44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 26, 2024 11:00AM
- Feb/26/24 2:52:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we knew that, unfortunately, the Bloc Québécois wanted to drastically increase the carbon tax.
Now, we have learned that it does not want to do its job as an opposition party. It voted eight times to increase the ArriveCAN budget. When caught in the act, the leader of the Bloc Québécois said that they were not going to scrutinize everything the government spends. That is exactly the opposite of what an opposition party should do.
The Premier of Quebec asked what the point of the Bloc Québécois is. I am putting the question to the Liberal Prime Minister or the immigration minister. What is the point of the Bloc Québécois?
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- Feb/26/24 2:52:34 p.m.
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As I have already said twice, questions must pertain to the administration of government or committee business. The Chair is having a very hard time seeing how that question deals with the administration of government, but I see that the Minister of Public Services and Procurement is willing to answer it. I would like all members to keep their questions focused on the administration of government.
The hon. minister.
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- Feb/26/24 2:53:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that you are confused, since my very experienced colleague seems to be having a little trouble finding the right person to answer the right question.
However, I have a question for my colleague from the Quebec City area.
We know that people in the Quebec City area do not care for the politics of hate, harassment and insult. Will he come to the city council meeting next week to explain to Quebec City and all its partners why his Conservative leader insulted everyone by calling them incompetent?
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- Feb/26/24 2:54:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, everyone deserves fair pay and to be treated with respect by their employer, yet flight attendants have to work up to 40 hours a month with no pay. That is three months a year. All of this is while the CEOs of Canada's biggest airlines rake in millions of dollars, plus bonuses. The Liberals are doing nothing about it, letting CEOs get rich off the backs of unpaid work.
Will the government stop the exploitation of workers and address unpaid work in the airline industry?
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- Feb/26/24 2:54:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been there from the get-go for Canada's workers. In fact, we have introduced legislation, in concert with the NDP, on replacement workers. We will continue to be there for workers every single step of the way.
We have continued to change the legislation to make sure there is a level playing field, and we will continue to address the issues the member just brought up, as well as a whole slew of other issues.
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- Feb/26/24 2:55:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for almost three years, the Liberals have let a ship-breaking company in Union Bay bend the rules, and it is putting locals at risk. A boat filled with asbestos is being broken apart in sensitive fish and shellfish habitats, which could cause irrevocable harm and cost 500 people their jobs. The B.C. government, local first nations and residents say that the Liberals are failing to protect Union Bay.
When will the Liberals finally stop allowing this dangerous activity and further develop ship-breaking regulations to protect our local jobs and our environment?
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- Feb/26/24 2:55:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is something we have been working on for quite some time with the NDP through committee, as well as with certain members. We will continue to work on this issue and ensure that a lot of the concerns the member has will be addressed shortly.
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- Feb/26/24 2:56:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, global inflation disproportionately impacts low-income seniors living on fixed incomes. That is why it was so important that we reversed the Conservatives' plan that would have raised the OAS eligibility from age 65 to 67 that would have abandoned seniors. We went further to increase OAS benefits for those once they reach age 75.
To show how else we are there for Canadians, we launched our new Canadian dental care plan, which will support dental care for up to nine million low-income Canadians, including seniors. I guess we should not be surprised that the Conservatives are against this support too.
Could the Minister of Citizens’ Services update Canadians on how many seniors have applied for this and would lose their dental care plan if the Conservatives got their way?
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- Feb/26/24 2:57:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to advise my colleague from the north shore that, as of yesterday, more than one million Canadians have successfully enrolled in our dental care program. In four days, applications will open up to seniors aged 70 and older, and in the coming months, we will open up eligibility for all Canadians. This is a life-changing program. It is not only an essential part of oral health, but also of overall health and economic productivity. I expect that children getting checkups and seniors getting dentures will put a smile on everyone's faces.
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- Feb/26/24 2:57:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on one hand, common-sense Conservatives would axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime. On the other hand, after eight years, we have an NDP-Liberal Prime Minister who is not worth the cost, the crime or the corruption, but he needed support for his $60-million arrive scam. Where did he get it from? It was from the costly cover-up coalition NDP.
Canadians want to know, in this scandal that cost them millions, what the Liberals promised the NDP in exchange for its vote to support the corruption of the government.
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- Feb/26/24 2:58:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to allegations of misconduct in the procurement process, we take them very seriously. On the other hand, we see the Conservatives contorting themselves to come up with catchy slogans.
While they do so, we are doing the work to get to the bottom of what happened here because, for anyone who acted inappropriately, there will be consequences, and we have already committed to that. The president of the CBSA has already implemented changes, but the Conservatives can stick to their slogans.
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- Feb/26/24 2:58:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it would not fit on a bumper sticker, but that member and everyone over there voted against the common-sense Conservative motion calling for the Auditor General to investigate corruption, and corruption is exactly what they found. That is what they get on that side of the House. On this side of the House, we have common-sense Conservatives who would axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime.
Why did the NDP support the Liberals with the $60-million arrive scam, which saw Liberal insiders working in their basement and getting paid millions while Canadians lined up at food banks? What did the Liberals promise the NDP?
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- Feb/26/24 2:59:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we support the work being done by the Auditor General, including that of the Information Commissioner. We want to get to the bottom of what happened here. The CBSA president has been very forthright in sharing information with the committee. The minister has spoken with her as well, ensuring that information is being shared because we welcome this work, and, as I have said many times in the House, any misconduct in the procurement process will come with consequences.
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- Feb/26/24 3:00:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while common-sense Conservatives would axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the cost, crime or corruption after eight years. Canadians are sick and tired of seeing the NDP leader pretending to be outraged over the arrive scam. Let me remind the House that the Prime Minister needed votes to keep funding his $60-million arrive scam, and the NDP came to the rescue. Joining Conservatives and voting no would have saved Canadians tens of millions of dollars.
Does the coalition between the Prime Minister and the NDP require them to fund the arrive scam?
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Mr. Speaker, I think it would be useful if we just moved on from the slogans written in the leader's office for one moment while I address another issue that would actually help Canadians. On the Order Paper is Bill C-35, which would guarantee lower child care costs for every single mother and father in this country. That could pass on a voice vote today.
Will that member, instead of taking his orders from the leader, walk down to the leader's office and tell him to pass Bill C-35 to bring down child care costs for Canadians?
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- Feb/26/24 3:01:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the previous member stands for the rights of Canadians and getting to the heart of the $60-million arrive scam. The NDP voted yes at least eight times to give tens of millions of cost overruns and money-for-nothing contracts to shell companies, including a $20-million contract to a two-person basement business that wrote the terms for its own contract. The Prime Minister is worth neither the cost nor the corruption.
I will ask this again: What did the Liberals have to do to require the NDP to fund the arrive scam?
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- Feb/26/24 3:02:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I see that answer had little effect. I would again encourage my hon. colleague to, instead of taking all the inbound invective and all the rage farming from the leader's office, trudge back down that long hallway to his leader's office and tell him that what the Conservatives can do today is bring down dental costs for Canadians by passing the bill on the fall economic statement that will help seniors, poor families and children in our country. We can have an impact today on the lives of Canadians. They should stand up and vote for Canadians.
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- Feb/26/24 3:03:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us go back to ArriveCAN. The government developed an app worth a few thousand dollars to make it easier for travellers returning home. There was nothing to alert the Prime Minister or cabinet to. It was a small, inconsequential expense that could be summarized in the department's actions. Then it went up to $10 million, $30 million and $59 million. It seems to me that the Prime Minister and cabinet should have been told at that point.
When exactly were the Prime Minister and cabinet informed of the cost overruns associated with ArriveCAN?
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- Feb/26/24 3:03:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is asking a very good question.
She probably knows and remembers that we recently went through a pandemic, the worst pandemic since 1919, combined with the worst economic crisis since 1930. She knows that public servants had two main directives or instructions. The first was to act quickly and effectively to save hundreds of thousands of lives and millions of jobs, and the second was to act properly by following the rules in place, which unfortunately was not done. The Auditor General observed that. Fortunately, most of her recommendations have already been implemented.
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- Feb/26/24 3:04:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals seem intent on pointing fingers at public servants, but it is inconceivable that a cost overrun of this magnitude was not flagged. It is inconceivable that no one warned the government of the potential embarrassment. The Prime Minister and cabinet must have been alerted to this situation, yet they continued to spend Quebeckers' and Canadians' money like compulsive shoppers.
Was there no reasonable person in this government who said, “Wait a minute, enough already”, or were they all hoping that no one would notice?
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