Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, with enormous respect for my hon. colleague, when her party leader was the housing minister, he advanced a program with $300 million that he said would build 25,000 homes. Fewer than 100 were built. We have advanced programs that are going to build homes and that have been building homes. The reality is that we know we need to do more. That is why we are eliminating the GST on apartme…
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Mr. Speaker, people unable to find a home they can afford are struggling. That is why we started implementing national housing strategies decades ago. These investments are necessary. We are starting to build affordable homes again. In addition, he wants to see action. Last week, we eliminated the GST on the construction of apartments in this country. This is going to add to the supply. This is go…
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Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. member's concern about making sure some of the most vulnerable Canadians have a safe and affordable place to call home. That was in fact the motivation for the national housing strategy where our government re-entered the social housing space after decades of governments, I should say of different partisan stripes, vacated it. In reality, we know we need to do more. T…
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Mr. Speaker, I have had many conversations with the people of Quebec. I have spoken with my counterpart, and my team is speaking to his team. We exchanged messages this morning. I hope to get a call this evening. The fact of the matter is we both see building housing in Quebec and across the country as a priority. We must work together to achieve those objectives. I will keep working on this. I wi…
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Mr. Speaker, over nearly two decades of Canadian politics, the member has not seen a program that helps Canadians that he does not want to cut. Over the course of my time in the chamber, I have watched him attack the programs that support my constituents, programs like employment insurance and the Canada pension plan. We are going to continue to put forward measures that are going to support Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, I find it fascinating the Conservatives' new-found interest in making life more affordable for Canadians. What is funny is she does not realize that many of her colleagues voted against the Canada child benefit, which puts more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families and stops any child care cheques from going to millionaires. They opposed increases to old age securit…
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Mr. Speaker, with great respect, our plan to make sure that Canadians have a roof over their heads is to build more homes. We advanced a plan that is going to cut the GST for people who are building homes for Canadians. We are changing the way that cities build homes. We will grow the capacity of the workforce to build those homes. Realistically, when we dig into the housing plan, if we can call i…
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Mr. Speaker, with great respect to my hon. colleague, she would recognize the disastrous consequences that would have befallen Canadian households if we had not been there for them during their time of need. Their argument ultimately boils down to the fact that we should not have provided support to families to keep food on the table and that we should not have provided support to Canadian employe…
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Mr. Speaker, in response to the question, changes concerning amortization periods for insured mortgages falls under the purview of the Minister of Finance.
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Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating the hon. member on taking his spot in the House. Having only recently arrived, he can be forgiven if he is not aware that the party he now is a member of voted against many of the measures that, in fact, make a direct impact on having life more affordable for his constituents. This includes investments in the Canada child benefit. This includes new inves…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague, the member of Parliament for Brampton South, for her advocacy for her community. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the city of Brampton, where we worked directly with the mayor and members of council in the city to uncover some of the plans that they might advance to help grow the supply of housing in their community. One of the things we have been he…
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Mr. Speaker, I find it fascinating to watch the Conservatives' line of questioning. They certainly seem to think they have the solutions to Canada's housing crisis, but when we actually look at what they are proposing, they are just tinkering around the edges with half measures that would not make a meaningful difference. We are getting rid of the GST on apartment construction in this country, and…
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Mr. Speaker, if we want to add housing units in Canada, then we have to invest in building homes. The reality is that the Conservative Party likes to point out the problem. It likes to assign blame, but when it comes time to advance solutions, it is nowhere to be seen. The Conservatives are advancing half measures that would not make a meaningful lick of difference on the need to build housing at …
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague well knows that Nova Scotians are hurting for a number of reasons, including that we are on the front lines of the fight against climate change. Over the course of the past year, we have seen hurricane Fiona devastate our communities. We have seen floods sweep our neighbours away. We have seen wildfires as we have never seen them before. These things come at a cost. …
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They can jeer during my response as they may, but Conservatives know this is true. In fact, they knew that—
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Mr. Speaker, to be absolutely clear, in the hon. member's question, when he refers to deficit spending, he is largely referring to the supports that kept families fed during the pandemic. The programs that we put forward helped keep a roof over the heads of kids in my community. They helped small businesses keep the lights on and the doors open.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with much of my hon. colleague's question. I am glad to share that we have been working very hard, as we discussed in a recent meeting just a little more than a week ago. We are working to develop a process to ensure that those innocent students, who are the victims of fraud, will have an opportunity to remain in Canada. However, to the extent that people committed fraud, or w…
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Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period, I reminded the Conservatives that their leader, at the beginning of the pandemic, held a press conference where he decried our pandemic benefits as big, fat government programs. If members watch that video on the Internet, the member who posed the question is standing behind him. The reality is the spending we put in place has supported people through the p…
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Mr. Speaker, the deficit spending Conservatives are talking about included the pandemic supports that made sure that families in my community could keep food on the table and a roof over their kids' heads. Those supports helped small businesses keep the lights on and the doors open. Now they are blaming the Canadians who availed themselves of those pandemic benefits for the deficit spending they n…
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Mr. Speaker, over my time as a parliamentarian, I have had the honour and privilege of getting to know the hon. member and I respect him deeply. However, I have to say that when we are dealing with the consequences of climate change at home, we know we need to reduce our pollution. We also know the most cost-effective way to combat climate change is to put a price on pollution. With respect to thi…
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Mr. Speaker, I would remind all members of the House that climate change is real. I came to Ottawa this morning from my home province of Nova Scotia, where some of our communities are literally on fire. There are thousands upon thousands of Nova Scotians who have been displaced from their homes, and hundreds who are risking—
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague and I have something in common. Both of our provinces are on fire right now. The reality is that, for eight years now in the House, every time we advanced a policy that would reduce emissions, the Conservatives voted against it. For goodness' sake, one of the members of Parliament on the Conservative side from Nova Scotia has described investments in heat pumps as fa…
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Mr. Speaker, I know that it is difficult for Conservatives to accept this, but climate change is real. I came to Ottawa this morning from my home province of Nova Scotia, where our communities are literally on fire. Thousands upon thousands of families have been displaced from their homes. Hundreds are watching as their homes may be turned into ashes. Eight months ago, hurricane Fiona damaged our …
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to share with members of the House that my hon. colleague is deeply mistaken. With regard to the ability of Canadians to get their passports in a timely way, I want to credit the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development for her work to eliminate the backlogs so Canadians can get passports for travel where and when they were needed. With respect to the changes…
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Mr. Speaker, that is interesting. It is obvious that my friend across the way did not read the federal government's plan for immigration levels. If he had read the chapter on francophone immigration, then he would know that it is possible to create a system that will welcome the largest number of francophone newcomers in the history of Canada. That is the government's plan right now. However, the …
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to let the hon. member know that from the very time we formed government we have been laser-focused on making life more affordable for Canadians. I note that at every step along the way when we have cut taxes for the middle class or delivered benefits directly to families, the Conservatives have reliably been there to vote against the measures we put forward. With respect…
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Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear: the Century Initiative plan is not our government's policy. It is very important to welcome people who work in our communities and make an essential contribution to improving Canadians' quality of life. It is possible, important and essential to welcome newcomers while protecting francophones' demographic weight. Not only is it possible, it is this government's p…
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Mr. Speaker, I would caution all members of this House against claiming some sort of a monopoly on caring about our nation's heroes. Terry Fox is loved by Canadians, not because his picture was in the passport but because of the courage he demonstrated during the Marathon of Hope, and the research funding that has come to help advance care for cancer patients. My family has been affected by cancer…
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Mr. Speaker, I would caution the opposition leader against claiming that he somehow has a monopoly on caring about Terry Fox. He should talk to the member for Oakville about her advocacy for Terry Fox and the money she has helped secure for cancer research. Terry Fox lives on in the memories of Canadians because of the courage he demonstrated during the Marathon of Hope and in—
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Mr. Speaker, it is important that we commemorate Canada's history, but let us not pretend that the only place we are able to do that is inside the pages of our passport. I know about Vimy Ridge because I have read books about it, researched it independently and talked to veterans who served in the military. I know that Brigadier-General A. E. Ross said, “in those few minutes I witnessed the birth …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague for her question. This is a challenge not just for Quebec businesses, but also for francophone communities across the country, where it is a big problem. When touring the community of Saint‑Quentin in northern New Brunswick, we introduced a new pilot program for essential workers. When I visited the plants that were using this immigration program, I saw w…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her service before politics to support newcomers in the community that she calls home. There are a number of different reasons why I think we need to embrace immigration if we are going to benefit from what diversity can offer our communities. In particular, there is a reason we need to continue to bring more French-speaking newcomers to communities across Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a clear answer because, today, a new applicant coming through the federal express entry system is expected to take six months. The posted timelines reflect applications that may have been approved recently but that may have been in the system for a significant period of time. There is presently an anomaly because we have gotten through the majority of the cases that have been i…
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify something. There is a reason why Prince Edward Island has four seats in the House of Commons. We have an obligation, under the Constitution, to maintain that number of seats in the House, and so does the other place. Any immigration policy will have more profound implications than that. The policy affects more than just the number of seats in the House of Common…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my dear colleagues for giving me the opportunity to take part in the important debate we are having here in the House of Commons today. I would also like to thank my colleagues for their support as I attempt to improve the quality of my French. Members from every party have helped me learn this new language. When I arrived in Ottawa after the 2015 election, I did…
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Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, immigration is essential to grow the economy and meet the demographic challenge posed by the aging population. I completely agree with the principle that it is important to make the necessary investments to ensure a good quality of life for newcomers. It is up to Quebec to decide how many newcomers will settle in Quebec under the Canada-Quebec accord. However, if the me…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her advocacy on behalf of the Canadian Pakistani community, as well as my other caucus colleagues who recently approached me to discuss this issue. I have good news. Today an application for a TRV from a Pakistani applicant is expected to take 60 days. We anticipate, very soon, returning to the 30-day standard we enjoyed before the pandemic. The website …
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Mr. Speaker, it is very important that nobody in the House claims a monopoly over caring for our national heroes, such as Terry Fox, or claims a monopoly over caring about our nation's history. The reality is that over the past 10 years, an exercise to consult Canadians was taken on to understand what people wanted reflected in their travel document. We have themes recognizing the different region…
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague, the Minister of Environment, pointed out just a few minutes ago, that member campaigned in the last federal election under a commitment to implement carbon pricing. The reality is that we have discovered a way to make sure that we put a price on pollution that makes it more expensive for polluters to damage our atmosphere at the same time as we put more money in …
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Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the federal government's immigration plan is to grow our economy. People need to recognize that it is possible to grow the economy while protecting the French language and francophones' demographic weight. We will continue to increase the number of francophone newcomers. That is good for official language minority communities and it is good for our economy too.
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Madam Speaker, I move: That the House do now adjourn. (Motion agreed to)
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Mr. Speaker, that is very interesting. It is clear that the hon. member has read the McKinsey plan and the Century Initiative plan. It is equally clear that he has not read the Government of Canada's plan. If he is interested in reading that plan, as I am and as our government is, I can easily send him an email with the chapter on francophone immigration after question period. I have one priority:…
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Mr. Speaker, my friend is totally missing the mark. In reality, it is up to the Government of Quebec to set immigration thresholds for that province. If members from the Bloc Québécois want the federal government to establish these thresholds for the Province of Quebec, then I invite them to appeal to my counterpart, Minister Fréchette. It would be interesting to hear how that conversation goes. I…
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Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, it is not up to me to defend the Century Initiative's decisions. However, it is up to me to put forward ideas for our government. I am the one who decides on the targets set out in the federal government's immigration plan. Those targets take into account economic and social factors, particularly the decision to increase the number of francophone newcomers. Last y…
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Mr. Speaker, I am making decisions that are essential to supporting our economy and ensuring population growth in our community. It is important that every member of the House understand that protecting the demographic weight of francophones in this country can be achieved while also increasing the number of newcomers. As the member well knows, it is up to the Government of Quebec to set the immig…
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Mr. Speaker, I have good news for my colleague. Our government is the one making the decisions on our country's immigration policy. It is not Mr. Barton, and it is not the Century Initiative. This is very important. Our government's perspective is economic, social and demographic. It is essential to consider these factors because when we use them, we make the right decisions for our country. Last …
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Mr. Speaker, it is essential that every member of the House understand that it is possible to increase the number of newcomers in general while protecting the demographic weight of francophones across the country. That is clear because, last year, for the first time in our country's history, our government met its target of 4.4% of francophone newcomers. That is very important. Last year, we also …
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Mr. Speaker, the crisis situation during the evacuation in Kabul presented extraordinary challenges. Despite those challenges, thousands of people were able to escape and their lives were saved. I am so pleased to share that there are more than 30,000 Afghan refugees living in Canada today as a result of this initiative. These are people I have met. They are living in our communities. I happened t…
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Mr. Speaker, the evacuation of Kabul was an absolute crisis situation. The response by the Government of Canada during that time saved thousands of lives. I am pleased to share with members of the House that, today, there are more than 30,000 vulnerable Afghan refugees who have received a second lease on life. When it comes to the issuance of facilitation letters, we used those to move people thro…
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Mr. Speaker, there is no question that there are Canadians across this country who have been having a hard time with the cost of living, but we should put this into perspective. Over the course of the economic recovery from COVID-19, we have now seen more than 850,000 people with a job today who did not have one before the pandemic. However, to help those people who are still struggling, we are ma…
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