Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not have time for the kinds of antics the Conservative Party performs every single day. What Canadians want is investment in their families, investment in their children and investment in the infrastructure in small communities all across this country, including in my riding, that is going to make life affordable and build up the kind of infrastructure that allows for us …
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Mr. Speaker, as a former single mother myself, the kind of thing single mothers and families are looking for is affordability. That is in this budget. Whether it is a middle-class tax cut for 22 million Canadians; protecting $10-a-day child care, which by the way is a game-changer for women, especially single mothers; making the school food program permanent; or investing in building trades, these…
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Mr. Speaker, here is what we are going to do. We are going to stand up for Canadians every single day. We are going to invest in their futures. We are going to invest in the jobs that Canadians are talking about that they want to take up. This is a time when Canadians have pulled together to build Canada strong, and that is exactly what our budget is going to do. We are going to make sure the tool…
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Mr. Speaker, what else happened since 2015 is that 400,000 children have been lifted out of poverty through the Canada child benefit. This year, 22 million Canadians will receive a tax credit. We are working with Canadians on the things they have told us are a priority. This is why Canadians trust the Liberal government. This is why they deeply distrust the Conservative Party of Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, it is imaginary tax after imaginary tax. Conservatives had the chance to stand up for families, whether to vote for a school food program, whether to vote for tax cuts for Canadians or whether to vote for the skills trade training that provides those great-paying jobs. I sure hope they are not going to vote against personal support workers' tax credits, but that is what it is looking …
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Mr. Speaker, what Canadians expect of us is to invest in them, to invest in their families, to invest in the futures of their children. That is exactly what the budget will do. It will make sure we are creating not only the jobs of today but also the jobs of tomorrow, and we are ensuring that young people have the skills to get those jobs in partnership with unions, with the Canadian Building Trad…
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Mr. Speaker, this morning, I had the privilege of meeting with Minister Barb Ramsay of the Conservative government in Prince Edward Island. Do members know what Minister Ramsay and I talked about? It was how pleased people were that we made the national school food program permanent. In fact, they have been able to drive down hunger through the national school food program, and they are so happy t…
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Mr. Speaker, what young Canadians want is a great job. That is why we are making investments not only in the things they need, like good jobs, housing and major projects, but also in the skills training they need for picking up those jobs. Canada's Building Trades Unions does a fantastic job of training young apprentices. That is why in our budget we will propose $75 million more for Canada's Buil…
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Mr. Speaker, I have noticed that the Conservatives have stopped quoting the report from Food Banks Canada. Do members know why? It is because in that report, what Food Banks Canada said is that there are some promising signs from the federal government, with things like the Canada disability payment, done for the very first time, something those guys voted against; the Canadian dental care plan, w…
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Mr. Speaker, let us hear from another person in Canada who is doing really important work as well. That is Kirstin Beardsley, the CEO of Food Banks Canada. She said that with proper long-term investment and improved access, these kinds of initiatives are “showing early promise for greater adoption and expansion”. She also said that we should make the school food program permanent, we should help t…
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Leader of the Opposition is driving for a Christmas election. He would rather do that than stand up for the moms and dads across this country who are looking for affordable child care, who want us to make the school food program permanent and who want us to invest in women's safety, shelters, homes and wraparound housing. That is what Canadians want. They want thi…
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Mr. Speaker, all across Ontario, families are benefiting from spending $16 a day for child care, which is down from $70 a day. This is phenomenal, and it is adding thousands of dollars into the pockets of Canadians every single month. That is the power of investing in families. That is the power of investing in children. That is why Canadians trust us to have their backs, and they know that these …
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Mr. Speaker, I am really grateful for the question, because the government is taking a number of steps, and has been taking steps for a number of years, to make sure that Canadians can actually feed their family. For example, the Canada child benefit has lifted 400,000 children out of poverty. There are the indexed-to-inflation benefits for seniors. We have done work on employment insurance to mak…
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Mr. Speaker, either the member opposite, the leader of the Conservative Party, wants a Christmas election, or he wants to deny what is in that actual report, which says to take action to make the programs that are making Canadians' lives more affordable stronger, permanent and more generous, and that is what we have done. That is what we are doing, and we are going to continue to do it. In fact, w…
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Mr. Speaker, someone recently said, “Early signs of progress—including easing housing pressures and new social supports—offer hope.” In fact, this person went on to say, “ambitious poverty-reduction strategies, affordable housing pilots...the Canadian Dental Care Plan and the National School Food Program...are showing early promise”. Guess who said that. It was the CEO of Food Banks Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, I just heard the Leader of the Opposition say that the CEO of Food Banks Canada does not know what she is talking about, when she wrote the report the Conservatives are quoting from. It is really hard to follow, is it not? It is clear the member opposite is driving for a Christmas election. I really hope that is not true, because Canadians are counting on us to pass this budget, to ma…
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Mr. Speaker, which is it? They are either about empowering Canadians through good-paying jobs or empowering Canadians through programs such as the school food program. We believe in both, because we are betting on Canadians. We are betting on both their resiliency and their ability to get those great-paying jobs as we create those projects across the country. The member opposite does not want to i…
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Mr. Speaker, I think we have covered quite a bit in this question period, but let me remind the opposition that, today, I was with the SEIU, which represents personal support workers across this country, and for these incredible, hard-working people who support our family members and our seniors every day, budget 2025 proposes that they will receive a non-refundable tax credit worth $1,100 a year.…
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Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister said it is time for Canada to bet big, he meant bet big on Canadians. This is something these guys do not understand. They refuse to invest in Canadians. Today I announced that, in budget 2025, $75 million will go to building trade unions to make sure kids and young people can get great jobs in the skilled trades. These are good-paying jobs. This is what it loo…
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Mr. Speaker, today, I announced another $75 million for skilled-trades training, in partnership with unions across this country. Why? It is because Red Seal trades are great-paying jobs, and we need individuals all across this country to build homes and to build the projects that build infrastructure. We know that unions can get the job done. These great-paying jobs are what youth have to look for…
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Mr. Speaker, I take it from the question from the leader of the official opposition that he will support budget 2025, where we make the school food program permanent, where we double down on jobs for young Canadians and where we invest in skills training for the skilled trades professionals of the future. I just announced that, in the budget, personal support workers will receive a tax credit of $…
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Mr. Speaker, I assume the member of Parliament opposite was listening to my colleague when she was quoting Food Banks Canada about what needs to happen next, which is making the school nutrition program permanent, investing in affordable housing and ensuring people have the supports they need to live a comfortable life, including affordable child care and dental care. That is what we are going to …
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Mr. Speaker, this morning, I was at Extendicare with a number of personal support workers as we announced a measure of support for the very workers who care for our loved ones. Kelly, one of the support workers, said that people talk all the time about the importance of the work, but this was the first time they had ever felt like someone was doing something for them. I am so thrilled to say that …
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Mr. Speaker, the speech yesterday from the Prime Minister really freaked the Conservatives out, because they heard the ambition in that speech. Not only did they hear it in that speech, but today, as the Prime Minister stood with the premier, investing in new nuclear to ensure the jobs of today and of the future, they know that the—
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Mr. Speaker, that speech really freaked out the Conservatives because it was all about ambition. It was about investing in ourselves. It was about building major projects. It was about the project that Prime Minister Carney announced with Premier Ford—
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Mr. Speaker, the youth in my riding are dreaming, and not only that; they are working and are entering the workforce in extraordinary ways. Let me talk about the young welder I met at Thunder Bay Hydraulics just a few weeks ago. She approached me the other day and said that because of the programs that the province and the federal government worked together on to ensure that she had work-integrate…
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Mr. Speaker, here we go again with the imaginary taxes. They do not show up on receipts because they are not actually there. Canadians know that. They know how to read a receipt, but picking up on the previous question, I just want to remind people about how much good this school nutrition program is doing all across Canada, including, as my colleague mentioned, by providing dignity to families al…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member that the Ring of Fire is an extremely important deposit in northern Ontario. We have been working with the Province of Ontario for years to ensure that we have a plan to move forward, and we have been working with the affected first nations in that riding, which is mine. We will continue to focus on the opportunity the Ring of Fire presents for not just norther…
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Mr. Speaker, it is the height of irony that a Conservative MP who voted against child care is now criticizing child care that exists across this country. What the Auditor General said is that provinces and territories have to do a better job in terms of reporting. We are working with provinces and territories to make sure that we grow the number of spaces. Let me leave members with this: $16.50 a …
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Mr. Speaker, again, I am really heartened to hear about the support the member has for early learning and child care. It is a real switch, given that she voted against it time and again. I will say this. I have a meeting with my counterpart this afternoon, the minister from Alberta, to talk about exactly that: how we take the next steps, together, because, as the member would know, jurisdiction ov…
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Mr. Speaker, what is not imaginary is that Canadians know who they can trust. In fact, time and again, they have seen these Conservatives across the aisle vote against their very interests, whether it is things like the school nutrition program or the early learning and child care. By the way, the average cost of child care is down to $16 a day. These are real savings for real Canadian families. T…
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Mr. Speaker, our government is focused on making the investments that are going to help Canadians get ahead. Whether it is investing in major projects, in affordable housing or in early learning and child care so people can make the best wages possible, our government is focused on one thing, and that is Canadians' success. Canadians know that too. They do not trust those guys to protect their int…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche for highlighting the exceptional work of early childhood educators across the country. Our government has invested more than $1 billion to recruit, train and retain more educators. We are working with the provinces and territories to improve salaries and training. When we support educators, we support families and the future of our econo…
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Mr. Speaker, time and again, we see the Conservatives fighting against policies that Canadians are not only benefiting from but also asking that we make permanent. This includes things like the school food program, which many advocates and, indeed, families have praised. In fact, in my own riding, I heard just yesterday from a food partner who is working with high schools to make sure kids not onl…
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Mr. Speaker, again, we see the member and, indeed, the entire Conservative Party pretending there is a tax on food. Canadians are smarter than that. They know, when they go to the grocery store, that food is not taxed. Instead of imaginary problems, we are coming up with real solutions on this side, whether it is for families, seniors or workers. We are here for Canadians, in both the good times a…
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Mr. Speaker, when we visit food banks, one of the things they ask is to make the school food program permanent, and we have listened. That is what responsible governments do. We work with partners to make sure we have programs across the country that reach hungry bellies, and that is what we are doing, saving Canadians families, on average, $800 a year. The Conservatives vote against families time…
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Mr. Speaker, I am surprised the member did not ask about Kap Paper; in fact, Ontario and Canada have worked together to give Kap Paper the breathing room to bring back its employees and keep those employees hired while the mill looks for new business opportunities. This is great news for members of his riding and people all across northern Ontario. We are going to be there for industries that are …
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Mr. Speaker, every time there is a chance to stand up for Canadian families, the Conservatives vote against their interests. Whether it is increases to seniors' benefits or whether it is ensuring that food costs remain low for Canadians, they voted against it. Canadians expect governments to work on their behalf, and they know they cannot trust the Conservatives.
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Mr. Speaker, most Canadians know, or ought to know, that there is not tax on food, and that in fact these are imaginary taxes. What is not imaginary is the $8,000 in Canadian families' bank accounts for children under six years old that will be deposited today, something the Conservatives have voted against time and time again. When they have an opportunity to make life more affordable for Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, there is good news for Canadians. Last week, the Prime Minister announced that we are making the school food program permanent, so I take from the question of the member opposite. That means Canadian kids all across the country are getting good-quality food at school, saving families about $800 a year at the grocery store, but I hope from the nature of the question that we can count o…
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Mr. Speaker, do members know why Canadians do not trust Conservatives? It is because they lie to them over and over again. They can themselves look up Canada's economy and see that it is actually—
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There is a reason, Mr. Speaker, that Canadians do not trust the Conservatives. It is because they do not trust the words coming out of their mouths. Over and over, they hear misinformation. In fact, Stats Canada shows that our economy grew in Q1 of 2025. Of course there are changes to our economy and of course we have sectors that are struggling, but do members know what Canadians know? They know …
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Mr. Speaker, this is a great time for me to highlight the incredible work of FedNor, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, which works with organizations across northern Ontario, and has for years, to make sure that as industries change, as times change and as products change, companies have what they need to grow and adapt. We have invested millions of dollars in the softw…
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Mr. Speaker, we have significantly strengthened the rights of organized labour in this country, which started in 2015, when the Liberal government repealed union-busting legislation that was presented and passed by the Conservatives, which was another untrustworthy move. We strengthened the Canada Labour Code, making scab labour illegal and investing in union-based training. We will continue to wo…
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Mr. Speaker, I am no stranger to communities that struggle when industries are struck. I am from northern Ontario as well. The difference between those in our government and the members opposite is that we step up for workers when they are struggling, whether it is through EI reforms, investment in companies so they could actually transition or work sharing to get a company through a tough time so…
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Mr. Speaker, for decades, Canadians have watched as Conservatives fought against their interests. They have not just voted against Canadians' interests, but actively worked to fight against their families' prosperity. Whether it is beating back unionization, whether it is voting against school nutrition programs or whether it is fighting against the Canada child benefit, Canadians know who has the…
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Mr. Speaker, that member is new to the chamber, so maybe he does not know the record of the party he sits with. The Conservatives have voted consistently against the interests of Canadians. Not only that, but they fought against Canadians' rights. Whether it is labour rights, the right to retire at a decent age, or the right to raise our children with the resources we need, these Conservatives hav…
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Mr. Speaker, youth would be disappointed to know that that member voted against their interests time and time again, whether it was for skills training, whether it was Canada summer jobs or whether it was for investments in research and innovation. I sure hope the nature of that question means he will vote for this budget, because we are going to invest in Canadians, and Canadians know that.
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Listen, Mr. Speaker, for over a decade, Canadians—
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians were under no illusion that this was going to be easy, but they chose a Prime Minister who—
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