44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 2, 2023 10:00AM
- Nov/2/23 2:49:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last year, the NDP voted against our common-sense Conservative motion to scrap the carbon tax on home heating. The Liberals have admitted that these taxes are not worth the cost after they exempted Atlantic Canada, but, once again, they left Albertans out in the cold.
Is the Liberal minister from Edmonton going to order the NDP MP for Edmonton Strathcona to vote against the wishes and interests of her constituents, or will she be permitted to axe the tax to keep the heat on?
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- Nov/2/23 2:49:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there were $340 million in damages from storms in Ontario, over $720 million from wildfires in B.C., over $300 million from storms in Alberta and the Prairies and over $170 million from flooding in Nova Scotia. This is what climate change has cost Canadians just this summer, and these are insured costs. The total costs are three times that.
The climate-denying Conservative Party of Canada wants us to believe that climate change is not costing Canadians anything. It is costing Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
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- Nov/2/23 2:50:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, more than 400 Canadians are trapped in Gaza, including Ahmed Alheluo of Edmonton, who is recovering from surgery and unable to transport himself. First, he was told by Canadian authorities to stay where he is, then to evacuate to Rafah, then to stay put again as Canadians may not be allowed to cross into Egypt. While the government ignores calls for a ceasefire, Ahmed is struggling to survive, and today we have learned that not a single Canadian is on the evacuation list.
Why is Canada not advocating for the lives of Canadians in Gaza, and when will the Liberals call for a ceasefire?
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- Nov/2/23 2:51:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire. Many Canadians are worried about their family and friends.
Yesterday, we saw the first wave of foreign nationals leave. I want to reassure Canadians that we are in regular close contact with Egypt and Israel, to push for Canadians to leave as soon as possible. We continually try to reach all Canadians, permanent residents and their family members to give them the latest information. This is why we continue to call for humanitarian pauses to get Canadians out and to get humanitarian aid in, and for all hostages to be released.
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- Nov/2/23 2:51:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with the cost of living crisis, Canadians cannot afford the therapy they need. If they try for public care, wait-lists are months to years long. There is no postpandemic recovery plan to help people with their mental health. So many people are suffering in silence. This is not acceptable, especially when the Liberals have yet to deliver on the $4.5-billion mental health transfer. For a government that claims to champion mental health, it sure does delay and disappoint. Breaking this promise will cost lives.
Will the Liberals change course and deliver the mental health transfer to get people the help they so urgently need?
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- Nov/2/23 2:52:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague's commitment to mental health is something I share deeply and profoundly. In his home province of British Columbia, the agreement we made to see, over the next three years, a historic amount of money flow to help in all aspects of health care, including mental health, was exceptionally important. We are committed to seeing it not only in British Columbia but also across the country.
We have much more work to do in all aspects of mental health. This is going to require a whole-of-government approach, and it really requires all of us to think about how we can do everything we can to treat each other better and put mental health at the front of our workplaces and our lives.
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- Nov/2/23 2:53:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people in my riding of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country and right across the country are grappling with the housing crisis. Now, more than ever, they need more affordable housing options like co-ops.
In my home province of British Columbia, 275 co-ops provide safe and affordable housing to well over 15,000 people. We need governments to build on this by promoting and expanding co-op housing across the country, but earlier this week, when asked about social and co-op housing, the Conservative leader said, “We do not need a Soviet-style takeover of housing”.
How does the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities respond to that?
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- Nov/2/23 2:54:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to affordable housing, the Conservative Party could not be more out of touch. Referring to co-ops as “Soviet-style” housing is a slap in the face to the quarter-million Canadians who live in homes like that. This is not the first time I have heard the Conservative leader criticize middle-class Canadians' living arrangements. Just this past summer, on a live video, he labelled a woman's home in Niagara a “shack”.
Canadians need bold federal leadership to solve the housing crisis, and that is what we are going to deliver. The Conservative leader, who insults middle-class homes while he goes home to his own government-paid-for housing arrangement, simply does not get it. It is reckless behaviour. We will not stand for it.
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- Nov/2/23 2:54:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, The B.C. NDP premier has demanded carbon tax fairness and equal treatment for British Columbians. The NDP member for North Island—Powell River votes with her Ottawa boss, the Prime Minister, punishing people in Campbell River struggling with high home heating costs. On Monday, we will vote for our common-sense plan to take the tax off all home heating for all Canadians for good.
How does the carbon tax coalition work? Will the PM require the NDP member for North Island—Powell River to vote against the Conservative plan, or will she vote with us to keep the heat on and axe the tax?
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- Nov/2/23 2:55:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member raised the Government of British Columbia. I had the opportunity to speak to my counterpart from British Columbia this morning. We will be engaging British Columbia in a codelivery arrangement to ensure that 10,000 British Columbia households that are on heating oil will get a free heat pump to get them off heating oil and reduce their costs on an ongoing basis.
I would also say that affordability is also about the economy and jobs. I would say that what is happening at the natural resources committee with the obfuscation by the opposition is a shame. It is destroying jobs and economic opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador, and for Nova Scotia. Opposition members should be ashamed of their behaviour there.
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- Nov/2/23 2:56:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am never ashamed to help keep home heating costs down for all Canadians.
After eight years, Canadians know that the flailing Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Seniors in Smithers should not be punished for heating their homes, and the B.C. NDP premier agrees. Common-sense Conservatives would axe the tax on home heating for every single Canadian.
Does the NDP member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley have a choice on Monday's vote, or must he vote with his political master? Will the Prime Minister require that NDP member to vote his way, or is the member going to support our Conservative plan to keep the heat on and axe the tax?
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- Nov/2/23 2:57:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague should know that the 10,000 homes in British Columbia that actually utilize heating oil will, yes, have access to free heat pumps, because the Government of British Columbia is stepping up to work with the Government of Canada to ensure that this will be the case. This is addressing affordability concerns not just for the short term but also for the long term, and is doing so in a manner that is consistent with the government's commitment to fight climate change, a commitment shared by governments around the world and by every party in the House except the Conservative Party of Canada.
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- Nov/2/23 2:57:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not a luxury for seniors, families and single-parent families to heat their homes, regardless of what type of fuel they use or what region of the country they are from. After eight years of the Prime Minister and a year and a half of the NDP-Liberal coalition, Canadians realize they are not worth the cost.
On Monday, NDP members will have a choice to make: support their constituents who are suffering from energy poverty or support a panicking Prime Minister.
Will the Prime Minister force the NDP members to support their coalition agreement, or, with what little dignity they have left, will they support the people they represent, to keep the tax off and the heat on?
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- Nov/2/23 2:58:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite mentioned families. Everything we do, at the heart of our actions on this side of the House, is focused on ensuring we are there for families. I look to building a national early learning and child care system as just one way we are looking to support families. Introducing affordable, high-quality and accessible child care across this country saves families hundreds of dollars each and every month. That is just one of the ways we are working to make life more affordable for Canadian families.
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- Nov/2/23 2:59:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been eight long years, but on Monday, the NDP members have a chance to show whom they work for. Is it for the Prime Minister, who is just not worth the cost, or for Canadians, who want the tax off and the heat on? It is cold in Manitoba. It gets down to -40°C. It should not be a luxury for folks to keep the heat on. The member from Churchill and her NDP colleagues will have a chance on Monday to show whom they work for.
On Monday, will the NDP members vote with the Liberals, or will they vote for Canadians, to axe the tax for all forms of home heating?
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- Nov/2/23 2:59:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member referred to his home province of Manitoba. The new government in Manitoba has reached out to the federal government to engage in a conversation about codelivery for the thousands of homes in Manitoba that actually use heating oil, to ensure they will be addressed in a thoughtful and affordable way. I congratulate the Government of Manitoba for being proactive on this important issue and for its continuing commitment to fighting climate change.
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- Nov/2/23 3:00:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has been warning us since June that hundreds of thousands of business could go bankrupt. The CFIB's updated numbers are no better. Right now, 220,000 businesses are in danger of going bankrupt if the federal government does not let them defer repayment of Canada emergency business account loans without losing the subsidy. Those 220,000 businesses say they have neither the cash nor the ability to borrow more to repay the loan.
When will the government understand that these businesses may well go bankrupt if they are not given enough time to pay back their loans?
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- Nov/2/23 3:01:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we did not abandon small businesses during the pandemic, nor did we abandon them after the pandemic.
What did we do then? We created the Canada emergency business account loan to help small businesses keep their doors open. What are we doing now? We are offering more flexibility for them to repay their CEBA loans. What will we continue to do? We will continue to listen to and support small businesses across the country.
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- Nov/2/23 3:01:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, 18 days is not what I would call real flexibility. In my riding alone, 72 small and medium-sized businesses are in danger of bankruptcy if the federal government fails to act. These are family businesses that I know, business that these people have invested in for their entire lives. These businesses also employ hundreds of people. If the federal government does not stop taking a hard line with family businesses, hundreds of jobs could be lost in the riding of Terrebonne alone.
Which Liberal minister, the Minister of Small Business or the Minister of Finance, is going to come with me to tell Natacha, Sylvain and Éric that because of so-called fiscal restraint, the government is going to leave them high and dry?
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- Nov/2/23 3:02:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I would remind her that over 900,000 businesses have been saved by our government. If we had not stepped in, these companies would have been shuttered.
Today, we are offering a second loan repayment extension. We are offering more flexibility to refinance and have the loan forgiven. We will continue to be there for businesses.
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