44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 23, 2023 10:00AM
- Nov/23/23 2:20:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, the NDP-Liberal government tabled a fall economic statement with $46.5 billion of interest on the public debt this year and $52.4 billion next year. That is more than the entire Canada health transfer. That is double the budget for national defence.
The Prime Minister has run up more debt than all previous prime ministers combined, and this week, he piled on another $20 billion in inflationary spending. There is no end in sight, and no plan to balance the budget and tackle inflation.
Prices are up. Rent is up. Interest rates are up. Debts are up. Taxes are up, and time is up. After eight years of the Prime Minister, he is not worth the cost. Rents have doubled. Mortgage payments are up 150%, and minimum down payments have doubled. Two million Canadians a month are at food banks, and people with good jobs are homeless.
It is time for a common-sense Conservative government to clean up the Prime Minister's mess, just like Conservatives have had to do after every Liberal government before this one.
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- Nov/23/23 2:22:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has become clear that far right American politics have fully taken over the Conservative Party of Canada.
Last June, five Conservative MPs travelled on a lavish trip to London, England, and dined on thousands of dollars' worth of oysters and champagne. We also know that at least one of those Conservative MPs had his expenses paid for by the Danube Institute, a right-wing Hungarian think tank that has said, “the stakes of the Russia-Ukraine war are not Ukraine's sovereignty, but the victory of NATO, the expansion of the US 'deep state', [and] 'wokeism'”.
Coincidentally, right around the same time, Conservative MPs started shifting their support away from Ukraine in favour of Russian propaganda aimed at turning the world against Ukraine.
I want Ukrainian-Canadians to know that, while Conservative MPs flirt with Vladimir Putin and his attempts to persuade their support, Liberals are unwavering in our commitment and will be there every step of the way until Ukraine wins this war.
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- Nov/23/23 2:23:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's mini-budget was full of bad news for Canadians. Rent is up, taxes are up, prices are up and interest rates are up to fight the inflation his deficits caused. In fact, Scotiabank said that its mortgage rates would be two full percentage points lower if the government could just control its spending. That would be the difference, for hundreds of thousands of Canadians, between losing their homes and being able to renew their mortgages.
Does the government realize that time is running out? Will it end its deficit spending so that Canadians can keep their homes?
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- Nov/23/23 2:24:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition and his MPs are simply not worth the risk. He and his MPs voted against the Canada-Ukraine free trade deal. Why? They made a brutal political calculation that they would have more support from their far right base here in Canada and in Russia and from their friends in the United States if they abandoned Ukrainians. It is cold, calculated, cruel. Behold, the new Conservative Party and its MPs. What a disgrace.
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- Nov/23/23 2:24:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is disgraceful and cruel is using Ukraine's vulnerability, while Russian tanks are on its soil, to shove a carbon tax permanently down our throats.
Canadians should not be fooled by the Liberals' phony outrage. They are desperate to talk about anything except for their terrible budget. That is because not only are workers' paycheques going to pay for higher prices and interest rates, but now their tax dollars are going to pay for higher interest payments on the national debt. In fact, next year the government will spend more on the national debt than on health care and the armed forces.
When will the government stop its deficits so we can pay doctors, nurses and soldiers instead of bankers and bondholders?
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- Nov/23/23 2:25:19 p.m.
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Before the hon. government House leader gets up, I just want to encourage members to please not extend their voices, so the Chair can hear the questions from the hon. leader. I can hear members at the far end of the House.
The hon. government House leader.
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- Nov/23/23 2:25:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, twice this week, the Leader of the Opposition has demonstrated that he is not worth the risk to Canadians.
He has been untruthful about why the Conservatives did not vote for the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, because there is no price on pollution in that agreement. We need to ask what the real reason is behind why they are abandoning support for Ukraine and for freedom and democracy.
Also, yesterday, instead of waiting for information on what happened in Niagara Falls, the Leader of the Opposition jumped straight to the conclusion that it was a terrorist attack. That is irresponsible and it is not respectful to Canadians.
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- Nov/23/23 2:26:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the government truly wanted to help Ukraine, it would support the Conservative motion to export our energy and military equipment, instead of the failed carbon tax. If the government wanted to be honest with Canadians, it would unveil the details of the $15-billion subsidy to a single battery plant that will allow up to 1,600 workers coming from Korea to replace qualified Canadians.
Will the Liberals do the right thing and at least publish the agreement so that Canadian workers can find out how many jobs are being filled by taxpayer-funded foreign replacement workers?
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- Nov/23/23 2:26:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike with the member opposite, who did not, when it came time to find resolve, stand up to his leader when it was time to stand with Ukraine, Canada's support for Ukraine is unwavering.
We have committed over $2.4 billion in military aid, from tanks to armoured vehicles to ammunition. We have trained 37,000 Ukrainian troops. The Prime Minister recently announced an additional $500 million in new funding for military assistance. Yesterday, I spoke to Defence Minister Umerov and told him that 10 million additional rounds of ammunition are on the way.
Our government stands with Ukraine.
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- Nov/23/23 2:27:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one thing is certain. After eight years in power, this Liberal government is not doing right by Canadian families. It is not worth the cost. The economic update very clearly shows this government's pathetic administration.
I heard what the Minister of National Defence just said. Is he aware that this government is set to spend twice as much on the debt than on the army? It is going to spend more on servicing the debt than it is going to invest in health. That is completely unacceptable for a G7 country.
When will this government realize that it has been mismanaging everything for eight years?
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- Nov/23/23 2:28:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what Canadians know is that the Conservatives voted against Ukraine. They decided to vote against a free trade agreement with Ukraine.
What we decided to do in the economic statement is what Canadians want. We will continue to build a stronger economy. We will overhaul competition in Canada. We will continue to invest in housing. We have a plan for prosperity. We have a plan for growth. We have a plan for Canadians.
The Conservatives should continue to watch what we are doing so that they can learn from a serious government.
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- Nov/23/23 2:28:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the two million Canadians going to food banks every month see what this government has done. Those who want to own a home are seeing that rent has doubled in the past eight years. They see that mortgage costs are twice as high. They also see that down payments cost twice as much.
What is the Minister of Finance's solution? Believe it or not, it is to be able to borrow for up to 100 years. That is proof that our great-great-great-grandchildren are the ones who will pay.
Does the aspiring prime minister agree with the current Deputy Prime Minister? Does he feel that what is happening in Canada right now really does not make sense?
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Mr. Speaker, I have enormous respect for my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent; he is an honourable man.
If he wants to convince his colleagues to do one thing for Canadians before Christmas, he must convince them to vote for Bill C-56. This is a bill that will help with affordability, reform the Competition Act after 36 years and allow us to stabilize prices in Canada.
I know my colleague is a man of influence. Will he be strong enough to influence his colleagues to do one thing for Canadians before Christmas?
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- Nov/23/23 2:30:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in its economic statement, the federal government seeks to encroach upon Quebec's jurisdiction over labour.
It wants to force interprovincial mobility on workers, especially health care workers. Otherwise, it is cutting health care funding. It forgot one thing, though: Things are done in French in Quebec.
For us, the plan means that bilingual workers from Quebec will be able to work elsewhere in Canada, but the workers who come to Quebec from unilingual anglophone provinces will be unilingual English doctors. In Quebec, things are done in French. This cannot work.
Instead of undermining quality of care in Quebec, could the federal government just mind its own business?
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- Nov/23/23 2:31:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my Bloc Québécois colleague, but he is completely wrong on this.
We transfer more than $700 million a year for immigration to Quebec. Most of that money is used to teach French to those arriving in Quebec. That includes anglophones who want to learn French.
We are there for labour mobility. We are there to train people in the language of their choice. We are there in partnership with Quebec every day.
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- Nov/23/23 2:31:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is right there in black and white: The government is threatening to cut health transfers if we refuse to swap our francophone workers for unilingual English doctors. Quebec does not need unilingual English doctors. We need doctors who can speak French and provide care in French. We need doctors that Quebeckers can explain their health problems to in their own language.
If the federal government wants to be useful, all it has to do is increase health transfers, and we will hire doctors.
Will the government stop taking Quebeckers' money and blackmailing them?
Enough is enough.
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- Nov/23/23 2:32:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, how very like the Bloc Québécois. It says that Ontarians should stay in Ontario, British Columbians should stay in British Columbia, and Quebeckers should stay in Quebec and talk only to each other.
We can work together. We can exchange workers. We can exchange doctors and collaborate. The Bloc Québécois always wants it to be one against the other. It does not have to be like that. Canada is much stronger than the sum of its provinces. We can work together.
The Bloc Québécois does not like that, but that is the truth.
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- Nov/23/23 2:32:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, the Minister of Industry was begging grocery store owners to lower their prices. First he asked them to be nice and then he loudly declared victory. He said to check the flyers because there were specials on.
In an interview with TVA, Metro's CEO said, “We didn't change our prices.... Nothing has changed since the meeting”. It is unbelievable. The only price that has dropped is the price of turkey, and that is because of Thanksgiving.
Who is the real turkey here? Is it the consumer, for paying too much, or is it the Minister of Industry?
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Mr. Speaker, I am not going to resort to rhetoric like my colleague. One thing is clear, however: I will always stand up for the millions of Canadians out there. That is exactly what I did.
For the first time in history, a minister called industry giants to a meeting, told them that 40 million Canadians were outraged and asked them to help us stabilize prices.
If my colleague wants to do something for Canadians between now and Christmas, if he wants to give them a Christmas gift, he should convince his colleagues to vote for Bill C‑56. We are going to reform competition and stabilize prices in Canada, and we are going to keep fighting for Canadians.
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- Nov/23/23 2:34:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I almost feel a little sorry for the minister. He made such a big deal out of his meeting with the grocery CEOs, and now Metro has admitted that it had zero impact on food prices. Any Canadian who has been watching food prices soar could have told the Liberal government that. Instead of standing up to CEOs, the minister has danced around price gouging for two years. The Liberal plan is not working.
With the holidays coming, prices are only going to get worse, so will the government support the NDP's bill to lower food prices and end the gouging?
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