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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 219

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 18, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 219 - Sep/18/23
Mr. Arpan Khanna (Oxford, CPC)
  • Sep/18/23 3:11:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, throughout the summer, I heard heartbreaking stories from families across Oxford who are struggling to put food on their tables. After eight years of this Prime Minister, this Liberal-NDP government is not worth the cost. Its carbon tax has raised the cost of food. For example, the price of onions is up 69%. Will the Prime Minister's big meeting with grocery CEOs reverse the 69% hike by Thanksgiving, yes or no?
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Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)
  • Sep/18/23 3:12:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating the hon. member on taking his spot in the House. Having only recently arrived, he can be forgiven if he is not aware that the party he now is a member of voted against many of the measures that, in fact, make a direct impact on having life more affordable for his constituents. This includes investments in the Canada child benefit. This includes new investments that reduce the cost of child care. This includes new benefits to provide dental care for low-income families. This includes a rebate that leaves eight out of 10 families in the province of Ontario better off as a result of putting a price on pollution. We can fight climate change and make life more affordable. It is what we have been doing for eight years and we are going to—
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The Speaker
  • Sep/18/23 3:13:14 p.m.
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The hon. member for Calgary Heritage.
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Mr. Shuvaloy Majumdar (Calgary Heritage, CPC)
  • Sep/18/23 3:13:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for my neighbours across Calgary, seniors' savings are going up in smoke. Single moms may not be in the homes of the doors that I knocked on. The dreams of young couples and newcomers are devastated. The Prime Minister and his NDP government have not been worth the cost. After eight years of raising carbon taxes on the farmers and truckers who bring us our food, potatoes are up 68%. Now he wants to quadruple the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre. How much more will that add to the price of potatoes?
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Hon. Mark Holland (Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • Sep/18/23 3:14:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is irresponsible to a weary planet that is going through some of its darkest days is that although Canada has some of the lowest food inflation and some of the lowest inflation in the world, there is so much more that we have to do, but saying to people who are facing the global challenge of inflation that cutting dental care, that taking away dental care from vulnerable families, is a solution to global inflation and the crises that we face shows— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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The Speaker
  • Sep/18/23 3:14:34 p.m.
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Order. It is the hon. member for Calgary Heritage's first day here. I am sure he wants to hear the answer to his question. We really cannot hear it with all the shouting that is going on. I am going to ask the hon. Minister of Health to start from the top so that the hon. member can hear the answer.
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Hon. Mark Holland
  • Sep/18/23 3:14:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in all times of great challenge globally, there is a responsibility for all of us to focus on solutions and answers. Yes, it is incredibly easy on the other side to point out what is wrong in the world and what is happening, but their solutions are cutting support and services from the most vulnerable. Let me just talk about dental care for a second. The number two cause of children in the hospital is oral health, all of which is preventable. We could stop people from getting ill. We could take action to make our world better or we can throw around slogans, like what is being done on the other side. Let us focus on real answers.
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Mr. Branden Leslie (Portage—Lisgar, CPC)
  • Sep/18/23 3:15:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when I was talking with friends and neighbours this summer, I heard loud and clear that people cannot afford the Liberal-NDP government's carbon tax. The average farm family will spend an extra $150,000 each year. The people who make the food cannot afford that and the people who buy the food cannot afford that. The Prime Minister is simply not worth the cost. After eight years, the Prime Minister has driven up the cost of everything and Canadians have had enough. When will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and finally axe the tax?
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Hon. Lawrence MacAulay (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.)
  • Sep/18/23 3:16:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when we look at what happened in our area of the country, Fiona alone destroyed barns and killed cattle. It destroyed wharfs. The fact is that if we do not deal with the economy the cost of everything will go up. We have invested in climate change and this government will continue to invest in climate change so we will have a place to live.
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Mr. Kody Blois (Kings—Hants, Lib.)
  • Sep/18/23 3:16:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this summer the challenges climate change and extreme weather are presenting have become abundantly clear to Canadians. In Kings—Hants, we sadly lost four individuals in our communities to flash floods, which have not been seen in 50-plus years. The importance of real-time emergency alerts to cellphones is so important, but cell reception in some of the communities in my riding is simply non-existent. Will the Minister of Emergency Preparedness commit to working with the Minister of Industry to push the CRTC and telecoms to improve cell service for communities where no service exists, in the interest of their safety and well-being?
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Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, Lib.)
  • Sep/18/23 3:17:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take the opportunity to pass on my sincere condolences to families who lost loved ones during the flash floods in July. Every second counts in an emergency and Canadians need to be informed as quickly as possible when there is a threat to their safety. A public alerting system is an absolute priority for our government. We will be speaking to the appropriate agencies. I will be working with the provinces and territories and especially municipalities to make sure we have the right system for Canadians.
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Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)
  • Sep/18/23 3:18:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this summer over 16 million hectares of forests burned; more than 200,000 Canadians were forced to flee their homes. To call this wildfire season unprecedented is an understatement, and with off-the-charts global temperatures, we can expect climate change to deliver even more extreme wildfires. It is clear Canada's wildfire response was overwhelmed. Waiting for help from overseas costs valuable time and money, and the Liberals do not seem to be rushing to fix the system. Will the minister support our call for a national wildfire-fighting service, which can be deployed immediately where needed?
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Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, Lib.)
  • Sep/18/23 3:18:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that climate change is having a devastating impact across the country, and especially in British Columbia. The member opposite and I toured Osoyoos together and saw the impacts directly, where a wildfire was close to a neighbourhood. It was just one metre away. We thank all the firefighters for their amazing work. We need to make sure we have the right resources at the right place at the right time, and that is what we are committed to doing.
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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
  • Sep/18/23 3:19:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to the hon. member for emergency preparedness, we have to do far more. We know that, not only as the member for Kings—Hants says, the cell service is inadequate, cell service goes down even where we have it during climate emergencies. We lose power. We lose land lines. We need a national firefighting force, a national water bomber fleet and a permanent national task force for climate emergency preparedness for better warnings, better communications and better response time. Will the minister set up such a task force immediately?
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Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, Lib.)
  • Sep/18/23 3:19:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleague on this. I look forward to meeting with her and listening to her ideas. Every time we have had an emergency and disaster across this country, year after year our folks have continually learned and applied those lessons regularly. This year in particular, we have had floods, wildfires and even hurricanes at our doorsteps. We will learn from them and put the appropriate resources in place. I will be focusing on making sure we have the right resources at the right place at the right time.
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The Speaker
  • Sep/18/23 3:20:26 p.m.
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Following discussion among representatives of all parties of the House, I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence in honour of our former colleague, the Hon. Monique Bégin. [A moment of silence observed]
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The Speaker
  • Sep/18/23 3:22:04 p.m.
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It is my duty to lay upon the table, pursuant to paragraph 90(1)a) of the Parliament of Canada Act, the annual report of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner in relation to the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(a), this document is deemed to have been permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
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Hon. Mark Holland (Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • Sep/18/23 3:23:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the report on the procurement and distribution of COVID–19 rapid tests.
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The Speaker
  • Sep/18/23 3:23:20 p.m.
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Pursuant to paragraph 90(1)(b) of the Parliament of Canada Act, it is my duty to lay upon the table the annual report of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner in relation to the Conflict of Interest Act for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h), this document is deemed to have been permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • Sep/18/23 3:23:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 34 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.
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