44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 26, 2023 10:00AM
- Oct/26/23 3:03:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, all public servants, retirees and their dependants deserve proper support in accessing their benefits. There is no doubt about that. Wait times at the Canada Life call centre are unacceptable. I spoke with Canada Life executives, made them aware of our concerns, and told them again that this is unacceptable. We will continue to work to ensure that everyone can get their benefits.
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- Oct/26/23 3:03:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister said a month ago already, as she is saying again today, that she had reached out to Canada Life several times to express her concerns. This goes well beyond mere concerns when a union is talking about public servants looking for a second job to pay for the care they need. The contract with Canada Life stipulates that the federal government will only begin monitoring service level performance in January 2024. There are people who cannot get the care they need and cannot wait until 2024. This needs to be fixed now.
What is the minister waiting for?
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- Oct/26/23 3:04:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, at present, more than 99% of members have already registered with Canada Life, which has escalation procedures in place for urgent situations. The public service health care plan is the largest health care plan in Canada, and we continue to work with Canada Life to ensure that everyone can receive their benefits.
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- Oct/26/23 3:05:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Remembrance Day ceremony in Halifax has had to move out this year because a tent city has overtaken its usual grounds. After eight years of the Liberal government, things are so broken in Canada that the housing crisis uprooting Canadians has now also uprooted at least one city's Remembrance Day ceremony from its own home.
People cannot afford homes, and now they cannot even properly honour our veterans. Will the Prime Minister finally admit that after eight years, he has no plan to fix what he has broken and that he is just not worth the cost?
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- Oct/26/23 3:05:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons we are dealing with such extraordinary housing challenges, including those that are impacting the country's most vulnerable, is that successive governments for decades made no effort to invest in affordable housing. For the entire decade the hon. member's party was in power, it did nothing to build housing for low-income Canadians.
We have changed that over the last number of years specifically to address homelessness, which is a crisis for those experiencing it. We doubled support through the Reaching Home program. The member voted against it. I cannot accept criticisms from him when he does everything to get in the way of the supports that would help the very people that form the subject of his question.
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- Oct/26/23 3:06:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Fred, a senior, wrote to me and the minister, concerned about the cost of everyday items. The margarine he previously used cost him 88¢, and after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, it now costs $4.49, an increase of over 400%. I cannot believe it is not butter.
The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Will he surprise all of us, show compassion, make life more affordable for seniors and axe the carbon tax?
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- Oct/26/23 3:07:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the things seniors rely upon is the CPP, and the Leader of the Opposition claimed yesterday that the Conservatives have always defended the CPP. However, he opposed our government's improvements to the CPP. He called the CPP an “increased burden of government”. In fact, one of his very first speeches as an MP was an attack on the CPP. He said, “If I could invest the premiums I am forced to pay into CPP myself...I would [get] a much higher rate of return”. That was in Bitcoin. No wonder it took him a month to answer Conservative attacks on the CPP.
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- Oct/26/23 3:07:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal government first tripled the carbon tax. Then it said that was not enough and brought in a second carbon tax. The effects of both taxes will increase the cost of gas another 61¢ per litre.
The NDP-Liberal government will quadruple the carbon tax. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost.
When will the costly coalition take real action and axe the carbon taxes so Canadians do not have to choose between heating and eating?
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- Oct/26/23 3:08:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is flooding my inbox right now is anxiety among seniors and young people who are paying into the CPP. They express anxiety that that CPP will be there for them in their retirement. The member of Parliament and his 29 Conservative colleagues have a responsibility to respond to 94% of Albertans who want the Canada pension plan secured. Their reckless approach is simply not worth the risk.
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- Oct/26/23 3:09:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government has spent the past few years repairing the damage caused by the Conservative budget cuts to the Canadian Coast Guard, cuts that our coastal regions have not forgotten.
Can the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard update the House on our recent investments in this institution that continues to save lives along our coastal areas?
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- Oct/26/23 3:09:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we all remember the nine years of darkness of the Harper years, when the Conservatives closed the Coast Guard stations. It was unforgivable and irresponsible. Last Friday, I was in the Gaspé to announce the construction of the Coast Guard's very first hybrid ship. It is a great project that will stimulate the economy.
The choice cannot be clearer. Between a party that has budget cuts in its DNA and a party that invests in our regions, I know who I would trust to get me out of the water.
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- Oct/26/23 3:10:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Liberal-NDP government is going to quadruple the carbon tax. Higher fuel taxes cause higher food prices. As a result, there is a 70% increase in food bank usage since before the pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador. A heartbreaking one-third are children. For folks back home, the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost.
Will the NDP-Liberal coalition accept that its carbon tax is making Canadians choose between food and heat?
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- Oct/26/23 3:11:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about the CPP. As a new MP, the Leader of the Opposition claimed he could get a much higher return than the CPP Investment Board. I invite him to drop off his resume at One Queen Street East in Toronto and pitch them his ideas on crypto.
I am glad that the Leader of the Opposition finally listened to Canadians on something that his Conservative colleagues attacked: the CPP.
On this side of the House, we have put more money into the pockets of seniors. We have returned the age of retirement to 65. We will always defend the CPP.
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- Oct/26/23 3:11:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals may think they do that, but they voted 24 times to increase the price of everything on everyone.
The Liberal-NDP government's plan to triple the carbon taxes on Nova Scotians apparently is not hurting enough. After eight years, it now plans to quadruple carbon taxes on Nova Scotians. It is an NDP-Liberal quadruple whammy. The destruction of powerful paycheques and carbon taxes have destroyed the dreams of home ownership. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost.
Will the Liberals admit that their carbon taxes are making Canadians choose between heating, eating and owning a home?
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- Oct/26/23 3:12:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely clear that when it comes to supporting the people in our home province of Nova Scotia, the solutions lie on this side of the House. I remember attending a ceremony in the member's riding when we shared details of a $300-million project that would be creating jobs at the Michelin plant in his riding.
From the time I arrived in the House, we have been advancing measures that are putting more money in the pockets of our constituents in Nova Scotia. We ended the practice of sending child care cheques to millionaires to put more money in the pockets of ordinary people. We continue to advance measures to protect seniors' pensions. Now we are putting measures on the table that are going to build more homes at prices ordinary people can afford. That member and his caucus colleagues vote against it every single time.
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- Oct/26/23 3:13:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first the NDP-Liberal government wanted to triple the carbon tax. Then it said that was not enough and it brought in a second carbon tax that will add 61¢ per litre to gasoline back home. The NDP-Liberal government will quadruple the carbon tax. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost.
Will the Liberals accept that their carbon tax is making Canadians choose between eating and heating?
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- Oct/26/23 3:14:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians want is to be part of a 21st-century planet that is livable for everyone and where people can have well-paying jobs.
It just so happens that the International Energy Agency published its latest report two days ago, which shows that global oil consumption will peak in 2025, that global emissions will peak this year and that investment in clean technologies has doubled in the last 10 years.
This is where the future lies. This is where we are working to bring Canada and Canadians. Unfortunately, the Conservatives are standing in the way.
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- Oct/26/23 3:14:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, farmers and ranchers in western Canada have been rocked by natural disasters over the past few years, and this year was no different. From floods and hail to drought and fires, western Canadian producers have faced a number of challenges this growing season and need support. These men and women grow and produce our food. They are the forward-thinking and innovative leaders in our communities.
While the Conservatives continue to deny and ignore the realities of climate change, can our minister please update this House on how the government is supporting western Canadian farmers and ranchers through these challenging times?
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- Oct/26/23 3:15:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the last few years have been tough on western Canadian farmers. I have been a farmer myself. I know bad years can have a negative effect on the bottom line and on one's mental health.
Last week, we announced $219 million of federal funding to support our western Canadian farmers with costs related to drought conditions and wildfires. We have stood by and will continue to make sure we stand by our Canadian farmers and ranchers.
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- Oct/26/23 3:16:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, a British member of Parliament who travelled to Canada was detained three times and interrogated by Air Canada personnel. He said he was told it was because his name was Mohammad. Sadly, this is reflective of the travel experiences of far too many racialized people.
Air Canada says that it followed every single protocol. Is this true? If not, what is the minister doing to ensure this never happens to anyone ever again?
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