44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 13, 2023 10:00AM
- Jun/13/23 2:11:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the farm there is an expression: When it rains, it pours. While the weather at home is dry right now, farmers are experiencing a metaphorical rainstorm as a result of this government’s continued indifference toward fiscal responsibility. This storm consists of labour shortages; ever-rising interest rates as a result of inflation, which is a result of government deficits; fertilizer tariffs; a lack of homegrown fertilizer, but not from this chamber; and not one but two carbon taxes.
Instead of driving winds onto our fields, this storm is driving food prices up to record levels from coast to coast to coast. The entire food value chain has been impacted, from fuel to move our farm products, through to our input suppliers, retailers, and food packaging, which has seen dramatic cost increases.
Canadian farmers provide us with food security in an insecure world. The least we can do is stop drowning them in a sea of government incompetence.
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- Jun/13/23 2:12:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today the Yukon-led territorial legislature meets in a special session in Dawson City to mark the 125th birthday of the Yukon territory.
On this day, 125 years ago, just over a year after the discovery of gold in the Klondike, the House passed the Yukon Act, creating a distinct territory out of the Northwest Territories, a vast region from which many other provinces and territories would emerge.
Since then, Yukon's story has been intertwined with the story of gold, from the discovery of Bonanza Creek to the modern-day industrial operation of Victoria Gold.
However, there is more than gold in them there mines, as the Yukon is a source of many of the vital critical minerals poised to jump-start Canada into the new green economy. In the years since June 13, 1898, we have also belatedly come to embrace the vital history and heritage of Yukon first nations. Today's Yukon territory is one with self-governing first nations, a progressive and outward-looking people, and an economy and population growth that is the envy of the nation.
I ask my colleagues to please join me in wishing the Yukon a happy 125th anniversary.
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- Jun/13/23 2:13:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, inflationary spending is driving up the cost of living. Food, housing and fuel are all hitting record highs. Canadians are stretched thin. According to the International Monetary Fund, Canada has the highest risk of mortgage defaults because of the high levels of household debt compared to similar economies.
This government said that interest rates would be low for a long time and debt had no consequences. Now, in a span of a year, interest rates have gone up by 4.5%. Canadians who believed this government and took on a large mortgage to afford the inflated price of homes now do not know how they are going to pay the bills.
Canadians are already experiencing $600 increases in mortgage payments. According to the Bank of Canada, over the next three years, a large share of Canadian households will see their payments go up by 40%.
It is time to restore stability, restore hope and bring the back common sense of the common people.
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- Jun/13/23 2:14:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been 40 years since the Trudeau government caused such pain for Canadians with inflationary spending and skyrocketing interest rates. I remember when that Trudeau came through my hometown while on vacation and gave his famous Salmon Arm salute from his private rail car to a group of protesters calling for restraint on government spending. Interest rates would reach record levels and people could not afford to keep up with the soaring cost of living.
Now, 40 years later, it is the same out-of-control spending. Sixty billion dollars' worth of fuel poured on the inflationary fire is causing the interest rates to rise 19-fold higher than they were a year ago, and the Prime Minister wants to go on another vacation. While the PM goes on vacation, Conservative members will work through the summer to make things right so that Canadians can afford groceries, the cost of living and homes. For their home, my home, our home, let us bring it home.
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- Jun/13/23 2:15:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, loyalty and continuity of service are becoming very rare qualities these days. That is why I would like to commend the six teachers and educators who have dedicated 25 years of service to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau School. The school's warm, family-like atmosphere helps our youth develop and grow.
The dedication and perseverance towards our children from Ms. Sara, Ms. Daniela, Ms. Jennifer, Ms. Alexandra, Ms. Angie and Ms. Mara are remarkable, and they make school a home away from home for them. Their contributions over the years to the well-being and learning of children will have an everlasting effect on their lives. I congratulate them and wish to express my profound gratitude for their 25 years of service.
Our entire community is thankful for their hard work, dedication and commitment towards the students and families of the English Montreal School Board. Cheers to many more.
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- Jun/13/23 2:16:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, the member for Vancouver Kingsway, seconded by the member for Burnaby South, retabled the Canada pharmacare act.
Two years ago, I was the sponsor of that bill, and the Conservatives and Liberals shamefully voted against it. Now, under confidence and supply, the Liberals have committed to voting for pharmacare this time.
Tommy Douglas always believed in health care that covered people from the top of their heads to the soles of their feet, and Canada remains the only country with universal public health care that does not have universal pharmacare.
Pharmacare will save Canadians over $4 billion a year according to the PBO. It will save money for our health care system and it will save money for businesses. Most of all, it will save lives. Hundreds of Canadians die every year because they cannot afford medication that sometimes costs more than $1,000 a month.
The NDP will continue to fight until universal pharmacare becomes a reality. Let us get the Canada pharmacare act passed.
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- Jun/13/23 2:18:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in Quebec, we do not wait for anyone. The Mange ton Saint‑Laurent! collective gets that.
Made up of scientists, such as Mélanie Lemire and Yv Bonnier Viger, renowned chefs and mentors, such as Colombe St‑Pierre, and artists, filmmakers and entrepreneurs, the group hopes that Quebeckers will take ownership of the St. Lawrence River's edible bounty.
To make that happen, it is running a campaign called “I am St. Lawrence” to support our fisheries and encourage us to buy Quebec seafood products. Fully 85% of our high-end seafood products are exported abroad, while we sometimes end up with lower-quality imports.
We vote with our dollars. Let us eat local. Like the thousands of fans of the St. Lawrence River, let us proudly add the “I am St. Lawrence” slogan to all of our communications and demand seafood products labelled as being from the St. Lawrence River.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to say a thank you as big as the St. Lawrence River to the collective, which is promoting our food sovereignty. Like all of us, “I am St. Lawrence”.
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- Jun/13/23 2:19:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government continues to borrow money and borrow money, and then borrow some more, which means higher deficits, which means higher inflation. That inflation is resulting in interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada, and that is making everything more expensive, especially housing and mortgages.
Too many Canadians are struggling to pay their mortgages now and with these rate hikes, many are at risk of losing their homes altogether. They only have the Liberal government to thank for that.
Some are saying that the housing crisis is past the point of no return. However, I actually disagree. When Canadians finally have a government that is willing to fight for the housing people need, when Canadians finally have a housing minister who acts with the urgency this crisis demands and when the member for Carleton is finally the Prime Minister, then we will bring it home.
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- Jun/13/23 2:20:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank everybody for the warm welcome. I am excited to be back in the House of Commons, back to work as the member of Parliament for Labrador and the Parliamentary Secretary to two amazing, the Ministers of Natural Resources and Northern Affairs.
I thank my colleagues, constituents, staff, family and friends for all their support and encouragement and patience as I successfully battled breast cancer for the second time.
Those who sent messages and prayers lifted me up, and their positive spirit was felt on every step of this journey.
I want to express my deep gratitude to the Newfoundland and Labrador health care teams. They never relent in their quest for a cure and they never relent in their service and commitment to their patients. The health care system in our province of Newfoundland and Labrador remains strong, despite challenges, because of the dedicated people who work in our health care system.
I remind all Canadians of the significant progress that has been made in cancer research in our country and how important it is to support the cause for a cure. I encourage women to get regular mammography testing and wellness screening. I am proof that early detection can save lives but we must all do our part.
During this journey to good health, Labradorians were always in my heart. On June 24, at the Cancer Society's Relay for Life in Labrador, I will be ringing the bell of hope to celebrate this huge victory over cancer. I hope that all other Canadians will have the opportunity to ring that bell of hope.
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- Jun/13/23 2:23:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today we learned that there are roughly 100 ongoing police investigations into foreign interference, including an investigation into Beijing's targeted intimidation of a member of the House.
We also learned that this Prime Minister's national security adviser knew about this intimidation for a long time. The rapporteur has already had to step down due to a conflict of interest.
Will the Prime Minister launch a real independent public inquiry?
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- Jun/13/23 2:24:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have asked the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs to work with the various parties and experts to develop a plan to move forward and continue the fine work started by Mr. Johnston, which now needs to shift to another phase.
We will continue to be there to work collaboratively with all those who are willing to take this issue seriously, set partisanship and toxicity aside, and work constructively to truly address foreign interference.
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- Jun/13/23 2:24:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all the experts now agree that deficits are causing inflation. These include Liberal experts.
The former Liberal premier of Nova Scotia, Stephen McNeil, says that deficits are causing inflation. The former Liberal finance minister and deputy prime minister, John Manley, says that the Prime Minister's deficits are like putting his foot on the inflationary gas pedal. Even the present Deputy Prime Minister has said that inflation is caused by deficits.
Will the Prime Minister finally table a plan to balance the budget, so we can bring down inflation and interest rates?
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- Jun/13/23 2:25:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know how much the Leader of the Opposition has asked us to trust independent experts and not Liberals on various issues of importance. We disagree. We think Liberals have important things to say.
However, if he is looking for a strong independent voice, he can look no further than the Governor of the Bank of Canada, who recently confirmed that government spending was not “contributing to the slowing” of the economy. Nor was it “standing in the way of getting inflation back to target.”
We continue to invest in supporting Canadians in targeted ways, while the Conservatives continue to talk about cuts to programs and services.
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- Jun/13/23 2:26:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if he does not trust Liberals on the economy, why should anybody else?
It was, in fact, his own finance minister who, just weeks before she introduced her budget, said that deficits were like pouring gas on the inflationary fire. Then weeks later she introduced $60 billion, or $4,200 per family, of brand-new gas on that fire.
Our children are screaming because of the debt they are going to inherit from the government. Will the Prime Minister act responsibly and introduce a plan to balance the budget to bring down inflation and interest rates?
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- Jun/13/23 2:26:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the finance minister said that, and then she brought in a responsible and fiscally sound budget that continues to contribute.
I know the Conservatives do not like it because it gets in the way of a good political argument, but if we look at the facts, we have the lowest deficit in the G7 and the best debt-to-GDP ratio, and we have preserved our AAA credit rating, while being there to support Canadians who need it in targeted non-inflationary ways.
While the Conservatives continue to propose cuts in programs, cuts in help for Canadians and cuts to services, we will continue to be there in a way that continues to fight inflation and support Canadians.
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- Jun/13/23 2:27:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's inflationary spending binge caused the price of everything to go up. All that spending and all that money he flooded into the financial system bid up housing prices, which doubled, leading to the most expensive housing prices in the G7. It now takes 25 years for the average family in Toronto to save for a down payment. They used to be able to pay off an entire mortgage in that time period. It takes roughly 90% of a Vancouver family's monthly income to pay the average monthly mortgage.
Will the Prime Minister balance the budget to bring down inflation and interest rates so that Canadians do not lose their homes?
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- Jun/13/23 2:28:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition were serious about housing, he would have supported our housing investments. Instead, he is focused on cutting services, picking fights with municipalities and protecting wealthy landlords.
On this side, our plan includes collaborating with municipalities, including investing $4 billion to fast-track new housing approvals to create 100,000 new homes; tying infrastructure investments to housing; helping Canadians save up for their first homes; providing support for low-income renters; and converting surplus federal lands into affordable housing.
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- Jun/13/23 2:28:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has had eight years to deliver on those promises. The only thing he has done is double the average rent, double the average mortgage payment and double the down payment on the average house. He has made Vancouver and Toronto two of the 10 most expensive cities in the world. It now takes 25 years to save enough money for a down payment.
Will the Prime Minister finally put an end to his inflationary deficits so as to reduce interest rates and enable Canadians to keep their homes?
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- Jun/13/23 2:29:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the past few years, we have helped Canadians save for their first home through measures like the first-time homebuyer incentive and the tax-free first home savings account. We are investing in building and repairing more housing, including by helping municipalities accelerate the construction of 100,000 new units. We are making sure housing units are used as homes by putting an end to unfair practices that drive up prices. For example, we are prohibiting foreign actors from buying a home, and we are introducing a federal rule to discourage flipping.
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- Jun/13/23 2:30:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the resignation of the special rapporteur appointed by the Prime Minister could turn out to be a turning point in the crisis surrounding the independent public inquiry. The Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities showed signs of openness that I welcome with a mixture of enthusiasm and caution.
I would like the Prime Minister to tell me if he would agree that the first thing that needs to be done, before any further action can be taken to bring this matter to a positive conclusion, is to put in place an independent public inquiry.
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