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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 189

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
  • May/2/23 10:10:24 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the petition I am presenting today relates to the carbon tax. The petitioners are concerned about how the government's carbon tax is continuing to drive up the cost of home heating and the cost of living for Canadians. They note that heating one's home in the winter in Canada is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Nevertheless, as the petitioners point out, the government is planning to triple the carbon tax. Therefore, the petitioners call on the House of Commons to cancel the tripling of the carbon tax on home heating, to ensure no new taxes are imposed on Canadians and to ensure that Canadians are being put first, including their families, their paycheques, their homes and their futures.
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  • May/2/23 10:11:17 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
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  • May/2/23 10:11:20 a.m.
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Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.
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  • May/2/23 10:11:44 a.m.
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I wish to inform the House that I have received a notice of a request for an emergency debate. I invite the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle to rise and make a brief intervention.
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  • May/2/23 10:11:44 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising to request an emergency debate on the issue of foreign interference by the Communist regime in Beijing. The Globe and Mail published a report yesterday morning indicating that families of members of Parliament have been subjected to an intimidation campaign orchestrated by PRC officials working out of Beijing's consulate in Toronto. In at least one case, this intimidation was in direct retaliation for a member's vote on a motion that the House adopted recognizing the PRC's treatment of Uyghurs as a genocide. The reports are informed by top secret information from Canadian intelligence services. Beijing's intimidation tactics are not limited to members of Parliament but are being deployed against many Canadians of Chinese descent in diaspora communities across the country. These allegations are widely reported and well established through House of Commons committee testimony and reports by Canada's security establishment. They report it as a matter of fact that Beijing has sought and continues to seek to influence and intimidate Canadian citizens. The facts that this retaliation was in direct response to a vote in the House, that we just learned about this yesterday and that the Prime Minister did not answer multiple questions in the House yesterday, I believe, add weight to my request for an emergency debate. I note that there is a take-note debate this evening, Mr. Speaker, so I would encourage you to consider granting it either after that take-note debate expires or tomorrow evening at the end of Government Orders.
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  • May/2/23 10:13:43 a.m.
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I thank the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle for his intervention. However, I am not satisfied that the request meets the requirements of the Standing Orders at this time. Order, please. Does the Leader of the Opposition have something to say to the Chair?
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  • May/2/23 10:13:50 a.m.
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You asked me—
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  • May/2/23 10:13:50 a.m.
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Actually, he does have something to say. You asked me if I had something to say; I do have something to say. I think it is outrageous. We stand in this Parliament to represent our constituents, and we need the ability— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • May/2/23 10:13:50 a.m.
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I am cutting you off; please sit.
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  • May/2/23 10:13:50 a.m.
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If he continues, he will be ejected from the House.
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  • May/2/23 10:17:29 a.m.
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moved: That, given that, after eight years of this Liberal Prime Minister's inflationary policies, (i) inflation has reached a 40-year high and is forcing Canadians to cut back on the basic necessities of eating, and heating their homes, (ii) monthly mortgage costs have more than doubled since 2015 and now cost Canadians an average of $3,000 per month, (iii) Statistics Canada reports that "mortgage interest cost rose at a faster rate in March (+26.4%) […] this was the largest yearly increase on record as Canadians continued to renew and initiate mortgages at higher interest rates", (iv) government fees, taxes and delays now add on average $200,000 to the cost of every new home in Canada, (vi) nine out of 10 young people who do not own a home believe they never will, (vi) nine out of 10 young people who do not own a home believe they never will, (vii) recent reports state that a couple is paying $2,450 to rent a single room in a Toronto townhouse, that they have two other roommates, and they consider this an "excellent deal", the House call on the government to make renting affordable and home ownership a reality for more Canadians by enacting policies that will remove big city gatekeepers, NIMBY local politicians who block construction of new housing, and unnecessary red tape by: (a) tying federal infrastructure dollars for municipalities to the number of new homes built, and imposing clawbacks on municipalities who delay new home construction; (b) tying federal funding for major transit projects to cities that pre-emptively "up-zone" lands around transit infrastructure for high-density housing so that young and middle­class people don't need to use cars; and (c) making available 15% of under-utilized federal properties across Canada for new housing while guaranteeing an appropriate ratio of affordable units in the developments. He said: Mr. Speaker, let me say at the outset that I find your ruling baffling. We have a member of Parliament who was threatened—
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  • May/2/23 10:17:46 a.m.
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The parliamentary secretary to the government House leader is rising on a point of order.
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  • May/2/23 10:17:51 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a tradition of the House, whether here in Canada or in the United Kingdom, which is that we respect the Speaker. I was patient as the leader of the official opposition stood in his place as you read the motion. When you made your ruling, the leader of Canada's Conservative Party yelled across— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • May/2/23 10:18:26 a.m.
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We will look at that before we go any further. Please, it is not often that the Speaker explains himself, but this is an urgent matter that was brought up, and it was seriously looked at. One thing that comes up when making a decision about whether we actually have an emergency debate is whether we have an opportunity to debate this in the near future, immediately. The hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle asked for tomorrow night, which is late tomorrow night, which is fine if there is no other time. However, if the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle and the Leader of the Opposition find it so important, they would use their opposition day on Thursday to debate it because it is that important to them. That is the reasoning behind it. The hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle is rising on a point of order.
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  • May/2/23 10:19:30 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is just that this issue is so pressing. We have members of Parliament who are being asked to debate and vote—
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  • May/2/23 10:19:37 a.m.
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I am sorry, but that is not acceptable. The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby is rising on a point of order.
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  • May/2/23 10:19:45 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is profound disrespect for your role as Speaker of the House. We know that, for an emergency debate, you make a ruling. You have made it and I would ask that if we continue to get disruption— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • May/2/23 10:19:50 a.m.
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I cannot hear the hon. member who has the floor. The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.
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  • May/2/23 10:19:53 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe that the Conservative Party is, right now, showing profound disrespect to your office as Speaker, and it needs to stop doing that and start the debate on its motion.
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  • May/2/23 10:20:23 a.m.
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We have a debate about to start. I would remind the hon. members about relevance, how it should be enforced in the chamber and how it hopefully will be enforced over this debate, so that we all stay in line. The hon. Leader of the Opposition is rising on a point of order.
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