SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 227 - Sep/29/23

Mrs. Rachael Thomas (Lethbridge, CPC)

Sep/29/23 11:13:06 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are fed up with the woke NDP-Liberal policies that censor Canadians and attack their basic freedoms. Whether it is the freedom to dream of a vibrant future, the freedom to watch the YouTube channel they wish to, or the freedom to access news online, the current federal government has exercised an inordinate amount of autocratic power for the last eight years. However, I am encouraged by the growing number of Canadians who are dreaming of a better and more vibrant future, a future that only freedom can deliver. Imagine what Canada would look like if the Canadian people were put before government, if attacks on personal liberties were relinquished and if hard-working people were freed up to earn powerful paycheques that would buy affordable gas, groceries and homes. This is the type of Canada we can create, and we can do so by generating opportunity for each and every person to reach their greatest potential. It is time to bring home freedom.

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Hon. Greg Fergus (Hull—Aylmer, Lib.)

Sep/29/23 11:14:03 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Tomorrow, we will gather on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation to commemorate the immense significance of this day, as we come together to remember, to reflect and to take collective action. To be clear, this is not a one-day conversation. It is a call to become lifelong learners, constantly striving to understand a painful history and its ongoing impacts. This day is a time to dive deeper into the complex relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. It is an opportunity to learn, show empathy and grow together. Today, tomorrow and every day, let us take a moment to reflect on the resilience of indigenous communities. Let us commit to standing by their side as we work together to create a better future. Change begins with each of us. Together, we can honour the strength and spirit of indigenous communities by working to create a Canada where reconciliation is more than a word, it is a reality.

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Ms. Laurel Collins (Victoria, NDP)

Sep/29/23 11:15:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this Saturday, September 30, is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In my community, on the homelands of the Lekwungen people, the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, the second annual South Island Powwow will be taking place at Royal Athletic Park. The Songhees Nation is partnering with the City of Victoria to host this event to honour survivors and their families and to celebrate traditional indigenous culture through song and dance. First nations far and wide will be joining the Songhees Nation to celebrate in its time-honoured powwow. Last year’s powwow brought over 10,000 people to witness, participate and stand together on Orange Shirt Day. Eddy Charlie and Kristin Spray, the organizers of Victoria Orange Shirt Day, will be there. I want to thank Eddy for his tireless advocacy to make September 30 a national holiday. I will be at the South Island Powwow this weekend, but wherever people are, I hope they take the opportunity to remember the children who never came home, to recognize survivors and the intergenerational impacts of residential schools and to honour the strength of indigenous communities and the power of indigenous culture.

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Mrs. Marilène Gill (Manicouagan, BQ)

Sep/29/23 11:17:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a first nations initiative to commemorate the painful history of residential schools. It is an opportunity to remember all those who suffered trauma that then followed them throughout their lives. It also gives us an opportunity to think of all those children who never returned home, as well as their families. On this occasion, everyone is invited to show their solidarity by wearing the colour orange, which, for indigenous peoples, symbolizes truth and healing. There is still more work to be done to uncover the truth about residential schools and bring it to light. We need to know the truth in order to understand the terrible multi-generational consequences of this systematic cultural dispossession. Time alone is not enough to heal the wounds. Healing requires meaningful acts of reconciliation towards first nations, Inuit and Métis people. Only they can tell us what form those acts must take. It is up to us to demonstrate the respect that has too often been lacking throughout our history. In order to write the next chapter together, we must show them that respect. Shutshiteiemueu.

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Mr. Todd Doherty (Cariboo—Prince George, CPC)

Sep/29/23 11:18:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, crime and chaos are running rampant on the streets of our country due to this Prime Minister's soft-on-crime approach. Nowhere is this more apparent than in my home province of British Columbia. The B.C. NDP, with the support of the NDP-Liberal government, is now actively involved in the illegal drug trade. Overnight, we learned that the B.C. NDP is funnelling hundreds of thousands of dollars to a group that buys drugs on the black market and then distributes them on the streets of my province. After eight long years of this Prime Minister, this shocking story should come as no surprise. Rather than creating real solutions to the opioid and overdose crisis, the Prime Minister prefers to take the easy way out and to transfer Canadians' hard-earned money to illegal drug dealers instead. With overdoses now the leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 59 in our country, it is clear to Canadians that this Prime Minister is out of touch and just not worth the cost.

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Mr. Jaime Battiste (Sydney—Victoria, Lib.)

Sep/29/23 11:19:18 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to reflect on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I cannot overstate the harms that the Indian residential schools caused. For comparison, during World War II, one in 26 solders who went over to fight did not come home; with respect to the Indian residential schools, one in 25 children did not come home. Those who came home struggled, many having lost language, culture and family values. Tomorrow I ask Canadians if they meet a survivor to show kindness and compassion because they do not know what they have been through. I think about so many members of my community and my family who went to the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. We have so much work to do in this country and we have so much to learn about our shared history. Tomorrow and every day after, let us walk the journey of reconciliation together.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Sep/29/23 11:20:21 a.m.
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I am going to allow the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer to redo his statement because, between the official opposition and the government, there were conversations going on right across from where he was speaking.

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Hon. Greg Fergus (Hull—Aylmer, Lib.)

Sep/29/23 11:20:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Tomorrow we will gather on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation to mark the profound meaning of this day, as we meet to remember, reflect and act in solidarity. Let us be clear, this is not a one-day conversation. It is a call to become lifelong learners, seeking to understand the harms of the past and their ongoing implications. This day invites us to delve deeper into the complex relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. It is an opportunity to learn, show empathy and grow together. Today, tomorrow and every day, let us take a moment to reflect on the resilience of indigenous communities. Let us commit to being by their side as we work together for a better future. Change starts with each and every one of us. Together, we can honour the strength and spirit of indigenous communities by working for a Canada where reconciliation is not just a word, but a reality.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Sep/29/23 11:21:56 a.m.
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Again, I just want to remind members that during Statements by Members, some of the statements are very emotional and touching. It is really important that when members come into the House they keep their voices very low and if they want to have conversations to please take them outside. Everybody has the right to ensure that their statement is not disturbed.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)

Sep/29/23 11:22:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister said that it is not his job to control the inflationary spending, the out-of-control cost of living or the sky-high interest rates that he has caused. He said that it is not his job to bring down the price of gas, groceries or home heating. Instead, he is raising the carbon tax. He said it is not his job to take personal responsibility for our diplomatic relations or to vet the people who come in contact with a wartime leader. He said that housing is not his job either, while the housing crisis is getting worse. If it is not his job to do any of these things, what is his job?

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Mr. Peter Fragiskatos (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Sep/29/23 11:23:08 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I find that rather rich, with all due respect to the member, when it was the Leader of the Opposition's responsibility to put forward constructive policy. When he was in government as the minister responsible for housing, he put forward a plan for $300 million, with fewer than 100 homes built. His plan on housing today is full of holes. If he taxed builders, for example, nothing would get built under his watch.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)

Sep/29/23 11:23:33 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Liberals have spent almost $90 billion to double the price of a home, to double the price of rent and to double the price of a mortgage. In Toronto, it now takes 80% of what Canadians take home to keep a roof over their heads. More Liberal spending equals higher inflation, which leads to higher interest rates, which leads to higher mortgages. How many Canadians have to be in jeopardy of losing their homes before the Liberals stop spending, stop raising taxes and actually start building homes?

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Mr. Peter Fragiskatos (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Sep/29/23 11:24:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canadians are having a difficult time. That is why during the pandemic we put forward emergency programs to sustain the economy, individuals and families, when the Conservative Party did not want to do any of those things. Today, we see a government that has put forward a plan to get more homes built. How? In partnership with provinces and municipalities. That is how we are going to get things done, not by the measures on the other side that instill nothing but fear in the wider Canadian economy and the wider Canadian society. That is not responsible leadership.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)

Sep/29/23 11:24:40 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, homebuilding is down. Just because the Liberals have a fancy program or a new acronym every month, it does not mean that any of this is working. The government had a plan in 2015 to build housing on surplus land. Do members know how many homes it has built since 2015? Thirteen. That is fewer than two a year. Liberal MPs have flipped more houses than that since 2015. It has been eight years. We need shovels in the ground, not pies in the sky. Will the Liberals finally support a common-sense Conservative plan to actually build homes Canadians can afford?

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Mr. Peter Fragiskatos (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Sep/29/23 11:25:18 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, talking about common sense, it is a shame the member was not at yesterday's finance committee. Witnesses from the Ministry of Finance confirmed that if the Conservatives' idea for housing were to be put in place, fewer homes would be built compared to our particular plan, which is a plan that takes taxes off. The GST comes off, for example, which incents greater building. Combine that with the approach they have taken to municipalities, to provinces. When it comes to ending things like exclusionary zoning, we want to work with those municipalities. We are doing that through the housing accelerator fund, which will continue, and the result will be 200,000 to 300,000 homes built as a result.

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Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Sep/29/23 11:25:58 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister dragged out the Nazi scandal around the world for five long days. For five days, the Prime Minister hid and let Canada's international reputation become more and more tarnished. When a country, any country, is humiliated, it is the head of government's ultimate duty to take action to protect that country's reputation. What did the Liberal Prime Minister do? He went into hiding. Why?

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Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.)

Sep/29/23 11:26:37 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, as my colleague is well aware, the former speaker of the House of Commons clearly indicated that he alone was responsible for inviting that person and for recognizing him in the House of Commons. It was his initiative. No other parliamentarian was involved or informed, and neither was the government. The former speaker invited his own guests for the speech on Friday. They were selected by him and his office. The same day we learned about this horrendous incident in the House, the Prime Minister recognized that this was painful for Canadians and all others affected by the Holocaust.

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Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)

Sep/29/23 11:27:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal government, Quebeckers are struggling to get by. Yesterday, the Journal de Montréal reported on the findings of a survey indicating that 51% of young Quebeckers are living paycheque to paycheque. No one wants to see this happen because when young people are traumatized, the very future of Canada and Quebec hangs in the balance. Quebec's young people need help in these hard times. What brilliant new idea has this Liberal government come up with, supported by the Bloc Québécois? It wants to increase taxes and create a new carbon tax. Voting for the Bloc Québécois is more costly than ever. Could the “Liberal Bloc” tell us why, when Quebeckers and young Quebeckers are struggling to get by, it intends to impose more taxes, including a carbon tax?

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Hon. Pablo Rodriguez (Minister of Transport, Lib.)

Sep/29/23 11:28:04 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague wants to talk costs. How much do our burning forests cost? How much does flooding from our lakes and rivers cost? How much does the destruction of our infrastructure cost? How much does the health of our children cost when they are breathing polluted air? How much does that cost? The answer is obvious: We cannot afford the Conservatives.

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Ms. Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, BQ)

Sep/29/23 11:28:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canada did not reduce its greenhouse gas emissions last year. On the contrary, they increased by 2.1%. That is according to the Canadian Climate Institute. That increase is almost entirely down to one sector, a sector whose five biggest companies made $200 billion in profits last year. This sector receives billions of dollars in subsidies to create less pollution, yet it continues to single-handedly increase emissions across Canada. Which sector am I talking about? It is the oil sector, of course. When will the government stop subsidizing this sector with public funds?

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