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Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Liberal 12:45 p.m.

“We extended EI by five weeks in some regions. That should help seasonal workers. We also removed the waiting period for EI.”

Serge Cormier

Liberal 12:45 p.m.

“Thank you for mentioning the rural transit solutions fund. That fund is popular in our ridings and you represent a riding near mine. The Conservatives didn't vote for it. Can you talk more about how that fund is helpful? It's good when people have public transit options.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I too want to thank my riding neighbour for his speech. He talked a lot about infrastructure. There is an infrastructure fund that has been very useful for his riding and mine. The Conservatives voted against that fund. It is the rural transit solutions fund. My riding and my colleague's riding are now connected by a public transit system, which is something our ridings did not have before. My colleagues can imagine how hard it was not having public transit. Now we do have public transit in our ridings thanks to the programs that the government implemented. Could my colleague tell us how this program has helped people in his region get to other regions? Could he also tell us how even tourists to our region are now able to benefit from this new service?

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Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Liberal 12:45 p.m.

“The federal government spent a lot of money on rural transit in my riding. This program is popular and I want to cheer for it. People use the service and I think it helps our region.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, our federal funding covered a substantial portion of the capital costs of providing a public transit service that is truly tailored to rural regional realities. FlexGo is providing affordable service that meets the needs of our seniors, workers and post-secondary students. Since this service was launched, it has made a huge difference on the ground and in people's lives. This is an investment that is contributing to the economic vitality of our communities while providing an essential service for people who may not have any other way to get around. It has been a resounding success from the start. Ridership has been even higher than predicted. This is a concrete example of how we are contributing to our rural regions.

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Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Liberal 12:45 p.m.

“The Prime Minister is doing a good job. Look at all the good things that have happened. Our economy is growing strong.”

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 12:45 p.m.

“I want you to ignore that G7 recession fact. I want you to trust what the Bank of Canada says instead. I want you to think Conservatives look bad for saying recession. I want people to think our government will make the economy better. Do you have anything nice to say?”

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Liberal 1:10 p.m.

“I want to talk about good news only. Rents are down. Exports and net worth are up. Look at our credit rating. We have affordability programs too. Those are nice, right? Let's just talk about the nice things we're doing.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it has been just over one year since Canadians went to the polls and elected a new government. Some of the tangible actions we have seen in that one year include the fact that international exports beyond the United States have significantly increased. We can talk about rents, which have been going down. We can talk about the average household net worth, which has actually improved. We can talk about Canada's AAA credit rating and the fact that we have the best financial position of the G7 countries. We are still providing the types of programs that deal with the issue of affordability, like the groceries and essentials rebate, and providing assurances in regard to other social programs, like our child care program. Would the member not agree that this is very much a holistic approach to building a stronger and healthier economy?

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Karim Bardeesy

Liberal 1:15 p.m.

“I'm going to talk a lot about our big government plans. I'll list many different programs and strategies. Our electricity strategy. Our minerals strategy. Our auto strategy. Research programs that bring in scientists from around the world. Space programs with astronauts. High-speed rail and motorcycle companies in my riding. I like them all. They show government is doing a lot of things. Then I'll say the economy is more than just numbers. It's community and housing too. Our government is spending money on many things. I think all the spending is good and will help people. That's why I'm opposing the opposition's motion.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to be sharing my time with the member for Kingston and the Islands. I will be opposing the motion. We have a comprehensive plan. I am seeing in my travels across the country and in my riding that the plan is starting to deliver results. If we take an honest look at the full set of strategies the government has announced, the measures as early as June, with the income tax cut and the delivery of the Major Projects Office, forward to the budget in the fall, with major measures to prime our economy, through to the spring economic update and the strategies we have announced during and since then, we see a plan that is starting to work and to have impacts on the ground. I want to refer to a couple of these strategies because they provide important context when the official opposition is calling for a plan. The plans have been presented and are starting to land, I think, quite positively with Canadians. I will give the example of the national electricity strategy, which we announced just recently, with an intent to double our capacity by 2050. We know that electricity is a key competitive advantage for Canada and that we have abundant and relatively clean electricity. This is an area where Canadian ingenuity, workers and opportunities coast to coast are available to develop the kinds of technologies that help lower costs and emissions, and help to prime and benefit industries at home, but also lead in some cases to an exportable technology. I know there are a lot of innovators in Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park who are working on businesses and innovations that are delivering, whether that is a more efficient grid, solutions that are putting power back into the grid or, indeed, solutions that are using previous internal combustion engine-based or fossil fuel technologies and converting them into cleaner technologies. The national electricity strategy is a very prominent example of one of the plans that exist in our broader plan to deliver economic well-being to Canadians. I would also refer to the critical minerals strategy, which is, again, a key competitive advantage for Canada. We need to have the processing capacity and to identify the specific minerals that are available to us. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and other ministers have taken a leadership role in creating buyers' clubs by bringing companies, countries and investment funds together to identify real opportunities and then using the Major Projects Office to deliver opportunities to get those projects under way more quickly. A critical minerals strategy is key to our economic plan. I would also refer to our auto strategy, which I, as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry, have some considerable involvement with, as it is the Minister of Industry's strategy. She is working very hard to protect access to the American marketplace and to protect the investments that exist in Canada but also to attract not only new investments around electrification and electric vehicles but also related investments in software and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. I am very proud to see that some of these sectors, which previously were confined to southern Ontario, are now spreading across the country. I had the pleasure of going to the electric vehicle and charging expo recently in Toronto. It was such a pleasure to see companies from coast to coast to coast delivering innovations, including electricity charging for vehicles at apartment buildings in Vancouver, all-in software solutions out of Quebec and even the first green hydrogen heavy truck vehicle, developed by Elemental Trucks out of Rexdale. There are so many innovations coming out of Canada, from Canadians, out of this opportunity and this excitement around the kind of economy we are building. We are seeing it in the numbers. My colleagues the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance and the chief government whip have already referred to some of these statistics and some real benefits that are coming from these strategies. I will also refer to an area that I spend a bit more time on, the research and science portfolio, where we are seeing people coming by the hundreds from around the world, some of the most talented scientists, who are attracted by our impact+ research chairs program and our impact+ scholars program, to say that Canada is the place to do science. We just recently announced 658 doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. The best and brightest in the world are choosing Canada in part because, first, this is the place to do science and research, a place that is not going to be corrupted by politics, and second, there is economic opportunity and the hope that comes from the ability to do this work and deliver these innovations in Canada, for Canada and for Canadians. I see the benefits of our economic strategy starting to take root in places like the University of Calgary, where I recently had the chance to visit a Genome Canada‑funded project. This is one of the great stories, and I am seeing so many of these stories coast to coast now, where we have eastern and western Canada coming together to deliver the kinds of innovations that are going to grow our economy. The specific project I saw was a project to make underground energy storage safer by using tiny underground microbes. This is a set of University of Calgary researchers collaborating with a Newfoundland and Labrador start-up, Triple Point resources. Again, there is confidence. This is a Canadian start-up out of Newfoundland and Labrador, which is investing its precious capital in innovation toward a carbon-reducing solution, collaborating with scientists out of the University of Calgary. This is the kind of national economic spirit that we are seeing more and more of, that this Prime Minister, with this government, is delivering. We know that this has been the year for space in Canada. I was recently in Longueuil, Quebec, at the Canadian Space Agency headquarters, as part of the Horizons conference co-developed by the Canadian Space Agency and Space Canada, a government agency and an industry association working very closely together to ensure that the future space economy is one that Canada can depend on and benefit from. It is in this year of science, when we have not one but three Canadian Space Agency astronauts intimately involved in some of the key missions that have captured the globe's attention: Jeremy Hansen, Jenni Gibbons and, soon to go to the International Space Station, Joshua Kutryk. The Canadian inspiration around that has resulted in more interest and more investment. I meet a number of young people now who are starting rocket clubs, who are excited about participating in this sector and who often can get support through our research funds to then develop that kind of science and innovation. This is part of our economic strategy as well. I see this locally as well, with companies like TransPod, out of my riding, which is developing a high-speed transportation solution between Calgary and Edmonton. Again, this is a Canadian company in eastern Canada working collaboratively with those in western Canada. I see it with a company like Beachman industries, again, in my riding of Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park, which is one of the first companies in decades to get certified by Transport Canada for motorcycle manufacturing. It is Canada's only electric motorcycle manufacturer. The co-founders have big ambitions to take this innovative technology and to grow it into the transportation space, delivering transportation solutions. They are Canadian innovators in auto manufacturing, and in this case, it is happening right in the heart of downtown Toronto. What I also appreciate about our economic strategy, though, and I do not hear much about it from the other side, is that the economy is not just the GDP. It is the GDP per capita, so I do want to compliment my colleague the parliamentary secretary, but it is about much more than any one statistic. It is about the kind of community we create that makes it possible to have economic activity. It is about the kind of community we create that gives people the confidence, the support and the resources to participate productively in the economy, like national child care and the PSW tax credit. I had the pleasure of speaking at the SEIU excellence awards, the first-ever awards event that the Service Employees International Union put on for its health care workers, Local 1. I saw those PSWs, mostly women, mostly educated in other countries, say that, yes, because of the work done together and because of the government recognition of that work, there is going to be a tax credit that is going to recognize their specific efforts during the pandemic and beyond. That is going to put aroun $1,100 in those workers', mostly women's, pockets. Members can bet that is going to help the economy in those households because those families, those women, are going to be spending that money out in the economy. I even see it in places like the many business improvement areas that we are blessed to have in Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park, which is the home of the original business improvement area, in Bloor West Village. We are hearing from them that, yes, public safety is really important, and there is some appreciation for the new provisions around bail legislation, and that public safety and the public realm as well as supporting people at different levels of the economic scale and different income levels are key to having a strong economy. In Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park, we are very appreciative of the opportunity to see that. Finally, in my riding, I see it in the housing we are building, whether it is social housing, supportive housing or some of the co-operative or private sector housing that I will be happy to talk about in future months in the riding. The kinds of housing opportunities we are creating in the riding create an opportunity to participate economically in a much more productive way. It is a kind of investment in housing that, unfortunately, I hear regularly criticized by the other side. We have an economic plan that is starting to land with Canadians, and I look forward to questions on it from my colleagues.

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Karim Bardeesy

Liberal 1:25 p.m.

“I visited university research facilities in Saskatchewan. They're world-class facilities attracting scientists from around the world. Great things are happening because of our research funding.”

Karim Bardeesy

Liberal 1:30 p.m.

“I know the forestry industry has problems. We already spend on programs for it. I won't say if we considered your idea, but I'll keep talking.”

Karim Bardeesy

Liberal 1:30 p.m.

“We're trying to have it both ways by saying nice things about UNDRIP and indigenous rights while still pushing a pipeline through.”

Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Liberal 1:30 p.m.

“I want to cheer for a program that spends money in my riding.”

Karim Bardeesy

Liberal 1:30 p.m.

“I want to layer it on thick that our government is a big help to local programs.”

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Liberal 1:30 p.m.

“I want to look busy while my own party is speaking. I will talk about something else.”

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Liberal 1:35 p.m.

“I don't like the Conservatives' attack strategy. Canadians don't want that approach. Conservatives should stop attacking and provide solutions instead.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, this is literally what the response was that I got from AI about the motion. Word for word, it said, “This motion is built for maximum rhetorical punch, not factual or analytical strength. The motion collapses complex economic indicators into a simplistic, worse-than-the-G7 narrative, cherry-picks metrics without context and demands an impossible remedy that has no coherent policy meaning.” I hear my friend from Saskatchewan across the way criticizing AI. I would remind him to tread lightly in this area, given the fact that I am pretty certain at least 70% to 80% of the questions asked during question period by the Conservatives are generated by AI, before he goes down that path of trying to be critical of it. I can understand why he does not like listening to what was generated as a response, but it is the reality of the situation. The real irony is not that AI spit out the obvious and what everybody already knows. What it really comes down to is that this is exactly what Canadians are feeling right now in watching the Leader of the Opposition's response to what has happened. Let us just take ourselves back to Friday morning when Statistics Canada released information that we were in a technical recession by a declining growth of, listen to this, negative 0.03%. We are talking about a really small percentage. The Leader of the Opposition jumped on this news like it was the biggest gift he has ever received. He was so gleeful about it. He gathered whoever he could from his caucus who remained here on a Friday; they usually disappear halfway through question period on a Thursday. He dragged them out in front of this building, lined them up behind himself at 9:30 a.m. and gave a press conference with a gigantic smile on his face. He was so excited by this news. Imagine being a member of this House, one of the 343 members, let alone the Leader of the Opposition, and taking such joy in knowing that Canadians are suffering? That is exactly what we saw from him. That is not even where it ended, because it got even worse than that. Rightly so, a reporter from The Hill Times asked the Leader of the Opposition, on the topic of the economy, “Might you be going a little too far with this by suggesting that this is a massive, colossal economic situation?” The Leader of the Opposition, the member for Battle River—Crowfoot, started laughing at the reporter and said, “Of course you are making excuses for the Prime Minister. What outlet are you from?” The reporter said The Hill Times, and the Conservative leader said, “Oh, yeah, The Hill Times.” What I find so utterly amazing is that Conservatives, much less the Leader of the Opposition, are unable to recognize that their strategy may have been really effective in 2024, but with everything going on in the world right now, with the way that the U.S. is positioning itself against us right now and is treating us like an economic enemy at times, and with the sense of incredible pride that Canadians have in wanting to stick together and fight this together, the Conservatives still think that it is a winning strategy to talk down Canadians, to talk down the Prime Minister and to talk down the position we are in. I can wonder all day long about why the Conservatives think this is an effective strategy, why they are doing this and why they have not realized that their 2024 tactics are just falling on deaf ears right now. People do not even have to listen to me. They do not even have to consider the fact that I am bringing this to their attention. They can just look at the fact that it is reflected in the polling. It is reflected in the decision in the last election. Canadians do not want the Conservatives. They do not want that rhetoric. They do not want that style of approach. They do not want a Leader of the Opposition who is going to laugh at reporters, challenge what outlet they are with and then dismiss them. Canadians do not want that. I really wish that my colleagues across the way, who keep heckling me right now, would take a moment to reflect on the fact that maybe there is a little bit of truth to what I am saying. Maybe the Canadian people would like to see humility and would like to see a Leader of the Opposition who actually takes the time to reflect on the world that people live in and does not jump at an opportunity to celebrate it, so that he can say “I told him so” to the Prime Minister on what amounts to a statistical error. An hon. member: Oh, oh! Hon. Mark Gerretsen: Mr. Speaker, it is negative 0.03% of growth. I am sorry. It is catastrophic. Look at them. They are doing it right now. They absolutely refuse. They want to make this the biggest, boldest and absolutely worst thing that could possibly happen. That is the narrative they are going with. I am actually not surprised, because they are just parroting what their leader did on Friday. He went outside this building, and he took the opportunity to celebrate the position that Canada was in. Conservatives can keep doing this. They can do it all day long, but I am telling them right now that this is not selling to the Canadian public. The Canadian public is not buying this. By the way, the Conservatives did this before. What situation did they set up for themselves? Their approach, always, is not asking what they are going to do to improve the lives of Canadians. Their approach is to make the other guy look bad, attack the other guy and beat him or her into submission so that they look like the champions. Guess what? They tried that in 2024. To a certain degree, they were kind of effective at it, but it did not materialize into their forming government, did it? It did not. They just ended up coming right back. It certainly did not result in Conservatives forming government. The key thing they are missing is that, rather than just attack, attack, attack, they have to provide solutions. They have to provide alternatives. I have said this so many times in the House. I am actually trying to give them political advice right now. People back in my war room are probably asking why I will not shut up, because I am telling them what to do, but it is true. I am just trying to help them because I feel like they really, genuinely need it. The reality is that Conservatives are going to keep doing this over and over and over. It is not going to produce anything for them because the reality of the situation is that Canadians are looking for parliamentarians, especially in the world that we live in right now, to work together, to collaborate together, to come up with ideas together and certainly not to celebrate potential downfalls, which is what the Leader of the Opposition and his caucus are doing.

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Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Liberal 1:35 p.m.

“I want to help that Conservative. I criticized his party but I wasn't just talking about myself. Of course I care about Canadians too. He should listen to my helpful advice.”

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Liberal 1:45 p.m.

“Nice try. I don't use scripts or notes when I speak. I spoke from the heart, only glancing at my phone for a few lines. But during question period, the other parties read pre-written questions 70% of the time. Who writes those? For me, I stand here and speak my mind without help or notes.”

Louis Villeneuve

Liberal 1:45 p.m.

“I want to say the Conservatives are completely wrong about Canada failing because many people have jobs and businesses. Canada's economy is strong!”

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Liberal 1:45 p.m.

“I want to say my party is responding to an uncertain world. We are setting up to have a diverse economy that doesn't rely too much on one trading partner. I have confidence in our leader to do this. I want to say the opposition leader is not a good alternative.”

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Liberal 1:45 p.m.

“We made a ministry. We are very serious about AI. I want to say my government wants to safely use AI. We want to protect Canadians. We want to use AI to its full potential to go after the Conservatives.”

Steeve Lavoie

Liberal 1:55 p.m.

“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later. I want the Conservative to cheer for a government program in his riding. That would make the government look good. I don't want to say if there is a recession or not. I just want to change the topic to something positive.”

What they said. What they meant.

Recent debates

Business of Supply

Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Serge Cormier

Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Hon. Kevin Lamoureux

Karim Bardeesy

Karim Bardeesy

Karim Bardeesy

Karim Bardeesy

Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault

Karim Bardeesy

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Louis Villeneuve

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Hon. Mark Gerretsen

Steeve Lavoie