Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I agree, and this is something the minister has committed to doing. I will give an example in Atlantic Canada. On the basis of Ms. Gail Shea, I believe it was, and part of her work in the last Conservative government, there are what are called dividers. For example, in Prince Edward Island, the EI requirements in Charlottetown are vastly different from what they may be even 15 kilom…
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Mr. Speaker, in my riding, Kings—Hants, and across Canada, our supply-managed farmers are essential to our rural communities and for our food security. Our government promised to ensure that our farmers would be compensated fairly after the conclusion of free trade agreements with Europe, the Pacific and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. Can the Minister of Agriculture update the House on…
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Mr. Speaker, no, I will not admit that, nor do I think this government has violated any charter rights. I know the member opposite was appointed the shadow minister of civil liberties, I believe, by the member for Carleton. Let me say this, as she did make reference to the World Health Organization. It was the work we did internationally, along with the provinces and territories, to respond to the…
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Mr. Speaker, that is what I was getting at in my speech. I used a portion of my speech not even to necessarily address the provisions in the text, because I find it a bit ludicrous that it has been brought forward. Let me speak to the member's question. When we look at inflation, it is nuanced. It is not necessarily as a result of government spending, but it is because of a lot of external factors…
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Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of elements to my colleague's question, but as for health transfers, I agree with the proposal to help the provinces and the territories and to work with them. In the meantime, Mr. Legault and all the premiers across Canada need to work on reducing interprovincial trade barriers and increasing GDP in Canada with sustainable programs and funding. Transferring money for …
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Mr. Speaker, as always, it is great to see all my hon. colleagues here in the House. I want to begin by taking a few moments to reflect on the past two years, which have been very difficult for all Canadians and for countries around the world. We fought COVID‑19 and we won, but I would like to remind all my colleagues and all Canadians of the enormous uncertainty that existed on March 12, 2020. I …
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite knows I have respect for him, but the reality is he asked a question about corporate contribution to broader policy objectives and then also CEO pay. If the member opposite thinks we should increase taxation on high-income Canadians, I am happy to have that conversation in a debate in this chamber. As it relates to oil and gas companies themselves, we are trying …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question about the importance of Canada's natural resources sector. I agree with the Deputy Prime Minister. It is important that Canada provide natural resources such as hydrogen, liquefied natural gas and other renewable resources, such as food. Canada is rich in all of these resources. Given the global situation, it is now more important …
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to say that I am going to be joining—
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Madam Speaker, it reminds me of my time playing hockey in loud barns, and I always enjoyed it. I will be splitting my with my hon. colleague from Toronto—Danforth. As the chair of the Atlantic Liberal caucus, I really welcome the opportunity to be here today and to provide some counter-narrative to what I just heard from the member for Carleton and the member for Calgary Forest Lawn. What disappoi…
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Madam Speaker, let me reiterate a couple of things. Carbon pricing is not applying to home heating fuel this winter. We recognize that there are vulnerable households out there, as the member recognized, that need support to be able to make that transition. That is exactly why we put $250 million into provincial programs, to do just that: to support some of the lowest-income, most vulnerable Canad…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with a lot of what my hon. colleague had to say. I will go back to one of the points where we might disagree, but I will ask the question in a reasonable manner. He mentioned budget 2022, which included incentives for carbon capture. I know that he and I differ on our ideology and vision about the transition toward a low-carbon economy. I think Canadian oil and gas is still …
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Mr. Speaker, I was in the Northwest Territories legislature last week, and it operates on the basis of a consensus government. I really enjoyed the decorum, and so I will ask my question trying to keep in the spirit of the decorum that I saw in the Northwest Territories. The member talked about deficits and spending. I want to remind my hon. colleague that right now the government is in a surplus …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order, which is more of a courtesy. The ParlVu shot for the member for Regina—Lewvan was being impeded by the gentleman, our colleague, who was standing beside you. I just wanted to make sure that it was brought to your attention so the member's clip was not impacted as a result.
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Madam Speaker, I have not had the opportunity to read the report the member is referencing, but I will say that the government has invested in CRA resources to be able to tackle offshore accounts and tax evasion. It has brought in nearly $4 billion of additional revenue. I take notice that there is more work that the government can do in that domain, but these are important elements that we have d…
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Madam Speaker, as my hon. colleague mentioned, yesterday the agriculture committee, with amendments from the Liberals, the Conservatives and the Bloc, passed his motion. I certainly think that reflects the working spirit of our committee. I do not disagree with the proposition of what the member is putting forward, but when I look at the text of the motion it seems to almost have the conclusion be…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a privilege for me to rise in the House, and I am pleased to speak to today's NDP motion. This motion was moved by the hon. member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, and he knows how much I respect his work. However, I do want to share some concerns I have regarding the wording of the motion. I think it is important for Canadians following the debate in the House to underst…
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Madam Speaker, I can see why the House is filling up. It is because I have the opportunity to have the floor, and people are very interested in what I have to say.
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciate the opportunity to get to engage with so many of my colleagues, and I look forward to their questions momentarily. However, I think that if NDP members want to put forward more constructive debates in this House, they need to stop villainizing corporate leadership and start putting forward policies. If they want to tax Canadian high-income earners more and put fo…
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in my remarks earlier this morning, I have concerns with the way the text of the motion is reading. It is almost like the inquisition has already happened, there is absolutely corporate greed and there is price-fixing in the grocery market here in Canada. I asked a question of some members of the House about whether Canadians were buying more groceries from the grocer…
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Madam Speaker, when we look at the text of the motion, I think most members in the House would agree that the conversation around food inflation and pricing is an important one, but it seems to suggest that there is already a predetermined outcome, that grocers and CEOs are absolutely price gouging. When the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford raised his point, I asked him about whether there cou…
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Madam Speaker, that is exactly what the government has done, since day one, when we lowered taxes and allowed Canadians of lower and middle income to keep more of the money they earn, and increased taxes on those who have the most money to give into the system. The member voted against that motion. The member speaks about carbon pricing in this country. It is going to be tripling by 2030, not over…
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Madam Speaker, whether it is the grocery code of conduct that the Minister of Agriculture is working with industry to be able to move forward or whether it is putting excess profit taxes as we have on the banking sector, there are a number of ways in which this government is able to move to make sure there is equity in how we tax Canadians and to ask Canadians who have more means to give a bit mor…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are driving a narrative about tripling the carbon price in Canada. It is actually a tripling between now and 2030, not right now. It is going up by $15 this year. What the Conservatives also do not recognize is that this money is returned back to households and businesses. I know the Conservatives take issue with the carbon price. Instead of offering tangible alterna…
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Mr. Speaker, there are a couple things. On nutritious food for Canadians, on a policy matter, the government continued to pursue in earnest the national school food program. I believe a billion dollars was allocated in last year's budget to help roll out that program over the next five years. The member mentioned healthy food and support for Canadians. We should be pursuing that in earnest through…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member speaks on economic policy. I think he would know that with inflation no one has a perfect handle, exactly. Its root causes are driven by a lot of different factors. Whether they are demographic, supply chain or government spending, there is a whole lot in it. When the government tabled its budget in the spring, it would have been looking at the situation and wondering …
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Mr. Speaker, it is great to see my colleagues engaged on a really important topic, which is Bill C-30. I will be splitting my time with my hon. colleague from Vaughan—Woodbridge. We are talking about Bill C-30, legislation that would double the GST credit for the next six months. Fortunately, we have been able to move the legislation forward quickly, because Canadians need support, particularly th…
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Madam Speaker, I have two quick questions. No one on this side disagrees with the propensity and need to help provide dental care for those who are the most vulnerable, but the NDP position seems really focused on a federally administered program. We know that health care is a provincial domain. We know that many organizations and programs are run out of provincial health co-operation. Why does th…
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Madam Speaker, I have to disagree with my colleague. I think the number in the House right now is just perfect and we do not need any more. I want to ask the member two questions. Going back to dental care, I understand that the NDP and the government want to make sure the federal government is helping to provide support for dental care. It seems as though the NDP wants it to be federally administ…
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Madam Speaker, I want to inform you that I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from Davenport this afternoon. I am pleased to rise to speak to the Conservative opposition motion before us today. I want to say on the record that I love opposition days, which give us the opportunity to debate and talk at length about policy with our colleagues. The motion before us today reads, and I quot…
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Madam Speaker, I am a bit confused. I understand that housing is a very important issue. If I understood the interpretation correctly, my colleague's question was entirely on housing. However, today, the debate on the opposition motion is on the carbon tax. The Government of Canada will work with all the provinces and territories, including Quebec and, of course, the members of the sovereignist pa…
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Madam Speaker, I want to tackle a couple of things the member for Cumberland—Colchester has said. The first is around the idea that Nova Scotia put forward a plan. I am a Nova Scotia member of Parliament. I certainly respect the fact that we have a provincial government that does a lot of good things collectively between federal and provincial, but Mr. Houston did not put forward a plan. Just simp…
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Madam Speaker, I am a little disappointed in the opposition parties, because today's conversation is about carbon pricing, and members had an opportunity to ask questions in relation to that. It seems very clear from my position that the NDP is going down the path of corporate profits and complete and total class warfare. We have seen that happen. It is clear that the government expects higher-inc…
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague started by saying that the Conservatives had a lot of different options on the table to reduce emissions, and that the member for Carleton had mentioned them, yet he then spoke for the next 45 seconds without providing one single example of what the Conservative Party would actually do. As it relates to the federal backstop, which is not in play in his home provinc…
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Mr. Speaker, hurricane Fiona has had a devastating impact across Atlantic Canada, particularly in communities in northern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island and western Newfoundland. The government has committed to making sure we are part of that rebuilding process in communities and is working with the Canadian Red Cross to match private contributions. However, it is extremely importa…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. The housing issue is a very complex one. The private sector and municipal and provincial governments must be part of the solution. Of course, the Government of Canada has a role to play and must help by implementing certain programs. However, it is above all a municipal responsibility. To some extent, the problem is rooted in the labour shortage …
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Mr. Speaker, I will try to keep it short. Those things are exactly what we did in this last budget, where we increased the expectations on banking and insurance companies. We expect them to able to contribute a bit more during this period, so we are doing some of the measures the member opposite is suggesting. I am not going to do it on a class warfare basis and criticize people who are successful…
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Madam Speaker, I share my hon. colleague's sentiment about the way in which we work together in Atlantic Canada. Our communities step up for one another. The member spoke about the importance of making sure that brush piles and debris-cleaning efforts are undertaken right away. I was certainly relieved to see that there were Canadian Armed Forces members on the ground in Nova Scotia, working with …
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Madam Speaker, I want to correct the record. My hon. colleague articulated that the Government of Canada had no strategy or plan to deal with climate-resilient infrastructure. Respectfully, I just do not think that is indeed the case. The program would be the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund. It is a multi-billion-dollar fund that works directly with provinces or municipal governments to de…
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Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to be here today. I would like to thank my parliamentary colleagues because tonight we are talking about the impact that hurricane Fiona has had on Atlantic Canada, and I certainly recognize eastern Quebec as well. I want to start by recognizing that I will be sharing my time this evening with my hon. colleague for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. It was dif…
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Madam Speaker, it is a really important question because, as I mentioned, a number of individuals do not have landline service and are not able to be connected. If the electricity goes out, that is their true lifeline from a pure public safety sense. I am aware of hurricane Dorian. It was before my time in Parliament with the minister he mentioned, the Hon. Ralph Goodale. However, now is the time …
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague knows that normally I would love to engage with him in French, but at this hour of the night and on this subject, with a lot to handle, I am going to just answer in English. We are still assessing the damage in Atlantic Canada. In Prince Edward Island in particular, the corn crop has been extremely impacted. A number of supply-managed barns, dairy and poultry, had …
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member as he played a role in helping make sure tonight's debate happened. I have a couple of things. I heard him reference this particular question earlier and I thought the problem was the 20% contribution from local government, which is another aspect here. Yes, the Government of Canada has to provide financial support, but it has to be in co-operation with different …
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Madam Speaker, I had the privilege of sitting in the 43rd Parliament, and I listened to Conservatives saying both that the government was spending too much and that the government needed to spend even more in certain areas. I heard that reiterated today when this member was talking about debt levels and the need for government to rein in spending. I did not hear him once mention that the governmen…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with the majority of what my hon. colleague had to say today. Of course, he talked about dental care, particularly for those who are most vulnerable, and I could not agree more, frankly. I think it is an important public policy. It is shared between our two caucuses, and it is great to see that spirit of collaboration here in Parliament. I am not privy to the ongoing working…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. opposition colleague for his speech this afternoon. I understand the principle of provincial and territorial jurisdictions, in particular with respect to dental care. However, I do not understand why my colleague is against direct payments for rent support and dental care support until a potential agreement is signed with our partners in the confederation regarding t…
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Madam Speaker, I want to touch on dental care. I know we are talking about two separate bills, but it is part of the larger affordability element. I would certainly agree with the member about the importance of dental care, particularly for those who are most vulnerable. The health impacts are very clear and I do not want to debate the merits of that. My question is about the NDP, which seems to t…
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Madam Speaker, normally I try to engage in French, but I want to make sure my point is very clear. I was interested in the member's conversation around supply-side economics. Of course the inflationary period we are seeing right now is somewhat unique. The Bank of Canada is increasing its benchmark borrowing rate to try to bring down demand. Does he have certain concerns on the monetary policy sid…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from Whitby. Tonight is the first time since June that I have formally risen in the House. I would like to begin by greeting my colleagues. I hope that they had a great vacation and summer in their ridings with their families and constituents. We are here tonight to debate Bill C‑30 which, along with Bill C‑31, represents a suite of fed…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the candour of my hon. colleague opposite. We have a great working relationship on the agriculture committee. There is a whole host of areas I could look at it, but what I want to reference is when the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance tabled her budget. There is a plan to undertake about nine billion dollars' worth of spending efficiencies that the …
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