SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 212 - Jun/13/23

Hon. Pascale St-Onge (Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 2:50:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives are so sensitive to the difficulties Canadians are currently experiencing, they should prove it when they are in the House and vote in favour of the measures we are putting in place to help people who need it most, such as measures to lower the cost of child care and provide help to families to send their children and seniors to the dentist. The Conservatives are not proposing any solutions, yet they keep voting against our measures for helping people who really need it. They are being inconsistent.

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Mr. Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, NDP)

Jun/13/23 2:51:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today New Democrats introduced our plan to deliver prescription medicines for all. Our push comes after the health minister blocked reforms meant to save Canadians billions on drug costs. Too often we have seen the current government put the interest of big pharma ahead of patients, and it is now clear that only public pharmacare will save our health care system billions and help millions of people. Will the health minister assure Canadians that he will put their health ahead of pharmaceutical industry profits and implement the NDP pharmacare plan?

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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Health, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 2:51:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for his collaboration and support towards building and tabling a bill on pharmacare in the next few months. That is going to lead to greater accessibility, greater affordability and greater appropriateness of the use of drugs in this country. We look forward to reviewing his bill and to working with all members of the House toward a better drug system for all Canadians.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Jun/13/23 2:52:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people are struggling to pay their rent, buy groceries and afford their medication. I have met seniors who are taking their pills every other day or cutting them in half to make them last longer. Today, New Democrats introduced a plan to help Canadians afford their prescription drugs. The Liberals have been promising pharmacare for 25 years, without acting. People are counting on the current government to make life more affordable, but it is letting them down. Will the Liberals finally support the NDP's plan for universal pharmacare to help Canadians make ends meet?

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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Health, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 2:52:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is correct. People are counting on the government to make life more affordable for seniors and for families with children, including the 300,000 children who have received the Canada dental benefit since December of last year. These are children who can now go see a dentist or hygienist and have access to proper and affordable oral health care, which we all know is essential for global health in this particular country.

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Ms. Julie Dzerowicz (Davenport, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 2:53:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Davenport, we have been watching in horror as Russia continues to strike civilian targets in its unprovoked, unjustified and illegal invasion of Ukraine. Canada stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine and will do so for as long as it takes. Could the Minister of National Defence please provide an update on the additional support we are providing to Ukrainians in the face of Russia’s brutal invasion?

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Hon. Anita Anand (Minister of National Defence, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 2:53:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since day one, Canada has stood steadfast with Ukraine in its fight for sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. On the weekend, the Prime Minister announced another $500 million for Ukraine. That is going to go to extending Operation UNIFIER. It is going to go to 10,000 rounds of ammunition as well as almost 300 air defence missiles to protect Ukraine's skies. We will always stand with Ukraine in the short term and the long term. Our support will not waiver. Slava Ukraini.

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Mr. Ben Lobb (Huron—Bruce, CPC)

Jun/13/23 2:54:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Friedman once said that inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon, a problem of printing too much money. The Liberals have been printing money for eight years. Now they have doubled our debt, and everyday inflation is out of control. One can drive up and down any country road or visit any small town, and one will see the effects of inflation and high interest rates. When will the Liberals get off the backs of Canadians and out of their back pockets?

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Hon. Randy Boissonnault (Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 2:55:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand the challenges that Canadians are facing right now, and so does the government. We heard it right there, once again: the Conservative austerity caucus on overdrive. What would they cut, the Canada child benefit, which actually provides thousands of families in my riding of Edmonton Centre with support every month? Would they cut the new dental program, which is providing supports to 11 million Canadians from coast to coast to coast? Maybe they just do not care about Canadian workers and would cut their benefits. There is austerity there. There are supports here. That is our job, and we are going to keep doing it.

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Mr. Ben Lobb (Huron—Bruce, CPC)

Jun/13/23 2:55:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the cabinet minister needs to get out of his ivory tower and wake up to the everyday common problems Canadians face. Canadians will be going to renew their mortgages in 2024 and 2025, and they are going to face a grim reality with the interest rates. In addition, businesses are trying to make investments to improve productivity, which would actually reduce inflation, if we can imagine that. When are the out-of-control-spending Liberals going to get their spending under control, reduce inflation and get interest rates under control?

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Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 2:56:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating to hear my colleague make a case for classic neo-liberal economics, which tends to favour the wealthy and does not do much for the working-class people living in communities like mine. The reality is that the Conservatives' argument, their plan to deal with the rising cost of living, is to make sure families receive less money from the government to help them with the cost of living. We believe something fundamentally different. We believe in supporting students through generous Canada student grants. We believe in supporting families with the Canada child benefit. We believe in supporting seniors with a more generous old age security benefit. We are going to continue to support workers with the Canada workers benefit. Every step of the way, we are here for the working class. The Conservatives are here for the wealthy.

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Mr. Adam Chambers (Simcoe North, CPC)

Jun/13/23 2:57:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was a little puzzling last week that, on the same day the Bank of Canada raised interest rates, the finance minister said, “We are very close to the end of this difficult time, and to a return to low, stable inflation and strong, steady growth.” Now, experts are saying the risk is that inflation will not come down, which means interest rates and mortgage rates will be higher. Is it not time the government cut inflationary deficits, or inflationary taxes like the carbon tax, so interest rates and mortgage rates can come down for Canadians?

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Hon. Randy Boissonnault (Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 2:57:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I respect the hon. colleague a great deal. He knows, like we do, that the inflationary cycle taking place in Canada is not a Canada-only phenomenon. Inflation is taking place across the world. Let us listen to the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, who said that government spending patterns are not standing in the way of inflation getting back to target. In our projections, which incorporate those measures, we have inflation coming back to target.

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Mr. Adam Chambers (Simcoe North, CPC)

Jun/13/23 2:58:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was a previous Bank of Canada governor who said that government deficits made interest rates go higher this year. However, let us talk about the government's predictions. It said interest rates would remain low forever. They have not. It said inflation would not come. It has. It said once inflation came, it would be here just a short time. It is still here. Now the government is telling everybody that inflation is coming down and the economic uncertainty is over. Do all the ministers agree with the finance minister? How many predictions does someone need to get wrong before they are held accountable?

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Hon. Randy Boissonnault (Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 2:59:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I suspect that many people on that side were predicting that Stephen Harper would win the 2015 election. How did they get those predictions? On this side of the House, we are focusing on Canadians. We are making sure that health care is stabilized for a generation. We are making sure that we are growing the economy. We are helping those Canadians who need it most. The Conservatives will not tell Canadians where they would cut, so the question is, where would they cut? Let us hope we never find out. We are going to keep delivering for Canadians.

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Ms. Louise Chabot (Thérèse-De Blainville, BQ)

Jun/13/23 2:59:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are workers who are missing out on weeks of work because of the wildfires. For some, returning to work in the short term is not in the cards. They include seasonal workers employed in forestry, tourism, outfitting, parks and many other sectors. The federal government says it will—

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The Speaker

Jun/13/23 2:59:55 p.m.
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I must interrupt the hon. member for a second. The member has done nothing wrong, but I would like her to start over. Before she starts over, however, I would like the conversations on both sides of the aisle to stop. They are getting quite loud. I am going to say to members that if they want to talk to each other, it is fine, but maybe they could either whisper to somebody close, or if they are far apart, not yell across the floor but maybe just go outside and come back; that is allowed. The hon. member for Thérèse-De Blainville may begin again.

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Ms. Louise Chabot

Jun/13/23 3:00:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are workers who are missing out on weeks of work because of the wildfires. For some, returning to work in the short term is not in the cards. They include seasonal workers employed in forestry, tourism, outfitting, parks and many other sectors. The federal government says it will fast-track their EI claims. For some, that is good. For all the workers who do not qualify for EI because of the excessively high 700-hour threshold, it is useless. Is the minister going to ease the requirements to ensure that no worker affected by the wildfires is left behind?

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Hon. Karina Gould (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Lib.)

Jun/13/23 3:01:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for this important question. As I mentioned a week ago, Service Canada will accept claims from those affected by the wildfires. They can apply even if they do not have a record of employment. They can access employment insurance. We will do everything we can to ensure that these workers receive EI.

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Ms. Louise Chabot (Thérèse-De Blainville, BQ)

Jun/13/23 3:01:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at the rate the government is going, the trees will grow back before workers get help. Nothing changes. Every time there is a crisis, six out of 10 workers are abandoned by employment insurance. Somehow, the federal government is surprised every time. We would not urgently need more flexible measures today if the government had reformed EI as promised. History is repeating itself because of its broken promises. When will it announce emergency measures for all workers affected by the fires, including those who fall through the cracks?

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