44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 16, 2024 11:00AM
- Sep/16/24 2:51:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this summer, I had the opportunity and pleasure to invite my Quebec Liberal caucus colleagues to my riding, Brome—Missisquoi. I gave them a little tour of all the budget cuts made by the Conservatives when they were in power. I took them to the experimental farm in Frelighsburg. The Conservatives do not believe in science and they cut spending on agricultural science. I also took them to a cultural centre that we built because all the Conservatives did was cut spending on arts and culture. Quebeckers remember that all the Conservatives can do are cutbacks and austerity. We do not want that in Quebec.
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- Sep/16/24 2:52:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, because of Liberal inaction, people in Nanaimo—Ladysmith are being forced to cut back on groceries to keep up with rising prices. Meanwhile, the Conservatives continue to pad their pockets with donations from the same CEOs who are gouging Canadians.
Over the summer, people shared with me that they are exhausted and not able to make ends meet. Why are the Liberals taking a page out of the Conservative playbook and putting corporate greed ahead of everyday people?
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- Sep/16/24 2:52:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a shame that the NDP's recent hard right turn has taken them down the wrong path. It is too bad that they have caved to Conservative pressure.
We worked collaboratively for many months to introduce numerous rounds of changes to Canada's competition laws. These are significant signs of progress that would amount to better prices and more options for Canadians and include more powers to the Competition Bureau to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour. Those changes would make a real difference in Canada's economy.
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- Sep/16/24 2:53:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the poorest seniors are receiving hundreds of dollars less every year because Liberal policies created another GIS clawback.
This summer, I heard from seniors and their loved ones. They are drowning. Conservatives cut pensions and increased the retirement age, and the Liberals are punishing the poorest seniors. Canadians never win with Liberals or Conservatives.
When will the clawbacks end?
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- Sep/16/24 2:53:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, not only do GIS, CPP and OAS go up, but they now also go up quarterly. In fact, there are no clawbacks.
The member knows full well that we have actually expanded the amount of money a senior on GIS might make before any money is clawed back. We have expanded that substantially. The member should know that.
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- Sep/16/24 2:54:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, members on this side of the House spent their summers listening to Canadians. We heard about grandparents and children getting access to the Canadian dental care plan. We heard about the need for a government that is focused on building more homes faster, growing our economy and making life cost less.
What we have seen the Conservatives do all summer is bet against our economy and bet against Canadians for their own political gain.
Could the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance share with us the good economic news we saw over the summer and what this means for Canadians and their families?
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- Sep/16/24 2:54:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his very hard work.
COVID and its economic aftermath have been hard for Canadians, and that is why it is important to recognize the good news we have had this summer. Canada was the first G7 country to lower interest rates, easing the burden on homeowners. Inflation has now been within the Bank of Canada's target range for seven months and wages have outpaced inflation for 18 months in a row. We have more work to do, and that is why we are focused on Canada and Canadians.
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- Sep/16/24 2:55:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have gone to Sacré-Coeur many times to meet with people from the Boisaco forestry company. The employees are feeling extremely insecure, and with good reason. They risk losing their jobs.
The order by the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change is a disaster for the forestry industry. It will kill jobs, close businesses and potentially wipe communities off the map. The industry represents 1,400 jobs in Quebec and $900 million in economic benefits.
Will the minister take into account the human beings behind his radical policies and guarantee that he will not impose his order?
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- Sep/16/24 2:56:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be back with you for the new session.
That said, might I remind my colleague from the Conservative Party that the Government of Quebec has committed since 2016 to presenting a woodland caribou recovery plan in Quebec. We are now in 2024, soon to be 2025, and we have been waiting eight years for the plan. In 2022, the Government of Quebec signed a joint letter with the federal government stating that they would have a plan by June 2023. The plan would specify how to protect at least 65% of caribou habitat.
The Government of Quebec committed to do that. If Quebec does not want a federal order, it simply needs to act.
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- Sep/16/24 2:57:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am curious to know whether the minister can even find Sacré-Coeur on a map.
Life is already hard enough with inflation, the cost of living and interest rates, but now the Liberals are adding even more stress. The only way to get rid of the order is to get rid of this government and replace it with a Conservative government. We know that the Bloc Québécois voted with the Liberals 182 times to keep them in power.
Will the Bloc-Liberal coalition leave forestry workers alone once and for all?
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- Sep/16/24 2:57:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if only you knew how many times I met with Quebeckers this summer. They think it is completely ridiculous to talk about a coalition between the Liberal Party of Canada and the Bloc Québécois, even though we are capable of working together. Quebeckers find the idea of such a coalition completely ridiculous.
However, we should not be surprised at comments like that coming from the Conservatives. Once again, we see how they have no interest in protecting the environment. They do not care about air quality, water quality or the future that we are leaving for our children and grandchildren. We think that we can support the economy, communities and the environment.
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- Sep/16/24 2:58:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up.
When the Prime Minister promised to quadruple the carbon tax scam, the leader of the NDP said, “Yes, sir.” He would do anything for his $2.2-million pension. Now, the Canadian Trucking Alliance has released a damning report, which is saying that the carbon tax scam adds more than $4 billion in costs to farmers, families and food.
Why do the Liberals not just call a carbon tax election now to let Canadians decide whether to quadruple or axe the tax for good?
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- Sep/16/24 2:59:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a news flash. We had a carbon tax election in 2021, and the Conservative Party had a platform that said that they would put in place carbon pricing in this country. Maybe they just have to go to look back at their own platform.
Again this morning, the Parliamentary Budget Officer was in committee saying that eight out of 10 Canadian families, where carbon pricing applies, get more money than what they pay in pricing. Unfortunately, the Conservative Party of Canada continues to spew lies and disinformation on this issue.
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- Sep/16/24 2:59:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the PBO proved that the orange jumpsuit-wearing, handcuff-wearing minister is lying when he said that more Canadians pay into this.
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- Sep/16/24 3:00:27 p.m.
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I know it is the first day back for members. We have all spent time in our ridings. I am going to ask the hon. member to rephrase his question and to not use language that is normally considered unparliamentary.
The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn, from the top.
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- Sep/16/24 3:00:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the orange jumpsuit-wearing, handcuff-loving minister does not understand is that the PBO proved Canadians pay more into the scam than what they get back, and it has done nothing to stop a single forest fire or flood. It is a scam and nothing else. The leader of the NDP continues to prop the carbon tax scam up so that he can get his $2.2-million pension. That is why he voted in favour of it 24 times.
Call a carbon tax election now so Canadians can axe the tax and kick this carbon-tax, costly coalition to the curb.
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- Sep/16/24 3:01:39 p.m.
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It is really important for all members to choose their language and use their words judiciously in a way that is respectful to the House.
The hon. government House leader.
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- Sep/16/24 3:01:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that kind of language from the member opposite is totally inappropriate, and quite frankly, Canadians deserve better. However, it is what we have come to expect from the Conservative leader and his caucus, who would—
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- Sep/16/24 3:02:07 p.m.
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Colleagues, I could not hear the hon. minister give her response. It was difficult for me to hear to make sure the language was correct.
The hon. government House leader, from the top.
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- Sep/16/24 3:02:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the language from the member opposite was completely inappropriate, and quite frankly, Canadians deserve better. However, unfortunately that is what we have come to expect from the Conservative members and their leader.
The reason they are focusing on the price on pollution is that they want to distract Canadians from their real agenda, where they cut pensions for seniors, cut child care for families and cut and defund the CBC at a time of increased disinformation. They want to hide their real agenda from Canadians because they know that they will not like it. However, they need to be under that scrutiny and they need to be honest with Canadians.
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