44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 28, 2023 10:00AM
- Apr/28/23 11:25:22 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are at the bargaining table with the Public Service Alliance of Canada. I can say that our goal is to resume normal operations as soon as possible. The government is committed to negotiating an agreement that is reasonable for public servants and fair for Canadians. I can say that the negotiators are still talking. The government is at the table, and we are negotiating in good faith.
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- Apr/28/23 11:25:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, in Quebec, French is declining as the language spoken at work. French is declining as the language spoken at home. The proportion of people whose first official language learned is French is declining. In short, French is declining across Quebec.
However, the Liberals' official languages action plan invests hundreds of millions of dollars in promoting English in Quebec. The entire portion available for Quebec focuses on English. Can the Liberals explain how providing huge amounts of funding for English in Quebec will slow the decline of French?
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- Apr/28/23 11:26:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will ask the Bloc Québécois to be more open-minded. It is quite possible to defend French, and defend it vigorously, without attacking, offending, intimidating and criticizing the anglophone community. Whether we are anglophone or francophone, we are all Quebeckers.
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- Apr/28/23 11:27:05 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I do not need lessons from anyone when it comes to being open-minded.
We heard a real gem from the Minister of Official Languages yesterday. She said her action plan does not provide funding for English, it provides funding for the vitality of Quebec's English-speaking community. That changes everything.
Nearly 30% of people mainly use English at work in Montreal. Meanwhile, the use of French as a main language has dropped by 13% in the communications sector and by 11% in the finance sector. In short, the vitality of the English language seems to be doing just fine.
Why are the Liberals investing in English when we keep reminding them that French is the language that is at risk?
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- Apr/28/23 11:27:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are investing in many ways to strengthen French. We are investing in our official languages plan and we are investing in culture, more specifically in television production, literature and elsewhere.
That being said, I repeat that the Bloc Québécois should be a bit more open-minded and stop trying to pit anglophones and francophones against each other. I would like them to understand something once and for all: Whether anglophone or francophone, we are all Quebeckers.
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- Apr/28/23 11:28:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are all aware of the Prime Minister's irrepressible and nearly pathological desire to rub elbows with the rich and famous, but now is not the time for champagne and selfies with Hollywood actors.
This is day 10 of the biggest strike in Canada's history. Some 150,000 people, mostly women, are in the streets standing up for their working conditions and their purchasing power. Is the Prime Minister so out of touch that he does not understand that these workers are fighting just to avoid getting poorer?
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- Apr/28/23 11:29:09 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I just said, we are still at the bargaining table. The Canadian government is negotiating in good faith. The unions are also still at the table. I know full well that this is important. We recognize that it is important for public servants to provide services. We need to give them a salary that is fair, but also find a solution that is fair for Canadians.
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- Apr/28/23 11:29:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, today, as we mark the National Day of Mourning, we remember all those killed or injured on the job.
It has been over 20 years since the Westray act was passed. It provides a legal framework for workplace health and safety, and it imposes serious penalties on unsafe workplaces. However, the Liberals have refused to properly educate law enforcement or take steps to enforce it. It is shameful for all workers who continue to be put in dangerous situations.
Why does the government continue to ignore workers who deserve protections on the job? Will it enforce the Westray act?
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- Apr/28/23 11:30:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I wish to pass on my sympathies to the member. I heard his S. O. 31 about his father's passing while on the job. One worker's death is too many workers' deaths.
Workers have the right to refuse unsafe work if they feel their life, health or safety is at risk. Employers have the duty and responsibility to protect the health and safety of workers. They are encouraged to seek guidance from the appropriate channels, including the Public Health Agency of Canada, industry associations and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. They must do this. Protecting lives and preventing illness are a top priority.
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- Apr/28/23 11:31:06 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it takes a special kind of incompetence to ramp up federal spending on the public service by over 50% and end up with the largest public service sector strike in Canadian history. The Liberals are spending $22 billion more on employees and wages but taxpayers are receiving fewer services, in some cases no services, from government workers.
When will the Liberal government get its employees back to work and protect Canadian taxpayers from more debt and high taxes?
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- Apr/28/23 11:31:48 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, it is really important to state that both parties are at the negotiating table. The federal government is negotiating in good faith.
I know that my receding hairline might give an indication that I am a little bit long in the tooth, but I have a bit of a memory and I do remember when those on the other side of the aisle were in government. What did they do every time workers tried to have a collective agreement? They legislated them back to work.
We believe in having a negotiated settlement that is fair for workers and reasonable for Canadians.
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- Apr/28/23 11:32:30 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the largest public strike is happening not because of the Conservatives. We delivered on our promises. We did not have a general strike of federal workers while we were balancing the books and cutting taxes for families and businesses. We were able to manage the federal government and keep delivering services to Canadians. The Liberals had two years to come to an agreement with the public service. Now 150,000 workers are out on strike.
Again, when will the Prime Minister and the government get back to work?
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- Apr/28/23 11:33:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the only thing the Conservatives did when they were in government was that they balanced the books on the backs of Canadians. They did nothing when it came to helping Canadians get out of poverty. In contrast, what we have done is help lift 450,000 children and a total of 2.7 million Canadians out of poverty. At the height of the COVID crisis, do members know what we did? We were there for every single Canadian, whether through wage supports or through services.
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- Apr/28/23 11:33:57 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Liberals could not organize a birthday party. We have seen it time and time again with inflation, passports, airports, cost of living and housing. Now there is the largest public service strike in history, despite increasing spending on the bureaucracy by $21 billion. There is no planning ahead. There is no leadership and no respect for taxpayers.
Canadians just want their government back to work. Why is it that the Liberal government never knows where the puck is going?
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- Apr/28/23 11:34:33 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from that side of the aisle. Did members see what happened when President Biden was in the House? When the president spoke about women, they cowered. When the president spoke about unions, they would not even stand up. Not only do they not respect collective bargaining, but they ran a government that had economic stagnation for nine years.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Apr/28/23 11:34:55 a.m.
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I am going to get the hon. minister to restart his answer and hopefully there will not be any interruptions this time.
The hon. minister.
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- Apr/28/23 11:35:05 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we should roll the clip back to when President Biden was in the House and the Conservatives would not stand up when he talked about a gender-balanced cabinet. The Conservatives would not stand up when he talked about union rights. The Conservatives do not believe in collective bargaining; we do. We are going to get a deal that is fair for Canadians, a deal that is fair for the federal public servants. Why do they not like the fact that we have more public servants? I cannot say, but the public servants helped us get through the pandemic. The Conservatives do not like it; Canadians do.
We are going to get a good deal.
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- Apr/28/23 11:35:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are getting their lunch eaten and being told it is good for them. Under the Liberals, everything is broken. Canadians are being denied basic government services once again, because of the largest public service strike in history. It is said that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned. The Prime Minister is now doing the same, but, knowing him, he is playing dress-up.
When will he fix the mess that he made?
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- Apr/28/23 11:36:20 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians deserve elected representatives who come to Ottawa with solutions, not just cheap shots and slogans. Triple-triple is a coffee order at Tim Hortons, not a policy solution. It is not a valuable contribution to the debate in the House. However, budget 2023 invests in solutions like dental care for uninsured families, investments in mental health and more doctors and nurses to reduce wait times and make sure that Canadians can get the procedures and the surgeries that they need.
When will the Conservatives propose some solutions instead of just these childish slogans? We need some solutions, everyone. That is what Canadians need.
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- Apr/28/23 11:36:54 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we will propose solutions when we form government.
In Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, schools in Shannon and Valcartier are closed and parents are having to take time off work because traffic is being disrupted. Canadian citizens have unanswered questions about their tax returns. There are delays in issuing passports to young people who have invested all their savings in their year-end trip, and families will lose thousands of dollars without those passports.
The government is solely responsible for this strike. Where is the Prime Minister when it is time to negotiate, find a solution and get the country out of this crisis?
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