Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we actually respect workers' rights. We are taking an approach that makes sure that we respect the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike. We believe, and we are committed to making sure, that the best deal will be reached at the negotiating table. Those negotiations are ongoing. We are going to make sure we get a good deal for both public ser…
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Conservatives have an issue with the truth, but I am just going to tell it. The truth of the matter is that while there is a strike going on, I recommend that Canadians do not submit an application for a passport unless it is urgent. With the strike conditions, under law, those passports cannot be processed. Unlike the Conservatives, I actually believe in telling…
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Mr. Speaker, I know the Conservatives have a short memory, but the public service was increased by 50% because we were delivering the Canadian emergency response benefit to eight and a half million Canadians. It is a fact that, at the greatest health and economic challenge of our time, this government was there for Canadians. My big concern is not only that the Conservatives have forgotten this bu…
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Mr. Speaker, during a general strike, by law, passport services are not considered to be essential. If there are urgent or humanitarian cases, they will be processed. That information is available on the website. However, I have grave concerns with the short-term memory loss of the Conservatives. They have forgotten that those investments that were made were there to help eight and a half million …
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives opposite, we respect collective bargaining, we respect the right to strike and we understand that negotiations need to happen at the negotiating table. The government has been extraordinarily engaged to ensure we get a fair deal for Canadians, a fair deal for the workers and a fair deal for government. We are going to continue to negotiate in good faith and to…
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Mr. Speaker, the members on this side show up to work every single day to work for Canadians. Let us talk about the public servants who showed up to work every single day throughout the pandemic to deliver CERB to eight and a half million Canadians. Let us talk about the public servants who worked overtime to make sure they could help Canadians access the services they needed. We respect collectiv…
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Mr. Speaker, it is important for us to compare and contrast with what the Conservatives did, because since 2006, they did not increase vote A funding for core services to any of the services we provided to Canadians. That means that, as the population of Canada has continued to grow, we actually have been spending, since we came into government in 2015, to deliver services for the population we ha…
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Mr. Speaker, the hypocrisy is coming from the other side. Conservatives say that they care about Canadians and the affordability challenges they are facing, but when they have an opportunity to actually support Canadians, what do they do? They vote against them. Conservatives have another opportunity coming up to support budget 2023, which is going to support Canadians through health care, access …
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that EI benefits need to be fairer, more responsive and more adaptable to the needs of Canada's evolving workforce. That is why we continue to be committed to comprehensively modernizing the system. We have already extended EI sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks. With budget 2023, we propose extending support for seasonal workers until October 2024. We have always said…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Mississauga East—Cooksville for the important question. All members in the House are aware, because we have heard from constituents right across this country, how challenging these times are. That is why our government has acted yet again in budget 2023. In addition to several measures that have been in place this year, as well as previously, we…
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Mr. Speaker, it is hard to hear the Conservatives talk about families because at every opportunity they have voted against hard-working Canadian families in this House, like regarding the Canada child benefit, the Canada workers benefit, the Canada housing benefit or dental that has helped over 250,000 children go to the dentist already. We also have the Canada child care agreements that have lowe…
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Mr. Speaker, what Canadians deserve is a government that is going to respond to them in their time of need. That is exactly what we are doing with this budget, and that is exactly what we have been doing for the past seven and a half years. Just as the Conservatives voted against the Canada child benefit, which provides up to $7,000 a year for vulnerable families, they are voting against Canadians…
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What is really disappointing, Mr. Speaker, is that the Leader of the Opposition has already told Canadians that he is voting against this budget and he is voting against them, because what he is voting against is a grocery rebate for 11 million Canadians. What he is voting against is dental care for nine million Canadians, including children, seniors and people with disabilities. What he is voting…
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservative members of Parliament really cared about the cost of food, they would do something really simple, which is support this budget, because in it there is a grocery rebate for 11 million Canadians, which would help them with the high cost of food. If the Conservative members of Parliament cared about the high cost of living on families, they would have supported our Ca…
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Mr. Speaker, there are 2.7 million fewer Canadians in poverty today than when the Conservatives were in government. That includes 450,000 children, thanks to the Canada child benefit, in which a child under six could receive up to $7,000 a year. Let us talk about our child care agreements that have cut fees by 50% for families across this country, which could be up to an additional $6,000 for fami…
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Mr. Speaker, as a government, we understand these are challenging times for Canadians. It is why we have put important measures in place to help Canadians, like doubling the GST tax credit that has helped almost 11 million Canadians across the country to deal with the high cost of everything; like the Canada child benefit that is indexed to inflation and that increased last July, because we recogn…
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Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives were in power, an additional 2.7 million people were living in poverty. When the Conservatives were in power, Canadians received family benefit cheques, but had to pay tax on them. Our government increased the Canada child benefit without taxing it. This represents up to $7,000 a year for families with children under six.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been sitting in this chamber for the last seven and a half years, as many of my colleagues on the other side have as well, and what I remember is that we have put several measures on the floor, which helped Canadian families, that the Conservatives voted against. Whether it was with the middle class tax cut, the reduction of taxes for small businesses or the increase to the Can…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to take my hon. Conservative colleagues at face value when they say they care and want to show compassion to Canadians, but when they have had the opportunity over the past eight years, every single time they have voted against Canadians. Whether it was the Canada child benefit that has helped lift 450,000 children out of poverty, they voted against. Whether it was loweri…
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Mr. Speaker, this government has introduced robust measures to support seniors in Canada. Unlike the Conservatives, who raised the retirement age to 67, we kept it at 65. On top of that, for the most vulnerable seniors, we increased the guaranteed income supplement by 10%, and we increased old age security by 10% for people aged 75 and over. We are there for seniors in this country, and we will be…
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Mr. Speaker, first, this situation is completely unacceptable, and I would like to thank the member opposite and the citizen involved for turning in these documents. As soon as I heard about this, I asked the department to do an investigation to make sure that it does not happen again. I can assure the member that this is completely unacceptable. We are responding appropriately and effectively.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, it is Canadians who decide who is in government and not Conservative members of Parliament. However, let us be clear that 2.7 million fewer Canadians are in poverty today than when the Conservatives were in government. When it comes to supporting Canadians, we have been there, whether it is supporting children with the Canada child benefit, supporting seniors with the gu…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her work and her support of our important work on child care. In the Canada-wide agreement we have signed with all provinces and territories, the provinces and territories have committed to ensuring that they are able to recruit and retain ECEs. We know that ECEs and child care workers form the backbone of our child care system. Within those agre…
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Mr. Speaker, when the member was minister responsible for housing, there were 2.7 million more Canadians in poverty than there are today. When the member was minister responsible for poverty reduction, there were 450,000 more children in poverty than there are today. When the member was the minister responsible for democratic institutions, he made it harder for 150,000 Canadians to vote. What we u…
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Mr. Speaker, what Canadians know is that they cannot trust the Leader of the Opposition when it comes to protecting their savings and when it comes to protecting their bottom line. The Leader of the Opposition thought that to get out of inflation, we could just invest in cryptocurrency, and that did not go so well. Do members know what else he said? He said that child care was a slush fund for par…
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Mr. Speaker, I was in the member's province on Monday to make a great announcement with the Government of Saskatchewan. It means that as of April 1, child care fees in registered child care spaces will be reduced to $10 a day, making Saskatchewan the third jurisdiction to reduce child care fees to $10 a day. This helps families right across the country pay for the high cost of everything. Oftentim…
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Mr. Speaker, as everyone in this House knows, as of January, fees for child care have been reduced 50% across the country. I asked families to tell me what that means to them. Let me give some examples. “Just paid our January daycare fees. Under $500!!!!! This is a 55% reduction from last year. This is going to make such a huge difference for so many families.” Here is another quote: “We are final…
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Mr. Speaker, I actually read Dr. Seuss quite a bit with my son at night, and he has some pretty good lessons that I think the Conservatives could learn if they want to open up his books. In fact, one of those lessons is about protecting our environment. When he talks about the truffula trees, it is about protecting what we have, like the clean air and clean water, and making sure we protect that f…
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Mr. Speaker, if they want to talk about the little guy, I have been talking to small business owners and charitable organization representatives across this country, and they say to me every time I meet with them, “Thank you for the Canada emergency wage subsidy. We would not have been able to keep our doors open, and we would not have been able to keep our people employed, had it not been for thi…
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Mr. Speaker, when the members opposite talk about the spending we did over the past couple of years, they are talking about supports that we provided to Canadians at the height of the pandemic. They are talking about the Canada emergency response benefit that helped millions of Canadians to keep afloat during a very difficult time. We are going to continue to be there for Canadians. We are going t…
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Mr. Speaker, it is hard to listen to Conservatives who say they want to help Canadians when, at every opportunity, they vote against measures that will help Canadians. On this side of the House, we are committed to helping Canadians because we understand that the cost of living is high. That is exactly why we are taking action. If the Conservatives were sincere in their desire to help Canadians, t…
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Mr. Speaker, we hear a lot of hot air coming from the Leader of the Opposition, but we do not hear a lot of solutions. On this side of the House, we are actually focused on making sure that Canadians have the support they need, whether that was at the height of the pandemic, when we made sure that Canadians could stay afloat, and guess what, that is what the Leader of the Opposition is against; wh…
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Mr. Speaker, it baffles the House that the Conservatives continue to undermine the fact that climate change is real. It baffles the House and all Canadians that Conservatives continue to vote against measures that are actually supporting Canadians. Time and time again, when we have put forward measures that are helping low- and middle-income Canadians, the Conservatives have voted against them. No…
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Mr. Speaker, one thing is clear: Over the last seven years, this government has been there for Canadians. In fact, from 2015 to 2020, poverty in Canada was reduced by 2.7 million Canadians. That is 782,000 children and 178,000 seniors. What happened in 2015? The government changed. The Liberals were elected and the Conservatives were out. It seems like something happened.
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Mr. Speaker, I was really delighted to be in Edmonton last week to make that important announcement of an additional 20,000 child care spaces, which are going to be created in Alberta. That is in addition to the 42,500 that were already announced when we signed the agreement. This means that we are delivering more affordable child care for families in Alberta and right across the country. This is …
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we are actually doing something about it. In fact, since 2015 we have brought in a number of measures to make sure that life is more affordable for the lowest-income Canadians. Whether that is the Canada child benefit, which is helping nine out of 10 families, whether it is decreasing the eligible age for old age security from 67, which Conservatives tried to…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, what Canadians absolutely know is that the Conservative plan, when it comes to opioids, is dangerous, it is reckless and it would put people in harm's way. What Canadians do know is that when it comes to standing with them, we have stood with them, whether it was when we came into office and put in important measures to lift people out of poverty or whether it was d…
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Mr. Speaker, what the members opposite are doing is absolutely shameful. They are making a mockery of people suffering, instead of supporting them when we are putting important measures on the table. After eight years, there is one thing that Canadians have learned. When they are in trouble and when they need help, they cannot count on the Conservatives. The Conservatives are not there for them. I…
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Mr. Speaker, this government has an impressive record when it comes to eliminating poverty in Canada. Over one million Canadians have been lifted out of poverty thanks to the measures that we put in place, including the Canada child benefit and the increase in benefits for seniors. The Conservatives voted against those measures. In fact, the Conservatives wanted to raise the retirement age for sen…
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Madam Speaker, yes, of course there are challenges to meeting this goal, but we have made sure within the pillar on inclusivity that we are working with provinces and territories to reach those places where child care is harder to access, whether that is in rural communities, remote communities or even in urban centres where there are child care deserts. There are some really terrific examples, li…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague and all my Bloc Québécois colleagues for supporting this bill. Quebec is most definitely a leader in this area. We have learned so much from Quebec's experience over the past 25 years. I would also like to thank my colleague for speaking about her pride in Quebec's early childhood and day care centres. I would like to ask her the following question…
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Madam Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my hon. colleague from Winnipeg Centre for the really positive and constructive working relationship we have developed over the past year. I also want to thank her colleagues in the NDP for their support of this legislation. I have great confidence in what we are going to be able to achieve with this for Canadians right across the country. I also want to …
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Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating and welcoming my newest colleague from Mississauga—Lakeshore to the House. I am thrilled to talk about Bill C-35 and the important work that it is going to do to ensure to Canadians, to families, to children, to women, to day care providers that the federal government is there for the long term. I have no doubt that his constituents in Mississauga—Lakesh…
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Mr. Speaker, right after we formed the government, 450,000 fewer children were in poverty than when the Conservatives were in power. It is because of our programs, such as the Canada child benefit or the child care and early childhood program, that fees have dropped by 50% across the country. Families across Canada tell me how much these programs have helped them reduce the cost of living and how …
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for her speech because she has pointed out exactly why this bill is important. All of the issues she raised are issues that have arisen because we did not have national leadership on child care. There was no system before. The system that was there was a patchwork, and it did not provide for the needs of families across this country. Wait-lists exis…
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moved that Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, it gives me tremendous pleasure, and it is an honour to rise in the House today to kick off the debate on Bill C-35, an act respecting early learning and child care in Canada. I want to start with a few thanks. I first of all want to thank the thousands…
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Madam Speaker, I hope my hon. colleague will be supporting this bill on the advancement of child care in Canada. It is an extremely important question and it forms part and parcel of the agreements that we signed with provinces and territories across the country. I was one of those parents who was on a wait list and was nervous about whether I would get a space for my son, so I understand what tha…
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Madam Speaker, we have an excellent relationship with Quebec when it comes to early childhood education and child care. I have worked extensively with my Quebec counterparts on this issue. As my colleague mentioned, Quebec's child care system has been a source of inspiration for us. We want the rest of Canada to catch up with Quebec and its system. We negotiated an asymmetrical agreement with Queb…
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure working with my hon. colleague. I would note that she started her career as an early childhood educator, so her input has been invaluable in this regard. It is important to reiterate that the legislation is complementary to the agreements we have signed with provinces and territories. Each one of those agreements does have a commitment to a wage grid, to benefits, t…
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Madam Speaker, I could not agree with my hon. colleague more. We need to make sure we have a well-compensated and well-trained workforce. In the $30 billion the federal government is transferring to provinces, territories and indigenous organizations, there is room for provinces and territories to ensure wages are keeping up and in some cases exceeding what expectations are to maintain that workfo…
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