Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I am a little disappointed in the opposition parties, because today's conversation is about carbon pricing, and members had an opportunity to ask questions in relation to that. It seems very clear from my position that the NDP is going down the path of corporate profits and complete and total class warfare. We have seen that happen. It is clear that the government expects higher-inc…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I am a bit confused. I understand that housing is a very important issue. If I understood the interpretation correctly, my colleague's question was entirely on housing. However, today, the debate on the opposition motion is on the carbon tax. The Government of Canada will work with all the provinces and territories, including Quebec and, of course, the members of the sovereignist pa…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague started by saying that the Conservatives had a lot of different options on the table to reduce emissions, and that the member for Carleton had mentioned them, yet he then spoke for the next 45 seconds without providing one single example of what the Conservative Party would actually do. As it relates to the federal backstop, which is not in play in his home provinc…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I want to inform you that I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from Davenport this afternoon. I am pleased to rise to speak to the Conservative opposition motion before us today. I want to say on the record that I love opposition days, which give us the opportunity to debate and talk at length about policy with our colleagues. The motion before us today reads, and I quot…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I will try to keep it short. Those things are exactly what we did in this last budget, where we increased the expectations on banking and insurance companies. We expect them to able to contribute a bit more during this period, so we are doing some of the measures the member opposite is suggesting. I am not going to do it on a class warfare basis and criticize people who are successful…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. The housing issue is a very complex one. The private sector and municipal and provincial governments must be part of the solution. Of course, the Government of Canada has a role to play and must help by implementing certain programs. However, it is above all a municipal responsibility. To some extent, the problem is rooted in the labour shortage …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the candour of my hon. colleague opposite. We have a great working relationship on the agriculture committee. There is a whole host of areas I could look at it, but what I want to reference is when the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance tabled her budget. There is a plan to undertake about nine billion dollars' worth of spending efficiencies that the …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from Whitby. Tonight is the first time since June that I have formally risen in the House. I would like to begin by greeting my colleagues. I hope that they had a great vacation and summer in their ridings with their families and constituents. We are here tonight to debate Bill C‑30 which, along with Bill C‑31, represents a suite of fed…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, normally I try to engage in French, but I want to make sure my point is very clear. I was interested in the member's conversation around supply-side economics. Of course the inflationary period we are seeing right now is somewhat unique. The Bank of Canada is increasing its benchmark borrowing rate to try to bring down demand. Does he have certain concerns on the monetary policy sid…

Emergency Debate

Madam Speaker, I thank the member as he played a role in helping make sure tonight's debate happened. I have a couple of things. I heard him reference this particular question earlier and I thought the problem was the 20% contribution from local government, which is another aspect here. Yes, the Government of Canada has to provide financial support, but it has to be in co-operation with different …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. opposition colleague for his speech this afternoon. I understand the principle of provincial and territorial jurisdictions, in particular with respect to dental care. However, I do not understand why my colleague is against direct payments for rent support and dental care support until a potential agreement is signed with our partners in the confederation regarding t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I agree with the majority of what my hon. colleague had to say today. Of course, he talked about dental care, particularly for those who are most vulnerable, and I could not agree more, frankly. I think it is an important public policy. It is shared between our two caucuses, and it is great to see that spirit of collaboration here in Parliament. I am not privy to the ongoing working…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I had the privilege of sitting in the 43rd Parliament, and I listened to Conservatives saying both that the government was spending too much and that the government needed to spend even more in certain areas. I heard that reiterated today when this member was talking about debt levels and the need for government to rein in spending. I did not hear him once mention that the governmen…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I want to touch on dental care. I know we are talking about two separate bills, but it is part of the larger affordability element. I would certainly agree with the member about the importance of dental care, particularly for those who are most vulnerable. The health impacts are very clear and I do not want to debate the merits of that. My question is about the NDP, which seems to t…

Emergency Debate

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague knows that normally I would love to engage with him in French, but at this hour of the night and on this subject, with a lot to handle, I am going to just answer in English. We are still assessing the damage in Atlantic Canada. In Prince Edward Island in particular, the corn crop has been extremely impacted. A number of supply-managed barns, dairy and poultry, had …

Emergency Debate

Madam Speaker, it is a really important question because, as I mentioned, a number of individuals do not have landline service and are not able to be connected. If the electricity goes out, that is their true lifeline from a pure public safety sense. I am aware of hurricane Dorian. It was before my time in Parliament with the minister he mentioned, the Hon. Ralph Goodale. However, now is the time …

Emergency Debate

Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to be here today. I would like to thank my parliamentary colleagues because tonight we are talking about the impact that hurricane Fiona has had on Atlantic Canada, and I certainly recognize eastern Quebec as well. I want to start by recognizing that I will be sharing my time this evening with my hon. colleague for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. It was dif…

Emergency Debate

Madam Speaker, I want to correct the record. My hon. colleague articulated that the Government of Canada had no strategy or plan to deal with climate-resilient infrastructure. Respectfully, I just do not think that is indeed the case. The program would be the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund. It is a multi-billion-dollar fund that works directly with provinces or municipal governments to de…

Emergency Debate

Madam Speaker, I share my hon. colleague's sentiment about the way in which we work together in Atlantic Canada. Our communities step up for one another. The member spoke about the importance of making sure that brush piles and debris-cleaning efforts are undertaken right away. I was certainly relieved to see that there were Canadian Armed Forces members on the ground in Nova Scotia, working with …

Madam Speaker, it is always a privilege to be able to stand in the House. I stand here before my colleagues with mixed emotions. I am both happy to return and see colleagues on both the government and opposition benches, who I have not had the chance to see since June, but I am deeply saddened by the events that recently took place in Saskatchewan in James Smith Cree Nation, as well as what we are…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I listened to the hon. opposition House leader's remarks today, and I have a couple of reflections and a question for him. I would have much more sympathy for the Conservative position on this if I had seen 121 members sitting in their seats when the vote took place this morning. That did not happen. I would have more sympathy if I looked over during question period and saw every me…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, hockey is a Canadian pastime that bring us together and makes us proud, particularly when our national teams represent our country on the international stage. That is exactly what happened this month when the national women’s under-18 team won a gold medal in Madison, Wisconsin, beating our archrivals, the Americans, in a back-and-forth 3-2 game. I am sure I speak on behalf of my coll…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I think this is extremely relevant for the debate about virtual Parliament. Objectively, all recognized parties in the House have used the tools that have been made available over the last number of months. There are two distinct periods. There is the COVID period, which we are not completely out of. Then there is one when we look at how the tools have been used to modernize Parliam…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, as I have listened to this debate, the Conservatives have obviously expressed their concern that this is somehow a deficit for democracy. However, as I watched the vote, there were a number of Conservatives who were using the tools that have been made available to us. What I have not heard, and I would be interested to hear from the House leader on this, is any constructive proposal…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, indeed, Canada's domestic capacity is absolutely important. I was very happy to see the Nutrien fertilizer company announce that it would increase production by 25%. In addition, the Government of Canada announced assistance for the BHP mining company in Saskatchewan to open the largest potash mine in the world. Other countries must also increase capacity. It is very important for the d…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, that was a big question, so please permit me just a moment. On globalization, Canada is a world food provider. We cannot turn away from that. That is a reality. I think we have to look out both ends of the telescope. We need to build domestic capacity in Canada through local food infrastructure to help support, perhaps, import substitution, and Canada still needs to play a global role. …

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, as my hon. colleague from Chatham-Kent—Leamington mentioned, he has ties to Ukraine. We heard him contribute in a very meaningful way on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. I want to ask him a couple of things. He highlighted very precisely what the challenge is in vulnerable countries and the geopolitical dynamic that could come from that, and I applaud that because it…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I want to ask the member two questions. I know he is up for it, and I will try to make them very quick. One is on fertilizer. We have heard the position from the Conservatives for prior to March 2, the idea of trying to indemnify farmers. I agree with that, but there was an opposition day motion just last week that called for the elimination of the 35% tariff from Russian and Belarusian…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of Northern Affairs this evening. I am very pleased that colleagues in the House have called this take-note debate forward this evening, because the question of global food security as a result of the war in Ukraine is the most important question right now that we all collectively face. I am very proud to be the chair of the House of Commons S…

Government Orders

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the member for Chatham-Kent—Leamington for his work on the agriculture committee. We have a great group that has really kept a strong focus on the needs of Canadian farmers and indeed on the conversation we are having today regarding farmers around the world. He is absolutely right that it is not only a production challenge. However, the reality is that there is a …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague mentioned the importance of agriculture. I share that too in my riding. I am trying to get to the bottom of what the Conservatives' position might be on fertilizer tariffs. Yesterday they had an opposition day motion that said the 35% tariff we are imposing on fertilizer imported from Russia and Belarus should be eliminated completely. At the Standing Committee on …

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, entitled “Confronting Urgent Challenges and Building the Resilience of the Canadian Food Supply Chain”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report. I would also like to take the …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech. I am a bit concerned by his comments about the amount of money paid to the provinces and territories for health care. I think the bill gives the provinces and territories $2 billion to help reduce wait times for certain surgeries. The Government of Canada obviously worked very hard with all of the provinces and territories during the pandemi…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, let me say to the member opposite that he is not only a great member on the agriculture committee, but he also plays soccer on this wonderful team that we have. Our job as a government is to respond to the needs of Canadians. We work with all parliamentarians in this House to be able to advance them, and on this particular initiative, we were pleased to see support from the NDP on t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question and for his efforts on the soccer field. The issue with fertilizers is a very important one. My opinion on this is clear. The government must find a solution to the costs that farmers are facing if they purchased fertilizer from Russia or Belarus before the war. The tariff must be maintained for purchases made after March 2 to discourage fa…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I believe the member opposite asked my hon. colleague, the Minister of Immigration, a question on this and he said that this was something they were looking at internally in the department. I do not have the specifics on that. What I will say is that I am proud of the government's record on immigration. We have been tabling important numbers in terms of levels. We have brought in 15…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, we are debating this evening, it is late, and I have the utmost respect for my other colleagues here in the House. I commend their dedication to democracy. We are here to debate the 2022 budget implementation bill. I would like to begin by thanking the interpreters for their service, especially when I am giving a speech in broken French. This is the second or third time I have spoke…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the member talked about hearing from constituents in the riding. When I look at the text of the motion, I see a series of different principles that the Conservatives have put forward. One relates to the GST on fuel. As a member of Parliament who makes almost $200,000 a year in terms of my work, and the member opposite would probably be somewhere in the same range, why would she thin…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Guelph has been a strong champion, for a number of Parliaments now, in advancing the very issues that he just talked about. He could very well speak to the House in great detail on them because I know he is very knowledgeable. There are a couple of things I will say. The critical minerals strategy we are advancing is extremely important for clean growth and cl…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. The question is quite vague. If the member wants me to raise a question with the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, I will. I think that the Government of Canada has a very strong relationship with the provinces and territories, especially Quebec. Given the pandemic and the initiatives to help the health…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it is in the mandate letter of the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. I sit in the government caucus but I am certainly not in the Privy Council, so with regard to extreme details on what conversations are being had intimately with provincial counterparts or territorial counterparts, I do not have information. I do know this is on the government's radar. I also know that, partic…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, as always, it is a privilege for me to rise in the House to discuss the main estimates this evening and share my constituents' perspectives. There are several important initiatives worth highlighting, but my focus this evening will be on three specific areas. I believe these ideas are important for our country. I want to talk about the agricultural sector first. One in eight jobs in…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, like me, the member represents a rural riding, and she described the reality of her constituents and the citizens of Quebec by talking about the distances they travel for recreation, leisure and work. I agree with the principle of the proposed measure in paragraph (a) of the motion, “temporarily suspending the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected on gasoline and diesel”, but my conc…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I am the proud chair of the agriculture committee, and yesterday we had the member for Beauce ask a question of Yulia Klymenko, who is a member of parliament from Ukraine. The question was asked of whether she was in support of the 35% tariff that has been placed on Russian and Belarusian products. She was absolutely clear this is an important policy because we do not want to support …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, our government, in the budget of 2022, has introduced a higher rate for banking interests. We are looking at the grocery code of conduct. At the end of the day, there are a number of initiatives that the government is trying to take to create a balanced playing field. It may not be exactly what the member opposite is calling for, but the government is looking at a variety of options…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I will state a few facts before answering the question. The Conservatives' current position is that the 35% tariff on fertilizer imported from Russia should be eliminated. In the case of farmers who purchased their fertilizer before the start of the war, that is the right thing to do, and I hope that the government will consider giving them a rebate. However, they must change their …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, my understanding is that about 1% of federal civil servants have not been vaccinated. I think this policy was justified at the height of the pandemic. I think that as long as we continue to work ourselves out of the pandemic, from a legal perspective the government will have to look at adjusting the policies. She mentioned hundreds of thousands of people who have not been vaccinated…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, let me start by saying I will share my time this afternoon with my hon. colleague from Kingston and the Islands. I think questions about affordability are good questions. I think most MPs here understand the reality of this problem in Canada and around the world. I am delighted to have the opportunity to engage in a debate about policies that can help Canadians. I will talk about th…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his speech. Yesterday, he asked Ukrainian MP Yulia Klymenko if she supported the 35% tariff on fertilizer. She very clearly stated that we should do everything in our power to avoid supporting Russia. For the past few weeks, the Conservatives have been saying we should support Ukraine, so why are they asking for rebates instead of calling …

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, entitled “Main Estimates 2022-23”.