44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 30, 2024 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I fully understand the importance of looking after the land. Being a farmer, I fully understand taking steps to prepare the industry for the future.
That is why we invested, as a government, $1.5 billion to make sure our farmers, ranchers and processors are ready for the future. We are going to continue to make sure our farmers and ranchers remain on the cutting edge.
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Mr. Speaker, the two million Canadians who rely on food banks deserve better than that cheap deflection. One in five Ontario households who struggle to put food on their tables deserve better. They need this government to stop inflating food prices. They need the Prime Minister to stand up to his radical environment minister and carve out the inflationary carbon tax for our farmers, producers and ranchers.
Would the Liberals finally do the right thing, reject the Senate amendments to Bill C-234, remove the carbon tax for farmers and lower the price of food for Canadians?
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Mr. Speaker, being a farmer, the member must fully understand that it is so important that we invest in what farmers do. When one sees what takes place across the country, with the devastating fires and floods, it is so important that we take care of the environment.
Farmers fully understand that one has to take care of the land and the environment, and if not, one's food price will increase dramatically. We will continue to make sure we support our farmers and ranchers right across this country.
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- Jan/30/24 2:39:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since 2021, the federal government has been withholding the money it owes Quebec for taking in asylum seekers. It has been so long that the bill has reached $470 million.
Yesterday, at last, the government announced in the newspapers that there would be some good news today. It is 2:40 p.m., and there is still nothing. Yesterday, in his first question of 2024, the minister talked about playing politics at the expense of immigrants. Do they know what it means to play politics at the expense of immigrants? It means withholding for years the money needed to provide them with services.
Where is the money?
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- Jan/30/24 2:40:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member was here in the House. He did not learn about it in the papers, unless he did not listen.
I was the one who announced that there would be good news this week. It will deal with matters under my authority, and naturally, Quebec will not be getting all that it asked for. That is very clear, but it will deal with matters under my authority.
It is our responsibility to support asylum seekers and to support Quebec in its efforts to ensure that these people are well supported. It is a dual responsibility. We will continue our good work together.
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- Jan/30/24 2:40:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec does not play politics on the backs of immigrants. These people need services, and Quebec is scrambling to provide them at Quebeckers' expense. People come first and money matters come later.
It is only here, in Ottawa, where the policies are not up to snuff. It is only here that the government has been trying for years to save money at the expense of asylum seekers and Quebec. Today, I would invite the federal government to take the high road and face up to its responsibilities.
Where is the $470 million?
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- Jan/30/24 2:41:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is not saving money by giving Quebec $700 million a year under the Canada-Quebec accord, in addition to a surplus of over $700 million that we have never asked Quebec about. We never asked for an accounting, but obviously there will have to be a conversation about that with Quebec. We are ready to have that conversation. We are already having some good discussions.
As I said, there will be good news later this week.
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- Jan/30/24 2:41:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, the heart of the matter is the quality of services offered to asylum seekers. Money is essential, but there is much more to it than that.
Last year alone, Quebeckers welcomed more than 65,000 asylum seekers. That is almost half the total for all of Canada. Our public services and community organizations are overwhelmed. We lack resources. Quebec has exceeded its integration capacity.
In the interest of fairness—but, more importantly, to guarantee adequate services for asylum seekers—will the minister finally organize how integration is shared among the provinces?
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- Jan/30/24 2:42:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is nice to hear the member opposite admit that this responsibility falls to both levels of government. Last year, he was claiming that it was solely Canada's responsibility, and that all the provinces needed was money.
We are clearly going to work together. We clearly need to make more effort. There are two provinces that are overburdened, Ontario and Quebec. This is something we can do as a team. We are a federation, and a beautiful one at that.
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- Jan/30/24 2:42:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for far too many Canadians, the dream of home ownership is dead, and it lays squarely on the Liberal-NDP government. After eight years, mortgages have doubled and a staggering three out of four families cannot afford a home.
Canadians know that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost, a cost brought about by a truly impressive mix of arrogance and indifference to the suffering of many Canadians.
When will the government take a break from its Jamaican junkets and actually address the housing hell in Canada?
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- Jan/30/24 2:43:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with respect, my hon. colleague is simply trying to prey on the very real anxiety that families are feeling across this country. At the same time, she advances a plan that will build fewer homes than we are already on track to build.
We have removed the GST from homebuilding in this country. The Conservatives want to put it back on. We are investing directly in affordable housing. The Conservatives want to cut it. We have put a $4 billion fund on the table to reduce red tape with cities, and they have committed to doing away with that too.
We will get the homes built. They only stand in the way.
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- Jan/30/24 2:44:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those are more empty words while Canadians are spiralling out of control. It is not only home ownership that the Liberal-NDP government has managed to turn from a dream into a nightmare but also rent. In the last two years alone, rents have increased by 22%. That is nearly $400 a month. After eight years of its war on affordable housing and rent, the government is forcing Canadians out from the suburbs and into tent cities in parking lots.
When will the government stop the photo ops and actually fix the housing and affordability crisis that is hammering Canadians?
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- Jan/30/24 2:44:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for years, the Conservative approach to policies that would actually help people was to prey on their anxieties rather than to advance ideas that would actually address them.
The member is supporting her leader's plan, which is going to build fewer homes than we are already on track to build. We have removed the GST from apartments to help bring down rent. She is campaigning on a commitment to put that GST back on for a lot of middle-class apartments, which would increase the cost of living. When it comes to affordable housing, we have put programs in place to support their construction. They have promised to cut it.
We are going to continue to put money on the table to build more homes. The Conservative's policies would drive up rent.
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- Jan/30/24 2:45:24 p.m.
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Before I give the member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent the floor, I would urge all members to show respect for those listening to the interpretation and refrain from commenting during questions and answers.
The member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent.
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- Jan/30/24 2:45:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the impact of the Liberal housing crisis is devastating.
Yesterday, Radio-Canada reported that university students in Montreal are having to go to Auberges du cœur, a homeless shelter. According to the president of the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec, “This speaks to the magnitude of the crisis. Going there is not a solution. It takes spaces away from people experiencing homelessness.” This kind of thing should not be happening in Montreal. It should not be happening in Canada.
The Bloc Québécois supports the Liberals' economic policies, but when will this government understand that inflationary budgets help nobody?
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- Jan/30/24 2:46:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand well the challenges that young people in this country are facing when it comes to finding a place to live that they can actually afford.
That is why, just yesterday, we advanced a new policy that is going to make low-cost loans available to build more student residences across this country. We are going to continue to advance policies that do not just allow students to find places they can afford next to where they go to school but that are going to free up supply that exists within communities today.
The Conservatives will tap into people's anxieties for their political gain. We will advance policies that actually address them.
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- Jan/30/24 2:47:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is no political gain. This is the truth, the reality of Canadians on a daily basis.
What has this government achieved over the past eight years? It has doubled the cost of rent and doubled mortgage payments. We need 3.5 million new houses. We barely got 35,000 last year. Two million Canadians are using food banks. That is not politicking; that is the Liberal record.
When will this government act in the best interest of all Canadians?
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- Jan/30/24 2:47:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my opposition colleague and I can see he is very passionate about this.
Having said that, I am happy to be on this side of the House, with a government that began rolling out the very first national housing strategy in 2016 to put a roof over the heads of Canadians across the country, rather than with a party that wants to insult the mayors of our cities, because when someone insults mayors in Quebec, they are insulting all Quebeckers.
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- Jan/30/24 2:48:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, no one should miss a meal.
However, seniors in Canada cannot afford sky-high grocery prices. While big grocery CEOs rake in record profits, seniors are making difficult decisions at the grocery store. It does not stop there. Loblaws even tried to cut discounts on nearly expired food. Corporate greed has no limit.
While the Liberals continue to let it happen, the Conservative opposition wants to let those big companies get even more of a payout. Why are the Liberals allowing CEOs to gouge Canadians?
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- Jan/30/24 2:49:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we remain focused on the affordability needs of seniors.
In fact, we are very proud on this side of the House that one of the first things we did was to make sure the age for OAS was maintained at 65 years old, not 67. This was not a change that should have been made here in the House or a change that should have been made at the World Economic Forum, which it was, in Davos, Switzerland.
Instead, we are maintaining and increasing supports for seniors in this country.
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