Debates of May 6th, 2024

Finance

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, to hear the government talk, everything is just fine, life is good. I would invite the government and its ministers to follow me out to the streets and meet some real people.

After nine years of this government, its complacency has put us in a precarious situation. The Bloc Québécois, unfortunately, shares the blame. As a little reminder, the Bloc Québécois thought it was too much work to check every allocation, so it instructed its members to vote for them all. That represents $500 billion of taxpayer money. Yes, $500 billion in centralizing, inflationary spending. ArriveCAN, for example, cost over $60 million. Worse still, the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General cost over $20 million.

The Bloc Québécois says one thing and does another. The time has come for a responsible Conservative government that will govern with common sense. Enough of this Bloc-Liberal waste. They have both hands in the cookie jar, or I should say, in the pockets of honest Canadians.

Pulmonary Hypertension Day

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize that May 5 is World Pulmonary Hypertension Day.

The rare form of the disease is called pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, which severely impacts the health and quality of life of patients who are affected. I commend the Pulmonary Hypertension Association of Canada and its patient ambassadors Donna Downes and Shirley Druhan from my riding of Orléans for their relentless efforts in raising awareness for Canadians with PAH.

With initiatives like the federal government's national strategy for drugs for rare diseases, investments are being made to help increase access to and affordability of promising and effective drugs for rare diseases to improve the health of patients across Canada.

We will continue to work on ensuring that people living with PAH are able to access the resources they need.

Mental Health Week

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today, on the first day of Mental Health Week, millions of Canadians are unable to access reliable, quality mental health care as they cope with mental health disorders or mental illness in their daily lives.

At some point in our lives, most of us will be touched by mental health issues. However, for too many people in need of mental health care, cost-free universal care is not available in the same way as it is for physical health. Too many must turn to for-profit services, if they can afford them. For some, compassionate care is available from chronically underfunded non-profits in communities far away from hospitals and government services.

Join me on this day, and every day, in the fight for parity of mental health care in our universal system, for sustainable funding for community-based service delivery, and for compassion and kindness in our response to the mental health needs of all Canadians.

National Nursing Week

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Nursing Week.

As we all know, being a nurse is a calling. It can be seen in a glance, a smile, their care, their presence or the fact that they listen and reassure. They are the heart and soul of our health care system and, too often, they are the ones holding the system together.

Day after day, we see them working with those who are sick, the elderly and the most vulnerable people in our society. Sometimes, in remote areas, they are the only ones who can assess people's health and provide the necessary care. It is a demanding role that calls for diligence, commitment, excellence and compassion.

I thank nurses for being there for us day after day so that we have access to quality care. They change our lives and shape the future.

I wish everyone a happy National Nursing Week.

Public Safety

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines the word “wacko” as “crazy; not sensible”. To many people in British Columbia, what is happening in our beaches, neighbourhoods, parks, playgrounds, coffee shops and even in our hospitals is truly wacko, because the Prime Minister and NDP Premier David Eby have surrendered our most precious public spaces to illegal drug dealers. This is a wacko policy.

Illegal drug dealers prey on our most vulnerable in society. This is not good for those people suffering with addictions, nor is it good for public safety. In fact even the B.C. NDP has now figured this out. Since the B.C. government asked 10 days ago to stop the wacko, far left project of legalization of hard drugs, some 60 British Columbians have died due to the Prime Minister's political dithering.

Let us end the wacko, failed, deadly, illegal drug experiment in British Columbia, and let us bring common-sense Conservative solutions that will protect the public and people battling with addictions, instead of supporting illegal drug dealers.

Aquaculture Industry

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of many Canadians who are looking for our government's continued commitment to our coastal communities and their families by standing with the Canadian aquaculture industry.

Through investment, innovation, technologies and practices, Canada's highly regulated aquaculture industry can continue to grow and prosper. Our coastal communities on the east coast and on the coast of British Columbia asked whether they are given the chance to continue to thrive with a modern salmon aquaculture industry. One hundred per cent of the remaining salmon farms in coastal British Columbia operate with the support of coastal first nations, on whose traditional territories they exist. The activists have an ill-informed agenda that ignores the science.

As we look to long-term renewal of B.C. salmon farming licences, it is a question of growth and hope versus poverty for many indigenous communities. The future of Canada's coastal communities depends on it.

Housing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today's headlines in Quebec once again show that this Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing, which has doubled in the nine years since he took office.

Quebec's big moving day, July 1, is a disaster waiting to happen. Organizations in Quebec are appealing for help. Renters are contacting us with very clear suicide plans. Soon they will be forced to live in their vans.

After nine years of promises, why should Quebeckers believe the Prime Minister?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the situation is difficult for renters and those who do not have any housing solutions.

That is why the government is holding discussions and negotiations to reach an agreement with Quebec to build affordable housing. With the money from the federal government, Quebec will be able to build up to 8,000 affordable housing units.

The Conservative Party's position is to oppose that. That is not good.

We are working with our colleagues in Quebec to build affordable housing.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are making more expensive promises, but this Prime Minister is not worth the cost after nine years.

Worse still, the Bloc Québécois voted to support this Prime Minister's $500 billion in inflationary and centralizing deficits and spending. This has driven up interest rates for Quebeckers who are afraid of losing their homes. In addition, taxpayers are now paying more for interest on the national debt than for health care.

When will the Prime Minister admit that he and the Bloc Québécois are not worth the cost?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to build more housing faster, but the Conservatives voted against it. We have a plan for the green industrial transition, but the Conservatives voted against it.

I want to share some very good news with members, news that Canadians learned last week. Moody's has reaffirmed our AAA credit rating, the highest possible rating, thanks to our responsible fiscal policy.

Mental Health and Addictions

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years, the Prime Minister is not worth the crime, chaos, drugs and disorder. It has now been 10 days and 60 dead British Columbians since the government of that province has asked the Prime Minister to reverse his deadly and radical legalization of crack, heroin and other hard drugs in children's parks, hospitals and on transit. Why will he not reverse his radical agenda?

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, communities in B.C. are facing an extremely serious challenge. It is a toxic drug supply on the streets, and people are dying.

We know that public consumption is an issue of concern, which is exactly why B.C. is amending its proposal, and we have been working with it every step of the way. We are treating this with the urgency it deserves. All partners are at the table right now to find the path forward, working with law enforcement and health services so that we get this right and save lives.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, to find a path forward, the path forward is obvious: ban hard drugs; invest in treatment; and bring our loved ones home, drug-free.

That minister claimed last week that she was waiting for the B.C. government to provide information before she could decide on reversing radical legalization. It turns out that the government had given her that information within hours of the request. She has all the information. Therefore, why are she and her radical boss clinging on to this insane policy?

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we follow science, we follow health care experts and we follow the information. We are working with B.C. on a comprehensive amendment to its proposal. This takes collaborative work to get it right. This is a health issue, not a criminal one. The Leader of the Opposition is misleading Canadians in not recognizing that people need health care; they do not need to be re-stigmatized and criminalized.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Abbotsford Soccer Association wrote a letter entitled, “A Cry for Change”. Volunteers with the organization have found dirty needles that can puncture innocent children in the playing field. Other B.C. fields have found women raped and overdosed, addicts naked and have had pets that have actually overdosed because there is so much drug contamination on the site. What are the Liberals thinking over there?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, a pilot project was put in place at B.C.'s request. B.C. now has serious concerns about some aspects of that. We share those concerns and are addressing them.

I do want to say that I do not think there is a family in Canada that has been untouched by the tragedy of opioids. I think it is absolutely abhorrent to try to score political points off the pain of Canadians.

CBC/Radio-Canada

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, creative staff at Radio-Canada are worried. The cultural sector is worried. The Government of Quebec is discussing catastrophic scenarios. The plan to bring the CBC and Radio-Canada closer together is ruffling feathers and looks more like a plan to rescue the CBC on the back of Radio-Canada. It is no surprise, given that the CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, appointed by the Liberals, has never been afraid to attack Radio-Canada.

Internally, they are saying that everything is on the table, including programming and leadership.

Can the Prime Minister commit to maintaining the independence of Radio-Canada with respect to the CBC?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat what I said last week: In no way are the services to Canada's francophone population, whether in Quebec or outside Quebec, going to be affected by internal restructuring at CBC/Radio-Canada.

It surprises me to hear the Bloc Québécois taking more or less the same position as the Conservatives, that we need to completely separate the CBC and Radio-Canada and, while we are at it, completely defund the CBC.

I do not understand where the Bloc Québécois is going with this. It makes no sense.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is the official narrative and then there is anonymous information. What we learned from La Presse is that nothing is off the table in this supposed effort to bring the two entities closer together, not even programming, and that there is indeed talk of a management merger. That means a single management team for the French and English networks.

When we mix French and English in Canada, English always ends up taking precedence, while French takes a back seat.

Will the Prime Minister put a stop to this very dangerous idea of bringing the CBC and Radio-Canada closer together?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out that the Conservatives are applauding when the Bloc Québécois talks about separating the CBC from Radio-Canada and completely defunding the CBC. What is happening? Why is the Bloc Québécois so aligned with the Conservatives on something as fundamental as our public broadcaster, Radio-Canada?

They were never able to protect Radio-Canada from the Harper Conservatives, and they will not be able to do any better now.

On this side of the House, we have said that we will always protect French programming and content. What we want is more French content, not to reduce funding.

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals delay in protecting women's rights. The Conservatives straight up want to attack women's rights. Last year, they brought in a motion attacking a woman's right to choose. Right now they are blocking free birth control for women. Later on this week, they are going to attend an anti-choice rally.

New Democrats want more freedom, more choices and more affordability for women.

Will the government support us in stopping the Conservatives from denying nine million Canadians free birth control?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me state clearly and unequivocally that every woman, in every part of the country, must have access to the oral contraceptives she needs to have control over her reproductive future. Any party that stands in the way of that is standing in the way of the basic freedom for women in our country to have autonomy over their body.

I would ask the Conservative Party of Canada to stop blocking this so that women can get the reproductive aids they need to have control over their reproductive future.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, free contraception will allow women to save hundreds of dollars and will give them freedom of choice, but the Conservatives want to block that. They want women to pay more and have less freedom. The NDP will not allow that to happen.

Will the government vote with us today to ensure that nine million people have access to free contraception?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it is a question of freedom. Women across the country will have access to the contraceptive drugs they need for their body and their freedom. I wonder why the Conservative Party is blocking the bill that will provide drugs not just to women, but also to diabetics.

It is time to take action. It is time to ensure that there is true freedom for women across the country. It is time to stop blocking legislation.

Finance

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP Prime Minister, it does not feel like Canada anymore. Life is more unaffordable than ever. Canadians, the Governor of the Bank of Canada and even random Liberals are saying that the government is not helpful with its out-of-control spending and not worth the cost.

Canadians are living in their cars and in tents because they cannot afford housing. They are lining up at food banks in record numbers because they cannot afford food. They are leaving in droves because they cannot afford the high cost of living.

When will the Liberals implement a common-sense plan, bring in a dollar-for-dollar law and cap government spending so that inflation and interest rates can come down?