00:00Mr. Speaker, what the Liberal policies are delivering is wages.
00:07Wages for Canadians that are growing faster than inflation.
00:11What the government's policy is delivering is inflation lower in Canada than the United States.
00:16What the Liberal government's policies are delivering is female employment
00:21that is five percentage points above the United States.
00:24This country is working. We're moving forward. He's trying to hold it back.
00:28The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.
00:30Things are great for the Brookfield class, Mr. Speaker,
00:34for those who stash their cash in offshore tax havens and take government handouts getting rich.
00:39But for the rest of Canadians, here's what Equivac says.
00:43Insolvency volumes have increased to levels not seen since 2009, up 19 percent year-over-year.
00:49Balanced delinquency rates climbed 32 percent year-over-year.
00:52Q1 saw insolvency volume hit 17-year highs, partly due to escalating financial strain on mortgage holders.
01:02Mr. Speaker, things are so good at affordable.
01:04Why is it that 1.5 million Canadians missed at least one essential payment in the first three months of
01:10the year?
01:15Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, this government is moving forward this economy in the face of a global energy crisis,
01:26in the face of a tariff crisis, in the face of wars.
01:30This country is the second strongest economy in the G7.
01:35We are growing strong.
01:37We have the strongest fiscal position in the G7.
01:40We have a plan.
01:42Canada has a bright future.
01:48Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister must respect democracy.
01:55Yesterday, he did the opposite by announcing that he would use the Clarity Act to interfere in Alberta's referendum question.
02:01Any province or Quebec has the right to ask its citizens the question of its choice in a referendum.
02:06Citizens have the right to answer freely.
02:08And the majority wins with 50% of the votes plus one.
02:10This concerns only two groups, the government that asks the question and the citizens who answer it.
02:15That is democracy.
02:16It's that simple.
02:17Will the Prime Minister respect that?
02:22The honorable Prime Minister.
02:24Mr. Speaker, I am the Prime Minister.
02:27As Prime Minister, I need to respect the advice of experts.
02:31I've just heard from the Council of Experts on the applicability of the Clarity Act, and it does not apply
02:39on the question on the question in Alberta.
02:42But in the Clarity Act, you need to have a clear expression of a will by a majority, a clear
02:50majority of the people in the province in order to have a sincere vote, a sincere succession vote in Canada.
03:00The Honourable Member for Saint-Jean, Mr. Speaker.
03:04Respecting democracy means avoiding interfering in referendum questions, but mostly it means avoiding interfering in the citizens' response.
03:12A clear majority is 50% of the votes plus one.
03:15The Prime Minister knows this.
03:16All his laws are passed with 50% plus one.
03:19His majority depends on 50% plus one.
03:22Even his Parliamentary Secretary for Justice said the rule is 50% plus one.
03:27That is democracy.
03:29Except for a referenda, because of the Clarity Act.
03:32Will the Prime Minister repeal this authoritarian overreach?
03:39The Right Honourable Prime Minister.
03:40Mr. Speaker, you have to respect democracy.
03:44You have to respect parliamentary legislation and the decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.
03:50Under the Clarity Act, the House of Commons must consider the following factors to establish this determination of a clear
03:59vote.
03:59The scope of the majority that are valid, expressed in favour of the successionistic option and the percentage of eligible
04:10electors who took part in the referendum.
04:12It is not 50% plus one.
04:17The Honourable Member for Rivière-du-Nord.
04:21Mr. Speaker, there is no place in a democracy for a law that does not respect the will of the
04:27people expressed by 50% of the votes plus one.
04:30There is no place in a democracy for a law that overturns the people's decisions by claiming after the fact
04:36that either the question or the result of the vote was not clear enough.
04:40There is no place in a democracy for a law that flouts the rules of the ballot when the result
04:45just doesn't suit the government.
04:47This is an authoritarian overreach we must avoid.
04:50Will the Prime Minister finally repeal the anti-democratic law on referendum clarity?
04:57The Right Honourable Prime Minister.
05:01Mr. Speaker, we respect the laws of Canada.
05:06The Clarity Act is clear.
05:09At the same time, we respect the will of Quebecers, that is, to build a strong, resilient Quebec within a
05:19strong and resilient, independent Canada.
05:22The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.
05:24The Prime Minister is fond of blaming the rest of the world for the terrible economy he has created here
05:29at home.
05:29But the other G7 countries face tariffs and high oil prices, and none of them have anywhere near the level
05:36of household debt here in Canada.
05:38By far, Canadian households, with $1.77 of debt for every dollar of income, are far more indebted than any
05:45other country.
05:46In fact, a third higher than the second worst.
05:49I quote Equifax,
05:50The missed payment levels highlight severe financial strain in high-priced markets, with mortgage delinquencies up 52% in Ontario,
05:5936% in BC.
06:01If people are doing so well under his leadership, why are they missing their mortgage payments?
06:07The Honourable Secretary of State for Financial Institutions.
06:12Mr. Speaker, will that leader's focus on podcasts, fitness videos and empty parking lot press conferences?
06:19On this side of the House, we're focused on delivering affordability for Canadians.
06:23We just paused the federal excise tax on gas, $0.10 a litre.
06:27We cancelled the consumer carbon tax, that is $0.18 a litre.
06:32Combined, that is $0.28 a litre savings for Canadians.
06:36Time for that leader to put down the kettlebells, help us build Canada strong.
06:40Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
06:42The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.
06:45Come on, the Prime Minister could have done better than that, wouldn't he?
06:49Come on.
06:50If he's going to hide under his desk and get someone else to speak in his favor, he's got to
06:55get something better than that.
06:56That's about as good as his economic policies, Mr. Speaker.
06:59He owes Canadians answers.
07:01The reality is that we have the highest household debt of any G7 country, by far.
07:07And we've seen that in the first quarter of this year, there has been a 19 percent increase in year
07:13-over-year delinquencies.
07:15Canadians cannot make their minimum payments.
07:18Instead of smirking and hiding behind his back bench, will the Prime Minister stand up and announce a reverse course
07:23so Canadians can pay their bills?
07:26The Honourable Minister of Jobs and Families.
07:34One moment, we'll wait, we'll wait.
07:36Okay, the Honourable Minister of Jobs and Families.
07:39Mr. Speaker, this afternoon I had lunch with Sean Strickler from the Canadian Guild.
07:46All right, I couldn't hear who the Minister had lunch with.
07:50So she can start from the top.
07:52She can start from the top.
07:53I didn't hear who the Minister had lunch with because there was too much noise on this side.
07:57It matters to me.
07:59It matters to me.
08:00I'd like to know.
08:01The Honourable Minister of Jobs and Families.
08:05Well, since those guys don't know how to pick up a cheque, in fact, I paid for lunch and I
08:09took Sean Strickland,
08:10President of the Canadian Building Trades Union, out for lunch.
08:14Do you know why, Mr. Speaker?
08:15Because we want to hear their ideas about how we make sure that these good union jobs,
08:21that, by the way, employers need all across the country, come to fruition.
08:25And, Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Building Trades Union, the operating engineers who are here in Ottawa today,
08:31are all so excited about the plan to build Canada strong, to get major projects off the ground,
08:37using good union labour that provides great paying jobs, something that I know they're going to…
08:42The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.
08:46Canadians are skipping lunch because they can't afford to pay their bills,
08:51while this Prime Minister and the Brookfield class skip their tax bills.
08:56Meanwhile, here at home, Mr. Speaker, here's the reality.
09:00Equifax is out this week with a new report.
09:03This is the organisation that checks the credit scores of individual Canadians,
09:07saying that insolvency volumes have increased to levels not seen since 2019, 18 years ago.
09:14Mr. Speaker, will the Prime Minister announce that he will reverse the inflationary, debt-ridden policies
09:20so that Canadians do not go bankrupt?
09:23The Honourable Minister.
09:26Mr. Speaker, last week I was in Marathon Ontario to talk about mining.
09:31There's a mining boom in Northern Ontario, something I think these guys are not aware of.
09:35And you know what came up over and over and over again?
09:37The gratitude for a government that's taking seriously the investment into natural resource extraction in Northern Ontario,
09:44that's helping provinces in the country get natural resource projects off the ground,
09:49and the need to invest in the skilled trades workers that, by the way,
09:54create the great jobs with pensions in hard-working environments,
09:58something I think that member doesn't really understand.
10:00The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.
10:02Mr. Speaker, we have 3.1 million Canadians will renew their mortgages over the next two years
10:08into much higher rates after this Liberal government, in particular this Liberal Prime Minister,
10:13advising people to take on extra debt with the promise that rates would be low for long.
10:19Now the chickens are coming home to roost with rate increases that threaten more and more people with the loss
10:27of their homes.
10:27In the first three months of this year, 1.5 million Canadians missed a payment on a credit card or
10:34a mortgage.
10:35Will the Prime Minister announce that he's reversing the inflationary high-tax policy so Canadians keep their homes?
10:41The Honourable Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
10:45Mr. Speaker, instead of the Leader of the Opposition lifting kettlebells, maybe he should come to Kitimat and see where
10:50we're building new LNG facilities.
10:52Maybe he should come to Dees Lake where we're building the biggest mines in the world.
10:58Maybe he should come to Darlington where we're building new nuclear reactors.
11:02Maybe he should come to Nova Scotia where we're building new projects.
11:05Maybe instead of talking down Canada, he should start coming to see how we're building Canada.
11:11The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.
11:14Bringing down Canada, Mr. Speaker, it doesn't help the Canadians who can't pay their bills for that minister to get
11:20up and take credit for projects that were approved 14 years ago, Mr. Speaker.
11:25Nor does it help when the Prime Minister of Canada refuses to even stand on his feet and defend his
11:31disastrous economic record at a time when our households are by far the most indebted anywhere in the G7.
11:38Why? Because they've blocked projects, because they've raised taxes, because they've caused inflation and the highest housing costs in the
11:45entire group of seven nations.
11:47Will the Prime Minister reverse these inflationary policies before Canadians lose their homes?
11:52The Honourable Government House Leader.
11:55We know, Mr. Speaker, why this member asks all the questions is to save him writing the questions out for
12:01all of the other members of the bench that don't get to ask the questions.
12:05But while we're asking questions, when is that member going to answer why he would refuse saving thousands of dollars
12:13for Canadians on childcare?
12:16When is he going to justify his opposition to reducing taxes for Canadians?
12:23When is he going to justify his opposition to creating the Canada Child Benefit?
12:28All of these things save Canadians thousands of dollars. Why is he against them?
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