Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians across this country empowered us in the last election and now we are empowering them in budget 2025, a budget that will make generational investments to create the strongest economy in the G7. That is exactly what we are doing. We are building major infrastructure, homes and industries. We are protecting our communities, borders and way of life, and we are empowering Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, the new government will deliver its first budget tomorrow, focused on making generational investments to unlock jobs and opportunities, boost productivity and growth, build housing infrastructure and defence, attract $500 billion in new private investment, double trade with non-U.S. countries and move from reliance to resilience. We are making responsible investments while reducing op…
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Mr. Speaker, an affordable budget for an affordable life is exactly what we will deliver tomorrow on budget day. Conservatives have referenced the need to address productivity and GDP per capita for years. Well, there is good news: The head of the IMF has said that diversifying trade and investing in infrastructure, housing and defence will, in fact, boost productivity. The Bank of Canada's govern…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians know that our economy faces significant headwinds due to trade tensions with the United States. That is exactly why they voted for this government and a Prime Minister with the economic résumé to get us through turbulent times and build a stronger economy. Next week, on November 4, we will present our first budget as a new government, which will focus on jobs and opportuni…
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Madam Speaker, I see the Conservative misinformation spin cycle continues and continues, but it never produces a grain of truth. If the Conservatives want the truth, we will tell them the truth. The true story is that the Conservatives never stand up in this House when it comes time to support youth. They actively undermined their futures by voting against student loan support and by voting agains…
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Madam Speaker, it is disheartening to know that Conservatives do not even read the reports they quote in this House. It is obvious because the very report they are quoting, from Food Banks Canada, asks our government to move forward with income assistance for people living with a disability. They ask for a dental care plan. They acknowledge the work of addressing the housing supply issues in this …
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Madam Speaker, the only thing more frightening this Halloween than the Conservatives' disinformation in the House is a Christmas election, which nobody wants. The Conservatives are proposing to force an election on Canadians at a time when they expect Parliament to stand together. Our budget on November 4 is going to present a strong path to building a stronger Canada, to unlocking opportunities f…
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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to spotlight two exceptional educators in my riding who are receiving the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence. These awards celebrate the finest in Canadian teaching, and both recipients represent the very best of Whitby. They are laying the foundation for a stronger Canada one student, one classroom and one lesson at a time. I congratulate Melissa Runhart, rec…
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Mr. Speaker, the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, a AAA credit rating, an inflation rate within the Bank of Canada's target range and job numbers that exceeded expectations by 83% last month are Canada's economic fundamentals. The Citibank CEO, just last week, said, “Canada, relative to other G7 countries, has debt dynamics and fiscal space that, if used wisely, could unlock a lot of opport…
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Mr. Speaker, we empathize with struggling families, but unlike Conservatives, our government is stepping up to help them with affordability. We cut taxes for 22 million Canadians, reduced GST on new home purchases, significantly reduced child care fees, cut the costs of basic dental coverage and funded healthy food in schools. Common sense says that when families save money on their taxes, child c…
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Mr. Speaker, inflation in Canada has been within the Bank of Canada's target range for over 21 months in a row. The Bank of Canada also cut rates again today, by 25 basis points. That is more savings, lower mortgages and real relief for Canadians. While Conservatives seem to root for a recession in Canada, we are making the investments needed for our economy to grow and prosper. Conservatives can …
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Mr. Speaker, years ago, Food Secure Canada did an analysis of all the issues in the food system. Do members know what issue was the most popular among Canadians? It was feeding kids. It is instinctual for any parent, but the desire to feed kids extends almost universally to all Canadians, except when it comes to the Conservatives. They have taken the most unpopular position. They actually oppose a…
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Mr. Speaker, while our government invests in feeding 400,000 more kids healthy food in schools, the Conservatives call that “garbage”. While our government works to expedite major infrastructure projects, creating tens of thousands of jobs, the Conservative leader calls them “pathetic”. While our government gives law enforcement the tools it needs to keep our communities safe, the Conservative lea…
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Mr. Speaker, we have heard the recent news that some of our auto manufacturers have announced reductions in their production levels at Canadian facilities, and the government is extremely concerned and disappointed in those announcements. The Government of Canada is committed to maintaining a strong Canadian automotive industry, its footprint here in Canada, with the well-paying jobs that come wit…
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Mr. Speaker, it is appalling that the member opposite is talking about sacrifices. Does the member know who makes sacrifices every day in this country? Our national police force does. My father spent 30 years serving on the Peel Regional Police force. Recently we heard the Conservative leader call our national police force “despicable”. He called the men and women who serve our communities and kee…
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Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what our government is doing by bringing prosperity to Canada, by making generational investments and by decreasing spending. Our economy is growing. We are creating tens of thousands of jobs. The Leader of the Opposition calls major nation-building projects that create tens of thousands of jobs “pathetic”. On top of it, the Conservative members call a national school …
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Mr. Speaker, we are making generational investments that create well-paying jobs and grow our economy. Yesterday, I was honoured to join the Prime Minister and the Premier of Ontario to announce support for OPG's Darlington new nuclear project, located in my home of Durham Region. This important project will build four SMRs that will power 1.2 million households with clean energy, create 18,000 co…
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Mr. Speaker, opportunities for young people are exactly what the government is creating. Just yesterday in the member's riding, we announced a major project that is moving forward with two billion dollars' worth of investment that will create 18,000 jobs across Durham region, 3,700 of them full-time jobs, and provide clean power to 1.2 million Canadians. Can the member opposite for Bowmanville—Osh…
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Mr. Speaker, the reason the imaginary taxes the Conservatives are trying to invent do not appear on people's grocery receipts is that they are not real. Let me officially welcome the Conservative Party to reality. While the Conservatives try to invent imaginary taxes, we are busy cutting taxes and helping to make it easier for Canadians to file their taxes. We have cut income tax for 22 million Ca…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that this government was elected with a strong mandate to build the strongest economy in the G7. I know that we are on the right track. Do members know how I know? I know because the experts say so. I know that the opposition members may not agree, but who said that Canada is fiscally sustainable? It was former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page. Who said that Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, in addition to the 60,000 net new jobs added to the Canadian economy, we have now announced more affordability measures for Canadians that will put money in their pockets. A national school food program, made permanent in perpetuity, will benefit Canadians to the tune of $800 per year. It is helping put food in the hungry bellies of kids all across Canada. I cannot understand how the …
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to clarify for the member opposite. There is a package of three affordability measures. One is automatic tax filing, which will help millions of Canadians, including seniors, to access benefits to which they are entitled. This is thousands of dollars for many Canadians and includes the Canada child benefit, the GST rebate, the disability benefit and the many other benefits …
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Mr. Speaker, the government is standing up for auto workers in all tariff-impacted industries in Canada. We put out a package of supports to support industries, offered a remission framework and much more. Today I want to highlight some good news for all Canadians regarding affordability. We have made the national school food program permanent. That will feed 400,000 more kids in perpetuity. We ar…
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Mr. Speaker, I have good news for Susie and the member's riding and good news for all Canadians. This morning, our Prime Minister announced a package of more affordability measures, including making permanent the national school food program, which is great news for all Canadians. This program will feed 400,000 more kids per year. I know the member opposite has voted against this program in the pa…
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Mr. Speaker, apparently, common sense does not survive the Conservative caucus any longer. It seems like common sense is not so common over there. Common sense would suggest that, when a country is in a trade war, a responsible government would support its workforce in industries, which is exactly what this government has been doing. We launched a $5-billion strategic response fund, a rescaling an…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems the Conservatives have an allergy to the facts. It is a fact that Canada created 60,000 new jobs last month. It is a fact that Canada has experienced real wage growth year over year of 3.3%. Those are good stats. These are the economic fundamentals that will allow budget 2025 to make a generational investment in our economy. I would offer the Conservatives a Benadryl, but may…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an unhealthy obsession that the opposition members have with our former prime minister. They were really tethered to our former prime minister and bashed him at every moment. It seems like they developed a kind of dependence on that. Now that we have a new Prime Minister, who has a far superior understanding of economics and investment, they do not seem to know what to do any mo…
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Mr. Speaker, it is one of the best opportunities I have ever had in the House to talk about the Darlington nuclear project, the SMR project, which is going to create 1,600 jobs in my region of Durham. I am very proud of that project being listed as a major project, and it is moving forward quickly. That is how we build the economy in Canada. That is how we create more jobs. I am very proud of that…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been making the argument that Canada is in a strong fiscal position. I know members opposite do not quite seem to understand the fact that we do have fiscal room to continue investing in the Canadian economy. If we do not do that, the economy will shrink. We need the economy to continue to grow. We need to build a strong economy. We need to diversify our trade. The current Gove…
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Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to follow what was a very good and entertaining, but obviously factual, speech from the member for Kingston and the Islands. It is great to be here to debate this afternoon. I understand that the members opposite are very eager to see our plan for growing the Canadian economy, so let me reassure them. On November 4, the government will table a historic budge…
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Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to celebrate one of Whitby's finest, Olivia Smith, a remarkable athlete who at just 20 years old made history. This past July, she broke another glass ceiling in women's sports, signing with the Arsenal Football Club. She earned a world-record fee of one million British pounds, becoming the most expensive signing in women's football history. Her journey began at age five…
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Mr. Speaker, it is slightly ironic that the Conservatives are lecturing us about protecting jobs. While the opposition leader fought all summer to protect his job, we were standing up to protect Canadian jobs. We have offered workforce re-skilling for 50,000 workers. A strategic response fund of $5 billion will provide flexible financing to help firms adapt to tariffs. We have launched and moved f…
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Mr. Speaker, in the famous words of Helen Keller, pathetic is the man “who has sight, but no vision”. I would suggest to Canadians that the Conservative Party has no vision for the future of Canada's economy. This party got elected on a mandate to build Canada strong and protect Canadian jobs, and that is exactly what we are doing.
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Mr. Speaker, I have had many good discussions with the member for Lanark—Frontenac in other committees we served on together for some time. I would like start by reiterating our government's total support and commitment for Ukraine, a cause that, unfortunately, my Conservative colleagues across the way have chosen not to support. I watched them stand up in the House and vote against the interests …
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite likes to label everything as taxes and claim that there are hidden taxes. He almost sounds like a conspiracy theorist, but obviously Canadians know the truth, which is that there are no taxes on their food. Food prices are a real challenge; we are not claiming that they are not, but what is hard to accept is that the member opposite votes against every affordabilit…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's question although I disagree with many of the premises of her argument, if it could be called an argument. I heard her talk about the importance of jobs. That is exactly what our government is focused on. We did not ask for the trade war that we are in, which is obviously having a negative impact on our economy, but we have stepped up time and time a…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously I have a difference of opinion with the member opposite. I know that food bank usage is something that has increased, but I also know that the members opposite have a horrible track record when it comes to actually standing up to support Canadians. They voted against feeding 400,000 hungry children with the national school food program, an investment of $1 billion over five …
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Mr. Speaker, as I said, a number of measures are in place providing support to tariff-impacted industries. Maybe the member opposite would do me the kind favour of supporting the constituents she mentioned by providing that information to them, all of which is publicly available. I want to talk for a moment about fiscal management and the fact that our government is extremely responsible in managi…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not consider it hollow rhetoric when I watched, in the last Parliament, the Conservative Party take a turn where this House stood together on supporting Ukraine over and over and over again for months, and then all of a sudden, shortly after the new Leader of the Opposition took power, there was a change in tone. We watched the Conservative Party members stand and vote against th…
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Mr. Speaker, I know that the Conservative leader must be a little insecure about the size of his economic credentials, or lack thereof. I recognize that he will not listen to a former Bank of Canada governor, but maybe he will try listening to the current one. Last week, the Governor of the Bank of Canada said that our government's plan to diversify trade and invest in large-scale infrastructure i…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that Canada has the lowest effective tariff rate of any country in the world. We have a great, AAA credit rating and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio. We cannot help it that the opposition and the opposition leader have no vision for the future of the Canadian economy. It is clear that Canadians understand who does have a vision for the Canadian economy. That is why they voted…
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Mr. Speaker, let me be clear from the top: There is no tax on food. Conservatives have obviously forgotten how fixed-income household budgets work. When families save money on their taxes, on gas at the pump, on child care, on school lunches and on dental checkups, they have more money to spend on groceries. All of these savings are Liberal Party and government initiatives, and all of them have be…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians know there is no tax on food, but all the food security experts in the country have been saying for generations that the answer to food insecurity is income security. That means jobs, but when the government announced the first round of major nation-building projects in the country, worth tens of thousands of well-paying jobs, the Conservative leader called those jobs “pathe…
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Mr. Speaker, all the experts will tell us that the answer to food insecurity is income security. First and foremost, what does that mean? It means good jobs for Canadians, but it also means a stronger social safety net to help support people in their times of need. Both of them require a strong economy in Canada. That is why our government is focused on making generational investments in housing, …
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Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I was honoured to partner with the Whitby Chamber of Commerce in hosting our second annual Whitby job fair. More than 1,000 job seekers connected with 33 local employers, opening doors and building brighter futures in our community. I thank the Whitby Chamber of Commerce, Karey Anne Large and Gizem Uysal for their help in making this event a success. It was a pleasu…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have made it abundantly clear that Canada's new government has a renewed focus on fiscal discipline and that budget 2025 will have strong fiscal anchors. Budget 2025, in fact, will refocus government spending on operations while making transformational investments in housing, defence and infrastructure. Those generational investments will…
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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the incredible impact of the Canada summer jobs program in my community of Whitby. This summer, I had the privilege of visiting workplaces and hearing directly from youth about how these opportunities have made a real difference in their lives. Their stories were inspiring and filled with moments of growth, confidence and purpose. Thanks to the program, young…
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the member opposite, we respect the work of the PBO and the independence of the institutions that make our democracy so great in this country. Our government is focused on delivering generational investments in the upcoming federal budget, which the minister announced will be on November 4. This is good news for Canadians. A budget is coming that will ensure Canadians that we h…
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Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians are getting tired of the Conservatives' Chicken Little routine. This week we had the great news that inflation is at 1.9%, which is actually within the Bank of Canada's target range. That is good news for Canadians because the Bank of Canada dropped interest rates this week by a quarter of a per cent. That means more money in the pockets of Canadians. That means Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, to be clear, the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that Canadians live in safe communities, free from the poison of toxic drugs. We are also committed to addressing bail reform issues that will help ensure that individuals are not out on bail. The Government of Canada has already introduced laws to strengthen our borders and address illegal drug activity, and it has commit…
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