Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we put forward a solid plan that will help vulnerable Canadians while being fiscally responsible. The Conservatives have no plan to offer Canadians—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we put forward a solid plan that meets the needs of vulnerable Canadians while being fiscally responsible. The Conservatives have no economic plan to offer Canadians. Excuse me. Let me rephrase that. Their plan involves going after the price on pollution, our seniors' pensions and employment insurance. It also involves encouraging Canadians to invest in cryptocurrency, when we know th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to acknowledge that Canada's Parliament is located on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. It is a privilege to participate in the third reading debate on an act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation. I would like to acknowledge all of my colleagues in the House who have spoken so eloquently as to the importan…
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Madam Speaker, I acknowledge that it has taken some time. The member is referring to events that preceded my election in 2019, but I understand and appreciate that this is of utmost interest to, it sounds like, all of us in this House. Rather than focus on the time that has passed to get to this point, I hope we can focus on passing the bill now that it is before this chamber. It is at third readi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, this is a very important point being raised by my colleague. In looking at this legislation and working with the whole of government on the importance of reconciliation, we rely very much, at least in the Liberal caucus, on the voices of indigenous members. I believe that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations was on his feet many times this mornin…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I was in the House when you ruled that it was inappropriate to discuss Bill C‑5 in the context of this debate. With all due respect to my colleague and his political party, I note that he is referring to a different piece of legislation. I, for one, would need more than 10 seconds to comment on the Indian Act. I am very aware of the importance of the issue raised by my colleague and…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be speaking to Bill S-4, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Identification of Criminals Act and to make related amendments to other acts at second reading today. Bill S-4 would reform the Criminal Code and related acts in order to modernize the criminal justice system here in Canada. The bill seeks to provide courts with greater flexibility in the manner in whic…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question, but he obviously did not read Bill S‑4. That is not what we are debating in the House today. I would be happy to discuss that with him further. I understand very well the issue he raised. However, since it is not part of the bill we are discussing today, I think we should stick to the current topic of debate.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not sit on the committee in which that debate took place. I would be happy to take cognizance of the evidence that was before the committee. Like any good lawyer, I will not opine on an issue without having all the facts before me. I certainly appreciate the member's work on the Emergencies Act committee and look forward to continuing the conversation with him.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, more needs to be done. I agree with my colleague. The question is whether the bill does enough. I think more could be done. As mentioned earlier, Bill S‑4 was introduced in the previous Parliament, and we are receiving it from the other place. I believe it will improve access to justice and ease the burden on judges, which is good. Is that the end of the story? The answer is no. More …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will answer the question to the best of my ability. In my opinion, that election was important. It was a question that was put to Canadians, and Canadians went to the ballot. When Parliament is dissolved, there are always bills before the House that unfortunately do not get passed due to the fact that an election is called. The fact that this bill has returned in this session and co…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, Destination Canada does not typically measure the impacts of a specific public health measure.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are facing rising costs and difficult decisions about how to afford the groceries they need or rent at the end of the month. These affordability challenges are driven in large part by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global supply chains and by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Government of Canada has continued to introduce supports to help Canadians through this cos…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, while the Conservatives heckle at how disgusting it is for me to be standing here, I think it is disgusting to convert a question on the mental health of our young people into some kind of “triple, triple, triple” gimmick. This is a serious issue. We care about the mental health of Canadians. We will be there for them and we will not make it a partisan issue.
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Madam Speaker, I can talk about the deficit all day long if that is what the Conservatives want. Our deficit is the lowest in the G7. According to yesterday's economic update, the deficit is at about 1.3%. We also have the lowest debt in the G7 and the strongest economic growth. I think the Conservatives should look at the numbers.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. It is a pleasure to rise and speak about our economic update. Today is actually the day that 11 million Canadian households will see the goods and services tax credit deposited in their bank accounts. I find it astounding that the Conservative members are talking about tax hikes. I am talking about tax credits, the doubling of a tax credit…
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Madam Speaker, we know that eight out of 10 families are receiving more money through the credit than what they pay as part of the price on pollution. I think the Conservatives did not read our economic update yesterday. In fact, we are helping more than 500,000 workers in Quebec with our new Canada workers benefit. That is $1,200 for every single, hard-working Canadian. Why do the Conservatives n…
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Madam Speaker, we are there for vulnerable Canadians. Yesterday's economic statement detailed several measures, including double the GST credit, which 11 million Canadian households will receive today. The NDP member talks about spending more to help Canadians. We know we cannot add fuel to the fire of inflation, but we have targeted measures to help the most vulnerable Canadians.
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Madam Speaker, I will not get into the various ways that the member has her information wrong. I would rather talk about the fall economic statement from yesterday, which will help Canadian workers, help students with the elimination of the interest on their loans, and help families who are having difficulty buying groceries as they are seeing the cost of things rise due to the global inflation th…
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Madam Speaker, our economic update contains measures that will put money directly into the pockets of Canadians. In contrast, what the Conservatives are proposing is to rob our seniors of their pensions and to attack our EI system at a time when we are facing global economic instability. That is irresponsible. We are there for Canadians.
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Madam Speaker, as I have said before, Canadian households receive more money back in the credit than they pay on the price on pollution. If the Conservatives were so concerned about helping Canadians through the winter, they would have waited more than 30 seconds before saying they were planning on voting against the fall economic statement and the measures contained therein. We will be helping Ca…
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Madam Speaker, last week the Conservatives voted against our proposal to subsidize dental care for Canadian children. Last week the Conservatives voted against a one-time payment to Canadians who are having trouble paying the rent. Today they are attacking the measures that will support vulnerable Canadians once again. How is it that the Conservatives think they can fool Canadians into believing t…
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Madam Speaker, I am very upset about what has just happened in this House. It could only take a Conservative to ask two questions on mental health and then somehow make them about taxes or the price on pollution. Mental health is a serious—
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to continue answering questions about yesterday's economic update, but I would also like to share with the House some other figures from Statistics Canada. Canadians created over 100,000 jobs in October. Canadians' wages also increased by 5.6%, and this is the fifth consecutive month that wages have increased. We are making sure that Canadians have good, well-paying job…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my Conservative colleague on one thing: Canadian households are struggling to make ends meet. That is why I do not understand why the Conservatives continue to vote against measures that will help these Canadians. Just last week, on several occasions, the Conservatives denied direct payments to Canadians. Yesterday, once again, we proposed additional measures. Today, 11…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to thank the member for Pontiac for her work on the Standing Committee on Finance and her work as the chair of the rural caucus for our government. We will soon be launching a new Canada growth fund, which will help attract private capital to invest in both rural and urban areas. We will also introduce a new 30% tax credit for clean technologies, includ…
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Mr. Speaker, we put a fiscally responsible affordability plan on the table in this House, and it will be my pleasure to answer questions on the economy today. The new Conservative leader has not answered a single question from journalists in nearly 50 days. Canadians do not have the luxury of doing some aspects of their job and not others. If the new Conservative leader would like to take home his…
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Mr. Speaker, in a few days, families in Hamilton and right across the country will receive a doubling of the GST tax credit. The day after they voted against providing supports to Canadians in the form of direct payments for Canadians having trouble paying the rent and the day after they voted against subsidizing dental care for Canadian children, this feigned compassion from the Conservatives is …
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives do not seem to understand that while the prices of things continue to rise in Canada, we need to be there to support Canadians. Canadians are seeing higher prices at the grocery stores, and that is why we doubled the GST tax credit. That is why Competition Bureau Canada is currently beginning the investigation process into the market, and that is why supe…
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Mr. Speaker, less than 12 hours ago, the Conservatives voted against measures to put money directly into Canadians' pockets. The Conservatives' economic plan involves raiding our pensions and attacking the country's EI system. The Conservatives do not care about Canadians' interests.
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Mr. Speaker, when we brought our proposal before the House to cut taxes for middle-class families, the Conservatives voted against it. When we introduced the Canada child benefit, which puts over $13,000 in the pocket of a single mother in Canada, the Conservatives voted against it. Yesterday evening, the Conservatives voted against additional measures to help Canadian households. The Conservative…
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Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree with my Conservative colleague that Canadian households are struggling right now. That is why we doubled the GST/HST credit for 11 million Canadian households. That is also why we, on this side of the House, voted for measures that will put more money back into the pockets of Canadian families. I still do not understand how the Conservatives can stand up in this Hou…
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Mr. Speaker, I think that my colleague is getting excited because next week we are going to unveil our economic update, which will be fiscally responsible. We have one of the lowest deficits in the world. Our deficit is 1%. We were fiscally responsible with our budget in April, and we always will be. We will be there for Canadians, to help them get through this period of economic instability.
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Mr. Speaker, there are a number of measures in our budget that will ensure that everyone pays their fair share in this economy, but I do agree with the member opposite that Canadians are seeing higher prices at the grocery store, which is why our government took action. In addition to doubling the GST tax credit for 11 million households in this country, the Competition Bureau has indicated that i…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it is with an immense sense of responsibility that I rise in the House to speak to a motion that I am sponsoring as the seconder. I would like to take my colleagues back to 2009. Many things were happening in 2009. The world was still in the grips of the great financial crisis, Barack Obama had just been elected and the people of Iran were holding massive protests against the Islami…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the measures in our affordability plan is to provide a direct payment to low-income Canadians who are having trouble paying the rent. What was the response of the new Conservative leader? It was to say no way and let us not give anything to low-income Canadians, certainly not those peanuts. While that might be fine for the Conservative leader who does not have rent to pay and w…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio among G7 countries, and Canada has the lowest deficit among G7 countries. Our deficit is hovering around 1%. That is nearly deficit zero. We have been fiscally responsible since well before the new Conservative leader was elected. In fact, we have been fiscally responsible to ensure that Canada would weather this inflationary storm better th…
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Mr. Speaker, many of our allies are seeing inflation at a rate above 10%. We here in Canada are faring relatively better, but we are still seeing prices rise, which is why we put forward a comprehensive affordability plan. However, I would like to get back to something the Conservative leader said in the House. He said, “It is true that dumb governments...all have inflation problems.” That stateme…
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Mr. Speaker, being there for Canadians during the pandemic was the right thing to do. In fact, it is because of our support for Canadians that the economy has rebounded so quickly. We are seeing the results today. In a time of global economic instability, Canada has the best growth rate among our G7 peers, with the lowest deficit among them. We were fiscally responsible, while being there for each…
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Mr. Speaker, let me simply correct the record by saying, as I have said before, that we actually have the lowest deficit among G7 countries. It is hovering around 1%. That is almost zero deficit. Let me also come back to the importance of the measures we put in place and the importance of supporting Canadians when they needed it most. It ensured not only that Canadians continued to take home a pay…
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Mr. Speaker, we have the lowest deficit and the lowest debt in the G7. We also introduced a budget that proposes to reduce government spending by $9 billion. We also have the highest growth in the G7. While the Conservatives are busy playing petty politics, our government brought Rio Tinto to Sorel-Tracy. Our government brought Moderna to Montreal. We are the ones who are going to ensure the long-…
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Mr. Speaker, we laid out our affordability plan, and the first step is to double the GST credit for 11 million Canadian households. That money will flow in early November, which is very soon. We introduced a proposal to help low-income Canadians pay their rent and to subsidize children's dental care. I hope that all parties in the House will vote in favour of these measures.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the Conservative member is so interested in the correspondence between the finance minister and her colleagues. There is no question that our plan is based on fiscal responsibility. We delivered a budget that has been recognized by all the experts as fiscally responsible and we are seeing the results. Our inflation rate is much lower than that of our partners ar…
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Mr. Speaker, I think my Conservative colleague is too excited about attacking the Bank of Canada and the independence of our financial institutions. We, on this side of the House, believe in the independence of our institutions. It was a Conservative government, led by Brian Mulroney, that set the Bank of Canada's targets. We think that was a good idea.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by saying that we are well aware that Canadians are dealing with a major increase in the cost of living. That is why we put measures in place to support Canadians, but the Conservatives decided to vote against them. A few days ago, the Conservatives did a U-turn and finally decided to support our tax relief proposal to double the GST credit for 11 million Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that families in Canada are struggling right now. Our budget actually includes a plan to ensure that everyone pays their fair share. Our government is very committed to asking those who prospered most during the pandemic to pay a little more, and this includes banks and insurance companies. The biggest and most profitable companies will pay a bit more to help…
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Mr. Speaker, let me set the record straight. First, Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7. We have been incredibly fiscally responsible. We are the envy of the other countries. I also want to point out that the Conservatives seem to be attacking our plan to address the climate crisis. I find it rather odd that a member from Quebec is asking me that question when we know how important it is to Qu…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are attacking our plan to fight climate change, which will ensure that we can deal with the climate crisis. Even worse, the Conservatives are attacking our system to helps workers, the employment security system for example. The Conservatives continue to attack our seniors as they are taking aim at our pension system. We must absolutely protect our pension system her…
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Mr. Speaker, I find this intervention really disappointing. We are talking here about contributions Canadians make that will come back to them. As far as the pension is concerned, it will allow Canadians to retire in dignity. As far as worker safety and employment insurance are concerned, we know that we are living at a time of major economic instability. We have to ensure that the money will be t…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that small businesses are truly the backbone of our Canadian economy. That is why we were there for our small businesses during the pandemic. We are still there for our business owners and our SMEs. Contributions will go up next year. In fact, it will happen in April 2024 and these are contributions that will come back to employees through employment insurance and come back to…
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