44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 27, 2023 10:00AM
- Oct/27/23 11:50:44 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every day in the House, Conservatives stand up and talk about the lineups at our food banks as if food insecurity in this country just became a thing. While the current government created the first-ever national food policy for Canada, invested in the local food infrastructure fund, invested over $100 million into food security organizations during COVID-19 and advanced social protections that lifted 2.7 million Canadians out of poverty, what did the Stephen Harper Conservatives do? They did nothing.
If the Conservatives have finally woken up to the fact that food security is a need in this country, they can vote for the affordability act.
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- Oct/27/23 11:51:30 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that food insecurity is not a new thing. It has only been getting worse under the Liberal-NDP coalition. In fact, 67% of those using food banks this year were living in market rental housing and paying so much they could not afford groceries. What is worse is that children now make up 33% of food bank clients. The NDP-Liberal talking points and photo ops are clearly not working.
When will the Liberals end their inflationary spending so we can keep roofs over our heads and kids out of food banks?
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- Oct/27/23 11:52:06 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food reported as many as 4.3 million Canadians were food insecure in 2011, and he said, “a growing number of people across Canada are unable to meet their basic food needs.” That was in the dark era of the Conservatives for almost a decade, when food insecurity continued to get worse and worse. I do not know when the Conservatives finally woke up and realized that this was a major issue in this country, but they did nothing for over a decade. Here we are, addressing the issue by lifting 2.7 million Canadians out of poverty. I wish they would get on board and do something for once to actually support Canadians.
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- Oct/27/23 11:52:54 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the disastrous Trudeau economic legacy, 14 deficits in 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s, led to untold devastation for Canadian families and massive cuts to Canadian health care spending and critical federal programs for seniors and families. After eight more long years, the family legacy has now resulted in 20 consecutive deficit budgets under former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and his son. The family legacy is definitely not worth the cost.
Some are now saying that we will spend more on interest payments this year than we do on the Canada health transfer. Is that true?
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- Oct/27/23 11:53:38 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, maybe the hon. member from the south of Edmonton forgot or had amnesia about the 10 dark years under the Harper government. Quite frankly, he is one of the silent Conservative voices. There are 30 silent Conservative voices, MPs who are all from Alberta, saying nothing about Danielle Smith's reckless and irresponsible attempt to take Albertans out of the CPP. Is he happy to scare seniors in his riding? Is he happy to destabilize the CPP for the country? Shame on him and his whole party for being silent and scaring Albertan and Canadian seniors.
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- Oct/27/23 11:54:16 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when each faced a global crisis, each government definitely took a distinctly different route. The Conservative government ran targeted, time-limited deficits and laid out a timeline to get back to balance by 2015, which it did. The Liberal Prime Minister, on the other hand, announced that the crisis was an opportunity to reimagine our economy and embarked on a wild-eyed experiment that has our country teetering on the edge of financial devastation.
Will the government spend more this year on interest than it does on the Canada health transfer, yes or no?
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- Oct/27/23 11:55:00 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member across the aisle is really good at cherry-picking facts. I can tell members about conversations I had with Conservative members of Parliament during the middle of the pandemic. What did they say? They said to forget the loan programs and the ability to help people pay their rent. They said to let the market decide. What did they want? They wanted breadlines, poverty and decimation in our streets. Shame on them for scaring people about CPP and shame on them for revisionist history. The government supports Canadians and has lifted over a million people out of poverty. Shame on the Conservatives.
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- Oct/27/23 11:55:42 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 872,000 Quebeckers had to use food banks this year. That is a staggering figure.
It is imperative that the government help these people who can no longer afford to feed their families. During the election, the Liberals promised to invest $1 billion over five years for a school food program. I wrote to the Minister of Finance to remind her of that promise, but I still have not received an answer.
Given that one in 10 Quebeckers are using food banks, will the minister keep her promise and allocate funding to feed children?
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- Oct/27/23 11:56:25 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that, right now, many Canadians are having a hard time putting food on the table.
We are working with provinces, territories, municipalities, indigenous partners and others to develop a national school food policy and support the creation of a national school food program. We are planning this policy to reflect regional and local needs, because we know that existing meal programs do not serve the majority of Canadians.
I am happy to share with this House that the “as we heard it” report will be coming out next week. I look forward to working together on it.
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- Oct/27/23 11:57:10 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is no miracle solution to the increased cost of living.
However, we are not asking the government for a miracle today. We are still waiting and hoping for one next week. We are asking the government to keep its promise. It promised $1 billion for a school food program. That is nothing miraculous, but it would be a complete game-changer for those of the 872,000 Quebeckers using food banks who have families.
When will the government keep its promise and transfer that money to Quebec with no strings attached?
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- Oct/27/23 11:57:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that kids learn better on a full stomach, and this remains our goal.
The work under way on a national school food policy is critical to achieving that. We continue to work with our partners, the provinces, territories, indigenous partners, stakeholders and children to inform the path forward on this.
As mentioned, I look forward to the release of the “as we heard it” report, the results of our consultation. I look forward to working with all members in this House to move it forward.
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- Oct/27/23 11:58:29 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, Canadians are increasingly convinced that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost.
The government's insatiable appetite for spending has triggered an inflation crisis and interest rate hikes. Millions of Canadians with mortgages are left wondering what they are going to do when their payments go up by over $1,000 a month on their next renewal.
When will the NDP-Liberal government get its inflationary deficits under control so people can afford to stay in their homes?
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- Oct/27/23 11:59:02 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I sat with the member on the federal finance committee for two years. At no point did he ever stand up and go against the austerity agenda of that party's leader. It is an unacceptable approach.
We, on this side, do have an approach that matters. In his community in Calgary, we are working with that city council on a number of things, including the housing accelerator fund that would see more homes built, which brings down the cost of rent and brings down the cost of purchasing a home.
We will continue to work together.
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- Oct/27/23 11:59:40 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, $54 million in waste, extortion, corruption and an RCMP investigation; that is ArriveCAN. We heard shocking testimony about a group of government insiders who are running a real racket in tech sector procurement.
After eight years of the Prime Minister and his NDP-Liberal government, that is how they run things, and now there is an RCMP investigation. The Prime Minister is clearly not worth the cost. Will he fully co-operate with the RCMP in this investigation?
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- Oct/27/23 12:00:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we have said time and time again, we expect all contracts to be issued following the law and regulations set out in this place.
CBSA has launched an internal audit. It has increased oversight over contract granting and is mandating new procurement certification courses. We welcome any investigation into these allegations. Any misconduct will come with consequences.
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- Oct/27/23 12:00:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has blocked so many RCMP investigations that he has lost track of them this week. The insiders involved in this are the same ones behind the $54-million arrive scam. The whistle-blowers who brought this waste and corruption to Canadians' attention were threatened and had their contracts cancelled by the NDP-Liberal government. After eight years of the Prime Minister, he is not worth the cost.
When will the Prime Minister stop lining the pockets of well-connected insiders and fully co-operate with the RCMP?
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- Oct/27/23 12:01:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, we see the Conservatives taking cheap political shots at the Prime Minister instead of sticking to the facts, which is allowing any allegations of misconduct to be properly investigated. There is nothing being blocked by the Prime Minister or the government.
We welcome an investigation to look into these allegations of misconduct, and we expect contracts to be issued following the law.
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- Oct/27/23 12:02:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, many Canadians across the country are worried about their future. Groceries are more expensive, so are housing and basic amenities.
Many students and recent graduates are among those who are worried. They are just starting out in life, facing these uncertain and inflationary times without much in terms of savings to fall back on.
Can the minister tell us what meaningful steps our government is taking to help students and recent graduates put some money aside and help them get off to a good start?
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- Oct/27/23 12:02:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Halifax West for all her hard work.
Our government understands very well that students and recent graduates need financial support. That is exactly what we have done. We recently announced that interest on federal student loans would be forgiven. This saves young people nearly $410 a year. Our government has always been there for Canadians.
I would like to point out that the Conservatives voted against these measures. Shame on them.
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- Oct/27/23 12:03:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, new information has just revealed that the Prime Minister's Office refused to release documents to the RCMP during its SNC-Lavalin investigation. At the ethics committee, MPs were in the room and the RCMP commissioner was in the room ready to testify on the RCMP's obstruction of justice investigation into the Prime Minister's SNC-Lavalin scandal. Then the NDP-Liberal government abruptly shut down the ethics committee before the RCMP commissioner could testify. After eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost.
What is the cover-up coalition hiding?
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