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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 261

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 4, 2023 11:00AM
  • Dec/4/23 2:29:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in any case, the Liberals do not seem to be there for Radio‑Canada. The holidays are fast approaching and people are wondering what they are going to do. The charity Opération Père Noël reports that underprivileged children are not even asking for Christmas presents anymore; they are asking for food. The organizers say that they have never seen this before. That is what happens when CEOs are so greedy and profit-hungry that they stuff their pockets at the expense of parents who are struggling to make ends meet. The Liberals are doing nothing about this predatory behaviour, and the Conservatives would rather protect corporate profits. During these difficult times, why are the Liberals turning their backs on families to help big bosses?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:30:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government understands that times are tough for many families in Canada. That is why our government is there to support them. Our government is there with the Canada child benefit, which helps less fortunate families and many children in the country. As far as taxes are concerned, our government implemented taxes on financial institutions to pay for investments made during COVID‑19.
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  • Dec/4/23 2:31:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the holidays are coming up, and parents are stressed about covering presents for the kids and managing the costs of a turkey dinner. Meanwhile, Canada's biggest grocery chains are making bucketloads of excess profit. While families struggle this holiday season, the Liberals are offering families a lump of coal with no solutions and just words, but the NDP is getting results. We have summoned the grocery CEOs back to testify on food prices, and Sobeys is here today. Will the minister take this opportunity to put his foot down on unchecked price gouging that is driving up food prices?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:31:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government understands that this is a challenging time for too many families across the country, and that is why we are there to support families. We are there to support them with the Canada child benefit. We are there to support them with a historic investment in early learning and child care. There are 2.3 million Canadians who have been lifted out of poverty thanks to support from our government. We believe it is important for the biggest companies to pay their fair share. We think we need to introduce more competition into the grocery sector, and we are doing that with a historic transformation of competition law.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, it plans on quadrupling its carbon tax scam to crush families, farmers and first nations further. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. He refuses to tell the senators to stand down and pass the common-sense Conservative bill, Bill C-234, which would take the tax off our farmers. Even first nations communities, more than 100, are fed up and taking the government to court over the carbon tax, saying it is disproportionate and an unfair burden to them. When will the Prime Minister finally take the carbon tax off families, farmers and first nations?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:33:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for the fourth or fifth time, I would like to remind the Conservatives that the only senators who sit in a caucus sit in their Conservative caucus, and that the Senate is independent. I would like to raise the fact that the Conservatives have had a really troubling trend of bullying, particularly of female senators, whenever they are not getting what they want out of the Senate. That is a real problem. That is a problem for democracy, and they should reconsider how they manage their affairs on Twitter when accusing senators of not advancing legislation at their whim and whimsy.
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  • Dec/4/23 2:33:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is coming from the guy who swore at a girl in her DMs. After eight years, the Liberal-NDP government's empty acts of reconciliation are not worth the cost. A recent Auditor General report proved the carbon tax is an unfair burden on indigenous communities, something the Chiefs of Ontario reiterated just last week. The Liberal-NDP government still plans on quadrupling this carbon tax scam. When will the Prime Minister finally take the carbon tax off families, farmers and first nations?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:34:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a price on pollution is an important part of addressing the climate issue in a manner that actually promotes innovation and incentives. I will read a couple of quotes: “We recognize that the most efficient way to reduce our emissions is to use price mechanisms.” Also, “We will work with the provinces and territories...at both the national and state levels, to develop...a trade system for greenhouse gases”. Those are from the Conservative Party platforms of 2008 and 2021. My god, it is the height of hypocrisy in this chamber.
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Mr. Speaker, a common-sense Conservative bill, Bill C-234, would save farmers close to a billion dollars, but the Prime Minister, who is demanding his senators block this bill, is not worth the cost. The Kielstra farm in Okotoks paid $180,000 in carbon taxes this year. When the Prime Minister quadruples that tax, it will be $480,000, just in carbon taxes. There is no way, when two million Canadians are relying on food banks, that we can afford to not have affordable, nutritious Canadian-grown food. Will the Prime Minister finally remove the carbon tax from families, farmers and first nations?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:35:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, being a farmer, I fully understand how important it is to take care of the soil and the environment. Our party has a plan for the environment. My hon. colleague's party does not have a plan for the environment. Quite simply, with our plan, we are able to make millions of dollars in British Columbia to help farmers innovate, increase their production and make sure farmers remain on the cutting edge. We have done, and we will continue to do, just that.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the agriculture minister. Our plan is definitely not to bankrupt farmers and continue to make food unaffordable. Canadian farmers are struggling under punishing input costs such as the carbon tax. In fact, often the carbon tax costs them more than the natural gas they use. Bill C-234, a common-sense Conservative bill, is the solution, but the Prime Minister is blocking his senators from passing this bill in the Senate. Will the Prime Minister follow his 2001 campaign promise to pass it forward, and let this bill pass the Senate to finally take the carbon tax off farmers, families and first nations?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:36:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's concern, but I think he is fully aware that the only party in the House that has any control over senators is the Conservative Party of Canada. We do not have senators in our caucus. There was some talk of harassment in the Senate. We are not involved in harassment. What we want to do as a government is make sure farmers innovate, produce more product and be more profitable. We have done, and will continue to do, just that.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Prime Minister, young Quebeckers between the ages of 18 and 45 are losing hope about their future. A poll cited in the Journal de Montréal found that they had not experienced inflation before the Liberals. Quebeckers aged 18 to 45 have been thrown into the deep end. In fact, 75% of them have postponed or cancelled major life events, such as building a house or having a child. Instead of taking action now, the Liberals and Bloc Québécois voted against our motion to reduce the taxes that are increasing prices across the board. Will the Prime Minister tell the senators he appointed to stop delaying the passage of Bill C-234 so we can reduce the cost of groceries for all Canadians?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:37:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues have already said, there is only one party in the House that controls its senators, and that is the Conservative Party. If the Conservatives wanted to lower prices for Canadians so they would have better access to food, they would have supported the free trade agreement with Ukraine. We can only hope that the leader of the Conservative Party lets his MPs vote independently so that prices can come down and we can support Ukraine in its fight for freedom.
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  • Dec/4/23 2:38:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while this government is trying to divert everyone's attention, here is the reality. Santa Claus received a list from a young Quebecker who was asking for a gift card so he could have a good meal this Christmas. Fifty-four per cent of young people aged 18 to 45 have seen their standard of living fall after eight years of this government's inflationary policies. The costly Bloc-Liberal coalition does not understand that. They do not understand how desperate young Quebeckers feel. It is costly to vote for the Bloc. The Bloc Québécois wants to drastically increase the carbon tax that raises the price of everything. Will the Prime Minister finally scrap his plan to drastically increase the carbon tax on farmers and families?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:39:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a tremendous amount of respect for my colleague opposite, but I am confused, because as a Quebecker, he knows very well that Quebec is not part of the federal pollution pricing system. I do not understand why he continues to mislead Quebeckers and Canadians. What we can say is that, at every opportunity, the Conservatives have voted against support for Canadians. It is nice that they are now showing an interest in Canadians, but it is new for them.
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  • Dec/4/23 2:39:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, asylum seekers are a federal responsibility. The federal government must reimburse Quebec for the $460 million it has spent taking in asylum seekers. If the minister thinks that is too expensive, it is precisely because Quebec is providing more than its share. Even though our public services and community organizations are swamped, we are finding a way to open new integration classes every week. We are finding a way to help with housing. We are finding a way to help with social services. The more we find ways to help people, the more reluctant the federal government is to pay. Will the minister finally thank Quebeckers and pay them back?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:40:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all Quebeckers and all Canadians who are contributing their fair share. As the member opposite knows, we have a special agreement with Quebec whereby we allocate more than $700 million to Quebec for integrating newcomers into French-speaking society. I have a meeting with Minister Fréchette this Friday, and I would be happy to update her on it.
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  • Dec/4/23 2:40:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in order for it to be a shared jurisdiction, the minister would first have to do something. He is not just refusing to pay, he is also refusing to ensure that asylum seekers do not have to wait ages for work permits. He is refusing to ensure that the Immigration and Refugee Board reviews refugee claims in a timely manner. Basically, the federal government's involvement boils down to pushing asylum seekers into hardship and then penalizing the people who help them by providing them with services. When will the minister reimburse Quebec and do his damn job?
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  • Dec/4/23 2:41:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not a damn job; it is a job that I love. It is true that there are challenges associated with the migration flows that are affecting the entire world. Roughly 100 million people have been displaced around the world. That is a record number. Canada is also dealing with a record number of migrants. In the past year, we have made progress and reduced the backlogs and delays. Some challenges still remain, but I think that Canada and Quebec are capable of overcoming them.
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