44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 17, 2023 10:00AM
- Oct/17/23 3:15:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was happy to join the Minister of Small Business to kick off Small Business Week in Montreal, where we met amazing small businesses such as Camillette Jewelry, Unel and Cookine. Les Délices Lafrenaie, a small must-try bakery located in my riding, is one of the many businesses that form the backbone of our economy.
Can the Minister of Small Business tell us how the government is supporting the hard-working, innovative and diverse entrepreneurs across our country, who represent 98% of our businesses in Canada?
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- Oct/17/23 3:16:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, happy Small Business Week to the small business owners and entrepreneurs all across this country. It was terrific meeting with some of these incredible folks in Montreal. I want to thank my colleague for joining me.
Since 2018, our women entrepreneurship strategy has helped over 22,000 women start up and scale up. Yesterday I announced a nearly $3-million investment for École des entrepreneurs du Québec to support close to 2,000 women entrepreneurs in Quebec and across Canada.
Despite the Conservatives voting against this program and others like it, we will always support Canada's incredible women-owned and minority-owned business.
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- Oct/17/23 3:17:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, media reports reveal the RCMP could not pursue their criminal investigation against the Prime Minister and his SNC-Lavalin scandal because he was hiding secret documents from the federal police.
If any other Canadian hid documents from the RCMP, they would end up in jail. After eight years of this Liberal-NDP government, the Prime Minister thinks he is above the law. Canadians know that he is not worth the cost.
What are the documents that are so damning that the Prime Minister is hiding them from the RCMP? Why is the NDP trying to help him get off the hook?
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- Oct/17/23 3:17:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the RCMP have confirmed, there is no active investigation. The case is closed, and authorities did not pursue any charges.
My hon. friend knows very well the RCMP operations are conducted independently from government. If he has operational questions for them, I would suggest he contact the RCMP.
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Mr. Speaker, the Iranian regime supports Hamas and is responsible for death and destruction throughout the world.
Yesterday I asked the House to support my Bill C-350 to list Iran's IRGC as a terrorist organization, and therefore to shut down their operations in Canada. However, the Liberals refused.
After eight years, why are Liberals still refusing to hold this regime accountable, and why are they continuing to allow the IRGC to operate here in Canada?
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Mr. Speaker, it is well known that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. We share the understandable concern of many Canadians with regard to Iran's role in the state sponsorship of terrorism.
As my colleague knows, decisions around listing terrorist entities are based on the advice of our security professionals. I have obviously asked them to update this advice for the government and we will take all necessary decisions as soon as it is appropriate.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, we hear reports of Canadians crying out for help with their mental health, but being offered assisted death instead.
The government refused to listen to mental health experts, to veterans, to disabled people and to indigenous Canadians. It did not listen to the family whose mother begged for help, but instead was euthanized before her kids could even say goodbye.
Canadians overwhelmingly oppose this overreach on assisted suicide. Tomorrow, we can end this madness by passing Bill C-314.
Will the government give Liberal MPs a free vote? This is for the whip, yes or no?
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Mr. Speaker, the mental health of Canadians is a fundamental priority for me and everyone in this chamber. The issue of MAID is a deeply personal and complex choice. It involves balancing the protection of the vulnerable, as well as the autonomy and freedom of choice of individuals. Those decisions always need to be made commensurate with the charter protections that exist.
This is why we need to be vigilant in terms of ensuring our decisions are informed by evidence and expertise. Our government is moving to restrike the joint committee of parliamentarians to deliver that expertise and advice. I hope the official opposition can support us in that endeavour.
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- Oct/17/23 3:21:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is undeniable that technology is progressing at an unprecedented rate, significantly transforming our society faster than ever. Artificial intelligence continues to advance and reshape the world around us.
Could the minister share with the House the steps the government is taking to ensure that Canadians are prepared for the massive societal and ethical implications of artificial intelligence?
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- Oct/17/23 3:21:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, and as Canadians know, Canada is a global leader in AI and Canadians have created many of the world's best AI innovations. At the same time, Canadians take the potential risks around AI very seriously. That is why we are committed to ensuring that Canadians can trust the AI system. Through our voluntary code of conduct, leading Canadian companies will adopt responsible frameworks for advancing their AI systems to strengthen safety and trust.
We will work to ensure that Canada's AI policies are adapting to a rapidly changing world.
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- Oct/17/23 3:22:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today is Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day in Ontario, but where is the respect when the government keeps their wages low?
A new report from the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care shows the staffing crisis is threatening the success of the national child care program. This is not a worker shortage; it is a respect shortage, a dignity shortage and a wage shortage.
Will the Liberals implement a wage floor of at least $25 an hour for child care workers now?
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- Oct/17/23 3:23:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the people who take care of our children day in, day out deserve to be well respected and well compensated. Building out a national early learning and child care system takes time, it takes effort and it takes hard work with our partners. We need to attract and retain our ECEs across the country. To do that, we need them to have better working conditions and competitive pay.
We have been clear with the provinces, the territories and our partners that we are working toward that and we expect that along with them.
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- Oct/17/23 3:24:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is time for a wealth tax. Canadians For Tax Fairness revealed that most of us are taking key steps to tackle climate change. At least 90% of us have cut down our carbon footprint by over three tonnes per person in the last 30 years, but the ultra-wealthy are working against us, increasing their pollution by 34 tonnes per person over that time. This is a result of decades of Liberal and Conservative governments giving the ultra-wealthy a free pass while Canadians are doing the heavy lifting
Why are the Liberals refusing to make the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share?
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- Oct/17/23 3:24:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that in a recent podcast on a very popular Canadian show, one of her ex-advisers to the federal NDP and many provincial NDPs was asked, point-blank, what he thought people would remember of this Liberal government. He said that they would remember it as the first government to take climate change seriously in the history of Canada.
I agree with this NDP adviser. We are the first government in the history of Canada to take climate change seriously, which is why we have put forward more than 100 measures to fight climate change. It is working. We have reduced emissions in Canada by the equivalent of removing 11 million cars from our roads.
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It being 3:25 p.m., pursuant to order made on Monday, October 16, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-49.
Call in the members.
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- Oct/17/23 3:27:41 p.m.
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The question is on the amendment.
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I declare the amendment defeated.
The next question is on the main motion.
If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
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- Oct/17/23 3:42:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded vote, please.
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I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources.
The Deputy Speaker: I wish to inform the House that, because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 25 minutes.
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- Oct/17/23 3:55:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I left off talking about the importance of the government, and ultimately the Liberal Party, being somewhere between the two prisms that we see in the House. As I said, the Conservative opposition day motion is not binding on the government. The opposition party has not put forward any detailed plans of what exactly it would cut in terms of program spending. I think it is important, and it is incumbent upon the government to find that fiscal pathway.
It has been mentioned in the House, both during question period and indeed during this debate, that Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7. We also have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. We have an AAA credit rating. Those things are important, but they are never recognized on the other side of the House.
Can we do more? Absolutely. I am proud of the work that the President of the Treasury Board has done in terms of signalling a program review to look at departmental savings. I think that is a great start, and members know that part of what I talk about a lot in the House is non-cost measures. I am evangelical in terms of reducing red tape, and I think that there is more work, respectfully, that the government can do on that front. However, it is incumbent upon all members of Parliament to actually be providing reasonable solutions, ways that we can do that. I will be presenting a private member's bill tomorrow, in which I will be calling on the government to adopt, either in the fall economic statement or in budget 2024, reduction of the regulatory tape around approvals for products that matter for farmers. I will have more to say about that. There is a lot we can do, but at the same time, we have to walk a careful balance because Canadians are relying on the programs that we have.
The point I want to make before I give way to my hon. colleagues and engage in some great debate questions is on the assumption of getting back to balance tomorrow, which I think is a laudable goal and something we should be working towards. The assumption is that if we did that tomorrow, all of a sudden interest rates would drop precipitously. I do not think that is going to happen. With respect, I think that it is a bit immature or disingenuous for the opposition party to suggest that interest rates, tomorrow, would go from 5.5%-plus all the way down, back to normal rates. That is not going to happen, and there are a lot of global factors that play into that.
As I have said, I think we could actually welcome a very mature debate about monetary policy and how, of course, the Bank of Canada is working to do its job. However, there are other factors that are global in nature in the way that our economy actually works right now and that are fighting against our monetary policy. There are global conflicts that we have talked about, such as the war in Ukraine. There is a new war between Israel and Hamas. There is climate change, and there are demographic challenges and supply challenges. These challenges are leading to increasing costs such that the Bank of Canada, notwithstanding its work, is going to struggle to be able bring down interest rates.
I will leave it at that, and I look forward to taking questions from my hon. colleagues.
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