44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 4, 2024 10:00AM
- Jun/4/24 1:08:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in its motion, the NDP calls on the government to “stop Liberal and Conservative corporate handouts to big grocers”. I wonder whether the member knows what the NDP is referring to, because to my knowledge, there are no subsidy programs specifically for grocers. Obviously, there is the nutrition north program, but the NDP is proposing to boost that program's funding, for valid reasons.
In my opinion, the true fat cats pocketing federal handouts are the oil companies. Big oil makes billions of dollars in profits a year and still receives taxpayer money in the form of government handouts.
That is why I am wondering which subsidy program the NDP is referring to. Can the government member tell me if he knows what the NDP is talking about?
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- Jun/4/24 2:00:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, an emergency department is not the best place for a person in a mental health crisis, yet more folks are presenting at ERs as a last resort.
There are better options and organizations like Thresholds Homes and Supports and the Canadian Mental Health Association of Waterloo Wellington are showing the way. They are opening an integrated crisis centre in my community to offer specialized, trauma-informed care in a welcoming space, relieving the strain on ERs in the process. However, with no government support to date, they are pressing forward using existing budgets, meaning that they only can provide three months of service to our community before needing additional funding.
I hope that all levels of government will realize what a critical solution integrated crisis centres are and will step up with the funding required to ensure that when a neighbour is in a mental health crisis, they will get the best possible care.
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- Jun/4/24 2:17:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost, the incompetence or the outright corruption.
Today the Auditor General found that $123 million was given out to Liberal friends in the so-called green slush fund at Sustainable Development Technology Corporation, or SDTC. Fifty-nine million dollars was given to projects that should never have been awarded at all; $76 million of funding was given to projects that had a conflict of interest, and conflict of interest rules were not followed in 90 cases. In one instance, the Prime Minister's personal friend siphoned off $217,000 to her own company.
“Corruption” is an understatement. This is shameful. The Auditor General found that the Prime Minister and the industry minister have been found at fault, and the SDTC will be folded up into a federal agency. Ya, that should help. This is on top of everything Canadians are going through.
Shame on the Liberal government for the disregard of taxpayer dollars. Only Conservatives will end the corruption and bring common sense back to Ottawa.
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- Jun/4/24 2:35:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we can see, again, where the Conservatives are going. The Auditor General's report was very clear. Parliament decided 20 years ago to have an arm's-length organization to manage that. We investigated the allegations. Now we are proposing a new governance model, which will be under the rules of the federal public service, so that we can have more rules around HR and more rules around funding.
We are going to restore confidence. We are going to make sure that we have a model of delivery that meets the highest standard. We are going to fight for the clean tech in this sector.
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- Jun/4/24 2:56:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that there were a lot of people on their side sleeping at the switch. What I have said is very clear. We received allegations and we investigated. We investigated. We made sure that we would get to the bottom of this. We suspended the funding to the organization. The chair of the board and the CO resigned. We made sure that there would be a management plan in place.
We want to restore confidence. We expect everyone to adhere to the highest governance. That is why we are proposing a new model of governance that would make sure that public funds are disbursed with the level of governance that all Canadians expect.
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- Jun/4/24 2:58:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this minister is asleep at the switch. The Auditor General has discovered that $76 million in funding was awarded to projects with ties to Liberal cronies. Greasing palms and enriching Liberal cronies shows a complete lack of ethics and responsibility. This is another scandal.
Why are conflicts of interest and money for cronies commonplace in the Liberal government?
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- Jun/4/24 2:58:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, everyone in the House can recognize the member for Lévis—Lotbinière's theatrical talents, but the reality is simple. I have said it before, and I will say it again so that everyone on that side of the House and the Canadians watching us can hear it: The most important thing is integrity.
That is why, when we received allegations, we launched an investigation. We made sure to suspend the funding until we received the findings. The CEO of the organization has stepped down. The chair of the board of directors has stepped down.
We are proposing a new governance model to restore confidence and ensure that we can support SMEs in Canada's green technology sector.
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- Jun/4/24 3:05:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I was pleased to join colleagues in Halifax for an announcement on the funding for the Ronald McDonald House Charities Atlantic.
Ronald McDonald House serves as a place of comfort and stability for many families across Atlantic Canada in time of need. This weekend's announcement will ensure that Ronald McDonald House Atlantic is the first net-zero house in Canada, made possible due to our government's commitment to infrastructure investments and climate action, unlike the official opposition.
Could the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities please speak to the importance of this investment?
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- Jun/4/24 3:11:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we all know, Canada committed to net zero by 2050, and our government is working very hard across all sectors to achieve this ambitious and necessary target.
One of the initiatives we introduced is the green and inclusive community buildings program, which aims to make Canada's infrastructure less polluting and more sustainable, as well as more accessible and inclusive.
Could the minister give a concrete example of a project that is supported by this program and explain why this is beneficial for the community that receives its funding?
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- Jun/4/24 3:12:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, through the green and inclusive community buildings program, our government has invested heavily in projects such as the Centre des arts de Stanstead.
The $2.1-million funding will bring the Théâtre Sans Frontières back to life. It will host a variety of cultural and artistic events, as well as many community activities.
The fully renovated theatre will also play an important role in the small border municipality's economic development.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois obviously supports Bill C‑20, but we have to wonder. Neither of the two former bills C‑3 or C‑98 were prioritized by the government, so they died on the Order Paper.
The next election campaign is fast approaching. Next winter will be the last before the next election. Can my colleague assure us that, this time, her government will make this bill a priority and modernize the way that the CBSA and the RCMP process complaints?
Furthermore, we cannot overlook the need to review the funding of these organizations. There is no time to address existing complaints because the number of complaints is growing, in part due to high immigration levels. Will the government provide the funding needed to process these complaints in a timely manner?
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- Jun/4/24 8:13:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the hon. member, and I thank the Bloc for its constructive work at committee. The legislation before us is important legislation. We do want to see it move forward. I think the witness testimony we heard and the amendments put forward by all parties are a very good example of how Parliament and parliamentary committees can actually work together to improve legislation that the government members supported.
With respect to the member's question about funding, I can confirm that, in order to set up the PCRC, we would invest over $112 million over the next six years and then $19.4 million ongoing. The member pointed out quite correctly that, after its establishment, more complaints may come forward, but it would be crucial to protecting Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his kind words.
It is important to point out that there is already a system for handling complaints internally. There is no requirement for public disclosure, however, which allows for the possibility that complaints may not always be handled objectively and without bias.
The union even came to tell us that it would be a good thing. Yes, it is good for the public, but it would also be good if officers themselves could file complaints against their superiors. Apparently it is complicated to do it through the internal process. Obviously, this will promote public trust, or at least, I hope it will.
Earlier on, my colleagues were talking about funding. We need to make sure that the commission is properly funded so that all complaints are processed and people receive a response. Sometimes, the process seems long and arduous, and people might think that a response will never come. If someone has a bad experience, and on top of that, they get no response to their complaint, their trust in the institution will suffer. That does not encourage trust in the CBSA.
I really hope that Bill C‑20 will help improve public trust in the government authorities in charge of public safety.
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- Jun/4/24 8:59:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to a matter of any type of organization that has been tasked with helping the public, it certainly does need to come with the funding that is available. That is the first comment I have. The question of which one of the badger holes we are going to have to fill in the pasture once the time comes that we are in government, I am not sure just exactly how we will be able to manage that. There is going to be a lot of work to do to bring the nation back to its level of greatness.
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- Jun/5/24 12:04:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am always pleased to share information about how the Government of Canada is taking concrete action to help build more homes faster. A key part of our work is to ensure fairness for every generation.
For decades now, co-operative housing has provided affordable housing and caring communities for Canadians. That is why the Government of Canada is supporting the co-operative housing sector to grow and become more resilient. In budget 2024, we proposed a number of measures that will benefit co-operative housing providers and the families that call these communities home.
First, we proposed to enhance the affordable housing fund with an additional $1-billion top-up. This brings the fund to $15 billion, and we encourage co-operatives to continue to access it to build units and repair existing ones.
We also proposed to protect and expand affordable housing by creating a new $1.5-billion Canada rental protection fund. This fund will provide loans and contributions to help housing providers acquire units that will be rented at affordable rates and preserve rents at a stable level for decades to come. It will prevent those units from being redeveloped into out-of-reach condos or luxury rental units.
We also proposed to keep not-for-profits and co-op homes affordable by introducing new flexibilities to the federal community housing initiative. This will ensure eligible housing providers can access funding to maintain affordability for low-income tenants and co-op members.
Finally, our new Canada greener homes affordability program will help housing providers make energy-efficient retrofits that will help them and their tenants.
In addition to these initiatives specifically designed for not-for-profit and co-operative housing, we announced a number of measures that will make it easier to get affordable housing projects off the ground. For example, the $400-million top-up to the housing accelerator fund will help more local governments cut red tape and make the changes needed to get more housing built faster.
Our investments to boost the productive capacity of the construction industry will ensure that Canada has the workers and innovative technologies needed to scale up supply. Starting in 2024-25, we plan to invest $100 million over two years to encourage Canadians to explore careers in the skilled trades and to help create apprenticeship placements. Our new $6-billion Canada housing infrastructure fund will help communities build the essential infrastructure needed to support more homes and more vibrant and livable neighbourhoods, including with co-operative housing.
The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada supports our plan. It said, “We recognize and support the important federal commitments detailed in today’s plan to ensure co-op housing is part of the supply response to this generation’s housing crisis”. While not part of budget 2024, I would also like to note that the housing plan launched just ahead of the budget includes a $1.5-billion co-operative housing development program developed with the CHFC that will commence this summer. The program will build capacity with the co-op sector and support the sustainability of housing. It is an effective and affordable model that has stood the test of time.
We are there for co-op housing, we are there for Canadians and we will continue to support building co-op housing across Canada.
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- Jun/5/24 12:08:27 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, at the end of his remarks, got to the question of this investment. The issue is that this investment was committed to two years ago. It has been two years since the government finally announced that it was going to get back into the business of building co-ops, and it has not built any. We are in a housing crisis. This is not a time to be spending two years talking about getting co-ops built. It is time to actually get them built.
Could the parliamentary secretary at least share some explanation with Canadians of what has happened over the last two years? This investment was committed to, but two years later nothing has been built. Even better, can he share when the funding will flow so that my community and others across the country will see new co-ops getting built, which I know is what he wants to happen too?
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- Jun/5/24 12:09:21 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member talked about the last two years. We have been at the table since 2015, since we came into power. I know for a fact that co-op housing has been a major priority for our government because I have lived it in my own riding. Co-op housing, under the previous government, was on a downward scale. We have increased funding for co-op housing, and I can say for a fact that we have built over 30 units based on co-op housing funding because we chose to invest in housing. We will continue to choose to invest in housing.
We made an announcement, and I would invite my hon. colleague to speak to the minister. I am not sure which project the member is talking about, but a home is not built in two months. There are obviously conditions that come into play. I know that my hon. colleague understands that. I would invite him to contact the minister to talk about his specific project.
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