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Wednesday, November 29, 2023 · sitting No. 258
Commons committees table reports on China stations and Ukraine trade
The House spent the largest share of its sitting on committee business. The Special Committee on Canada-People's Republic of China Relationship presented its fourth interim report on overseas police service stations and requested a government response. The Standing Committee on International Trade reported Bill C-57, the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, back to the House with amendments. The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans presented its eleventh report on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
Question period was dominated by exchanges on carbon pricing. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pressed the government to exempt farmers and accused it of driving up food costs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended the price on pollution and linked the Conservative position to climate denial.
Housing costs and federal spending formed a second major line of clash. Poilievre contrasted falling rents in the United States with rising Canadian rents and called for an end to what he termed inflationary deficits. Trudeau cited new federal investments under the housing accelerator and rejected Conservative austerity proposals.
Decided that day
- Bill C-275 passed third reading
- Standing Committee on National Defence third report adopted
- Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs tenth report adopted
From the Hansard record of the sitting. Full Hansard
Question Period – November 29, 2023. Video from CPAC. Watch on YouTube
Who held the floor · 2023-11-29
AI-rated The sitting score and the rating of each answer come from a language model reading Hansard. How the AI rates this
Other moments
Carbon Tax
Conservative MP Rob Morrison said farmers in Kootenay-Columbia face rising carbon-tax costs that fixed market prices prevent them from absorbing.
Read the exchangePublic Safety
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh asked when the government would introduce promised legislation to protect children from toxic online content after the death of 12-year-old Carson Cleland.
Read the exchangePublic Services and Procurement
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet asked why the government had ruled out a competition for new surveillance aircraft that could involve Bombardier.
Read the exchangeOfficial Languages
Bloc Québécois MP Mario Beaulieu said federal spending on official languages has directed billions toward English in Quebec while French declines.
Read the exchangeHealth
Independent MP Kevin Vuong cited 35 doctors and addiction experts who urged reform or elimination of the safe-supply strategy.
Read the exchangeQuestion Period, exchange by exchange
AI-rated Each answer’s rating (answered, partly answered, deflected, answered something else) is a model’s reading of the exchange. How the AI rates this
- misdirectedFinancePierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer attacks the opposition's credibility and pivots to unrelated investments instead of addressing debt interest versus health care spending.
it would be more credible if the Leader of the Opposition had not spoken out against our historic $200‑billion health care agreements with the provinces over the next 10 years.
- deflectedFinancePierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer dismisses the question as illogical and attacks Conservative policy without engaging the specific claim about deficit spending and inflation.
the opposition leader is not being completely logical.
- misdirectedFinancePierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer shifts focus to criticizing the opposition's week and media coverage rather than addressing debt interest or spending control.
I will admit openly to you and to others in the House that the media did not cover our fall economic statement as much as we would have liked last week because they were so busy talking about what a terrible week the Conservative Party had on Ukraine
- misdirectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer pivots to defending a media deal with Google and attacks the opposition's stance on big tech instead of addressing the carbon tax or food banks.
it is interesting to hear the Conservative leader again attacking the media, particularly on a day when we stood up and arranged a deal with Google to make sure that local journalism, independent journalism and the work that our news media is going to do will be able to stand the test of time through the transforming times we live in.
- deflectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer reframes the issue around climate change and jobs while ignoring the request to debate the carbon tax or support the bill.
Canadians right across the country, including and especially our hard-working farm families, are seeing the impacts of climate change increasingly, every single year.
- partly answeredPublic Services and ProcurementMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer acknowledges priorities of military equipment and jobs but does not confirm or deny ruling out a competition or Bombardier.
in these uncertain times, we have two main priorities.
- partly answeredPublic Services and ProcurementMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer restates shared priorities on equipment and jobs without addressing the call for a fair competition process.
our Canadian Armed Forces need the right equipment to keep us safe and to fulfill the responsibility that we share with our allies to keep the world more prosperous and safe.
- partly answeredPublic SafetyMr. Jagmeet Singh (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer agrees on protecting kids but focuses on process and principles without committing to a timeline for the bill.
when it comes to protecting our kids, I think we all agree that we have to do everything we possibly can.
- misdirectedClimate ChangeMr. Jagmeet Singh (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer addresses an unrelated tragedy and online harms instead of the COP28 question.
we need to be careful about associating a tragedy that happened in Prince George with the actions or inactions of any particular government.
- partly answeredHousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer explains population growth difference and housing investments but avoids direct comparison of rent trends.
Our population is growing faster than that of the U.S., but I am sure that the Leader of the Opposition is not speaking out against immigration.
- partly answeredHousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer discusses past investments and population growth but sidesteps the specific rent data comparison.
since 2015, we have been investing in housing in this country to make up for the 10 years of lost time
- deflectedHousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer attacks the opposition's plan and cites examples rather than addressing construction stats or the common-sense plan.
we all know the mistrust and distaste the Leader of the Opposition has for expert analysis and expert advice
- partly answeredHousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer acknowledges federal lands issue and promises work with municipalities but does not address the 23-year timeline or past promises.
we are going to be working to make sure they accelerate the construction of housing on federal lands
- deflectedHousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer mocks the opposition for lacking a plan and makes personal attacks instead of addressing program timelines or results.
the irony is that the Leader of the Opposition is attacking us for making announcements of thousands upon thousands of new units
- deflectedHousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer dismisses the question with insults about TikTok and unrelated attacks rather than addressing the housing accelerator outcomes.
I hate to break it to the Leader of the Opposition , but a TikTok video is not a plan.
- misdirectedDiversity and InclusionMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). rhetorical question.Question is rhetorical and demands a response on Christmas racism; answer attacks the question as ridiculous without substance.
I am very pleased to rise to try to answer such a ridiculous question.
- answeredDiversity and InclusionMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer directly rejects the premise and affirms the right to celebrate Christmas.
No, Mr. Speaker. We should all celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah and all of the different festivals, holidays and celebrations that take place in our ridings and across the country.
- deflectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). rhetorical question.The answer pivots to coal phase-out and climate attacks instead of addressing carbon tax costs on holiday meals.
The climate denialism of the Conservative Party of Canada is putting future white Christmases at risk.
- misdirectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). rhetorical question.The answer attacks the opposition on Ukraine instead of responding to the carbon tax impact on farmers and food costs.
He stood against the free trade deal that Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people want us to have because he pretends we are imposing a price on pollution on them
- partly answeredCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer addresses the farm fuel exemption but then shifts to Ukraine and avoids the bill C-234 request.
97% of farm fuel emissions are already exempt from our price on pollution.
- deflectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer ignores the carbon tax on farmers and pivots to unrelated Conservative opposition on other bills.
- partly answeredHousingMs. Jenny Kwan (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer notes past transfers to Toronto but does not commit to new federal action on the requested deal.
We are glad to see the Province of Ontario finally stepping up to do its part, but we need to continue to all work together.
- deflectedAutomotive IndustryMr. Charlie Angus (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer discusses critical minerals strategy broadly but does not address the missing tax credit or domestic supply plan.
That is why we are stepping up with a critical mineral strategy.
- deflectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer promotes green farming investments without addressing the specific $400,000 tax cost or payment options raised.
That is why we are stepping up with significant investments to support innovation in farming and agriculture and support direct investments to change the way we are doing things.
- deflectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer shifts to climate change and global supply chains without addressing how the farm will pay the tax.
We are going to continue to work with farmers and with agricultural producers across the country to invest and innovate while being able to continue to feed Canadians for decades to come, despite a changing climate.
- deflectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer promises outreach but avoids specifying how the farm will cover the quadrupled tax.
I can say we will reach out to that farm community, and we will reach out to that farm, to talk to them about how they can meet the coming challenges in the coming years.
- deflectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer discusses sustainable practices and support without answering how the specific tax bill will be paid.
I look forward to hearing about the sustainable practices that Carleton Mushroom Farms is already putting into place, and working with it on how we can continue to move forward on supporting it into a brighter future.
- partly answeredOfficial LanguagesMr. Mario Beaulieu (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer addresses support for French but does not discuss redirecting funds away from English programs.
The fact is that we are doing a lot more to protect French, including sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Quebec every year to support francization.
- misdirectedOfficial LanguagesMr. Mario Beaulieu (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer dismisses the question as nonsense and attacks the Bloc rather than addressing the funding allocation.
this is yet more nonsense from the Bloc Québécois, which is picking fights and trying to scare people.
- misdirectedAutomotive IndustryPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer attacks the opposition's stance on investments instead of addressing the foreign worker investigation.
once again we see the extent to which the Leader of the Opposition will go to explain why he stands against investments that are going to create tens of thousands of great jobs
- deflectedAutomotive IndustryPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer begins a personal jab at the asker and pivots to commercial reasons without addressing contract release.
I know that the Leader of the Opposition has not had many jobs other than an MP for the past 19 years, but the reality is that there are commercial and competitive reasons to be careful about the—
- misdirectedAutomotive IndustryPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer accuses the asker of a personal crusade and ignores the request to release the contract.
It is obvious that the Conservative leader is yet again looking for a slogan to justify his ideological opposition to investing in Canadians' futures.
- partly answeredCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer rebuts the trade deal claim but evades the core demand to address domestic misery from carbon tax.
not only does the Leader of the Opposition think he knows better than everyone else in the House, but he also thinks he knows better than Volodymyr Zelenskyy what Ukraine needs right now.
- deflectedCarbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer pivots to economic statement and attacks Conservative climate stance instead of addressing the gas export or carbon tax claims.
The Conservative Party's climate denialism is not building a stronger economy for Canadians.
- deflectedThe EconomyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer criticizes the questioner's tone and motives rather than responding to the listed domestic policy failures.
the Conservatives look at Canadians who are struggling right now, who are hurting right now, and they have made the choice to amplify their fears, to exaggerate them and to gin them up
- partly answeredHousingMs. Lori Idlout (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer acknowledges ongoing work and investments but provides no timeline or commitment matching the scale requested.
We have made significant announcements and significant investments in creating more housing, but there is, as my hon. colleague has said, much more to do.
- deflectedHealthMr. Kevin Vuong (Independent) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer restates support for the existing policy without addressing the call for reform or elimination based on expert input.
it is a scientific and proven evidentiary fact that safe supply and harm reduction save lives.