44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 3, 2024 10:00AM
- May/3/24 12:08:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this government makes it sound as though everything is going great, that the economy is doing well. The reality is that people are struggling. They are going into debt to cover their daily living expenses.
After nine years of this Prime Minister and his wasteful spending, life is more expensive. Right now, we are paying over $54 billion in interest on the debt. That is more than the health care transfers to the provinces and territories. The Bloc Québécois voted in favour of that. Bloc members say one thing and do the opposite.
Will this Prime Minister, supported by the Bloc Québécois, stop wasting money so that Quebeckers can regain their pride?
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- May/3/24 12:08:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will tell my hon. colleague what Quebeckers have gained.
They got dental care. They got a school nutrition program. They got nearly 35,000 new child care spaces funded by the Government of Canada. They got a housing plan and $1.8 billion to speed up the construction of new housing under an agreement with the Legault government.
With our government, Quebeckers have regained progress, well-being and a government that forges ahead for them.
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- May/3/24 12:09:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I just said, this government thinks that everything is fine. I invite government members to visit a grocery store. Grocery retailers are putting security tags on steaks. That is unheard of.
This Liberal government has been in power for nine years, and our country's debt has doubled. Our friends in the Bloc Québécois are voting in favour of $500 billion in additional funding. How can they trust this government?
Tiff Macklem, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, confirmed yesterday that this government's spending is keeping interest rates high.
When will this Prime Minister, supported by the Bloc Québécois, stop wasting money on the backs of Quebeckers?
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- May/3/24 12:10:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps my colleague did not read the same thing as I did. The Governor of the Bank of Canada—the very one whom the Conservatives promised to fire right away, I might add—said yesterday that he could consider a return to lower interest rates. All of this has been confirmed by international credit rating agencies, such as Moody's. Canada is maintaining its AAA credit rating with a stable outlook. That is gold.
We are responsible, and we are governing for Quebeckers and Canadians.
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- May/3/24 12:10:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this Prime Minister, who is not worth the cost, his wasteful spending habits have not changed. As a result, interest rates remain extremely high, as was confirmed yesterday by the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem.
Back home in Beauce, food bank use has risen by 20% since the start of the year, proof that voting for the Bloc Québécois is costly. That party continually votes to support the government and its $500 billion in centralizing, inflationary spending.
When will this Bloc Québécois-backed Prime Minister stop this wasteful spending so Quebeckers can afford decent housing and food?
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- May/3/24 12:11:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the people of Beauce benefit not only from all the investments I have just listed to my colleague opposite, but also from an AAA credit rating. This is the highest possible rating for G7 countries. Moody's spoke specifically about Canada's stable fiscal and economic outlook. This assertion was backed up yesterday by the Governor of the Bank of Canada, who said that he could see interest rates falling in the near future. We are delighted about that, and things are going well.
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- May/3/24 12:12:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, democracies across the world are facing growing threats from both state and non-state actors. Of course, this includes direct aggression, like Ukraine is facing, and cybersecurity threats. However, another harmful and constantly growing threat concerns right-wing extremism and conspiracy theorists.
Can the Leader of the Government in the House talk about the importance of standing together in denouncing these threats?
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- May/3/24 12:12:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this past week and, I dare say, this past half hour, have been a sad point in time for Canadian democracy. We have a Conservative Party that is promising, as we have just heard, to shred the fundamental rights of Canadians.
The week in question started on Monday, when I pointed out that the Leader of the Opposition had encouraged white supremacy, anarchy and misogyny.
I do not know what is happening on the other side, but we are drifting into something that is not normal. I invite—
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- May/3/24 12:13:29 p.m.
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The hon. member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay.
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- May/3/24 12:13:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, wildland firefighters have tirelessly kept our communities safe against devastating wildfires, but despite this dangerous and life-saving work, wildland firefighters are not considered firefighters under the national occupational classification, and this impacts their retirement and pensions. It is absurd that the Liberal government and the Conservatives before them have done nothing to fix this.
Will the Liberals immediately change this, so wildland firefighters can retire with financial security?
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- May/3/24 12:14:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank all the wildland firefighters, who have done amazing work. We have been working very closely with provincial counterparts to address this issue, but one thing to make clear is that, in fact, we care very deeply about the work that they are doing. That is why we increased the tax credit for the volunteer firefighters as well.
We will do everything possible to make sure we support them.
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- May/3/24 12:14:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Ontario government is proceeding with construction on the destructive and unnecessary Highway 413, a $10-billion waste of public money to pave through the Greenbelt. The government could have put a stop to it by requiring a thorough environmental assessment in a restored and repaired Impact Assessment Act. Instead, it has proposed a change in an omnibus budget bill that could still let projects such as Highway 413 off the hook.
Will the government strengthen the proposed IAA and reject Highway 413 to prevent paving over 2,400 acres of farmland and green space?
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- May/3/24 12:15:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would remind my hon. colleague that the Supreme Court of Canada, in an opinion last year, told us that we had to revise the Impact Assessment Act. This is exactly what we are doing.
However, through an agreement with the Ontario government, we will make sure that federal laws, such as the Species at Risk Act or the Migratory Birds Convention Act, will apply to Highway 413. These elements will be assessed as part of this project.
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- May/3/24 12:16:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, a lot of noise was made about the Leader of the Opposition saying “wacko”, yet earlier, during question period, the government House leader used decidedly unparliamentary language toward me in an attempt to defend his colleague from Whitby.
I would like to ask, through the Speaker, that the government House leader apologize and withdraw his comment.
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- May/3/24 12:16:14 p.m.
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I did not hear it because there was lots of noise happening around that time. Maybe what we can do is go back and listen.
The hon. government House leader.
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- May/3/24 12:16:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to withdraw whatever comment the member is referring to.
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- May/3/24 12:16:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government House leader acknowledged he did, in fact, use the term, which was captured by Hansard. It is customary, when this kind of language is used in the House, that an apology is offered by the offender. The offender in this case is the government House leader, and this was directed at one of the newest members in the House, which is not only a terrible example but completely unacceptable. The hon. gentleman should apologize immediately.
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- May/3/24 12:17:10 p.m.
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Like I said, I did not hear what the offending word was, but I would ask the member to maybe just retract it one more time and apologize.
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- May/3/24 12:17:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have withdrawn whatever they are speaking about. I am happy to apologize for whatever they are talking about, too.
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- May/3/24 12:17:31 p.m.
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Just for identification, we will go back and have a look to see if there is anything on the tapes.
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