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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 314

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 21, 2024 10:00AM
  • May/21/24 3:04:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is moving a closure motion to force the implementation of the budget. This budget interferes in Quebec's jurisdictions; its theme is to decide for Quebeckers. Imposing conditions on Quebec and the cities under the threat of cutting funding for housing, intruding into health care in favour of private care, grabbing power in the financial sector; we have to wonder if the Liberals have a bit of a separatist streak. Indeed, never has a budget attacked federalism in such a way. Why not collaborate with Quebec instead of picking a fight?
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  • May/21/24 3:05:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very surprised that my colleague is worried about the state of federalism. I thank him for his concern for Canada. We too are concerned about Canada. That is why we are introducing important programs for all Canadians. The Bloc Québécois should be ashamed because it campaigned on wanting to work for housing, for seniors, for the environment and for families. It voted against all that. It should be ashamed.
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  • May/21/24 3:05:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me reassure the member, I do not care much about federalism. I know that Quebeckers want to be masters in their own house, and yet what the federal government is doing with this budget is trying to be master everywhere. While the Liberals seek to govern in place of the provinces, no one is looking after federal business. No one here is looking out for seniors 65 and over who do not qualify for the OAS increase. No one is looking after EI. No one is seeing to reimbursing the costs of receiving asylum seekers. No one is looking after our key sectors like forestry and aerospace. Instead of trying to be masters everywhere, why do the Liberals not take care of their own responsibilities?
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  • May/21/24 3:06:33 p.m.
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Who is taking care of our seniors, Mr. Speaker? It is the Liberal government. Who is looking after housing? It is the Liberal government. Who is looking after our young people? It is the Liberal government. Who is taking care of the environment and fighting climate change? It is the Liberal government. The Bloc Québécois is doing one thing and one thing only: looking for a fight. Bloc members have lost their identity. They do not even know why they are here anymore. At the risk of repeating myself and without wanting to cause them too much grief, these people, in the beginning, were here for their passion. Today, they stay here for their pension.
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  • May/21/24 3:07:21 p.m.
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Order. I invite all members to be very careful with their language. The hon. member for South Surrey—White Rock.
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  • May/21/24 3:07:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this NDP-Liberal Prime Minister and his extremist agenda, once-safe B.C. hospitals are now infested with chaos, drugs and weapons. The B.C. Nurses' Union confirms that staff are exposed to fentanyl and meth smoke, even in maternity units. This is wacko. That is why I will introduce the safe hospitals act, which would toughen penalties for criminals who bring in weapons and ban the minister from allowing open hard drug use in hospitals. Will the Prime Minister support our common-sense Conservative plan, yes or no?
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  • May/21/24 3:08:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on the first order, if we are going to have safe hospitals, we have to provide science-based, evidence-based information and not support misinformation, because, too often in our hospitals, it is actually misinformation that is fuelling much of the aggression that our doctors and nurses are facing. Secondly, I would say to the member opposite, with regard to the health committee going and listening to people on the ground in British Columbia and hearing directly from those affected by this toxic drug crisis, why were the Conservatives not there? Why did they not send anybody to listen? Why are they not actually on the ground listening to the people who are suffering in this crisis? It is time to act on solutions and evidence.
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  • May/21/24 3:08:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it will be news to the B.C. Nurses' Union that it is spreading disinformation. Here is the reality. Nurses should never be exposed to fentanyl smoke in their workplace. Patients should not have to worry about dangerous weapons when they are vulnerable and seeking treatment in hospitals. After nine years, I cannot believe I even have to ask this. Does the Prime Minister support tougher sentences for criminals who bring weapons into hospitals? Will he make it permanently illegal to smoke meth in hospital rooms next to newborn babies, yes or no?
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  • May/21/24 3:09:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the only thing that separates the member opposite and her concern for victims and families is that my colleagues and I on this side of the House want to use evidence-based solutions to make sure that we respond to the crisis with things that are working. The reality is that the strategy the member is advocating was first led by Newt Gingrich in the United States. It was the greatest disaster of his career. He has completely abdicated any responsibility for it, saying that it was a disastrous mistake. Stephen Harper's advisers are saying the same thing. What they are advocating would not work.
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  • May/21/24 3:10:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal coalition, Canadians are suffering with crime, chaos, drugs and disorder. The minister talks about evidence. What about the evidence from the BC Nurses' Union and its outcry to ban weapons and hard drugs inside of hospitals? What more science could there be than that? On this side of the House, the Conservatives announced our plan for tough penalties for weapons in hospitals and to not allow the minister to decriminalize or even legalize hard drugs. Why do we have to ask again? Will the Prime Minister make it illegal to smoke crack and meth in a hospital next to a baby?
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  • May/21/24 3:11:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I find it disappointing that the member across actually did not join the recent visit by the health committee to B.C. to speak to experts on the ground, an actual member of the committee. On this side of the House, we follow science, we follow medical experts and we follow the best, evidence-based practices in order to save lives. The war on drugs did not work then; it will not work now. We need compassion, evidence and science to guide us through this.
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  • May/21/24 3:11:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives voted against the pharmacare act, which outlines our government's plan to provide free medication to Canadians. This bill is an important step in ensuring that every Canadian has access to the reproductive options they deserve and that no Canadian will ever have to ration their insulin again. Can the Minister of Health describe the positive impact this legislation will have on Canadians?
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  • May/21/24 3:12:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her important work on this issue. We share the goal of ensuring that everyone across the country can access the medication they need. This is essential. I have a very simple question for the vast majority of Conservative Party members who oppose abortion. Why do they also oppose access to contraceptives? The only answer is that these members oppose women's rights in general.
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  • May/21/24 3:12:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, we learned that three contractors involved in the Prime Minister's $60-million arrive scam alone were awarded $1 billion. After nine years, we know that the Prime Minister is not worth that cost. Let us also talk about the corruption. One of those contractors, who received $20 million in IT contracts but did no IT work, had their doors kicked in by the RCMP. We also learned they were wining and dining senior officials from the Liberal government. We know that it cost $60 million. How many boozy dinners were involved in this $60-million scandal?
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  • May/21/24 3:13:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend knows very well that there are internal investigations taking place with respect to this matter. A number of people were properly called before parliamentary committees, and they came to testify. Of course, he also knows that the RCMP is looking into this matter. He made reference to that in an overly dramatic moment as well. The member should have the decency to let the police do its work. We have said from the beginning that anybody who misused taxpayers money will be held to account. I have confidence that the RCMP will do its work.
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  • May/21/24 3:14:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the ad hoc committee concluded that the Prime Minister went to unprecedented lengths to hide the Winnipeg lab documents from Parliament to protect the government from political embarrassment, in other words, a cover-up. The cover-up continues. Last week, Liberal and NDP MPs voted to shut down a parliamentary committee to get to the bottom of the cover-up. It is a cover-up of a cover-up by the cover-up coalition. I have a simple question. What are they hiding?
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  • May/21/24 3:14:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, the hon. member across would be aware that his party was against any of the mechanisms that actually brought these documents to light. It was this government, and in fact, I was the House leader at the time, that made sure that we had an ad hoc process to make sure that there was a way to properly vet secure documents. That is why these documents in full, unredacted are available for everybody to see. The Conservatives refuse to participate in that and they continue to search for some way to pretend those documents are not available. However, to any Canadian, not just any parliamentarian who wants to see those documents, they are available in their entirety.
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  • May/21/24 3:15:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are defending the indefensible. The member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell used foul and aggressive language towards Quebec witnesses defending the French language before the Standing Committee on Official Languages on May 6. This MP must be sanctioned, as he has damaged the reputation of the committee and all its members. The Liberals always protect their own, however. They will go to any lengths. Can the Prime Minister show respect for francophones by immediately removing the MP from the Standing Committee on Official Languages and replacing him as president of the international Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie?
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  • May/21/24 3:16:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell has spent far more time in this Parliament defending the French fact in Canada than any member of the Conservative Party has. We will continue to defend the French language throughout Canada, including Quebec. The member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell will do everything in his power to be with us in defending French across Canada.
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  • May/21/24 3:16:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are worried that the right to choose, along with sexual and reproductive health care, is no longer guaranteed. Our government has made critical investments in protecting and strengthening sexual and reproductive rights in Canada. Could the Minister of Women, Gender Equality and Youth update the House on the work our government is doing to support sexual and reproductive health care across the country?
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