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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 242

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 30, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 242 - Oct/30/23
Ms. Patricia Lattanzio (Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, last week, members of this House voted on my private member's bill, Bill C-252, which aims to prohibit the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children aged 13 and under. While the Bloc and the NDP voted in favour of this initiative to protect the health of children, the Conservatives voted against it, once again demonstrating that the health of Canadians is always their last priority. Could the Minister of Health please speak to the importance of the child health protection act?
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Hon. Mark Holland (Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • Oct/30/23 2:52:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my thanks to the member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel for championing children's health. When we take a look at the absolute, unfortunate tsunami of chronic disease and illness that is coming as a result of childhood nutrition not being where it needs to be, we know that one of those leading problems is advertisers going after children to push, unfortunately, unhealthy products that are going to have injurious effects on their health. I am so proud of this House that we took action. I am so proud of this member for introducing this private member's bill. I am utterly confounded as to why the Conservatives would stand against it. It is imperative we do everything we can for children's health.
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Mr. John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, CPC)
  • Oct/30/23 2:53:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, an obvious, desperate Prime Minister admitted his carbon tax is punishing Canadians and making life unaffordable. After eight years he finally proved to himself last Thursday that he is not worth the cost. His only strategy at this point is not about climate. It is about protecting his Liberal MPs. In Sudbury, in Nickel Belt, 55% of homes are heated by natural gas, yet for these struggling Canadians they get no exemption from heating their homes. The Leader of the Opposition has proposed to axe the tax in all forms of home heating for every Canadian. Will the Prime Minister agree with that?
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Hon. Steven Guilbeault (Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)
  • Oct/30/23 2:53:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about our record in terms of greenhouse gas reduction which, no thanks to the Conservative Party, we have been able to do over the last few years. However, let us talk about the record number of electric vehicles that are being deployed, with 10% of sales now in Canada for electric vehicles, something the Leader of the Opposition does not even believe in. He thinks it is a myth. Whereas 10 years ago, one in 25 vehicles sold in the world was electric, today it is one in five around the world. We are catching up to the rest of the world, no thanks to the Conservative Party of Canada.
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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, CPC)
  • Oct/30/23 2:54:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight long years, the NDP-Liberal government is so arrogant that it does not even try to hide its corruption. The minister from Long Range Mountains openly admitted that Canadians who do not vote for Liberals will be punished with higher taxes. She insulted Canadians and gave a slap in the face to her coalition partners. What about the NDP MP for Timmins—James Bay? Can the minister tell us why their NDP partners are so incompetent and ineffective they could not get a tax break on home heating for people suffering in northern Ontario?
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Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lib.)
  • Oct/30/23 2:55:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to address affordability. That is exactly what we are doing with the heat pump program to ensure that people are actually saving money. It is also important that we are fighting climate change in a thoughtful and substantive way. I do find this question a little bit odd, coming from the only member in the House of Commons who voted against the Paris Agreement.
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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, CPC)
  • Oct/30/23 2:56:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister once said that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. After eight long years, now he says some Canadians are more equal than other Canadians. The NDP-Liberal government is so desperate to cling on to power it will pay any price. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost of national unity. Will the Liberals introduce legislation today, listening to the Leader of the Opposition, and axe the tax on all home heating for all Canadians?
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Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lib.)
  • Oct/30/23 2:56:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure how many times I need to repeat in this House that the program applies to all Canadians, all provinces and territories across the country. We are addressing a particularly acute issue with respect to home heating. Most folks in this chamber should be aware that this has been an issue for a number of years. We are doing that by accelerating the deployment of heat pumps that will save people money and will continue to help us to address climate change. That is a responsible, thoughtful way to approach public policy.
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Mr. Dan Mazier (Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, CPC)
  • Oct/30/23 2:57:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. The Prime Minister finally admitted that his carbon tax is unaffordable for Canadians, but instead of removing the carbon tax for all Canadians, the Prime Minister chose to further divide this country by only helping those who voted for him. The Liberals are saying that Manitobans did not deserve the tax relief because they did not vote Liberal. Unfortunately, Manitoba elected four Liberals. Why did the Manitoba Liberal minister from Saint Boniface—Saint Vital fail to get a carbon tax exemption on home heating for Manitobans?
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Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • Oct/30/23 2:58:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again the member opposite clearly was not listening to the minister when he said that home heating oil exemptions apply right across the country. What is more, folks in Manitoba get a rebate from the price on pollution. Not only are we helping Canadians to fight climate change, which I remind my colleagues is an existential threat to our well-being, we are also helping them with the high cost of living. Instead of taking their money away, Conservatives should be joining us in ensuring that we can all provide more supports to Canadians.
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Mr. Yves Perron (Berthier—Maskinongé, BQ)
  • Oct/30/23 2:58:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our farmers are still suffering from this summer's catastrophic weather. According to a survey by the Union des producteurs agricoles, precipitation ravaged no less than 60% of Quebec's market gardens. Respondents lost a third of their revenues in the midst of an inflationary crisis. Worse still, more than half of producers think that this damage will continue to affect the 2024 crop. What we need is emergency assistance for horticultural producers and deferral of the emergency business account loan repayment. When is the government going to take action?
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Mr. Marc Serré (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and to the Minister of Official Languages, Lib.)
  • Oct/30/23 2:59:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our thoughts go out to everyone across the country affected by the extreme weather and forest fires of recent months. Farmers, producers and ranchers exist on the front lines of climate change. We recognize that the devastation caused by extreme weather and forest fires across the country has made this a difficult time for many of them. We continue to be there for them. We continue to work together to ensure that we are meeting the needs of farmers.
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Mr. Yves Perron (Berthier—Maskinongé, BQ)
  • Oct/30/23 3:00:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not think the government quite grasps the urgency of the situation. For producers of root vegetables, 64% of lands were damaged by rain. For strawberry and raspberry producers, it is 73%. For pea producers, it is 88%. This will affect food prices if the government does not intervene, and everybody will be impacted. We need emergency supports and a one-year extension of the emergency account repayment deadline, and we need them right now. When will the minister understand that?
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Hon. Steven Guilbeault (Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)
  • Oct/30/23 3:00:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I remind my hon. colleague that we unveiled the very first national climate change adaptation strategy in Canadian history last June. The strategy was praised by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, among others, who called it brave and bold. We are working with all stakeholders, including in agriculture, and with our provincial, territorial and municipal partners to implement solutions to help Canadians, businesses and corporations face the impacts of climate change.
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Mrs. Dominique Vien (Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, CPC)
  • Oct/30/23 3:01:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second carbon tax affects Quebec, and it is having a catastrophic impact on the lives of our constituents. Our food banks are overwhelmed and that includes Frigos pleins, Comptoir Le Grenier and L'Essential des Etchemins in my community. One in 10 people are using food banks. After eight years under this government, with the assistance of the Bloc Québécois, everything is broken. It is costly to vote Bloc Québécois. The announcement that the Prime Minister made on Friday is not enough. He must abolish the full tax everywhere. When will the Prime Minister announce that the tax has been completely eliminated?
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Hon. Steven Guilbeault (Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)
  • Oct/30/23 3:02:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a bit difficult for me to speak after this member who, for many years, was part of a government that was the first in North America to implement a carbon tax, the Government of Quebec. She was part of the government that did that. An article in this morning's edition of La Presse said that Quebec had a record rainfall of 265 millimetres, the most rain it has seen since 1940. The impacts of climate change are real, particularly in the agricultural industry. They are driving up the cost of food. This summer in Quebec, there was $150 million in damages in the agricultural industry alone. Everyone pays for that.
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Mrs. Dominique Vien (Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, CPC)
  • Oct/30/23 3:02:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years with this Bloc Québécois-backed government in power, parents are struggling. They have to cut back on everything, including meeting their children's needs. I do not know why people on the other side are laughing; there is nothing funny about what I am saying. A family in Lévis says they have to pay almost twice as much for food because of inflation. Voting for the Bloc Québécois is costly. They want to drastically increase the carbon tax. The second carbon tax applies in Quebec and hurts our people. When will the Prime Minister abandon his carbon tax throughout the country?
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Hon. Pablo Rodriguez (Minister of Transport, Lib.)
  • Oct/30/23 3:03:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am having a little trouble keeping up with my Conservative colleague. She was there when they introduced the carbon exchange. She defended it and voted in favour of it in cabinet. Does she change her mind every time she changes leaders, or every time she changes parties? Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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The Speaker
  • Oct/30/23 3:03:49 p.m.
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Colleagues, I would like to hear the question from the Member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.
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Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)
  • Oct/30/23 3:04:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Bloc Québécois members have once again wholeheartedly supported the Liberal Party. Nearly 900,000 Quebeckers turned to a food bank last month. After eight years of Liberal governance, that is what happens. The Liberals want to bring in a new tax, with the enthusiastic support of the Bloc Québécois, which wants to drastically increase that tax. The Prime Minister, who is taking a nasty beating in the polls, announced last week that he is going to give Atlantic Canadians a temporary break. Will the Prime Minister rise here and announce that he will give all Canadians a permanent break?
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