media executives have said that the measures in this bill are the same used by North Korea, Cuba and the communist regime in Beijing. When will the Liberals scrap this attack on free speech?
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  • Mar/6/23 2:59:49 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-11 
Mr. Speaker, I do not think my colleague understands what he is talking about. If he is talking about Bill C-11, it is simply asking streamers to support Canadian culture. If he is talking about C-18, it is simply asking the web giants to support independent journalism. One thing remains: the Conservatives keep filibustering things that are absolutely essential for Canadians. If they do not want to help, they should stay out of the way and let us do the job.
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  • Mar/6/23 3:00:19 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-11 
Mr. Speaker, while Conservatives are standing up for Canadian creators and helping them to be successful, the Liberals are looking to do everything they can, and I am sure if we let them, they would freeze the bank accounts of Canadians they disagree with. The Liberals could not even pick Canadian content out of a lineup if we circled it for them. After eight years of the Prime Minister, it is time for a government that protects Canadian free speech and that protects Canadian creators' rights. Will the Liberals scrap their online censorship bill?
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  • Mar/6/23 3:00:53 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-11 
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives think that culture is what one finds in a yogourt bowl. They never raise it. They do not care about it. They stand up for the web giants and that is it— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • Mar/6/23 3:01:04 p.m.
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Order, order. The hon. minister, from the top.
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  • Mar/6/23 3:01:27 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-11 
Mr. Speaker, we are here, supporting our culture, our artists, our creators, our music industry, our books, our television, our movies. What are Conservatives supporting? They are supporting web giants and tech giants. That is it. They are standing up for them, not for Canadians. On this side, we are standing up for Canadians.
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  • Mar/6/23 3:01:53 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-11 
Mr. Speaker, we, the Conservatives, stand up for Quebec and the provinces. Last April, the Government of Quebec sent a letter to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. What did the Minister of Canadian Heritage do with that letter? He went into his office, looked around to ensure no one was there, lifted his pile of files and put the letter at the bottom. He did nothing for one year. With the collusion of the Bloc Québécois, there has been radio silence. The Minister of Canadian Heritage is a seasoned parliamentarian. He knows that the best way to tackle a file is to bring people before a parliamentary committee. Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage persuade his Bloc friends to say yes to Quebec's demand?
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  • Mar/6/23 3:02:36 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-11 
Mr. Speaker, the government has said yes to various demands made by Quebec. We are working with Quebec. What Quebec wants is to see Bill C‑11 passed for the music, film and television industries. The Conservatives, who have filibustered the bill the entire time, have suddenly woken up to say that culture is important. Since when has culture been important to the Conservatives? They could not care less. Our government will be there for our artists despite the Conservatives.
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  • Mar/6/23 3:03:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in British Columbia and across the country, more and more young people are interested in learning French. Last week, to launch Francophonie Month, I visited an immersion class with the Minister of Official Languages. Can the minister tell the House how she is supporting French-language instruction in our province?
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  • Mar/6/23 3:03:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Cloverdale—Langley City for his important question. I also wish him a happy Francophonie Month. I was very pleased to be in the Vancouver area last week where we announced an investment of nearly $13.5 million, in partnership with the Government of British Columbia, to support a series of projects to recruit, train and retain more francophone teachers. The federal government will always be there to support our francophone communities across the country.
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  • Mar/6/23 3:04:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said this week that he was surprised that his own health department granted a permit to a company to get into the cocaine business. I do not know why he would be surprised. His own addictions minister put out an ordinance on January 30 allowing for cocaine, crack, heroin and other deadly drugs to be possessed and used in British Columbia. This is the obvious consequence of his decision. Why does he not reverse his decision and ban cocaine and other deadly drugs?
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  • Mar/6/23 3:04:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are very strict rules in place for obtaining and maintaining a controlled substance licence in Canada. These licences by Health Canada for controlled substances are for scientific and medical purposes only. Companies cannot sell products to the general public. Health Canada has contacted the companies holding a licence to reiterate the very narrow parameters of their licence and asked them to retract any misleading statements. If the strict requirements are not being followed, Health Canada will not hesitate in revoking the licences.
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  • Mar/6/23 3:05:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the misleading statements are coming from the government, which actually decriminalized cocaine, crack, heroin and other deadly drugs. We can forgive the company for believing that when it got a permit to get into the cocaine business that is exactly what it meant. In fact, the company got the permit for cocaine in two months, so it is faster to get a cocaine permit than a passport in Canada under the Prime Minister. Why do we not bring back some common sense and ban cocaine and other dangerous drugs to protect our people?
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  • Mar/6/23 3:06:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member knows full well that Health Canada acted swiftly and has issued regulatory letters to Adastra Labs and Sunshine Earth Labs regarding the misinformation they published. Health Canada spoke to both companies and requested immediate action to retract and clarify their statements. Both Adastra Labs and Sunshine Earth Labs issued a retraction and updated their press release. Health Canada issued a bulletin to all licensed dealers across the country clarifying their responsibilities and authorities under their licences.
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