Question Period – March 23, 2022

[Music] glorious and free o canada we stand on guard for thee oh canada we stand [Music] [Applause] i don't know if the other speakers rate those that wasn't so bad let the doors be open call new overlay parts statements by members declaration deputy the honorable member for etobicoke north mr speaker i rise today to recognize candace coachpaw who has been honored by the top 25 women of influence in the top 100 accomplished black canadian women candace is an inspiring leader who believes in giving you the opportunities that did not exist for her and in nurturing the tremendous talent that exists in the black community candace created the organization developing young leaders of tomorrow to provide education training and mentorship for black youth she also created lead like a girl in the black diplomats academy to give black youth the opportunity to meet government business and international affairs leaders to make connections and get experience young leaders from her organizations are already making their mark attending cop26 and glasgow and interning government departments please join me in recognizing candace coach paw and the extraordinary youth who are already making our community and country a better place the honorable member for simcoe gray mr speaker i rise today to invite all canadians to the inaugural blue mountain film fest taking place june 1st to june 5th in the town of blue mountains the festival will include over 20 international and canadian films an industry creative forum and social events all set in beautiful blue mountain villages on the shore of georgian bay i want to give a special thanks to the great team behind this initiative patty kendall and marty morrow whose idea to create a film fest got the ball rolling executive director helen dutwa and core director of film programming diana sanchez who each bring a wealth of experience from international film festivals and the incredible advisory team daniel beckerman allison black drew fagan jennifer freeze tamara podemski john ray kitch sud sutherland stephanie ozim and tara woodbury thank you mayor so ever blue mountain council and andrew siegward of blue mountain village for their dedication to furthering economic development in our region happy film fest the honorable member for st catharines the ukrainian community has significant roots in saint catherine's for generations the community has preserved a sense of culture and identity understanding that the history of ukraine is riddled with instances of soviet and russian attempts to destroy it when vladimir putin began his illegal war in ukraine saint catherine's residents along with the ukrainian community stood up to do whatever they could the outpouring of support continues to grow with many wanting to assist however they can st john's ukrainian catholic church has been filled with needed supplies and more than 1 000 boxes are currently on route to ukraine for those who would like to still assist monetary donations are needed as the cost of shipping goods is high donations can be made in person or online at the church's website i'd like to thank all the volunteers and residents during this difficult time and i'd like to highlight irene newton for her work not only during this crisis but always ensuring that the voice of ukraine and the ukrainian canadian community is heard in saint catherine's slave [Applause] mr speaker today i wish to highlight quebec's intellectual disability week which is now underway from march 20th to 26th this year's campaign theme is focused on making prejudices a thing of the past it's a reminder that we still need even today to fight the prejudices that those with intellectual disabilities must face every day what can we do well we must ensure that they have every means necessary in place to facilitate their inclusion and we need to make sure that their families and support networks have the tools and help they need i would like to conclude by congratulating the quebec intellectual disability society which is marking its 70th anniversary this year your work is extraordinary and necessary from the bottom of my heart thank you the honourable member for brampton center thank you mr speaker 82 years ago today on march 23rd 1940 thousands of muslims from all over the indian subcontinent gathered in lahore they had one dream one vision and one mission a resolution was passed calling for the creation of a separate homeland for muslim in british india exactly 16 years later on march 23rd 1956 pakistan adopted its first constitution during the transition of the dominion of the pakistan to the islamic republic of pakistan making pakistan the world's first islamic republic pakistan day or pakistan resolution day also known as republic day is a public holiday celebrated annually in march 23rd in pakistan and by the pakistani diaspora around the world i invite all members of this house and all canadians to join in congratulating the people of pakistan on the celebration of these two seminal dates in the celebration and the creation of pakistan thank you the honorable member for mission mass week fraser canyon mr speaker i'm pleased to stand here today to congratulate one of my constituents upon her retirement at the end of march deborah arnott as a strong first nation leader with deep roots in the fraser canyon for the last 30 years deborah has been serving the region as general manager of community futures sun country throughout her tenure her passion and business acumen bolstered local entrepreneurs and helped them to build up economic development in the fraser canyon i'm sure the many businesses in cash creek ashcroft litton and lilla webb and surrounding first nations will join me in thanking deb for her years of service the relationships she fostered handler endless support for the region she is a force in our community and will be greatly missed thank you deborah for all of your hard work seeing businesses through some of the greatest crises our art we have ever faced including the elephant hill wildfire the global pandemic lit and wildfires and major floods congratulations on your very well-deserved retirement and i wish you all the best of successes moving forward the honourable member for siri center on february 24 2022 russia invaded ukraine millions began to be displaced thousands killed and people's lives turned upside down but canadians rolled up their sleeves and opened their hearts in my hometown of surrey i received a call from our local community activists philanthropists and doctor dr golizar singh chima saying the community wants to help quickly kalindra sengara of red fm and bill assandu of sanja tv stepped up and consulted with alex of the canada ukraine foundation and on march 7th did a radio and telethon raising over 300 000 in less than eight hours special thanks to all my colleagues in this house uh who cross party lines called donated and encouraged canadians to donate and also the jadi cedu and all the volunteers from red fm sanja tv and canada un ukraine foundation who attended calls process donations my huge gratitude to the people of surrey for stepping up thank you the honourable member for a new market aurora thank you mr speaker i rise today to recognize three young brothers in my riding of newmarket aurora jake nathan and owen for their compassion and their desire to make a positive difference mr speaker i'm wearing one of their buttons for ukraine which they designed and produced to seek donations in just two weeks they raised over eight thousand dollars with donations being made directly to the canadian red cross to support their relief efforts there's no price on these buttons but people are encouraged to donate what they can in order to receive a button jake nathan and owen have asked that these buttons be worn until the war is over in order to honor the sacrifices and the courage of the ukrainian people the young these young lads can be reached on twitter at buttons for ukraine or if any of my colleagues would like any further information please reach out to my office mr speaker these young canadians never fail to inspire me our future in canada is bright thank you mr speaker [Applause] the honourable member for brantford brands mr speaker the cost of living continues to be a gut punch to my constituents and brantford brandt and all hard-working canadians food costs are up 7.4 percent gasoline 32.3 in just one year the housing affordability crisis has become even worse with the biggest month over month hike since april of 83. to add insult to injury the new ndp liberal government is pushing ahead with several tax hikes including the carbon tax and what does the ndp prime minister have to say to the elderly young parents and other many others in my riding they don't want to hear the old speaking points about canada's recovery and our credit rating they need immediate relief now instead canadians can expect new unprecedented expenses from the ndp liberal government that will drive inflation even higher what nonsense and how irresponsible mr speaker it is time for this ndp prime minister to stop punishing hard-working families and start making the decisions with fiscal responsibility thank you [Music] the honorable member for london west mr speaker access to quality affordable housing helps create a stable environment for children by reducing frequent family moves stability and well-being of families i am proud to see the many investments happening across the country to continue to address housing needs i want to highlight a good story in my riding of london west where a recent opening of 61 units housing bill took place thanks to the seven and a half million investment from the government of canada's rapid housing initiative in partnership with the set leonard's community services the units will house families and youth that were either experiencing homelessness or that were in shelters indigenous people individuals coming from domestic abuse as well as individuals that have been in emergency shelter or in winter response sites the rapid housing initiative in its quest is to help communities in london and across canada and is building back better by creating more jobs in the construction and housing sectors which grows the middle class and gets closer to eliminating chronic homelessness in canada thank you mr speaker the honourable member for chatham kent bloomington thank you mr speaker in many ways ukraine is us and we are ukraine canada has the largest ukrainian community outside of ukraine and russia we are one in our opposition to illegal invasions one in our shared value that democracy and freedom best serve our country's citizens we shouldn't describe what's happening there's a war because the war implies two aggressors russia alone has illegally invaded ukraine and in so doing jeopardized ukraine's ability to produce food and russia's ability to export food because of sanctions rightfully imposed as someone very familiar with agriculture and agri-food ukraine and russia's agricultural community and their systems account for 30 of the exports of the world's wheat 17 of corn 32 percent of barley and 75 percent of the world's sunflower cooking oil if we lose ukraine we lose one of our best chances to preserve world order against an escalating torrent of destructive madness slava ukarini the honourable member for battleforge lloydminster thank you mr speaker canadians are being hit with the highest inflation rate in a generation and costs are skyrocketing wages are not keeping up and it's getting harder and harder to make ends meet from the cost of gas groceries and to everything else the scheduled carbon tax on april 1st will only exacerbate this problem the affordability crisis in this country is being fueled by this liberal government and now with the ndp sharing the reins it will lead to even higher taxes more debt and even less accountability canadians are being pushed to the brink and mr speaker they need some relief from cancelling the carbon tax increase scrapping it entirely or providing a gst holiday on gasoline and diesel there are common sense solutions that can help canadians today mr speaker this ndp liberal government needs to leave money where it belongs and that's in the pockets of hard-working canadians the honourable member for milton thank you mr speaker i'm proud to stand in the house today to acknowledge the extraordinary resilience and positivity of my neighbor and milton aaron rigglesworth erin is 42 a wife to eric a mother to two awesome kids she's an awesome school teacher a very competitive runner and a friend and in december of 2020 she was diagnosed with breast cancer that has spread rapidly and has been deemed incurable since receiving this devastating news aaron did what she always does and she fought she continues to undergo intense treatment at princess margaret hospital and the aaron's army gofundme has raised close to 25 000 wow and they've pledged to any money that's left over once she's healthy and cured will be donated to cancer research this is a reminder that even in the face of unimaginable heartbreak there remains great power and hope that bravery can inspire us all my thoughts continue to be with aaron and her family and friends and i want her to know that her heroic example while incredibly difficult has inspired so many all of my neighbors in milton and so many more across this country are with you and we're proud soldiers on aaron's army aaron keep fighting [Applause] the honourable member for london fanshawe across canada continue to face an increase in gender-based violence police from women's organizations have gone unanswered and they have been told to wait for a national action plan that is now six years overdue the crisis is now in london we have an amazing resource to support women called the nova that provides shelter support counseling and resources for abused women they have said that because of the lack of beds they have had to turn away women almost 1800 times last year while also seeing an increase of over 53 percent in gender-based violence the federal government needs to establish sustainable annual core funding they need to establish survivor-centered changes to the justice system and invest in long-term housing for women fleeing violence we must face gender-based violence head-on but these amazing women's organizations on the front line can't do it alone they need the government to reject austerity measures move beyond planning and to finally deliver action and the dollars they need to save lives [Applause] the honorable member for pierre boucher patriarch mr speaker on march 11th quebec and valen lost one of the greats the actor eve trudell while most quebecers will remember him for his role as mayo for his family and friends he was a man of integrity erudite and intelligent his dramatic art students in particular benefited from his teachings an incorrigible joker he never missed an opportunity to make you a bit uncomfortable to test your perspicacity his role as bob gratton touched us as quebecers and made us laugh seeing him as the bumbling mechanic with his ever-present cigar in his famous skadoot is now part of our collective memory in quebec beyond the jokes and the caricatures it's important to remember that the goal of the character was to illustrate the quebec condition and to remind us of the importance of fighting for our identity our culture and our national emancipation to the patriot israel thank you thank you for mayo thank you from quebec the honourable member for regina luvan mr speaker a majority mandate is won by crisscrossing the country listening to canadians and earning their trust at the polls people in regina louvain are in disbelief that the prime minister has created his own majority mandate in the shadowy backrooms of ottawa canadians are upset in sending a clear message they did not vote for ndp liberal government now that the ink is dry on the official agreement the ndp can stop pretending this dangerous coalition has not existed for years people want answers the prime minister needs to come clean on how much his majority will cost canadians how much does it cost for the member burnaby self to once again sell out his party's principles mr speaker this ndp liberal government will be the most reckless and expensive in our country's history people in regina louvain are already paying too much for everyday essentials like food and fuel and with the prime minister's deceptive deal that pain is only going to get worse for canadians [Applause] [Music] mr speaker it's very difficult for all of us to look at the terrible images we're seeing from ukraine and i know that this is particularly true for the members of the canadian armed forces and their families as the mother of a son who was deployed to ukraine under operation unifier i know firsthand the incredible role that our canadian armed forces have played in helping the ukrainian defense forces prepare for this moment when they are fighting for the defense of their country canadians are both horrified by the senseless violence that we've seen from ukraine and also inspired by the determination of the ukrainian army and the people of ukraine as they defend their country canada stands in solidarity with the people of ukraine and with their courageous president and we will continue to be there for them thank you to the members of the canadian armed forces thank you oral questions questions the official the honorable leader of the official opposition were shocked to find out that they are now being governed by an ndp liberal coalition government an alliance of high tax high spent and extreme ideology proponents but what canadians don't know is what are the details of the agreement now we did see a press release yesterday but that was all so i'm wondering mr speaker is there a signed agreement between the city shows the tradition of there was no interpretation for the very beginning the translation will get moving is there translation happening here at the same time translation i will have the i'll have the leader start to start a question again the honor of the honorable leader of the official opposition speaker yesterday as i was saying canadians were shocked to find out they are being governed by an ndp liberal coalition government an alliance of high tax high spend and extreme ideology proponents but mr speaker what canadians don't know are what are the details of this agreement we saw a press release yesterday but no actual details is there a signed agreement between the liberals and the ndp and will they make it public yes or no the honorable minister mr speaker and it was clear in the last election what canadians wanted as a priority uh action on growing the economy expanding the middle class and making sure that people can join uh making sure that we have affordable uh child care that we expand to health care services uh and all of these things are at the core of what when we came to power six months ago we said we wanted to work with other parties on now i know because i was there when the conservatives were in a minority government they didn't work with other parties it's an unusual concept for them but there's the opportunity that they have today to work collaboratively in parliament to get things done that's our objective the honourable leader of the official opposition mr speaker there is a signed agreement somewhere that they are hiding part of the deal struck by the liberals and ndp creates a new executive committee of the government this secret committee is made up of ndp and liberal members and it excludes the opposition that is an executive committee of government so who is on that executive committee and again will the liberals and the ndp make this agreement public for canadians and for this house the honourable minister mr speaker there is every opportunity for us to all work together and i think that that is exactly the spirit that was expected after the last election the canadians wanted to see stability they wanted to see results they wanted to see us focus on getting things done and as the member will well know we continue to have worked together on a great number of issues and that opportunity will continue in the future but what this means is that parliament can have stability that yes we have differences and some of those differences are very big but that doesn't mean that we should put our partisan differences in front of getting the business of the nation done and that's what this deal is about the honorable leader of the official opposition high tax high spend and higher cost for everything is all that this ndp liberal government will be delivering for canadians this back room secret deal will cost canadians an additional 200 billion dollars and that's not even counting the april first tax hike that is coming risky social experiments are not what canadians need they need their rent paid they need food in their fridge they need gas in their tanks will the prime minister tell canadians how much this nightmare of a socialist secret deal will cost canadians the honorable government house leader well mr speaker i was there for three uh minority governments with stephen harper and what we saw was a complete railroading of the opposition no interest in working with other parties and not only that we saw the most stagnant dead economic growth the country had seen over that period of time that we had seen historically and what we've seen now uh is canada leading leading in economic growth leading in job creation leading in climate action and what we're focused on mr speaker is working with any party that is willing to work with us to get the business of the nation done so i would suggest to the conservatives there's an opportunity break from their usual mold which is attack attack attack [Music] the honorable member for big antiques mr speaker this ndp liberal prime minister has repeatedly demonstrated his lack of respect for our parliament we learned that behind closed doors he created parallel secret committees to manage budgets the work of the house and committees and even bills these secret committees will have the power to decide whether to tax canadians spend run deficits and impose decisions on the provinces will this ndp liberal prime minister and his coalition deputy deputy prime minister reveal who the mps will be on these committees as well as this agreement the honorable minister mr speaker it's a bit rich to hear the conservatives talk about lacking respect for parliament they were the ones who wrote a book about how to vandalize house of commons committees when they were in power mr speaker we have been clear canadians elected a minority parliament and they want mps to collaborate i know that may be shocking to the conservatives but that's exactly what we will do in the interest of canadians the honorable member for megalith all right let's discuss the last elections 90 percent of quebecers rejected the ndp and its expenses during the last election and the inc has barely dried on the agreement before the premier of quebec said that that it won't be so easy for this coalition to negotiate with quebec how can this coalition support such an agreement at the expense of quebec jurisdiction the honorable minister mr speaker the conservatives spend so much time arguing between themselves that they are not capable of fathoming the concept of an agreement between two parties for them an agreement between parties is like climate change it doesn't exist mr speaker it's not a thing what we want is stability to deliver for quebecers and canadians and that's something that the conservatives just can't understand [Applause] the honorable member for la perry mr speaker quebec will not let this neo-liberal coalition weaken its powers and its capacity to make its own choices as a nation all the parties in quebec national assembly agree whether it be health housing early childhood or other things it's quebec jurisdiction according to the premier of quebec we have two parties here that are very centralizing the liberal party and the ndp which want to impose their vision on all provinces but it won't be that easy why does this new liberal coalition why is it trying to argue with the provinces instead of collaborating respectfully the honorable minister mr speaker if we were looking to pick a fight we would ask the black quebecois to guide us they are the ones who are experts at picking a fight mr speaker i understand the black quebecois frustration we were elected to this parliament to collaborate and to move for the interests of all canadians on issues as important as public health housing and so on and that's exactly what we will do of course while respecting provincial jurisdiction that is what i do every day in my work as a minister mr speaker the honorable member for la perry mr speaker when you're the only one who is right it's always because you're wrong once again let's hear what the government of quebec said a lot of our revenues end up in the federal tax system that money belongs to us we have a right to it unconditionally and used and to use according to our needs mr speaker that's what the liberals and their orange farm team are forgetting it's not their money it's quebecer's money it belongs to them and it's an area of quebec jurisdiction so with all this in mind will they ensure that there is a right for withdrawal with full compensation the honorable minister mr speaker well listen the black epic are the international champions of picking fights they are the champions of that they come here to fight with us so how can we ask them to understand that some people want to work together and so the fact that we want to sit down and talk about social housing that's good for quebec fighting climate change is good for quebec helping workers is good for quebec but unfortunately it's bad for the black quebecois the honorable member for north island powell river mr speaker costs keep going up housing gas groceries and canadians are struggling people are hurting while the ultra rich continue to get richer yesterday the members of this house voted on a proposed tax to excess profits of those oil companies big box stores and banks who are getting richer off the backs of canadians when will this government take leadership and tax those who need to and stop taxing canadians the honorable minister thank you mr speaker and i respect the honourable colleague for a question and building a fairer and more inclusive economy that works for all canadians has been a central focus for our government since we first took office and we appreciate the ndp's intent behind this opposition day motion but let's remember our record on supporting the middle class providing more pandemic supports for canadians and businesses in bill c2 stopping the canada child benefit going to millionaires in order to send more money to nine out of ten families investments to combat international tax measures we will keep focusing on affordability mr speaker mr speaker a lot of people are suffering people are feeling pain at the pump at a time when big oil companies are raking in record profits produce meat groceries in general are more and more expensive for families at a time when ceos are bathing in their millions it is time to ensure that these ultra rich people pay their fair share and that we use that money to help those who are struggling when will the liberals finally add a three percent tax on the excessive profits of those who are getting rich on the backs of the public the honorable minister thank you mr speaker i'd like to thank my colleague for his question building a fairer and more affordable country country for canadians is part of our mandate as a government we appreciate the spirit of the ndp motion yesterday but we also need to note that we have made life more affordable for canadians we have raised our support for the canada child benefit we have raised taxes on the wealthy and we have increased our investment in the cra so we will continue to make life more affordable for canadians mission mastery frasier canyon mr speaker at the end of 2021 canadian home prices were 19 above the boring capacity of medium income households by summer 2022 it is expected to reach a level that is 38 higher than what most borrowers can afford this is despite the fact that this government has earmarked 72 billion dollars for housing when there are no real outcomes we can point to except an affordability crisis why is this ndp liberal government intent on spending canadians into oblivion the honorable minister of housing that party uh in this house faces a leadership problem they don't even have the term affordable housing in their plans they vote against every measure that comes before this house to enable canadians to access their home and i hope the honorable member talks to his colleague from storm dundas south carolina who quote unquote said our government should pull back from the national housing strategy that same member said that we should stop the first time home by incentive how dare they talk about home ownership when they want us the honorable member for south shore st margaret's in the last two weeks bc crab fishermen off tofino have had 50 of their quota expropriated and given to others without compensation maritime albert fishermen had their quotas appropriated and given away without compensation last week the ndp liberal marriage ceremony is over the tofino honeymoon is on but it's the fisherman being hurt by the consummation of this marriage will they listen to the ndp government member from courtney alberni who called on his government to fairly compensate fishermen for this expropriation the honourable minister of fisheries oh this would be great mr speaker the new channels nations are working collaboratively with our government to advance and we are advancing reconciliation with them recognizing their inherent right to fish and as it is with the moderate livelihood rights of nations with respect to the elders so we are working with industry to negotiate solutions that are acceptable to all parties as we move forward with reconciliation obligations [Applause] the honorable member for central okanagan similarly nicola mr speaker yesterday conservatives came to parliament to talk about giving canadians a break from record high gas prices yesterday the prime minister came to parliament to talk about giving himself a break thanks to a backroom deal with the ndp a gst cut at the pumps would help millions of canadians struggling with the highest inflation levels in 30 years as every member of parliament is hearing calls from constituents who want to break will the prime minister allow a free vote for his mps and if so will he extend the courtesy to his coalition partners in the ndp [Applause] the honorable minister of tourism and associate minister of finance thank you very much mr speaker i thank the honourable member for his question mr speaker i filled up with the pumps last week and i understand the situation that canadians are facing as my colleague knows the rising uh the prices of the pumps is due to the tragic situation unfolding in ukraine the problem with the conservative plan mr speaker is that it wouldn't work there's no guarantee that canadians would see a reduction at the pumps there's nothing to prevent gas companies from absorbing that cost while the other side is fighting amongst itself to pick a leader we're gonna focus on affordability for canadians [Applause] the honorable member for carton carlton trail eagle creek putin's war machine is funded by russian oil and gas production and exports ukrainians are suffering as a result the ndp liberal agreement includes an ominous line about phasing out public financing for canada's energy sector this is music to putin's ears will the ndp liberal government support the expansion of canada's ethical and environmentally responsible energy so it can replace putin's oil and gas around the world the honorable minister [Applause] for her question uh as she knows we've announced the government of canada will ban crude oil imports from russia until further notice she also knows that according to the canada energy regulator over the last couple of years canada's imported very little crude oil from russia at all we also realized the impact that this is having around the world and we are working with our counterparts and we will do what we need to do to ensure that canadians are protected and that we support the people of ukraine the honourable member for tobek magdaquack mr speaker the carbon tax is a punitive ineffective and unnecessary tax that disproportionately hurts rural and small town canadians including seniors whether it's the rising cost of living soaring inflation interest rates heights two dollar a liter gasoline or an average home cost doubling canadians are feeling the pain and they're needing relief now mr speaker with this new ndp liberal government cooked up in the back rooms how much more pain can canadians expect at the pumps grocery stores and in their pocketbooks the honorable minister of environment and climate change mr speaker we all know that putting a price on carbon is one of the most effective way to reduce emissions and if they won't if they won't take it for the parliamentary budget officer or the international monetary funds the minister respond i will let him restart thank you kindly mr speaker as we all know putting a price on carbon is one of the most effective way of fighting climate change and if the conservative won't take it from the parliamentary budget officer or the international monetary fund then maybe they will take it from the member from new brunswick southwest who asked his own province the conservative member for from new brunswick southwest who asked his own province to implement the federal pricing system mr speaker thank you mr speaker this new ndp liberal government is concerning especially when it comes to the next four budgets canadians are struggling every day to make ends be ends meet mr speaker can the prime minister tell us that the new colors of the new liberal ndp party orange and red represent what canadians will shortly be experiencing hellish suffering the honorable minister [Applause] mr speaker i'd like to thank my very passionate colleague for his question let's look at the facts on this side of the house we have recuperated 112 percent of the jobs lost in the pandemic we have introduced a child care benefit to help families we have offered more support to seniors we have increased the canada child benefit and at the same time as the conservatives are arguing among themselves and trying to find a new leader we will be helping all canadians the honourable member for jean kia thank you very much mr speaker yesterday the government of quebec tabled its budget it announced that it will lack six billion dollars in the health area every year because the federal government is not doing its part and it's reiterating the message taking a fight supposedly that all the provinces have been saying for two years that we need to raise health transfers unconditionally to 35 percent of costs that's what all premiers are asking for and they want the government to negotiate if the federal government can find the time to negotiate with the ndp will it find time to negotiate with the provinces the honorable minister of health thank you very much mr speaker i'm very pleased to answer that question i would also like to remind us that 73 billion dollars was used to support health and safety for all canadians including quebecers in addition to the 45 billion made through the canada health transfer which will be increasing as well as the four billion we announced last year to address delays in various medical procedures and sank billion dollars additionally that were invested over the last few years and if there are more questions i have more to add the honorable member from hong kong mr speaker everyone is asking for health care transfers to be increased unconditionally it's completely unanimous quebec all of the provinces liberal ndp are conservative all of them without exception want health transfers to be increased that's a consensus mr speaker when you decide to go against a unanimous consensus i'm sorry to say it but you're the one who's picking a fight so i'd like to ask the government and its orange farm team why is it trying to pick a fight instead of joining the consensus and increasing health care transfers unconditionally [Music] the honorable minister of health thank you mr speaker indeed the black quebecois is asking for transfers and we are sending transfers three billion dollars announced in the last budget to support the health and dignity of our seniors in long-term care centers in quebec and elsewhere 1 billion to help the provinces and territories to implement vaccination programs 300 million to help the provinces pay for the vaccine passport systems that they've been using very very effectively recently and i have even more to add for kelowna lake country thank you mr speaker there are two tax increases happening on april 1st excise tax and carbon tax the carbon tax will basically increase the cost of anything shipped or heated and both will add to the 5.7 percent inflation people can't keep up and yet yesterday the associate finance minister said a temporary pause on taxes won't help canadians at the pumps as other jurisdictions have will the ndp liberal prime minister have some empathy for canadian families and small businesses do the math and cancel the april fool's day carbon tax increase the honorable minister of tourism and associate minister of finance the honorable member for her question and we understand the affordability challenge that canadians are facing let us remember that inflation is a global phenomenon that energy surprises supply char supply shocks the war on ukraine is causing prices to rise on this side of the house we will keep focusing on affordability and without our fiscal prudence canada's gdp would have declined by eight further points the unemployment rate would have risen by another 3.2 percentage points and we would not have recovered over 3 million jobs lost at the height of the pandemic [Applause] the honorable member for bose mr speaker the cost of living crisis is affecting people in both every day inflation is at record levels and canadians are having trouble making ends meet right now in bose gas cost nearly 180 a liter in my riding we don't have a luxury of public transit so there's even more of an impact will this ndp liberal government vote with us after qp to eliminate gst in order to help people and small businesses to get their lives back on track the honorable minister mr speaker i would like to thank my colleague for his question we know that canadians are facing an increase in gas prices as my colleague knows energy prices are going up because of the tragic war in ukraine we also know that the conservative plan would not work mr speaker because there is no guarantee that reducing gst would be transferred to consumers on this side of the house we will focus on real solutions not on bizarre conservative suggestions honourable member for brantford brandt mr speaker we all know who is hurting the economy the most the prime minister his liberal government and now with blind support from the ndp they have spent the most to achieve the least and have no intention to balance the budget since this government was first elected our great country is gradually losing its wealth and canada's middle class is shrinking now their failure to control spending drives the cost of living to record heights when will this ndp liberal government give canadians a break and cancel the planned tax increases on april 1st the honorable minister of tourism and associate minister of finance mr speaker i thank my honorable member for his question let us set forth some facts 511 billion dollars invested in canadians during the height of the pandemic three million jobs and more recovered since the height of the pandemic the inflation that we are experiencing is a global phenomenon we will keep focusing on affordability while the canadians fight amongst themselves to pick a leader we're going to focus on canadians and putting more money in their pockets [Music] the honorable member for calgary rocky ridge mr speaker this government is presiding over canada's highest inflation rate in a generation fueled by structural deficits that were baked in before covet out of control spending monetary expansion and an ever increasing carbon tax the bank of canada recently confirmed that the carbon tax alone is responsible for driving up inflation by nearly half a percent will this ndp liberal government commit today to cancel this year's carbon tax increase and give consumers a break the honorable minister of environment speaker speaking of giving canadian break come provinces where the carbon pricing is being applied by the federal government in ontario households will receive 745 dollars in manitoba 830 dollars in saskatchewan eleven hundred dollars mr speaker and almost as much in alberta the carbon pricing is working for canadians and to reduce emissions where the conservatives have no plan whatsoever to fight climate change mr speaker the honourable member for vancouver east over 3.6 million people have fled

putin's destruction in ukraine and are desperately trying to unite with friends and family and find safety including here in canada even though older identity documents are supposed to be recognized in the fast-tracked visa process ukrainians with an older internal passport are unable to complete the government's online application process my constituent is having a hard time getting a visa for his 83 year old mother will the minister take swift action to ensure older identity documents are recognized through the government's online emergency visa application process the honorable minister of immigration uh mr speaker i thank the honourable member for her question and for her sincere concern for the well-being of those who are fleeing unimaginable circumstances in ukraine we've now seen more than ten thousand ukrainians arrive in canada since the beginning of this calendar year and we're going to continue to do more to promote and facilitate the safe transport of people to canada as quickly as possible with respect to outdated travel documents we contemplated this possibility during the program design and are working to issue single journey travel documents for those who do not have a valid passport i would be pleased to continue to work with any member of this house who identifies problems along the way because as this system develops for the first time we want to make sure it continues to operate smoothly to welcome as many people here as quickly as possible thank you the honourable member for edmonton strathcona mr speaker ukrainians are fleeing the horrific attacks in their country and they are vulnerable they are seniors they are mothers with children the open work permit won't help these people because they may not be able to work mothers will need access to daycare and they will need money to pay for it in many cases they may not want to leave their children who have been deeply traumatized canada must provide air and ground transportation to help ukrainians get to canada and then support them when they're here this is urgent will the minister commit immediately to financial support for ukrainians when they arrive in canada the honorable minister of immigration um mr speaker again i'd like to thank this member for her advocacy for the well-being of those fleeing ukraine as well with respect uh her point in uh regarding the open work permit i i would like to point out that nearly 80 percent of those who've applied to come through the canada ukraine authorization for emergency travel have also applied for the open work permit that we've made them eligible for with respect to supports for people in terms of getting here and once they land we're working right now with non-profit partners with private sector donors with airlines to sort out some of the very issues that she's raised in her question we are working around the clock across ministries with partners in provincial jurisdictions and on the ground in canadian communities so we can maximize the extraordinary goodwill we are seeing coming from canadians who want to do their part member for scarborough center thank you mr speaker mr speaker rising inflation is presenting real challenges for my constituents in scarborough center especially seniors on fixed incomes and families with young children already challenged by high housing prices the rising cost of groceries and other daily necessities is making it harder for families to put healthy and nutritious food on the table for their children could the associate minister of finance please tell us what the government is doing to help these families having to make difficult choices between healthy food and paying rent the honourable minister of tourism and associate minister of finance thank you very much mr speaker and i want to thank my honorable colleague from scarborough center for her exceptional work on this file thanks to the historic investments in budget 21 and thanks to the incredible work of the minister of families children and social development we now have early learning and child care agreements with nine provinces and three territories this means across the country canadians are already saving over five thousand dollars a year savings for family in bc in nova scotia in manitoba in newfoundland and labrador and in my own province of alberta we continue to work hard every day to make high quality child care affordable for all canadians the honourable member for sherwood park fort saskatchewan mr speaker canadians who choose to join ukraine's foreign legion would do so at great risk for themselves they should not have to worry about prosecution in canada according to the foreign enlistment act it is against the law for a canadian to fight against a friendly foreign state but the act contains no definition or a list regarding who is a friendly foreign state so could the attorney general simply clearly state for the purposes of this act that russia is not considered a friendly foreign state the honourable minister of foreign affairs mr speaker obviously we know that ukraine is at war and that we need to make sure that we help ukraine to defend itself now i've been clear and the travel advisory on canada's website is clear we need to make sure that if people are in ukraine they need to shelter and at the same time we've been clear since february first that should canadians be in ukraine they should be leaving the country and we've been clear also that canadians should not go to ukraine that being said we know that this is a personal choice on the part of many canadians and i look forward to working with my colleague on this issue thank you horrible member for sherwood park for saskatchewan well thank you mr speaker i hope we'll get some clarity at some point on that specific question now a defining challenge for democracies in many parts of the world is energy security fueling democracy and protecting the international rules-based order requires canada to step up and do our part to help our partners kick putin's gas out of their supply chains does the ndp liberal government recognize that supplying energy to fellow democracies is critical for global security the honourable minister [Applause] thank you mr speaker the current situation in ukraine underscores the importance of energy security of our allies in europe and around the world our country is in a secure position in terms of energy supply and as europe works to address the geopolitical and social economic challenges presented by the russian invasion of ukraine we are considering all measures to preserve energy supply chains in canada and where possible worldwide the honourable member for edmonton west mr speaker in operations committee public works admitted the government might delay the selection of a replacement fighter jet for an additional 12 months because apparently six years delay is not enough now when we asked public works if they'd received any directions from the liberal ndp government to speed up the process in light of the russian invasion of ukraine the answer was a simple nope wow so what is this government's plan for our air force in this time of crisis go shopping on ebay for more gently used cfa the teams minister of public services and procurement i thank the member for the question our government has been strong and consistent in delivering on its promise to replace canada's existing fighter jet fleet through an open fair and transparent process we are delivering real progress in purchasing 88 advanced fighter jets for a canadian military this is a rigorous assessment process we're going to continue to support the royal canadian air force and their efforts to keep canadians safe with equipment that meets their standards and we're going to do this in a very responsible way thank you mr speaker the honourable member for york simcoe mr speaker this prime minister likes to say canada's back but last week i was in poland at the ukrainian border and canada was nowhere to be found thousands of ukrainian refugees are flooding through border towns like medica where they are given humanitarian aid from around the world including countries as small as uzbekistan other nations are doing their part canada's almost no presence on the ground the only maple leaf you could find was the one on my jacket why is this liberal ndp government offering no visible support to the ukrainian people in their time of need the honourable minister [Applause] mr speaker i respectfully disagree with that with the member in fact myself and other members we were actually on the ground as well where i got to visit actually poland moldova romania and other countries as well in fact we actually not only have a team on the ground coordinating with usa the eu and united nations we have been on a daily conversation to making sure that humanitarian support is going getting to the right people thank you the honourable member for laxation mr speaker for four weeks now the bloc has been working with the government to welcome ukrainian refugees but now we're fed up it's unacceptable that the minister has not yet charted flights to pick up refugee families air transit has volunteered for the job but they're just waiting for the minister to give them the green light and there are other airlines that were bailed out with billions of dollars by this government the minister could ask them to do their share will he finally only up and in store at airbridge this week [Applause] the canada will off you offer refuge to refugees canada has welcomed almost ten thousand ukrainians and last week we have announced measures to help ukrainians to come to canada easier and this is safely not just to give them permission to apply to canada but to do what we can to facilitate their arrival we're having conversations in real time with private sector players with provinces and territories and others who can facilitate their arrival in canada as quickly as possible i'm going to continue my work on this file until we see additional ukrainians come beyond the 10 000 who have already arrived the honourable member for lexington mr speaker that answer is no longer acceptable for the minister to give this house a hollow answer that's one thing we're used to it but for him to give a hollow answer to ukrainian women and their children who are stuck in poland without a penny in their pockets that's something else the minister has no right to tell refugees that canada will help them and then tell them get out of there on your own when is the minister going to make a deal with the airlines when the honorable minister mr speaker would dare suggest that it's not a hollow answer to the ten thousand ukrainians who are already in canada or the tens of thousands of more who've applied or will be welcomed to canada in the future we are having these conversations in real time including with airlines including with provinces and territories including with private sector contributors including with service providers on the ground we will work every day to do everything we can to help the people who are fleeing this war it is the just and honorable thing to do when we're dealing with such a war of aggression canada will it play its part including by welcoming as many uh ukrainians who are fleeing this war of aggression as possible the on member for belgium mr speaker the liberal government was so preoccupied with wrapping up its alliance with the ndp secretly that it forgot to lift health measures like other g7 countries are doing vigilance does not mean rigidity or stubbornness when will the government this neoliberal government re-evaluate the remaining federal federal measures the honorable minister of health thank you very much mr speaker this will allow me to thank like we'd all like to do every day the 30 million canadians who did get vaccinated over the past year we're talking about millions of doses that were administered by thousands of health care workers people who went out and got vaccinated and they also protected those who are around them some members on the conservative side are not wearing their mask and it a politician can't tell us when covet 19 will end for saskatoon west speakers canada is a tale of two governments provincial governments use real science to make decisions and have lifted their coveted mandates but here in ottawa the ndp liberal government relies on political science and refuses to end covet mandates making some canadians second-class citizens these canadians can't fly they can't cross an international border or keep their job in the military simply because they don't want a voluntary vaccine mr speaker when will the ndp liberal government follow the lead of the provincial governments listen to the science and end the federal coveted mandates the honourable minister of health thank you mr speaker and based on the earlier congratulations and thank you to canadians let me point to one more number 135 000. that's the number of avoidable deaths that we saw in the united states over the last few months avoidable because it would have been avoided if americans had done as well as we did in canada that is to vaccinate everywhere 135 000 people dying in the us because of not having been vaccinated as we did in canada i think it's a good way to again to signal our gratefulness to all those canadians who did the right thing the honourable member for hastings lennox and addington thank you mr speaker mr o'hearn is a 79 year old senior living in hastings lennox nettington he desperately wants to visit his grandchildren in the u.s but there's a problem he doesn't have a computer a cell phone nor an email address he has no ability to comply with the canadian border service agencies arrive can requirement mr speaker why is this ndp liberal government not supporting fully vaccinated canadians like mr o'hearn and thousands of other canadians the honorable minister of health thank you mr speaker and since i'm i like numbers and since i believe the opposition also likes science and numbers let me quote two more one thousand and six hundred and four billion dollars the fact that we had in the last few months vaccination mandates at the federal and provincial level made canadians avoid a hundred one thousand and six one thousand six hundred deaths no uh 1 600 people who are now alive living with their families enjoying time with their friends working no just living and four billion dollars of cost that will revert to because of that order now we'd like to hear the answers as well the honorable member for sudbury mr speaker our government understands how important it is to support our young people earlier in their careers this is especially true when it comes to the next generation of farmers can the parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture inform us what the government is doing to support knowledge transfer and engage the young people who will shape the future of agriculture the honorable parliamentary secretary i'd like to thank the member for her hard work and her writing the next generation of farmers is indeed critical to the prosperity of this sector and it's very important that we support them i'm pleased to say that yesterday we announced the new group of young talent that will be participating in the next gen agricultural mentorship program in saskatchewan young canadians are the ones who will shape the future of agriculture and we all have a stake in their learning from experienced mentors through the next gen program our government is supporting knowledge transfer to put the next generation of farmers on the right track to successful careers the honorable member for caribou prince george you're here mr speaker last fall fall terror struck my community of van der hoof a lone gunman hunted and opened fire on rcmp he unloaded over 20 rounds into our detachment th

2022-03-25 19:59

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