44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 28, 2024 10:00AM
- May/28/24 2:38:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the cat is out of the bag.
After nine years of inflationary spending, supported by the Bloc Québécois, which has tripled the cost of rent in Montreal, a detailed report in today's edition of La Presse confirms that wait times for construction permits in Montreal are endless. It takes 540 days to get a permit to build a home in the mayor's own borough of Ville-Marie.
Will the Prime Minister stop rewarding bureaucratic bungling and start rewarding municipalities that are accelerating the construction of housing, as the Leader of the Opposition's common-sense bill proposes to do?
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- May/28/24 2:39:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is unbelievable.
Today, he is asking a question about housing issues, but tomorrow the leader of the Conservative Party plans to introduce a bill that will do away with affordable housing measures, do away with the measures to support communities that build housing and do away with measures that support first-time home buyers.
The Conservative Party's plan is not a good thing for Canadians. It is a disaster.
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- May/28/24 2:40:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, do people realize what is happening as a result of the housing minister's measures after nine years? More and more Quebeckers are living in tents in Montreal because of the incompetence of this minister and the Prime Minister.
Will the Prime Minister accept our plan so that Canada and Quebec can reach a common-sense agreement to encourage housing construction in Montreal? This agreement will give bonuses to the municipalities that are competent and penalize the municipalities that do not build housing.
Will the Prime Minister at least allow a free vote for his MPs to support a bill to build homes, not bureaucracy?
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- May/28/24 2:40:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is talking about building housing. Do members know how many homes the Conservative leader built when he was the minister responsible for housing? It was not 10 units. It was not nine units. It was not eight or seven units. The Conservative leader built six affordable housing units across the country during his entire term as the minister responsible for housing. Municipalities in Quebec are currently building 8,000 affordable housing units with the support of the Canadian government.
Let us compare the 8,000 housing units being built in Quebec's so-called incompetent municipalities with the six housing units built by the Conservative leader.
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- May/28/24 2:41:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the report from the Office québécois de la langue française. When it comes to upholding the right to work in French, the federal public service ranks dead last across all economic sectors.
We asked the Commissioner of Official Languages about this yesterday. He noted that the number of complaints related to language of work has gone up, not down. In fact, the national capital region has the highest number of complaints in the entire federal government.
When will the Liberals end their federal public service's drive to anglicize everything?
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- May/28/24 2:42:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not at all true.
We know that a more bilingual public service is what will best meet the needs of Canadians. Receiving government services in either official language is a fundamental right.
We continue to protect and promote the French language. We are determined to foster a work environment that is conducive to the use of French and English.
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- May/28/24 2:42:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, why is the federal government Quebec's worst employer when it comes to French? It is because the Liberals lack political will.
By overhauling the Official Languages Act, the Liberals were supposed to impose a regulatory framework that ensured equality between French and English in federal institutions. We are still waiting. The Commissioner of Official Languages said that there needs to be a renewed commitment, and that starts with leadership from ministers.
When will we see a regulatory framework and political will from ministers?
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- May/28/24 2:43:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am also speaking with the commissioner. I have held discussions with him, with everyone in our government and in our country to tell them that, as President of the Treasury Board, I am committed to implementing parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act in federal institutions. It is very important work.
As I said, we are committed to fostering a work environment conducive to the use of English and French in the public service.
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- May/28/24 2:44:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will not be lectured to by the party opposite. We know the Liberals. They keep saying that we need to protect the French language, when in fact the federal government is the worst employer in Quebec as far as the use of French in the workplace goes.
Are the Liberals tightening the screws on their own administration to make that stop? No. Are they making regulations to mandate equal status for English and French in federal institutions? No. Are they setting an example by requiring proficiency in French from their own appointees, like the Governor General? No. The bad example is coming from the top.
Would the government agree that, as the old saying goes, a fish rots from the head down?
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- May/28/24 2:44:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am an anglophone, but I speak French.
What did he say? I can speak French in the House and I can speak with all representatives of public services in French or English.
I am going to continue trying to implement parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act. That is my responsibility and our priority.
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- May/28/24 2:45:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the homelessness or the hunger. The carbon tax coalition increased the carbon tax 23%, driving grocery prices up $700 per family, and a quarter of Canadians are relying on food banks. They cannot afford the basic necessities, let alone a summer vacation.
Conservatives have a common-sense plan to eliminate all federal gas taxes until Labour Day. This would save Alberta families $955.
Will the Prime Minister follow our common-sense plan and eliminate the federal gas tax, so families can afford a summer holiday?
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- May/28/24 2:46:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I find this question very disingenuous. We will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to food bank usage, when they refuse and they vote against providing food to hungry kids at school.
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- May/28/24 2:46:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, out of touch is the Liberal-NDP government that listens to bankers and bondholders who benefit from Liberal inflation. I am listening to my constituents, like Lisa, who showed me her carbon tax rebate. It was $15. What a joke. It is not a joke for Foothills families who pay $3,000 a year in carbon taxes and have nothing left for food or homes, let alone a summer vacation.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer is clear: Canadians pay more in the carbon tax than they get back in a rebate. Will the Prime Minister axe all federal gas tax this summer, so Lisa can take her family for a summer road trip?
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- May/28/24 2:47:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are the party of austerity. The only thing they know how to do is cut, cut, cut, so it is no surprise that they want to cut the carbon rebates that leave eight out of 10 Canadian families better off. Do members know what else they want to cut? They want to cut the national school food program. They want to cut early learning and child care. They want to cut dental care that already two million Canadians are benefiting from. They want to tear Canada down, but we will not let them.
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- May/28/24 2:47:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister is not worth the hunger and homelessness.
Allan and Willa, seniors from Melbourne who have worked their whole lives, have told me that they cannot even afford a small vacation because everything is too expensive. Conservatives are calling on the government to axe the tax this summer and save Ontario families nearly $600 to help pay for food, housing and maybe a small family vacation.
Will the Prime Minister adopt our common-sense plan to axe the tax on gas this summer, so Canadians can afford a summer road trip?
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- May/28/24 2:48:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times in this House, it would be useful if the Conservative Party of Canada actually used facts to inform the questions that they ask. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back; 300 Canadian economists have said so, and the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said so. It actually works in reverse to income, so people who live on the most modest income get the most money back, and it is part of fixing the climate crisis that threatens the future of our children.
The group across the way has no plan for affordability, and its plan for the climate is to simply let the planet burn.
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- May/28/24 2:48:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we just heard the answer from the NDP-Liberal government that it wants Canadians like Allan and Willa to be poor and miserable. Canadians deserve a break. They work hard, they pay their taxes, and how does the government repay them? It increases the carbon tax by 23%.
I will ask the question again: Will the Prime Minister adopt our common-sense plan to axe the tax on gas this summer, so Canadians can afford a summer vacation?
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- May/28/24 2:49:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, even Conservative premiers understand the absolute carnage that Conservative cuts would cause across our country. They understand that the only thing Conservatives want to do is cut the support Canadians urgently need. They want to cut the national school food program that 400,000 kids are going to benefit from. They want to cut dental care that two million Canadians are already benefiting from, and of course, they want to cut early learning and child care. We will not let them do any of that.
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- May/28/24 2:50:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, flight attendants, who are predominantly women, work an average of 35 hours a month unpaid. No worker should have to do their job without a paycheque, but the Liberals and the Conservatives have let the big airline CEOs get away with it. The Liberals have even given these airlines millions of dollars in handouts and, recently, the Liberals told flight attendants that they should simply file complaints with those same CEOs who are ripping them off. Why are the Liberals putting the burden on workers instead of holding profitable CEOs to account?
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- May/28/24 2:51:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as members are aware, Canadian airlines are private sector companies. The government does not regulate wages in companies, aside from setting a minimum wage. Employers must pay their workers no less than the minimum wage for all hours of work performed, which is protected under the Canada Labour Code. This is an issue we take very seriously and we are monitoring it closely.
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