Question Period – June 20, 2022
capacity at the border and increase the rcmp's ability to trace gun crimes and detect straw purchasing and we've made significant strides in combat and gang violence as well with 250 million dollars committed to support municipalities and indigenous communities with anti-gang programming through the building safer communities fund this builds on the 358.8 million under the 2018 initiative to take action against gun and gang violence for provinces and territories not to mention that under the leadership of the previous minister of public safety two years ago we took the bold step of banning assault style weapons prohibiting over 1 500 models of such firearms this is how we're combating gun violence and how we will end it with a suite of comprehensive measures that prevent it from taking root in the first place that protect vulnerable individuals where when there is reason to believe violence is imminent that remove guns from the hands of those who have malicious intentions because we cannot wait to take action i know i speak for all my colleagues madam speaker when i say that we have all already seen too much violence in each of our home constituencies i know i have too many tears too much grief because even one person lost to gun violence is too many so i implore my colleagues let's pass bill c-21 as quickly as possible and let's end gun violence in canada now thank you madam speaker questions and comments the honorable member for sturgeon river park parkland thank you madam speaker i read a number of days ago with great interest a story about an ottawa area a lifelong hunter who had his firearms taken away because of a tip from a local community mental health area that said the member was not taking the man was not taking his medication police moved in immediately and seized this man's firearms and it was only after petitioning a judge and demonstrating to a judge that he did not have any mental issues that he got his firearms back so i find it curious that the members saying that we currently don't have the capacity to take firearms away from people who are going through mental distress when we see quite clearly here in the ottawa area that it's already happening wouldn't the member agree that the government and the police already have these tools incredible member for whitby thank you madam speaker i do appreciate the members question i don't know of the specific example he speaks of but i can tell you that embedding red flag and yellow flag laws within legislation is going to only give additional tools to law enforcement and to individuals who suspect someone of having suicidal ideation or a harm to others and i think that's a good thing we can all probably agree that the less uh individuals that commit suicide via a firearm and the less people that are actually in shootings from firearms shootings the better canada will be the safer canada will be thank you madam speaker i'd like to thank my colleague for his speech and i'd like to ask why his government has decided to do a suspension rather than a ban if we look at the regulations from may 2020 when it comes to the actions on assault weapons that entered into force immediately but now here we see a suspension for handguns but that won't happen for 30 working days why not move forward in a different way to ensure that this moves quickly if the government were really serious about removing handguns from our streets it would have done something different i'd like to hear from our colleague about why his government decided to do a suspension rather than a ban thank you madam speaker and thank you to the honorable member for the question i think it's a good faith question and i appreciate it i think the freeze on handguns definitely limits the market it starts to regulate the market that there will be no more guns and handguns in circulation in canada from the moment that this bill reaches royal assent i think that allows us to start to understand uh and work on the issue of getting guns off the streets in in a way that respects the possession uh of those firearms the the lawful possession of those and acquisition of those firearms that many uh legal law abiding gun owners have so i think it's a compromise it's a it's a good step forward but and i do appreciate the question thank you the honourable member for courtney alberni i want to thank my colleague for speech now one thing uh that his party promised during the last election well in 2019 was that they were going to make sure that the cbsa had the resources it needs to detect and stop the flow of weapons at our borders and just like the conservatives did with veterans affairs so they cut a third of the staff at veterans affairs which has led to a backlog of over 40 000 disability applications for veterans they also cut a thousand positions at the cbsa that are required to stop the flow of weapons at the canada u.s border now my colleague touched on some of the improvements they're going to make at the cbsa but when will they fully restore all of the positions that were cut by the conservatives and in fact bolster them given the amount of the the increase in gun violence and illegal importation of weapons coming into canada honorable member for whitby thank you madam speaker i do appreciate the question from the honourable member and we our government does know that uh illegal gun smuggling uh is important in increasing the investigative capacity of cbsa and rcmp to be able to uh investigate um purported gun smuggling and to crack down on that we've increased uh the penalties uh for for those that are caught from 10 to 14 years and to my knowledge we're increasing capacity at our borders and ensuring that our law enforcement agencies can share data and information to have better intelligence on these matters so thank you madam speaker member for kitchener center very short question thank you madam speaker very few recent mass shooters in this country had criminal records of any kind uh fredericton danforth quebec city moncton could the member comment on how bill 21 would help reduce and uh even eliminate mass shootings across the country very brief answer from the honourable member for bitcoin thank you madam speaker it's uh it's a great question i appreciate it and it just goes to show that just because people are law abiding gun owners when they purchase a gun does not mean that they're not capable of committing an act in a heated moment so i think it's important for us to realize that that limiting gun ownership and restricting guns is is going to help reduce gun crime yeah a statement by members declaration deputy the honourable member for flipwood fort kells well thank you madam speaker canada day is coming up a week friday and it's a good moment to think about freedom in an age of covid most canadians exercise their freedom to contribute toward the common good by getting vaccinated wearing masks understanding that vaccine and mass mandates were about short-term restrictions in the interest of long-term health and safety others exercise their freedom to oppose those measures some on principle others with agendas exposed as exceedingly dark in our parliamentary precinct some gave themselves the freedom to exercise their lungs their rhetoric and their truck horns some of them were told are planning to return to them here's some free advice canada is a strong free nation thank you very much so you get to yell freedom and blast your truck horns fill your boots but the sound of votes slipping into a ballot box will drown out the noise because that's how we do things here that's how we've preserved and protected real freedom thank you the honorable member first to remove mountain madam speaker the summer time is upon us once again and with it comes some great opportunities to get out into the community and take part in some of the outstanding events happening in sears moose mountain and across this great country after over two years of living in a pandemic i'm looking forward to being able to meet with people face to face as i travel throughout the riding to hear what my constituents have to say while the rising cost of living combined with the high gas prices might make longer trips a bit more difficult i encourage everyone to support your local events and your local economy by participating in things like fairs rodeos powwows festivals jamborees barbecues and more this is also a great opportunity to take some that staycation that you might have been thinking of about while also helping local businesses who will be certainly benefit from your visit i know that i will be doing going to as many community events as i can this summer and i invite all canadians to do the same let's get out and enjoy i hope to see you there the honorable member for st john's east thank you madam speaker there was a time when no one thought it was possible to launch a global tech company from newfoundland and labrador but a modbus scholar is a true innovator and launched our province's very first tech startup now known as blue drop ism 30 years ago blue drop is a global learning tech leader with customers and users in over 30 countries and on all seven continents and is part of our provinces now thriving tech industry which contributes over 1.6 billion
dollars to our economy and employs over 4 000 people ahmad immigrated to canada from egypt when he was seven years old co-founded blue drop as a student of memorial university and is considered one of north america's pioneers in e-learning to blue drop ahmad and the entire team on your 30th anniversary congratulations as you continue to blaze new trails thank you [Applause] the honourable member for barcelona mr speaker i'm pleased to pay tribute to an incredible athlete from my riding marcel an olympic track and field walker from saint boniface who's 80 years old during his career he participated in the 1976 montreal summer games and the 1984 los angeles summer games in the 20 and 50 kilometer walk events he also founded the marcel jordan academy a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote physical activity organize sporting events and support athletes this organization has organized no less than 25 half marathons and if that wasn't enough he's preparing for the world championships in finland this summer where he's aiming for nothing less than gold in the 80 to 84 year old category mr jobein keep amazing us we are proud of you in berce mesquinogee [Applause] before continuing i'd like to ask people to dampen some of the background noise coming from the lobbies will be very bothersome and it is interfering with the way we hear speeches in the house the honourable member for barasa madam speaker yesterday on father's day the fourth annual outstanding men of barasa ceremony was held recognizing the exceptional contribution of five men whose actions benefit the entire community i had the honor of awarding them the barasa mps medal they are pierre blante president of the bolivia blonde foundation carmine gallo a police officer at station 39 dib kennefa co-owner of miracle 110 sonel mergeust co-owner of tempahin sam watts director of welcome hall mission i'm proud to highlight their dedication and ongoing contribution to the vitality and image of my riding of barrassa honourable members please join me in congratulating them thank you the honorable member for holdem and norfolk canadian farmers have been feeding us for generations they deserve our thanks but instead they keep getting attacked by this liberal government the carbon tax was the first blow punishing farmers and lining government pockets while doing nothing to reduce carbon emissions then came the 35 percent tariffs on russian fertilizer applied to products purchased well before the war in the in ukraine began now the government wants to force misleading warning labels on all canadian ground beef and pork there's a perfect storm brewing of record high costs supply chain disruptions labor shortages and poor planting conditions this government needs to wake up cancel the taxes and secure our food supply before we plunge into a national food shortage crisis time is running out and honorable members today i would like to honor the memory of a passionate teacher a dedicated volunteer and a great community leader miss sultan milor karamazoki miss parham sothi arrived in canada with her two sons as refugees like most tamils she balanced several jobs to make ends meet as she integrated into a new place a teacher by profession she worked part-time in dufferin peel catholic school board while teaching tamil at various boards under the international language program apart from work she was passionately involved with fundraising for humanitarian relief efforts for the internally displaced in sri lanka's north and east following her retirement in the early 2000s she returned to sri lanka to continue her humanitarian work on the ground i remember the day awarding miss parasothy with the queen's golden jubilee medal for service and i will always remember her as a strong spirit big heart and visionary mind until her last breath she continued to encourage and work on improving sri lanka's social and economic conditions it is a painful loss for all of us and for canada and we are forever grateful for the legacy that she has left behind thank you mr speaker the honourable member for beaches east york mr speaker dragons of breast is an exercise and rehabilitation program for breast cancer survivors in the form of a dragon boat team and it's celebrating its 25th year through a 125 kilometer paddle on the trent severn the raising funds for the canadian breast cancer support fund and honoring the 55 members of the team who have died since 1997. this remarkable journey began on june 16th with a water ceremony at curve lake first nation and finishes on june 21st with a water ceremony at hiawatha first nation eleanor nielsen is a beaches east york constituent one of those one of the most wonderful people you will meet and she's a member of the dragons abreast and has co-authored a book internationally abreast exercises medicine about the vancouver origin of the breast cancer dragon boat movement which now has 51 teams in canada and 260 worldwide i asked my colleagues to join me in recognizing dragons the breast team for the work they do the important work they do to emphasize physical exercise raise funds for an important cause and to build a strong community of support best of luck in your paddling journey the honourable member for kamloops thompson caribou mr speaker i hearken back to my maiden speech today to discuss something i'm passionate about it's time we stop using the phrase child pornography words matter and the term child pornography sanitizes the extreme harm caused to children pornography pornography describes media between consenting adults children can never consent to sexual activity with adults this is why any sexual depiction of a child must be called what it is sexual abuse last week my honorable colleague from north okanagan schwab table bill c-291 to change all references of child pornography and the criminal code to child sexual abuse material i'm deeply grateful for him tabling this bill i authored and using his slot in the order of precedence so that this bill can be passed without delay this is a change that victims and advocates have been seeking for far too long the time to make this simple yet meaningful change is now and they exhort this house to do so as quickly as possible thank you for labrador thank you mr speaker and i wish to congratulate the turning to tide marine industry industry award recipients for honoring excellence and innovation in newfoundland and labrador's marine industry i especially want to highlight the labrador fisherman union shrimp company who earned the industry leadership and excellency award the company grew from humble beginnings started by fisher people into an industry leader they operate five processing facilities in labrador south coast and boasts an impressive harvesting fleet i also want to recognize richard cashion who received the industry lifetime achievement award for advancing the rights of inshore fish harvesters to virtual marine who earned the innovation leadership award to the crow's nest who was presented with the award for historical significance and the next wave leadership award which was given to jasmine saunders an indigenous woman who has played an integral role in developing relationships with indigenous partners and high school students i asked my colleagues to join me in congratulating all those who are turning to tide in the marine industry sector in newfoundland and labrador the honourable member for prince george peace river northern rockies mr speaker i was in anubic last week on what i saw was alarming instead of strengthening sovereignty and security in arctic i saw this government putting up a for sale sign on a crucial norad facility and getting rid of other essential equipment for decades the international logistics support hangar has been the only facility above the arctic circle circle able to house canada's refueling tankers that support our cf-18s deemed no longer necessary by this government in 2021 the hangar is now up for sale without this hangar the refueling tankers are being pushed outside and now take hours to prep in minus 40 and worse winter conditions any quick response is now off the table to make matters worse fuel tanks that used to stand in front of cf-18 hangars have been noticeably removed impeding our ability to repeatedly respond to arctic threats despite the minister's lofty words we are more at risk in the arctic than ever before will the minister visit inuvik herself to see firsthand the sad state our arctic sovereignty and security is instead of relying on our senior level bureaucrats in ottawa honourable member for regina louvain mr speaker we're down to the last week for this government to attempt to ramp through legislation during the final session since the last unnecessary election in the fall if there remains more questions and answers about bill c-11 is the user-gender oriented content covered under the act or not does the wording of the bill allow for platforms to censor or not and with the government bulldozing through folsom debate on this legislation it appears that these questions will remain unanswered mr speaker the irony cannot be understated and stifling the freedom to speak in this house on the very bill that has the greatest consequences of freedom of speech in our country's history whether it be the heritage minister the public safety minister the emergency preparedness minister or the prime minister this bill is yet another example of this government's disdain for the rights and freedoms of all canadians [Applause] the honourable member for sherbrooke mr speaker today i'd like to highlight the start of the summer season at sherbrooke's marche de la gar this market is a place steeped in history and it contributes to the influence of the built and natural heritage of the city of sherbrooke five established merchants occupy the indoor space year round and as of this weekend many market gardeners will be offering products from our beautiful region the marche delegar is also a place to meet and celebrate for the benefit of the community i invite sherbrook residents to come and spend some quality time with their families and to buy the many local products all summer long it goes every weekend to the end of october buying local help stimulates the economy and supports sherbrooke entrepreneurs together let's keep buying local and enjoying these delicious products from right here at home thank you north island powell river alberta billy was an influential leader and elder from the la quito speaking people her passing fills me with a deep sadness and will have a profound impact on our riding the gentleness of her spirit called everyone around her to be their very best self a significant leader who educated canadians about the deep and painful impacts of residential school in the 80s with friends thelma davis and stan mckay she worked years to inspire the united church of canada to take ownership of their part which they did becoming the first religious institution to apologize to indigenous peoples she did not stop there working with kathy and meredith to educate people on the impacts of residential schools with an experiential training called it takes a village she would say to me we do it because we must her words give me strength and challenging times the world is a much sadder place without berta i am so honored to have known and loved her i wish her husband daniel and her family much love in this profound time of grief thank you [Applause] the honourable member for boppa cordobo mr speaker among the treasures of my riding are high-level athletes today here on the hill we have anne rene de bien who brought nothing less than olympic gold to charlevoix originally from claremont and now living in the beautiful village of saint amir de lac with her nickname of the great wall of charlevoix she's won so many awards she's almost rewritten the record book for the u.s university circuit she was given the patty kasmeyer award in 2017 for the best player in university hockey supported by a wonderful family my third cousin is a woman with a big heart generous inspiring she shares with young and old her gold medal her dreams her techniques with her hum and with her humble mp her famous jersey an articulate dynamic woman woman who's still so down to earth everyone loves her on behalf of myself and the black quebecois i want to pay tribute to this exceptional athlete and wish and rene de bien a long and successful career to the great wall of charlevoix the honorable member for sturgeon river parkland mr speaker in a shocking way of hypocrisy this past weekend in montreal german formula one driver sebastian vettel had the audacity to call alberta's oil sands a crime the aston martin driver is sponsored by saudi aramco the largest oil producer on the planet clearly he doesn't have a problem taking money from oil companies meanwhile millions of barrels of russian blood oil continue to flood into germany helping to fund putin's barbaric war in ukraine if mr vettel wants to talk about a crime he should look closer to home there is no country where the energy industry is doing more to bring down emissions and produce resources with the highest ethical standards than canada in fact it is alberta's freedom fuel that will provide the energy the world needs to kick putin's gas albertans will never apologize for our oil my only regret is that we don't have more pipelines in the ground to supply the world when it needs it most we won't take any lessons from high carbon hypocrites like sebastian [Applause] the honorable vettel for london west mr speaker i rise in the house today to commemorate world refugee day seeking safety is a human right no matter who you are where you come from and whenever you've been forced to flee everyone has the right to seek safety so let's acknowledge the 100 million displaced people across i'm going to interrupt the honorable member for a moment i'm going to interrupt the honorable member for a moment there's a message there that i think we all want to hear but the noise is getting too too high i'm going to ask everyone to just tone it down so that we can hear because we're going to let her start from the beginning so we can all hear it thank you mr speaker i rise in this house today to commemorate world refugee day seeking safety is a human right no matter who you are where you come from and whenever you've been forced to flee everyone has a right to seek safety so let's acknowledge the 100 million displaced people across our planet as the precariousness of peace and climate change continue to be growing concerns canada must work hard to retain its long-standing reputation as an international leader in resettlement and integration in 2021 canada welcomed more refugees than any other country and we as we know refugees make significant contributions and are driving force behind our society and economy we must show compassion and respect for refugees and acknowledge the courage it takes to build a new a new life in a new country every day not just today in our collective responsibility to support those fleeing the war and persecution and make sure that no one is left behind as a country canada can be proud of the work that we've accomplished so far but we cannot lose our sense of urgency to keep helping the world's most vulnerable thank you mr speaker oral questions question the honourable leader of the opposition mr speaker canadians are suffering with record high inflation and it's clear these liberals have no plan to deal with it responsibly except more of the same mismanagement that got us here in the first place out of control spending even financial institutions like scotiabank have warned that their continued spending drives higher inflation you can't spend inflation away isn't it true mr speaker life is continuing to get worse not better for canadians under these liberals and they have no idea how to deal with it the honorable minister for tourism mr speaker i thank the honourable leader of the opposition for her question and that side ran on a platform to spend even more deficit spending than we did on this side we have an affordability plan mr speaker we created the canada child benefit which is right now putting 13 666 dollars into the pockets of a single mother with two kids we have indexed oas and are increasing it we are making sure there is a 500 home credit for people struggling with housing mr speaker no plan for affordability on that side a clear plan on this side the honorable leader of the opposition well one idea is to reduce federal taxes at the pump to help ease the high cost of gas provinces are doing it other countries are doing it even the u.s is
considering doing it what did the liberals say when we made this suggestion they said no whether it's lowering taxes on gas or things like removing restrictions and mandates these liberals always say no to good ideas why are the liberals always so slow and reluctant to do the right thing when it comes to helping canadians the honorable minister minister of natural resources we are of course doing the right thing that means actually working to address the supply constraints that have evolved since the russian invasion of ukraine canada has committed to increase its production of oil and gas by 300 000 barrels by the end of the year we are working in partnership with our friends in the united states with brazil and with a number of other countries to stabilize global energy prices and to ensure that we are actually addressing affordability on a go-forward basis the leader of the opposition speaker under these liberals murders are at a 30-year high we're seeing shootings and death increase this weekend in toronto is another sad example but we shouldn't be surprised the same minister who's busy misleading canadians on the emergencies act is the one in charge of public safety liberals implementing gun bans while at the same time letting violent criminals into our communities is illogical and dangerous why won't these soft on crime liberals do something to protect our streets and start by making sure gangsters and drug dealers stay behind bars the honorable minister for public safety mr speaker if that member had actually read bill c21 she sees that we're taking organized crime head on by raising maximum sentences for illegal gun smugglers she'd see that we're addressing the alarming concerns around handgun violence by introducing a national handgun for freeze she'd see that we're also addressing the alarming trend around the connection between intimate partner violence as well as with guns by the introduction of red flag red flag log protocols mr speaker and the only thing conservatives can offer is making ar-15 assault style rifles legal again they should come to this chamber with more ideas the honorable leader of the opposition the liberals if you commit a crime with the gun you get to do your time at home how is that protecting communities mr speaker but you know what everything these liberals touch is a disaster whether it's the soft on crime and often misunderstood public safety minister or heritage minister who's taking away canadians online freedoms or minister of foreign affairs who invites her delegates to party with the russians or a finance minister trying to spend her way out of inflation it's all a disaster mr speaker isn't it true canadians are much worse off today than they were seven years ago and it's all because of their terrible liberal policy [Applause] mr speaker as we uh we near the session i understand that the party opposite is continuing to try to obstruct and search and cast dispersions in a number of different places the reality is over the last seven years we have seen our economy grow we've seen our the investments that have been made across the board to help lift canadians up we've seen a record number of canadians be lifted out of poverty we're way ahead of our poverty reduction targets this government continues to be focused mr speaker on delivering results for canadians i understand that the opposition is searching for attack lines as they troll from subject to subject to subject we stay focused on getting things done for canadians [Applause] mr speaker we're still waiting for results let's summarize the liberal government's response to the cost of living the minister of finance announced with great fanfare she'd do nothing gas prices are historic highs the minister of the environment is pleased citizens camp outside passport canada offices the minister didn't anticipate that after two years of a pandemic can easily want to travel the list goes on and on it's time to end this spiral of chaotic liberal incompetence who will have the courage to stand up the prime minister [Applause] when it comes to affordability for canadians it's clear that on the government side we've created the child tax benefit and the conservatives voted against we set up supports for the tourism sector the conservatives voted against them we have been here to support seniors workers single-parent families the conservatives vote against it the economy is in full swing we're here to help canadians the conservatives are just trying to get some snappy lines for twitter the federal fiasco is becoming dangerous at this point the police have had to intervene in lineups at passport offices and they're not just managing people's anger they're answering questions on behalf of federal employees enough with this a crisis can't be managed from eight to four monday to friday how is it possible that offices are not open seven days a week with extended hours we're in a state of crisis when will this government wake up the honorable parliamentary secretary thank you mr speaker and i want to thank the honorable member for his question as we are all aware after two years of travel restrictions canadians are traveling again and there's increased demand and volume for for passports and that's why the focus of the minister and officials has been to make sure that canadians do receive their passports this is why we are triaging lines at every service canada location in urban and metropolitan areas that is why we've increased our staff by over 600 to serve canadians and that's why we've added additional resources to our mp lines and to other call-in lines to ensure that we reach canadians and that they get the documents they need thank you mr speaker [Applause] [Music] the honourable member while the government's not doing its job in the passport offices mps are being inundated with calls for help from citizens on friday all mp's offices were notified or rather our offices were notified that the federal government was cutting services to elected officials intervening to help people get their passports imagine that they're doing nothing to people and now they're preventing us from helping them instead then we found out this morning that that email was a mistake what amateurishness people are paying for the minister's incompetence and it is unprecedented when will they stop improvising making it up as they go and open their offices evening and weekends until the crisis is finally resolved honorable member for his question and all of the colleagues in this house who are advocating for constituents who have urgent travel needs mr speaker employees from service canada have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic to serve canadians and they've been performing their services over time and every weekend as a matter of fact on the june 24th and july 1st long weekend employees will be working to make sure that canadians receive their documents in addition to that mr speaker with regards to the mp line an additional 50 resources have been added with another 40 being trained to make sure that we can address the increased demand and volume to assist those constituents mr speaker we are here to serve canadians together in this house thank you oh boy mr speaker that's not reassuring listen mr speaker life is getting more and more expensive families are on the verge of losing their homes children are going to school hungry the crisis is hitting hard and families are paying the price the liberals answer a seven dollar tax credit seven dollars they couldn't be more out of touch this is a slap in the face to workers seniors to children people need help the ndp has proposed solutions will the liberals double the gst tax credit and increase the child benefit to actually help struggling families the honorable minister of tourism mr speaker what the ndp is putting forward is insecure and false if we just look at the canada child benefit a single parent family will receive six hundred sixty dollars more that's not seven dollars it's more than thirteen hundred now when it comes to day care services in edmonton a mother or father can get ten thousand dollars it's not seven dollars it's ten thousand they should check their facts and not make things up for the house some would transcona mr speaker they keep talking about things that they were doing or should have been doing before inflation struck the fact is canadians are worried about losing their homes they're worried about feeding their families and the liberal plan is another seven dollars on the gst rebate that's not a plan that's a talking point for a government that's more concerned about inflation as a public relations problem than it is about an economic problem a real plan would provide surp debt relief double the gst rebate increase the canada child benefit so when is the deputy prime minister going to kindly announce that plan honorable minister mr speaker it's disappointing that the ndp continue to push this cynical and frankly disingenuous narrative that somehow canadians are only getting seven dollars more in affordability supports they know very well mr speaker that in my own city of edmonton child care benefits ten thousand dollars this year and the canada child benefit mr speaker in vancouver a mother with two children thirteen thousand six hundred and sixty six dollars that's a lot more than seven dollars mr speaker the ndp need to stop playing for political points and tell the whole story the honorable member for central okanagan simulcamine nikola mr speaker the finance minister must be wearing industrial grade noise cancelling earphones to avoid hearing the calls from economists to cut her government's over-the-top spending she knows that it's only adding gas to the inflationary fire the prime minister has said that anything that has a hint of fiscal risk restraint is austerity he asks bill morneau for wanting to get kovitz post covet spending under control is she worried that if she presents anything to the prime minister that remotely resembles account that she might suffer the same fate of her predecessor who went from finance minister moore no to finance minister no more [Applause] minister mr speaker let's take a look at the facts the conservatives ran on a platform to spend 168 billion dollars i'm glad they didn't get elected that would have been simply irresponsible but let's look at the economy mr speaker let's look at the fact that we have a gdp that grew 5.6 in q1 this fall again snp and moody's affirmed our aaa credit rating 3.5 million jobs recovered since the worst part of the pandemic ahead of the united states and the lowest unemployment rate at 5.1 percent since
1976. the economy is doing well the conservatives don't like it but we sure do the honourable member for central okanagan similarly nikolas keep trying to change the channel but these spendy ps these spend ep liberals don't won't or can't understand that their obsession with spending is fueling inflation and hurting canadians doug porter chief economist at said fiscal policy has every bit as much a role to play in dampening inflation as does monetary policy and fiscal policy should definitely not get a pass in the inflation fight conservatives have been saying cut discretionary spending give canadians a break at the pumps those are good starting points the question is when will this minister of finance stop fueling inflation and instead start fighting it honorable minister of tourism i invite the members of the opposition and that member in particular to vote with us the next time we have a piece of legislation in this house that's actually designed to improve the lives of canadians and make their lives more affordable the conservatives have voted against every single measure that we put on the floor of this house to make life more affordable mr speaker including c2 including the canada child benefit including making sure that oas payments are indexed mr speaker they are all talk no action on this side we're focused on affordability for canadians mr speaker the number one subject of concern to every canadian is inflation and this liberal government is responsible for increasing it it's not just the conservatives saying it yesterday scotiabank's chief economist jean-francois said the government's high level of budgetary expenditures is leading to an unnecessarily large decrease in private spending in short the government doesn't know how to manage and it's hurting the economy is this government finally going to be responsible when there's inflation and curb it's spending the honorable minister mr speaker i wonder if the honorable member voted for or against the conservative lab to have a 168 billion dollar deficit during their election campaign but on this side we have made sure that the canada child benefit is indexed to inflation we have reduced taxes for the middle class twice we've increased old age security and introduced a tax cut and conservatives are voting against canadians and we're voting for them the honorable member for luis enlar mr speaker at every hour in every writing and i'm sure it's true in all 338 writings citizens are desperate and they're calling us about passports again over the weekend a nurse had to take time off instead of going to take care of six people and is waiting in line to have access to passports and laval police officers had to be sent to calm the discontent of citizens i'm proud to be a canadian but when i see this in our country a g7 country not a third world country why did the government wait so long and end up creating this crisis the honorable parliamentary secretary thank you mr speaker and i'll thank the honorable member for his question but as he is aware as many in this house travel restrictions being lifted canadians are beginning to travel again but this but the department did plan for it as of september last year over 600 new employees were added to passport canada services mr speaker and in addition to that every service canada office is receiving applications at this time every passport counter in this country is open to serve canadians over 96 of applications that are processed in person are receiving their passports within 10 days that is better than the international standards that are out there we will continue to do everything we can to make sure canadians receive their documents thank you mr leonard mr speaker to get a passport people have to bring their tent and spend the night on the sidewalk that's happening here in canada a g7 country nothing is going right it used to process 90 000 requests before covet we need to authorize the return to work to employees on-site and extend working hours in all offices can the minister move away from her scripted lines and give us a real answer the honorable parliamentary secretary thank you mr speaker and i'd like to remind the honorable member that our public servants have been working weekdays over time and weekends since we've been since passport restrictions since travel restrictions have been lifted to ensure that canadians are receiving their passports over 360 000 passports have been issued since april of this year mr speaker and just last week for nearly 48 000 passports were issued to canadians we are continuing to make sure that service lines are triaged that we're reaching seniors people with disabilities unique employment needs and humanitarian compassionate issues that require emergency documents thank you mr speaker mr speaker the price of groceries went up by nearly 10 in april this is the fifth month in a row where the price of food went up by over five percent gas is over two dollars a liter across the province in the greater quebec city air house housing prices went up by over 25 21 over last year with salaries increasing at about 3.3 percent people are struggling can the minister of finance face canadians and offer them real solutions the minister for tourism mr speaker the conservatives are raising issues about affordability whereas their party has no plan for affordability for canadians and every time we try to do something to make life more affordable for canadians they vote against it on this side of the house we've been helping with the canada child benefit indexed it to inflation we've increased oas payments and we have made sure that payments for day care services will be indexed we're working on affordability on the other side they're really not the honorable member for terrestre mr speaker citizens camped out all weekend in front of service canada offices to try to get a passport in spite of the wind and the rain they stayed outside all weekend trying to access this service the worst part of it was they were camped outside empty offices that closed at 4 pm on friday for the weekend citizens spent the weekend seeing for themselves that no one from the federal government was there at work to help them does the minister just how insulting this is the honorable parliamentary secretary thank you mr speaker and i'll thank the honourable member for her question but mr speaker service canada and passport centers throughout the country have been open over time during days during the weekdays and on weekends yes there are long lines but service canada members are going into those lines triaging emergency situations and we are also encouraging those who do not have immediate travel to plan for their travel documents nevertheless mr speaker as a matter of fact today our minister is in a processing center in mississauga to see how we can increase efficiencies manage workload and address the increased demand and volume thank you mr speaker [Music] it's quebec's national holiday this week it's july 1st next week that's two weeks in a row of public holidays that mark the beginning of summer so there will be an increase in the number of people traveling and who will need their passport in the midst of a crisis what has the minister plan to do to deal with increased demand and above all has she planned for the fact that offices will have to be open even if it's a weekend or a holiday the honourable parliamentary i'd like to thank secretary honorable member for a question which gives me the opportunity to let canadians know that on the june 24th weekend and the july 1st weekend passport centers will be open to serve canadians public servants are working hard over time and weekends to make sure that canadians can travel this summer we know they want to be out and about and i want to thank our public servants who are working so tirelessly during the significant increase in demand mr speaker we owe them a debt of gratitude thank you [Music] mr speaker this government can't predict anything but also can't learn from its mistakes this isn't the first time service canada has been in hot water they were unable to reassure worried citizens at the beginning of the pandemic unable to respond to victims of serb fraud last year unable to process ei client claims over the winter and now they can't process passports for two years nothing has worked and nothing has changed can does the minister understand that she's responsible parliamentary secretary mr speaker i think the honorable member for a question but mr speaker we owe tremendous gratitude to our public servants servants in this country who throughout the pandemic had canadians back they were able to distribute serb quickly when it was needed they were addressed able to address the e.i
concerns of canadians when they were laid off during the pandemic and public servants worked night and day with new technologies and new methods to make sure that we reached canadians when they needed it most mr speaker since september 2021 we've hired over 600 new employees we're hiring another 600 more every passport counter in this office is open and service canada office to serve canadians thank you the honorable member for peterborough kawartha mr speaker children and seniors are going hungry and people can't go to work because they don't have enough money to put gas in their vehicle any mp who spends time in their riding or reads any of their emails knows how dire the cost of living crisis is yet inflation continues to rise under this liberal government so are they just not listening to canadians or do they just not care the honourable minister for tourism mr speaker our government and i empathize with canadians in the rising price of inflation which is caused by russia's illegal war on ukraine supply chain snarls and the zero covered policy in china but mr speaker let us look at the facts and i hope my colleagues will help me keep the other side accountable when we pass i know everybody wants to hear the answer so i'll let the minister start from the top and i'm sure everybody will be quiet so they can hear it all the honourable minister mr speaker i appreciate the honourable member's question we emphasize with the rising costs of gas and of groceries mr speaker that is why we have an affordability plan but mr speaker let us take a look at the record when this side cut taxes on the middle class and raise it on the wealthiest two times how did the conservatives vote they voted against how did what did they do when we had the canada child benefit mr speaker they voted against what did they do when we put money in for teachers mr speaker the conservatives voted against what did they do when we rose money for seniors mr speaker the conservatives voted against we vote for they fall for against we're here for affordability the honorable member for pravanshi [Applause] thank you mr speaker too many canadians are unable to afford basic essentials like gas and groceries and this liberal government keeps passing the buck they refuse to admit that it's their own policies that are creating higher prices and exasperating the situation will this government finally do the right thing suspend the gst on fuels and help lower the cost of groceries for canadian families [Applause] [Music] mr speaker i thank honorable colleague for his perspective on the matter but let's actually take a look at the economic fundamentals of this country our gdp grow 5.6 in q1 making us the second fastest growing economy in g7 on track to be the fastest growing economy in g7 aaa credit rating in place we've recovered 115 of 3 million jobs lost faster than our colleagues in the united states and we have a trade surplus of over 6 billion the conservatives don't like that the economy is doing well canadians do and that's why we will focus on affordability mr speaker the honourable member for cumberland colchester mr speaker recent studies which suggested up to one in five canadians do not have access to primary care in nova scotia there's 95 000 people without primary care the president of the canadian medical association has stated that what is clearly coming is the collapse of the kurd health care system this prime minister continues to talk about 7 500 health care providers none have materialized when is this government of inaction going to give canadians the health care system they so deserve [Applause] i thank my honorable colleague for his question and for his collaboration on the health committee our government recognizes the importance of high quality primary care and also we acknowledge that many canadians are still struggling to access the care they need in a timely manner going forward as outlined in budget 2022 our government will remain focused on advancing the priorities of canadians in health including accessing the readily available high quality primary care services we all deserve thank you mr speaker i appreciate the question look forward to continuing to work on this with my colleague member for skena bulkley valley mr speaker airport delays continue to cause stress for so many travelers there aren't enough airport workers and the existing ones are overstretched and underpaid but instead of simply paying airport workers fairly this government is offering a bonus for workers who don't take vacation or sick time this summer seriously in the midst of a pandemic this minister is incentivizing workers who come to work sick if he wants to get travelers moving again he needs to scrap this program immediately and start paying workers fairly will he the honorable minister of transport speaker i want to stress how urgent the situation is that our government is working towards easing the delays at our airports we have added more than 900 cats workers over the last few weeks we have increased cbsa agents we have adjusted many of our measures in collaboration with airports and airlines to ease airport delays and we're working with workers to make sure who've been really working very hard over the last weeks mr speaker to address this issue there's a lot of work to be done but we're committed to it mr speaker well member for edmonton strathcona mr speaker this government has a serious problem with transparency and accountability i've asked in the house and through access to information for a full and comprehensive list of what sanctions have been imposed when they were imposed and what assets have been seized this government has refused to provide any meaningful information i need this information for my constituents and canadians who are horrified by the illegal invasion of ukraine so i will ask again mr speaker will the minister today guarantee that she'll provide a detailed description of who has been sanctioned when and what assets have been seized the honorable parliamentary secretary thank you mr speaker and i thank the honorable member for that question and i think she raises a very important issue with respect to canada's unprecedented sanctioning of russia it started when they invaded illegally crimea it has continued those sanctions have been strengthened at an unprecedented level as they illegally invaded ukraine again we continue to to sanction the banking system mr putin and his inner circle uh members of the russian security council as well as countless numbers of industries and individuals in russia we'll continue to do that till we draw them down to the point of no return the honorable member for senator now sam michele mr speaker investing in our recreational and sports infrastructure is the same thing as investing in people's health and well-being can the minister give us an update on the government's work to offer quebecers access to lasting and secure facilities to promote recreational and sport activities in our communities the honorable minister mr speaker on friday we announced that there would be joint financial assistance with quebec totaling 929 million dollars for recreational and sports projects in the northern quebec region five indigenous communities in the knowledge quebec region will benefit from quality infrastructure so they can practice their favorite activities in modern and accessible infrastructure mr speaker as you know we are always happy to invest in this type of project throughout canada remember for banff airdry mr speaker a couple of my writing recently returned from a trip to greece and when they tried to register for the arrive can app they were sent the wrong verification code eight times when they tried to contact the cbsa to fix the issue the cbsa told them that they didn't offer support relating to re-entering canada and i hear stories like this from my constituents all the time the arrived can app is increasingly unnecessary and it's hopelessly broken so when will the government commit to ending the chaos at our borders and our airports the honorable minister for public safety mr speaker as my colleague knows the arrivedcan app technology has helped to facilitate the measures we've taken at the border to protect the health and safety of canadians throughout the pandemic we continue to improve that technology by streamlining our processes by making sure that canadians have the smoothest experience at the border i'm pleased to report to my colleague and all members of this chamber that compliance with the arrivedcat app is over 95 at the border that's a signal that we've made progress and i'm happy to work with my colleague on the individual case that was uh that was brought to his attention his writing thank you very much for thornhill another week and more chaos at our airports and even if you wanted to go anywhere getting a passport is turning into a canadian made nightmare the minister is claiming that there's a surge in application but that's just not true over the last 10 weeks the surge the government is talking about is only half of what it was before coven so if no one was laid off and no one at passport canada is working from home will the minister responsible for the chaos tell us why anyone is still waiting for a passport they applied for in march [Applause] thank you mr speaker and i thank the online member for a question mr speaker as as we've discussed there's been an increased surge in demanded passports with ease of travel restrictions in preparation that mr speaker the minister and officials arranged that 600 new employees were hired in september 2021 with an additional 600 being hired at this time in addition to that mr speaker all service canada employees are back at work whether they are teleworking or whether they are in an office they are at work and to disparage that is really questionable mr speaker i really want to thank our public servants for everything that they've been doing for canadians and continue to work during this time thank you the first on hill perhaps the parliamentary secretary can tell us what she thinks the word surge actually means passport canada is at 48 000 passports this week she just said that they used to do more than 90 000 before covid so i've got a few simple questions how many passports are in the queue can she explain why she's telling canadians about a magical search that isn't happening and when can she give this house a straight answer so the canadians don't have to line up at 3 am for a basic government service thank you mr speaker as the member well knows during the pandemic many canadians didn't renew their passports and many canadians didn't bother to check what the updated times when their prospects were beat nevertheless nevertheless mr speaker the minister has been working closely with officials as a matter of fact she's at a processing center in mississauga today to see how we can increase increase capacity and efficiency and may i mentioned mr speaker that the 48 000 from this week is a 10 increase from last week so that week over week we are working with service canada and passport teams to increase efficiencies thank you member for fort mcmurray cold lake hi thank you mr speaker canadians are being told to go in person to passport office if they have to travel within 45 days so tia took time off work and made a five-hour drive to get to service canada's passport office in edmonton she lined up at 4 30 in the morning and had proof of imminent travel but was triaged out of the line because she wasn't deemed urgent enough so in total 10 hours of driving a hotel bill time off work and no passport folks living in my riding and in rural areas across canada can&
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