44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 20, 2023 10:00AM
- Jun/20/23 2:51:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians remember how Conservatives handled things before 2015. Their cure-all for tough times and economic uncertainty was always cuts. The problem is that cuts hit the most vulnerable and needy the hardest.
Members on this side of the House will always be there to help people in need with dental care, child care rebates and all the other measures we have introduced since taking office in 2015.
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- Jun/20/23 2:51:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a new study from the Breakfast Club of Canada shows that 84% of Canadians want a national school meal program implemented immediately. The Liberals promised to create the program two years ago, but they still have not delivered. Meanwhile, schools are cutting services that feed kids, because they cannot afford to pay for the program due to the rising cost of food.
When will the Liberals keep their promise and implement a national school meal program?
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- Jun/20/23 2:52:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that times are tough for Canadian families right now, and we know that we need to ensure that our most vulnerable, our children, are protected. That is why, since 2015, we have been working to reduce child poverty and support the families that need it the most. We have done it through the child Canada benefit, we have done it through other measures, including affordability in child care, and we will continue to work.
We know that school food programs are important, and that is why we continue to work together across the aisle to ensure that we meet the needs of Canadian children.
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- Jun/20/23 2:53:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Edmonton now has one of the fastest-growing monthly rent prices in the country, increasing nearly 16% over the last year. Young people cannot keep up, and Liberals are not doing anything. They will not protect young people from corporate landlords, who are handing out eviction notices to jack up the rent. They are not investing properly into building affordable units. They are leaving young people to fend for themselves, while corporate landlords keep getting richer.
Will the Liberals invest in safe, affordable, community-based housing so that young people can actually afford to rent in Edmonton?
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- Jun/20/23 2:53:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. Across the country, Canadians are having a hard time paying the rent or even just finding housing they can afford. We pledged not only to build more housing faster, but also to deal with renovictions through legislation.
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Mr. Speaker, the modernized Official Languages Act has just been read the third time and passed in the Senate. I consider this a major step forward towards the substantive equality of both of our official languages. Could the minister tell us how this legislation will enable us to support official language minority communities, promote our two official languages, and better protect French across the country?
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Mr. Speaker, here is some good news: The Senate has just confirmed that Bill C‑13 has received royal assent. I am extremely proud of the work we accomplished to modernize the Official Languages Act. This legislation will better equip us to slow the decline of French and more effectively protect our official language minority communities. It will also require the adoption of an immigration policy, strengthen the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages, and provide official language minority communities with new tools to maintain their vitality.
Today is a good day for official languages.
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- Jun/20/23 2:55:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the current government, Canadian farmers are literally paying for the Liberals' carbon tax failures. Canadian farmers will pay $150,000 a year in carbon taxes alone, but the Liberals have not hit a single emissions target.
What is better than making farmers pay for one failed carbon tax? How about two? On July 1, the Liberals are introducing a second carbon tax that will increase the price of feed, fuel and fertilizer, which will also drive up the cost of food at the grocery store.
With more than eight million Canadians already relying on a food bank every single month, my question for the government is this. How many farmers are going to go bankrupt and how many Canadians are going to go hungry paying for another failed carbon tax?
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- Jun/20/23 2:55:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, my colleague is twisting information. He is talking about a typical 5,000-acre farm. The average farm in Canada is 809 acres. He is presuming that farmers will not make any effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they are always doing precisely that. They are the first to be affected by climate change. They are the first to want more information, to want to adopt good practices and acquire new technologies.
We are there to help them with a $1.5‑billion investment.
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- Jun/20/23 2:56:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is good to see that the minister is not denying that Canadian farmers are being punished with two carbon taxes. In fact, they are facing the highest inflation rates in 40 years. Nowhere is that more acute than with the price of food, which is already up 10%.
However, rather than offering support for Canadians, the Liberals are doubling down with a second carbon tax. What will that do? We are seeing forecasts that food prices will go up another 34% over the next two years, adding another $5,000 to the annual food costs of Canadians.
Again, when the government introduces a second carbon tax, how many farmers will go broke and how many Canadians will go hungry?
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- Jun/20/23 2:57:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the member from across would really like to talk about the clean fuel regulations, let us talk about that. It is kind of interesting, because Alberta itself has clean fuel regulations. What does that do? It actually incents cleaner fuels, but it also works to support emerging industries, like biofuels, which I think are quite popular in his part of the country as well.
What we are doing is not just regulations. There are incentives and supports to make sure we have an all-encompassing program. It is not only going to reduce emissions, but it is also going to create new industries and new renewable fuels, which are so important for our future.
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- Jun/20/23 2:57:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is official Liberal policy to make energy more expensive.
It takes energy to manufacture fertilizer. It takes energy to ship fertilizer to the farmers. It takes energy to spread fertilizer. It takes energy to harvest crops. It takes energy to ship crops to processors. It takes energy to process crops into food. It takes energy to ship the food to stores.
Why does the Prime Minister not understand that higher energy prices lead to higher food prices, forcing Canadians to go hungry?
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- Jun/20/23 2:58:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have a clean technology program. We are talking about half a billion dollars' worth of investment in clean technology. One of the innovations that could be deployed across the country is the use of agricultural manure as a source of energy. There is tremendous potential in this area for our farmers.
We will continue to support them in that regard.
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- Jun/20/23 2:59:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government does not have a plan for making food more affordable. The many carbon taxes and the fertilizer tariff have only increased the price of food from farm to table. In Canada, production costs keep increasing, and farmers have been completely abandoned by this government.
That was evident in the last budget. Less than 1% of the budget was allocated to agriculture. The Liberals are ignoring a real economic driver.
When will the government implement real measures to support farmers and make production more affordable?
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- Jun/20/23 2:59:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that my colleague should show a little more humility and look at the history of the last Conservative government, which cut hundreds of millions of dollars in risk management programs and hundreds of millions of dollars in research and innovation programs.
Our government is there, and we are investing. We increased funding for the sustainable Canadian agricultural partnership by half a billion dollars. We are investing $1.5 billion in clean technologies, new practices, and research and innovation to help the sector be more resilient.
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- Jun/20/23 3:00:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the forest fires are having a major impact on Quebec's forestry industry. It is too early to assess the losses, but it is already too late to guarantee that our producers will resume operations in time to save jobs. The Bloc Québécois has proposed solutions in partnership with the Association québécoise des entrepreneurs forestiers, which represents Quebec forestry companies.
There needs to be compensation for the loss of equipment, including the cost of deductibles. We need to have programs like the ones we used during the pandemic to cover fixed costs and provide a wage subsidy to keep workers employed. Will the government work with us to bring in these solutions?
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- Jun/20/23 3:00:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that the wildfires have had an impact right across the country, and are having an impact on residents but also on businesses in every part of the country. Through working with our provincial partners, the disaster financial assistance arrangements will be there to support those businesses and communities for eligible expenses. We also know that we have to invest in future resiliency in our provinces as well.
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- Jun/20/23 3:01:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, the forestry producers are worried, as are the workers. The seasonal workers in the forestry sectors are all at a standstill with no prospect of returning to work. They are worried because all the hours they are losing today will not count toward the EI threshold at the end of the season. The government is being flexible in the short term, and we applaud that. Will the government extend the qualifying period to 104 weeks to prevent these missing hours from putting our workers in a precarious position in the fall?
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- Jun/20/23 3:02:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague just said, we will all be there for all the provinces, including Quebec. We are of course working with workers' associations and with employers to ensure that the workers get the support they need during these difficult times. We are working with Service Canada to ensure that the workers have access to EI, and we will continue to do so.
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- Jun/20/23 3:02:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as summer starts, the Liberals are going to rain on everyone's Canada Day parade.
On July 1, Canadians will be be forced to pay a second carbon tax. Combined with the first carbon tax, gas prices will go up eventually to 61¢ per litre. It does not stop there. They are going to raise both of the carbon taxes so that every Saskatchewan household has to pay another $3,000 per year.
After eight years of the Liberal government, Canadians cannot afford another tax increase by the government. Will the Liberals listen to Canadians and cancel both of their failed carbon taxes before July 1?
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