44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 3, 2023 10:00AM
- Nov/3/23 11:06:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this November, we celebrate Lebanese Heritage Month and the rich culture of Lebanon, its generous and hard-working people and their contribution to making our communities vibrant and prosperous.
Thousands of Lebanese call my community of Windsor—Tecumseh home, and because of that, my hometown boasts some of the best festivals and food in Canada. Whether it is the annual St. Ignatius and St. Peter's festivals or the bounty of restaurants such as Souq, Hamoudi's, Mazaar, Al-Sabeel or Tabouli, our Lebanese community proudly shares its rich heritage.
It is also a community of dedicated doctors, nurses, teachers, artists, athletes and entrepreneurs. Yesterday, the founders of Cedar Valley, our local manufacturer of fattoush salad dressing and authentic Lebanese-style pita chips, were featured on CBC's Dragon's Den.
Let us deepen our appreciation of the priceless contribution that Lebanese Canadians make to our Canadian mosaic. To everyone back home, Kulluna lil-watan, lil'ula lil-'alam.
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- Nov/3/23 11:08:00 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I proudly grew up at the Chautauqua Co-op. It was a vibrant community built with federal funding from Pierre Elliott Trudeau's Liberal housing strategy back in the eighties.
We do not have enough public non-market housing in Canada, and that is a real problem, so I am proud of the government for investing over $1.5 billion in non-market housing solutions going forward. However, this week I was disgusted to hear the Conservative leader refer to co-op housing as “Soviet-style” housing. My mom's family escaped Soviet Hungary and she has been building co-ops in this country for the last 30 years. To hear that from a guy who has never had a job outside of government and lives in government-subsidized housing was tremendously disturbing.
Stigmatizing low-income Canadians will not build housing, and neither will the Conservatives' risky, irresponsible plan. It is time that we end this stigmatization of people on the lower-income scale and get them the housing they need and deserve.
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- Nov/3/23 11:09:02 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canada was once a country where everyone was equal, but after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, it seems that some Canadians are more equal than others. Rather than axing the tax for all Canadians everywhere, the Prime Minister declared a carbon tax exemption for some Canadians in some places. Why? It is because his Atlantic caucus revolted with dwindling poll numbers.
The Minister of Rural Economic Development said if people want an exemption, they should vote Liberal. My father had a phrase for that, which I cannot say here. On Monday, the Liberal member for Edmonton Centre will have two choices: Will he side with the Prime Minister's ideological project and tell his constituents he does not care how much it will cost to heat their homes in frigid Edmonton this winter, or will the Liberals have a free vote for the common-sense Conservative motion to make all Canadians equal by axing the tax?
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- Nov/3/23 11:10:02 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, this week I met with Lori Oschefski and representatives of Home Children Canada, an organization raising public awareness about an important time in our history when Canada's immigration laws facilitated the flow of orphaned or low-income children to be immigrated for the purpose of domestic servantry.
While many of these children lived hard lives in the U.K., enduring the industrial boom and world wars, their time in Canada was hardly easy. They worked on farms or in homes under very harsh conditions, and many of these young children were abused, mistreated and neglected.
So many of the stories of home children have been lost over time that many Canadians today are unaware of their family's connection to this issue. I know this because I am a descendant of one. My great-grandmother Elizabeth Boardman arrived alone at the very young age of 13.
I share this statement today to ensure the stories of British home children are never forgotten considering the harrowing fate many of them met while in Canada. I thank Lori and all members of Home Children Canada for their continued advocacy on this very important issue.
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- Nov/3/23 11:11:06 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on the Liberal tax on home heating, inexplicably the member for Edmonton Centre suggested that his constituents should switch out their natural gas furnaces for expensive, higher-emitting heating oil systems.
The member for Calgary Skyview has done precious little to get Calgarians the same tax relief for home heating that his party has given to other parts of the country.
In debate here, the member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River defended the Liberal tax on home heating, even as people in his community are struggling to afford food and housing under eight years of the NDP-Liberal coalition.
These Liberals need to get their act together.
On Monday, the Liberals have the opportunity to admit the Liberal carbon tax is not worth the cost and vote in favour of our common-sense Conservative motion to axe the tax on all forms of home heating. Winter is coming, and Canadians in all parts of the country are watching. The Liberals should do the right thing, stand up for their constituents and vote in favour of this motion.
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- Nov/3/23 11:12:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Nova Scotia Liberal MPs got an earful this summer on how the carbon tax was making life more unaffordable in that people were having to choose between eating, heating and housing.
Last week, on the day of the massive rally for the leader of the Conservatives in Nova Scotia, the panicking Liberal Prime Minister, who is plummeting in the polls, made an emergency announcement. What was the big announcement? Was it to remove the cause of the problem of the cost of living crisis and axe the carbon tax? No. Was it to permanently take the carbon tax off home heating at least? No. It was to pause the tax on oil heating temporarily but quadruple it after the next election, and the Liberal minister from Newfoundland said the pause only applies to places that vote Liberal.
Atlantic Canadians want fairness, not divisive politics. I challenge the Atlantic Liberals to vote for the Conservative motion to remove the Prime Minister's costly carbon tax from all forms of home heating so that Canadians can keep the heat on.
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- Nov/3/23 11:13:16 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, ullaakkut. I rise today to mark International Inuit Day, which is celebrated annually on November 7.
Are members aware that the number of members of the Inuit community living in the national capital region represents the largest Inuit population in southern Canada?
The riding of Ottawa—Vanier has several organizations for the Inuit community, including Isaruit Inuit Arts; the Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families; the Nunavut Sivuniksavut education centre; and St. Margaret's Church, which welcomes members of the community on Sundays to gather together and practice their faith in Inuktitut.
This Sunday, I invite members to join me and the Ottawa Inuit community to celebrate International Inuit Day at the Annie Pootoogook Park in Sandy Hill from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It will be an opportunity to experience the unique Inuit culture, heritage and traditions. Community feasts, Tuvan throat singing and drumming performances will be featured.
Nakurmiik.
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- Nov/3/23 11:14:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, now more than ever, we need true leadership from those elected to represent Canadians. We are seeing the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, and too many are struggling to make ends meet. However, the outdated first-past-the-post electoral system is not providing Canadians with the representation they need, one that truly matches our communities.
Canadians know change is necessary. We do not have time to wait. The Liberals ran off a promise of electoral reform, but instead that promise was broken time and again.
Motion No. 86 calls on the government to implement a national citizen's assembly on electoral reform. Ensuring democracy is strong is the responsibility of us all as elected officials, yet Canadians are watching in dismay as divisive politics and partisan games get in the way of real action.
Today, I call on all members of the House to listen to Canadians and support Motion No. 86.
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- Nov/3/23 11:15:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Parti Québécois just published the theoretical finances of an independent Quebec, “Un Québec libre de ses choix: finances d'un Québec indépendant”, a study that is thorough and fair.
Its publication pushed the National Assembly to unanimously adopt a motion that recognizes “the financial viability of an independent Quebec”. In other words, every elected member from every political party represented in Quebec City, including the West Island Liberals, agrees that Quebec as a country is financially viable.
The study shows that Quebec compares favourably to the G7 and OECD countries on every financial aspect. The study notes that, beyond financial viability, the economic advantage of being a country is the power to choose where to invest one's money and, as the leader of the Parti Québécois said, “putting an end to federal favouritism to the detriment of Quebec when it comes to direct investments in the economy”.
Quebeckers have more than enough money for their country. The only question is: When?
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- Nov/3/23 11:16:37 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, members will not believe what happened in a committee hearing yesterday about the Prime Minister's $54-million arrive scam, which is now under RCMP investigation. Kristian Firth, one of the co-owners of GC Strategies, is a ghost contractor and key player in arrive scam who was ordered to appear at committee. When asked if a senior government official had a cottage, he said no. However, when pressed, Firth said that it is a chalet, not a cottage. People in rural Ontario do not speak the same language as the Liberal elite, but they do know when someone is lying.
When asked if he met with another senior government official in their house, Firth again said no, but documents prove that he did. He was asked if he met with government officials after hours in their homes. He said no, but when I pressed him, he admitted that he did in fact meet with some government officials in their homes. There were so many meetings between a shady contractor and government officials that he cannot even remember them.
We have ordered him back to committee with his bank records. Conservatives are going to get answers with respect to the Prime Minister's $54-million arrive scam.
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- Nov/3/23 11:17:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, happy 55th anniversary to the Centre for Immigrant and Community Services. CICS was started by a few students back in 1968. Now it provides 20,000 people annually with newcomer settlement services, language training, employment support and community health and wellness care from eight locations in the GTA, including its head office in Scarborough—Agincourt.
Under the leadership of Alfred Lam, CICS is addressing food insecurity by using food from raised-bed gardens, vertical farming and an on-site greenhouse to feed local communities. I thank the staff, board members and volunteers who make CICS special.
I am proud to say that the federal government has supported CICS with a variety of funding, including a recent grant from the community services recovery fund. Congratulations to CICS and cheers to another 55 years.
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- Nov/3/23 11:18:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, that desperate Prime Minister announced a temporary pause on carbon tax on home heating for some Canadians in some regions, but only if they heat with oil. How is that fair? In Sudbury, temperatures drop to minus 30 in the winter. Families are struggling to keep the heat on. Conservatives would take the carbon tax off of all home heating bills on all Canadians. On Monday the Liberal MP from Sudbury has a choice to vote for the Prime Minister's carbon tax or vote for our common-sense Conservative plan to take the tax off and keep the heat on for everyone in Sudbury.
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- Nov/3/23 11:19:40 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, when it comes to fighting climate change, all I ever hear from the Conservative Party members is what they oppose. They oppose providing heat pumps to save on energy bills. They oppose a price on pollution that will put more money in the pockets of Canadians. The heat pump program is a national program. They oppose offshore renewable energy projects. If the Conservative Party actually cared about Canadians, it would present policies that actually support and not just cut government programs. Climate change is important. We are taking steps to deal with it, and that is what we are going to be doing.
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- Nov/3/23 11:20:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister is creating two classes of Canadians: those who pay the carbon tax and those who do not. The temporary pause on home heating is for some Canadians but not for everyone in North Bay. The North Bay Food Bank reports it is running low on supplies. Winter is coming.
After eight years of the Prime Minister, people are forced to choose between heating and eating. He is not worth the cost. On Monday, the Liberal MP from North Bay has a choice to vote for the LIberal carbon tax or vote with common-sense Conservatives to take the tax off and keep the heat on for everyone in North Bay.
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- Nov/3/23 11:21:00 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are helping Canadians all over the country move away from expensive polluting fuels as quickly as possible to fight climate change. That is why we are making it even cheaper and easier to install heat pumps. We are expanding the program to save $2,500 a year on home heating bills and put more money in people's pockets. This is particularly important for rural and remote communities. The Conservatives are doing all they can to end action on climate change, cut government programs and block good jobs on renewable projects.
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- Nov/3/23 11:21:35 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, what happened to “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian”? The Liberal member for Thunder Bay—Superior North has been in cabinet for eight years, yet energy prices have skyrocketed in her region. The Prime Minister's temporary pause on carbon tax applies to some Canadians in some regions, but not everyone in Thunder Bay. That is not fair. Conservatives would take the carbon tax off all home heating bills for all Canadians. On Monday the Liberal minister from northern Ontario has a choice to vote for the Liberal carbon tax or vote with common-sense Conservatives to take the tax off and keep the heat on for everyone in Thunder Bay.
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- Nov/3/23 11:22:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, every day Liberal MPs stand up against the Conservative Party, which routinely votes against vital supports for affordability, housing and health care. We have been there for Canadians across every region for the past eight years. Meanwhile the Conservative MPs are opposing every single measure we introduce to address affordability and climate change. This approach is reckless. Instead of their track record of divisive politics, they should be able to support good measures to help Canadians. This is a national program, despite the misinformation from the Conservative Party. Their approach is reckless and unacceptable.
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- Nov/3/23 11:22:55 a.m.
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I want to remind members that I am sure whoever posed the question wants to hear it, as opposed to hearing members interrupt.
The hon. member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent.
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- Nov/3/23 11:23:06 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal government, the Prime Minister has once again invented a new way to divide Canadians: those who will benefit from a pause on the Liberal carbon tax and those who will not, which is 97% of Canadians.
This is proof that this tax is not worth the cost, and neither is this Prime Minister. It is also proof that this Liberal carbon tax is a fiscal measure, not an environmental one.
When will the Prime Minister understand? More importantly, when will he allow Liberal MPs to vote using common sense and abolish the Liberal carbon tax on home heating?
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- Nov/3/23 11:23:47 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, there is no price on pollution in Quebec. When it comes to fighting climate change, all we hear from the Conservatives is that they oppose it. They oppose a national program for heat pumps, which save on energy bills. They oppose a price on pollution and putting more money into the pockets of Canadians.
If the Conservative Party really cares about Canadians, they should come up with a plan, not just list the cuts they cannot wait to make. The Conservatives want to cut programs, not support Canadians or fight climate change.
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