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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 243

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 31, 2023 10:00AM
  • Oct/31/23 2:53:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is radical is the fact that my colleague from Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier went to Baie‑Saint‑Paul with me in July to witness the damage that climate change wrought on the people there. What is radical is that, even now, in 2023, the Conservative elite still adheres to the official policy that climate change does not exist. What is radical is that their proposal to remove the price on pollution is a pro-pollution, anti-middle class policy.
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  • Oct/31/23 2:54:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, I asked the Minister of Immigration if he would expedite existing immigration applications to help get families out of Gaza. He said he had instructed his officials to be as flexible as possible, yet Global Affairs is telling people outright that only immediate family members are eligible and that parents and siblings are excluded. Clearly, the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. Will the Minister of Immigration officially commit to expediting existing immigration applications and including extended family members?
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  • Oct/31/23 2:54:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is happening in Gaza is absolutely catastrophic; it is one of the worst places on earth to live right now. We have been clear: The 400 Canadians stuck in Gaza need to leave. Time is running out. We will be putting pressure on all parties in terms of Israel, making sure that we do so, working with Egypt and working with Qatar, which is speaking to Hamas, and making sure that our Canadians are coming back home and brought to safety.
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Mr. Speaker, the current Liberal government is all talk and no action when it comes to protecting the rights of workers. In the past, the Liberals have used back-to-work legislation to force workers off the picket line; now they are dragging their feet on introducing our NDP anti-scab legislation. Meanwhile, the Canadian Olympic Committee has just hired a company that has locked out its employees, and Canada Post has just produced a non-union commercial with a union-busting company. Is it trick or treat? Will the minister finally do the right thing for workers and commit to bringing in our NDP anti-scab legislation today?
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Mr. Speaker, we are making sure that the collective bargaining process is as free and fair as it can be. We have wrapped up consultations, and we are going to take the feedback that we received from unions, employers and indigenous groups to inform legislation, to be tabled by the end of this year. This is the latest evolution in policy to protect the collective bargaining process. We need to strike a balance between doing it quickly and getting it right.
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  • Oct/31/23 2:56:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, international students have experienced some serious challenges in our international student program. In Brampton, many of them have come to my constituency office and asked for help because unscrupulous consultants have taken advantage of them. They are victims of fraud. This is not right. We have to protect the integrity of our program. What are we doing to combat fraud and protect the victims?
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  • Oct/31/23 2:57:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Brampton South for her advocacy. Our goal in the announcement that we made on Friday is really to punish bad actors, without punishing the good actors. International students are welcome to have a home in this country. These people are a real credit to our country, and we want to make sure that we are properly accommodating them. We announced on Friday that, to nip fraud in the bud, we would make sure that we properly verify the letters that are issued by designated institutes. We are also moving toward a recognized institution model to make sure that those institutions are actually doing their jobs and that the student experience is comprehensive.
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  • Oct/31/23 2:57:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister finds himself rapidly falling out of favour with Atlantic Canadians. They are not stunned. They know he is not worth the cost. With a short three-year reprieve from carbon tax 1, carbon tax 2 is still cleverly buried in oil bills. Why is the government misleading Atlantic Canadians about removing carbon tax, when carbon tax 2 remains? How much will they pay if they vote Liberal again?
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  • Oct/31/23 2:58:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times in the House, the focus is on addressing affordability challenges, particularly as they relate to heating oil. Heating oil is by far the most expensive way to heat a home. The investment in heat pumps will actually save people significant amounts of money, but it will do so in a manner that will continue the battle against climate change, a battle that is an existential threat to the future of the human race and to the future of our children. It is a shame that the political party over there has no plan, nor any belief in the reality of climate change.
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  • Oct/31/23 2:59:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am looking across at the member for Avalon and I can tell by the look on his face that this answer is just not good enough. Those who heat their homes with oil think that they received a treat, but if they vote Liberal again, they will find out that it is a trick. As an Atlantic Canadian, I ask this. Will the Prime Minister stop dividing the country and remove all carbon tax from all forms of heating fuel for all Canadians and give them a goody this Halloween?
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  • Oct/31/23 2:59:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this government adopts thoughtful approaches to public policy. We are addressing affordability concerns in a manner that is consistent with fighting climate change. However, the hon. member, I am amazed, is somebody who is actually opposing one of the greatest economic opportunities of our time in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is supported by the province, developed by the province and developed by companies in Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure that they develop an offshore wind industry and a hydrogen industry that is going to create jobs and economic opportunity in his riding and in ridings throughout the province.
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  • Oct/31/23 3:00:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, the Prime Minister admitted two things: one, that his carbon tax is making life unaffordable for Atlantic Canadians; and two, that if re-elected, he will impose the full quadrupled carbon tax on Atlantic Canadians regardless if they can afford it or not. After eight years, Atlantic Canadians cannot trust or afford those Liberals. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. When will the Prime Minister quite playing games and axe the carbon tax permanently so that every Canadian can keep the heat on?
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  • Oct/31/23 3:01:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the House, one thing is clear. The Conservative Party has no belief in the reality of climate change and no plan to fight it. This government is focused on ensuring that we are addressing affordability challenges in a thoughtful way, while concurrently addressing the climate issue. It is a shame in the House, it is a shame in the country that we have a political party that denies the reality of climate change and is willing to give up the future of our children.
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  • Oct/31/23 3:02:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our desperate Prime Minister, while in total free fall, is now trying to fool Atlantic Canadians by pushing the quadrupling of the carbon tax until just after the next election. It is clear now, more then ever, that the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. After eight years, everything is more expensive. The government should listen to Premier Higgs of New Brunswick, when he told it that it should “Just cancel their unaffordable carbon tax altogether.” Will the NDP-Liberal government finally listen, get off the backs of Canadians and axe the tax for all Canadians, from sea to sea?
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  • Oct/31/23 3:02:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would certainly suggest for my hon. colleague that perhaps he talk to his constituents about the $2,500 a year that they will save through the installation of a heat pump. They will be able to do that in a manner that will enhance the affordability for their family, but also do so in a manner where they can assist in the fight against climate change. As I said before, Conservatives in other G7 countries around the world marvel at the fact that in Canada we still have a political party that questions the reality of climate change and has no plan to fight it.
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  • Oct/31/23 3:03:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, SMEs are not asking the federal government for the moon. They are asking it to be flexible by deferring repayment of loans from the Canada emergency business account without loss of subsidies. These businesses are not multinationals. It is the local restaurant where someone's daughter works. These are local entrepreneurs who are working hard to create jobs in their region. It could be a future Bombardier in its infancy. The government is quite generous with American multinational oil companies. Why does it refuse to be flexible with our SMEs?
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  • Oct/31/23 3:04:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government listens to small businesses. The first deadline for the exemption qualification was the end of 2022. Small businesses asked for our help. That is why our government extended the exemption qualification deadline to January 18, 2024. We also announced a full one-year extension of the term loan repayment deadline to the end of 2026.
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  • Oct/31/23 3:04:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is all about double standards here in Ottawa: the needs of the oil companies and those of the SMEs. No one here in the Liberal Party or the Conservative Party even questioned the $83 billion in subsidies for the oil companies in the last two budgets. That, according to them, is responsible, but giving small businesses an extra year to pay back their pandemic loans, without losing their subsidy, is too expensive according to them. When will the government get its priorities straight and defer the emergency account repayment?
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  • Oct/31/23 3:05:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the information we just heard in the House. Canada is the first G20 country to have eliminated fossil fuel subsidies two years ahead of the 2025 schedule. We did that this year and we will go even further since we are also eliminating public support for fossil fuels. No other G20 country has done that. We are the first.
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  • Oct/31/23 3:05:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has finally admitted that the carbon tax has made life unaffordable for Canadians, proving what we already knew. After eight years, Canadians know that the desperate NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost. On top of this, a member of the Liberal cabinet let the veil slip and admitted that people living in eastern Ontario were denied an exemption on heating oil because they voted the wrong way. I wonder if my neighbour, the member for Kingston and the Islands, shares this sentiment and can explain why the Liberals are refusing to cut the tax on all forms of home heating for all Canadians?
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