44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 16, 2023 10:00AM
- Jun/16/23 11:56:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, our government has invested nearly half a million dollars to allow us to hire hundreds of new staff and speed up the process to ensure that veterans receive what they deserve more quickly.
As of last week, the backlog is currently under 6,000, and we have seen a significant decrease of over 70%. However, there is still more work to do, and we will continue to do it.
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- Jun/16/23 11:57:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois had to put the pressure on in 2021. It used to take 57 weeks to process initial disability claims for francophones. This number is now down to 29 weeks. That is not bad.
However, the service standard is still the same, which is 16 weeks. That is still well above demand. Behind these numbers are veterans who are suffering, veterans who are waiting, and veterans who feel totally abandoned by the government.
Can the minister say what he is going to do today to speed up claims processing?
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- Jun/16/23 11:57:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have reduced the gap in the wait between francophone and anglophone veterans by 80%. Now, the average French-language application takes about 2.4 weeks longer than an English application, compared with a 15-week gap in 2021.
I agree with my hon. colleague that it is longer than it should be. We are working to make sure that these applications are processed as quickly as every other application. I appreciate my hon. colleague's input and help at the committee to make sure that all veterans receive what they should in an appropriate manner.
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- Jun/16/23 11:58:40 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, earlier this year, the Liberals own officials predicted a major decline in new housing construction thanks to inflationary spending, interest rate hikes and labour shortages. They were correct. Yesterday we learned that new housing construction is down 23% from this time last year.
That does not sound like the life-changing housing plan that Canadians were promised by the government, so when will it admit that its borrowing of billions of dollars is actually making the housing crisis worse?
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- Jun/16/23 11:59:11 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague on one thing: Canadians across the country are having a hard time finding the housing they need. Not only do we need to increase the supply of housing, but we also need to work on the right to housing.
I am curious to know whether my colleague agrees that his party should finally recognize the right to housing as a human right.
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- Jun/16/23 11:59:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, just yesterday, we heard the housing minister talk about how they are getting the job done. We built more houses in the seventies than we are building right now, and they have this accelerator fund, where they are basically promising money for municipalities that just promise to get the job done but are not doing so.
My question is this: Why do they not promise dollars for doors instead of promises that never get fulfilled?
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- Jun/16/23 12:00:06 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad to see the Conservatives have a renewed interest in housing, because for the 10 years while they were in government, they actually underspent and cut programming when it came to affordable housing. I will just quote something: “Housing insecurity is widespread and homelessness is on the rise”. Oh, that is a quote from 2012.
Let us change the topic and see what we are doing today. We have invested billions of dollars, refurbished and built hundreds of thousands of units and supported vulnerable Canadians with the Canada housing benefit. We are bringing forward the housing accelerator fund to work in partnership with municipalities to build more housing units for those who need it the most.
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- Jun/16/23 12:00:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the dream for Canadian families is to own a home so that they do not end up living with their parents. That dream has become inaccessible because of this incompetent Liberal government's inflationary policies that keep driving up construction costs.
Canada needs more than 100,000 new housing units a year, and housing starts are down across the country.
As July 1 approaches, what does the Prime Minister intend to do to address the housing crisis as quickly as possible?
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- Jun/16/23 12:01:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
Since taking office in 2015, we, on this side of the House, have put in place the national housing strategy, which provides direct support to those who need housing and helps to build more housing. We made historic investments in the housing accelerator fund for municipalities and with the $1.5 billion for co-operatives. What is more, we will work on the right to housing.
On this side of the House, we believe that all Canadians deserve to have a roof over their head.
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- Jun/16/23 12:02:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the boreal caribou is a species found only in Canada. This species plays an important role in the culture and history of indigenous peoples in Canada and is central to the diversity of the boreal forest. The federal, provincial and territorial governments share responsibility for ensuring the caribou's long-term survival and recovery.
Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance tell the House what our government is doing to protect caribou?
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- Jun/16/23 12:02:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. The forest fires raging in Quebec right now are certainly having an impact on the national caribou population, which is already in decline. This situation makes it all the more urgent to take action. Just yesterday, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change set out a timetable for the plans to protect Quebec's caribou.
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- Jun/16/23 12:03:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the resignation of a Canadian executive from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank confirms what we have long been saying. The bank is a tool of the Chinese Communist Party to spread its authoritarian model of governance throughout the Indo-Pacific region. The bank has said that it is willing to lend to Myanmar's military junta, which has been targeting the Rohingya minority, and there are suggestions that it is willing to resume lending to Russia.
What more proof does the government need to conclude that this bank runs contrary to Canada's interests and values?
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- Jun/16/23 12:03:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as the member opposite knows, the Government of Canada has halted all government-led activity at the bank, and the Minister of Finance has instructed the Department of Finance to lead an immediate review of Canada's involvement. The Canadian government is currently discussing this issue with allies and partners that are also members of the bank.
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- Jun/16/23 12:04:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, just a couple of years ago, Global Affairs Canada advised the government that the bank is an example of how Beijing “promotes perspectives on governance, economic security, and human rights that diverge in fundamental ways from Canada’s.”
Just two years ago, the finance committee recommended that the government withdraw from the bank. Moreover, former solicitor general and Liberal finance chair Wayne Easter said that the recommendation should “serve as a ‘wake up and smell the roses’ moment” for the government.
When will the Prime Minister heed the advice of Global Affairs Canada, heed the advice of senior Liberals and withdraw Canada from the bank?
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- Jun/16/23 12:04:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I was saying, the Government of Canada has effectively halted all government-led activity at the bank. The Minister of Finance has instructed the Department of Finance to lead a review of Canada's involvement.
The Canadian government is also discussing this issue with our allies and partners who are members of the bank.
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- Jun/16/23 12:05:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, six years ago, the Liberal government had plenty of praise for the Asian infrastructure bank. The Prime Minister said joining was “good sense for Canadian know-how and for [Canadians abroad].”
His former finance minister was quoted saying that he was pleased with Canada's gift of tax dollars and added that the bank was “independent of any government”. Now, six years and $200 million later, the most senior Canadian at the Beijing bank has quit, stating that the bank is “dominated by Communist Party members” and that Canadians are not served by the AIIB.
Conservatives told them so. When are taxpayers getting their money back?
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- Jun/16/23 12:05:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Minister of Finance has instructed the department to conduct a comprehensive review of Canada's involvement, and our government has halted all government-led activity at the bank.
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- Jun/16/23 12:06:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, with a strong tradition of service in my home province, B.C.'s Lower Mainland is home to thousands of military members and their families. We have seen members of the armed forces serve Canadians, often leaving their family at a moment's notice.
The sacrifices are difficult, but military families make these sacrifices in service of a safer and more prosperous Canada.
Could the parliamentary secretary share with the House his work with Seamless Canada in supporting military families?
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- Jun/16/23 12:06:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam for his hard work and his commitment to the Canadian Armed Forces.
Recently, I met with provincial counterparts at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown for Seamless Canada's annual meeting. We discussed key initiatives, such as improving military spousal employment, reliable health care and access to child care.
Our government is dedicated to bolstering the resources and services available to the Canadian Armed Forces, so that their families can move and serve seamlessly across our country.
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- Jun/16/23 12:07:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, abandoned vessels have been left to sink, polluting our coastlines. The Liberals promised to clean this mess up, yet in the last year, only 33 vessels out of thousands on the west coast have been removed. What is worse is that the number of these derelict vessels is only increasing. Luckily, there are solutions. Yesterday I tabled a bill calling on the government to work alongside locals and first nations to protect our oceans.
Will the Liberals stop pretending they have this under control and clean up these abandoned vessels?
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