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Mr. Sameer Zuberi (Pierrefonds—Dollard, Lib.)

Jun/9/23 11:11:52 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I visited the “Art Cave” exhibition presented by the Mixed Media for the Neurodiverse class at the Dollard Centre for the Arts. This class is taught by Keyiana every Sunday for eight weeks at the civic centre, which is an important meeting space for neurodiverse young adults. This includes people with autism, ADHD, Tourette syndrome and OCD. It was a pleasure to see the amazing art by Laura, Katia, Alessia and other students. Art is a valuable expression of people's lived experience, thoughts and feelings. The artistic environment built by Keyiana allows neurodiverse young adults to experiment and to explore and promote their self expression. The Art Cave empowers unique voices through artistic expression. It fosters empathy and understanding within our society. I say “thank you” to Keyiana and to all the students for their amazing work.

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Mr. Dan Mazier (Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, CPC)

Jun/9/23 11:12:51 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, June marks Filipino Heritage Month. From coast to coast to coast, we celebrate Filipinos, who have enriched the social, cultural and economic fabric of Canada. Filipino Canadians have helped bring hope to so many of our communities with their ongoing achievements and vibrant culture. As vice-chair of the Canada-Philippines Interparliamentary Friendship Group, I recently joined Filipinos in the greater Toronto area, where I met with people from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and celebrated the incredible music, dance, art and traditions of the Philippines at the Filipino Centre Toronto. Later this month, I will be in Neepawa, Manitoba, home to a vibrant and growing Filipino community, to celebrate Philippine Independence Day, a day when the people of the Philippines celebrate the day they rose up and demanded their freedom. On behalf of all Conservatives, I wish everyone a happy Filipino Heritage Month. Mabuhay.

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Mr. Dane Lloyd (Sturgeon River—Parkland, CPC)

Jun/9/23 11:13:51 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has added more to our national debt than all previous governments combined. The only thing worse than a tax-and-spend Liberal is a borrow-and-spend Liberal. Liberal deficit borrowing is driving up interest rates, making Canadians' loans and mortgages more expensive. Liberal overspending is driving up the cost of goods and services, making everything, including our homes and our food, more expensive. Albert Einstein once said that compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world, and that those who do not understand it will face the consequences. As interest rates rise, Canadian homeowners are facing the consequences, and Canadian taxpayers are facing the consequences of an exponential increase in government interest debt. Eventually this debt needs to be repaid. We cannot burden future generations with this overwhelming responsibility. It is time to save Canadians' finances by ending the Liberal deficits and balancing the budget.

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Ms. Viviane Lapointe (Sudbury, Lib.)

Jun/9/23 11:14:58 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, from one end of the country to the other, forest fires are forcing people to leave their communities or else spend days under a blanket of smoke. In northern Ontario, 50 fires are burning. I want to thank all the firefighters for bravely fighting the fires, protecting the public and ensuring the safety of affected communities. We are investing in training more community firefighters, and we are turning to indigenous peoples and their traditional knowledge to help us stave off the threat of forest fires. Hundreds of firefighters from other countries are coming in to support our efforts in the days and weeks ahead. We are working together to keep Canadians safe and build strong, resilient communities.

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Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Jun/9/23 11:15:57 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the urgent need to address the toxic drug crisis, which is costing lives in Winnipeg Centre. Yesterday, I joined local frontline organizations, advocates and elected officials in calling on the federal government to work with Manitoba to increase the number of naloxone kits in Winnipeg. The situation is so dire that some organizations have been forced to source supply from other provinces. Their message is clear: More kits are desperately needed. We also need to start treating the overdose crisis as a public health issue, not a criminal issue. I have been disgusted by the rhetoric we have been hearing from the Leader of the Opposition, who has been whipping up fear and spreading misinformation about this issue. We need more funding for addiction treatment, but we also need to keep people alive. Someone who fatally overdoses from poisoned drugs can never recover. That is why I am urging the government to expand safe supply programs, decriminalize personal possession, and fulfill its promise to implement a dedicated mental health transfer. Lives are at stake. We must act now.

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Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)

Jun/9/23 11:17:13 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, adversity brings out the best in people. At this time, in the riding of Lac-Saint-Jean, which I have had the honour to represent since 2019, people are coming together in wonderful ways to try to ease the fears of Jamésie residents, who are worried about losing their homes. This huge wave of support demonstrates, once again, how the people of Lac-Saint-Jean pull together. People are lining up to volunteer, offers of accommodation are pouring in over social media, and businesses are opening early to let people in. People are eager to help out of sheer compassion. It is really wonderful to see. Our courageous teams are working on putting out the fires. Although the situation is improving, it is still very worrisome. In closing, I would like to say to those who have had to leave their homes in recent days, to all those affected directly or indirectly by the fires and to the SOPFEU teams that the Bloc Québécois is with them.

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Mrs. Cathay Wagantall (Yorkton—Melville, CPC)

Jun/9/23 11:18:16 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us play a game of Jeopardy! I choose “Budgets Balance Themselves” for $1.22 trillion. This Liberal deficit will saddle our kids and grandkids with insurmountable debt for generations to come. The answer is, “What is $61 billion?” This increase in price is at its highest in 40 years, raising the cost of groceries, gas and everything Canadians buy. The answer is, “What is Liberal inflation?” This burden on families is making owning a home unaffordable for millions of Canadians, and if it does come down soon, it will result in the loss of their homes. The answer is, “What are Liberal interest rates?” Finally, for $1.22 trillion, is the following: This Canadian political leader will end the destruction of the middle class and those who currently see no hope in joining it. The answer is, “Who is the member for Carleton?” It is your home, my home, our home. Let us bring it home.

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Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport, Lib.)

Jun/9/23 11:19:18 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the days of having to rely on images of crumbling glaciers and Amazon deforestation to express urgency with respect to the climate emergency we find ourselves in are history. The climate emergency is at our doorstep, in our neighbourhoods and, over these past few weeks, in our lungs. Whether it is the wildfires, floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes or other extreme weather events, climate change is impacting our daily lives more than ever before. The wildfire smoke that enveloped Ontario is beginning to move south, causing our neighbours in the United States to have to stay indoors. There has never been a more urgent call to action on our collective obligations to combat the climate crisis. To quote Dr. David Suzuki, from one of my favourite books, A Sacred Balance, “There is no environment ‘out there’ that is separate from us.” We literally are our surroundings. Suzuki goes on to say, “Indigenous people are absolutely correct: we are born of the Earth and constructed from the four sacred elements of the earth, air, fire and water.” However, all week, despite acknowledging Clean Air Day and World Oceans Day, the Conservatives have continued to debate the most basic of all tools to decarbonize and combat the climate crisis. Climate change is a public health emergency and it impacts every single Canadian.

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Mr. John Nater (Perth—Wellington, CPC)

Jun/9/23 11:20:33 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is simple: Massive Liberal deficits cause inflation to rise, which forces interest rate hikes and mortgage defaults. The solution is clear: Stop the deficits, which slows inflation, prevents the interest rate hikes and saves people's homes. This week, the Bank of Canada increased interest rates to 19 times what they were last year. Will the Prime Minister end his inflationary deficit spending and save Canadians' homes?

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Mr. Terry Beech (Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jun/9/23 11:21:08 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since last year, the Canadian economy has grown by 3.1%. Canadians have created close to 900,000 jobs, and 2.7 million Canadians have been lifted out of poverty. Nine million Canadians are getting access to dental care, child care costs are coming down by 50%, and, guess what, Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7. We have cut taxes for small businesses and we have cut taxes for the middle class. There is definitely more work to do, but we have the tools to make life more affordable for Canadians.

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Mr. John Nater (Perth—Wellington, CPC)

Jun/9/23 11:21:36 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is cold comfort for Canadians who are skipping meals, for families who are cancelling their kids sports activities and for families who have no hope of having a summer holiday, even for a couple of days of camping. Young Canadians, an entire generation, have lost all hope of ever owning their own home. However, the Liberal solution is to spend more and drive up prices. Budget bill after budget bill, the Liberal Prime Minister and finance minister keep taking away more and more opportunities from hard-working Canadians. Will the Liberals pull back on their budget bill and replace it with one that does not throw more fuel on the inflationary fire?

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Mr. Terry Beech (Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jun/9/23 11:22:12 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is really important to talk about families, because we are the party that introduced the CCB. We have lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, and when parents are trying to make ends meet, one of the most important things the government is doing is lowering the cost of child care. I have had multiple parents complain to me, over the course of my parliamentary life, about the fact that the cost of child care was equivalent to a mortgage payment, but they do not say that anymore, and it is going to get better because we are going to continue to reduce it until it is $10 a day.

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Mr. John Nater (Perth—Wellington, CPC)

Jun/9/23 11:22:41 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I hear from parents is that they are working two or three jobs and are working every hour of overtime they can, just to put food on the table. Rent has doubled under the Liberals. It is harder and harder for families to make ends meet at the end of each month. Conservatives have offered to stay here as long as it takes to fix the Liberal budget bill. Will the Liberals stay here, fix their bill and eliminate wasteful spending so Canadians can finally get some relief from the Liberals' inflationary crisis, or will they just go on vacation?

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Rent

Mr. Terry Beech (Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jun/9/23 11:23:14 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite what the Conservatives are saying, Canada is working and Canadians are working. Canadians have created close to 900,000 jobs since the pandemic. There was a time for the Conservatives to positively contribute their solutions to the budget implementation act. That started in April, but instead of doing that, they decided to filibuster the entire thing. They sent food banks home. They sent chambers of commerce home. They did not want to hear from Canadians on how we could make it better. Therefore, their suggestion that they are going to come back in the summer, when their homework was due two months ago, is quite hypocritical.

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Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Jun/9/23 11:23:48 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the reality currently facing all Canadians. After eight years of Liberal governance, with chronic deficits and out-of-control spending, this is the reality. Uncontrolled deficits lead to higher inflation. Higher inflation leads to higher interest rates. What happens when interest rates go up? People run the risk of losing their homes. This is the reality facing Canadians every day, and will be for the months and years to come. Why does the government not do what it did last November, that is, come up with a plan to balance the budget?

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Hon. Greg Fergus (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Jun/9/23 11:24:26 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after peaking at 8.1% last year, the inflation rate now stands at 4.4%, and the Bank of Canada expects that to drop to less than 3% by the end of the fall. Canada delivered the strongest economic growth last year. The OECD predicts that Canada will once again have the strongest economic growth this year and next. Canadians can and should have confidence in the resilience of our economy.

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Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Jun/9/23 11:25:04 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect for my colleague, the reality is that if he says that to people who are on the verge of losing their homes, they will laugh in his face or ask him whether he is prepared to take their keys because they can no longer pay for their home. That is the reality facing Canadian families. If the member wants to quote studies, I could point out that the International Monetary Fund says that Canada is the country at the highest risk of mortgage defaults. This week, the Governor of the Bank of Canada said that mortgage payments could rise by 40%. This is the daily reality for Canadian families. Why does the government refuse to come up with a plan to balance the budget?

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Hon. Greg Fergus (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board, Lib.)

Jun/9/23 11:25:41 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I just said, Canada is forecast to have the strongest economic growth among G7 countries this year and next. One thing my hon. colleague did not mention is the fact that just today, almost 900,000 more Canadians have recovered the jobs they lost during the pandemic. There are 128% more jobs than there were before the pandemic. Canadians can be confident about their future.

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Ms. Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, BQ)

Jun/9/23 11:26:21 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about Chinese interference, or rather, let us talk about those who are the victims of it, those who the government refuses to talk about. Let us talk about the defenders of democracy from Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Solomon Islands. Let us talk about the Uyghurs and the Tibetans. Their representatives all rallied with the Bloc Québécois to demand a public and independent inquiry into Chinese interference, not because they are picking a side in a partisan dispute, but because they want to protect their community and they feel abandoned by this government. When will the government stop ignoring their request for a public and independent inquiry?

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Ms. Jennifer O'Connell (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Jun/9/23 11:27:01 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect all parliamentarians in this place to take the issue of foreign interference extremely seriously. It is not a partisan issue. Part of that is actually doing the work that comes with Mr. Johnston's report. I note that the leader of the Bloc has decided to not actually look at the information that has been provided to him, which is the basis of Mr. Johnston's report. If opposition members want to criticize the work of Mr. Johnston, they should first look at the documents included.

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