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Results: 271 - 300 of 742
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite's question is a really important one. I want to thank every single Canadian, whether they live in Windsor or anywhere else, for following the essential advice from public health authorities to stay home when we can to protect ourselves and protect our neighbours.
When it comes to the tax implications of that decision, particularly for people who live and work across the border, that is something we are looking at carefully. Again, I thank the member for raising that important issue.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I strongly agree with the member opposite about the important role that credit unions play, certainly in rural communities, and also in municipalities across the country. Credit unions are an essential part of the Canadian economy and of Canadian communities, and I am very glad to hear the member offering suggestions on how we can allow credit unions to do an even better job serving their members.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, let me just point out a few things. First of all, in our fall economic statement, we offered extensive financial information, including extensive five-year fiscal forecasts, which took into account varying possibilities on the virus resurgence scenario.
The second thing I would like to say is our government has been there for Canadians throughout this crisis and we will continue to be there for Canadians. I would like to urge the Conservatives to join us in supporting Canadians by supporting Bill C-14.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, our government is standing up for Line 5. We know that it is a vital source of fuel for homes and businesses on both sides of the border. We support its continued safe operation and we are advocating for that. We are explaining, as we did during the NAFTA negotiations, that Canada is a safe and reliable supplier of energy to the United States.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, as our government demonstrated during the NAFTA negotiations, and as we demonstrate every day during the COVID pandemic with our support for Canadian workers and Canadian jobs, we will never forget about Canadian workers. We will never forget about Canadian jobs, whether they are in southwestern Ontario or anywhere else in the country.
Line 5 continues to operate and supply refineries in Canada and the United States, and we are going to continue to fight for Line 5.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives need to pick a lane. Last spring, when asked about what support the government should offer Canadians, the member for Carleton said: “You might want to address [COVID-19] with big, fat government programs. We're Conservatives, so we don't believe in that.” However, today the Conservatives are calling for support measures that our government actually created last year.
The Conservative leader cannot seem to decide what he believes in and seems ready to say anything to score cheap political points. We believe in supporting Canadian workers and Canadian businesses, and we are going to keep on doing that.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives need to pick a lane.
Last spring, when asked what type of support the government should be providing to Canadians, the hon. member for Carleton said: “You might want to address [COVID-19] with big, fat government programs. We're Conservatives, so we don't believe in that.”
Our government understands that we must support businesses and workers. It is time for the Conservatives to explain what they believe in.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader of the official opposition for that question because it gives me an opportunity to point out the Conservatives' cynicism and hypocrisy.
Yesterday, they voted against a bill that would support urgent financial assistance for small businesses. Today, however, they claim they support small businesses. Their actions belie that claim.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.
Canada has one of the strictest border control systems in the world. It is necessary. It is the right thing to do because we understand that we must protect Canadians against COVID-19. Furthermore, we have also protected essential trade between Canada and the United States. That is also important. We should all be proud of these two essential steps we have taken.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, Canada's travel and border measures are among the strictest in the world.
With the new variants, we know that we need to take additional measures to protect Canadians against COVID-19. That is what we did.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have made it quite clear that no one should be travelling because that could endanger the traveller and those close to them.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I must say that I agree with the hon. member and leader of the NDP that it is very important to help small and medium-sized businesses. That is what our government is doing.
That is why we urgently need to adopt Bill C-14. I want to thank all hon. members who joined us and supported this urgent and important bill.
Credit card fees are also an important issue and we are looking into it.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying that our government agrees with the leader of the NDP that it is absolutely essential to support small businesses. That is why I would like to call on all members of the House to join us in supporting Bill C-14. Small businesses need it.
Let me say that we are here for small businesses, and let me point to just one program, the CEBA. Over 842,000 small businesses across the country have received CEBA loans as of March 4. Credit card fees are another important issue that we are looking at closely.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak for the misery on the other side of the House, but let me just say that on our side of the House, we are so grateful to Canadians for their hard work and resilience. Thanks to that hard work and the strong support from our government, let me share the great news with the House that in the fourth quarter of last year, our GDP grew by nearly 10%. That is higher than that of the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany or Italy. Well done team Canada.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, let me urge the member opposite to take a closer look at the international data. Canada has a higher labour force participation rate, at 64.3%, which is a higher rate than Germany, the U.S. and Japan. Canada has recovered 71% of the jobs lost in the wake of the pandemic. That compares with just 56% in the U.S.
Again, let me thank hard-working Canadian small businesses and hard-working Canadians. They are so resilient, and our government will be here to support them for as long as it takes.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, our government is definitely listening to Canadians, and I would like to thank the Canadians who submitted 58,000 written submissions in our pre-budget consultations. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the Conservatives whether they are listening to small business and whether they heard Dan Kelly, who said, “Bill C-14 has some important measures for small business.... CFIB urges all parties to ensure this support is passed quickly”.
Let me echo Mr. Kelly and urge the Conservatives to stop playing partisan games and support small business with a vote.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, we are definitely listening. I am so grateful to the Canadians who have participated with such enthusiasm in our pre-budget consultations. We have received more than 58,000 written submissions. We are working hard with Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
Let me just say that our priority today is to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to support Canadian workers and Canadian businesses, so let us get Bill C-14 passed so that we can do that.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to hear the Conservatives focusing on a central preoccupation of our government, which is the uneven impact of this pandemic on women. That is why I was so delighted to announce yesterday with my colleague, the Associate Minister of Finance, the creation of a task force on women and the economy that will focus on precisely this issue.
Let me say to the member opposite, if she is sincerely concerned, as I hope and believe she must be, about Canadian women in this pandemic, I hope she will join us in voting for Bill C-14, which provides essential support to small businesses, workers and families.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, our government takes all allegations of misconduct very seriously and will always take strong action in response to any allegation of misconduct that is brought forward, no matter the rank and no matter the position. Let me say that every woman in Canada should be able to do her job free of harassment. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service has confirmed an investigation into Admiral McDonald.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, Canada has some of the strictest travel and border measures in the world, and that is absolutely as it should be. There are new COVID variants of concern in the world and our government will always do whatever it takes to protect Canadians. As a mother, as a woman and as a feminist, I am deeply concerned by the reports of violence and sexual assault. No one should ever have to fear for her safety.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, this program is still in operation precisely because all Canadians are unsafe as long as the coronavirus is circulating in the world. By introducing strict border measures, including obligatory quarantine, we are acting to protect Canadians. This is something we will always do. Let me remind everyone in the House, and everyone listening, that no one should be travelling outside the country for non-essential reasons right now.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives do not want to protect Canadians from COVID-19, that is their prerogative. Those of us in government, however, want to keep protecting Canadians with our quarantine and border measures.
As a woman and a mother, I am of course deeply concerned by the reports of violence and sexual assault. Nobody should have to fear for their own safety.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, Canada's travel and border measures are among the strictest in the world, and I am proud of that. It provides an essential protection for Canadians, who are sacrificing a great deal in our fight against COVID-19.
From day one of the pandemic, we have made it clear that no one should be travelling. I want to repeat that travelling can put people and their loved ones at risk.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for the hon. Bloc member, and I know he agrees with our government that we all need to take tough, strict measures to protect Canadians. These tough, strict measures include border and quarantine measures.
I want to emphasize once again for all Canadians that now is not the time for non-essential travel abroad.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the quarantines and the strict measures that we had to implement at the border, I want to remind the hon. member that the provinces, including the province of Quebec, agree with us that we need strong measures at the border to protect Canadians. That is something that our government will always do.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, no one should have to choose between buying medicine and buying groceries.
We have already done more than any other government in the past generation to lower the cost of medication. We are also working with the provinces, territories and other stakeholders to establish the foundational elements of national universal pharmacare.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, no Canadian should have to choose between paying for medicine and paying for groceries. That is why our government continues to work hard, in collaboration with the provinces, the territories and other stakeholders, to move forward in establishing the foundational elements of national universal pharmacare. That includes a new Canadian drug agency that would negotiate drug prices on behalf of all Canadians, thereby lowering prices. It includes a national formulary. It also includes a national strategy for high-cost drugs for rare diseases.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, job one for all Canadians and all members of the House is to conquer COVID. That does include, in our government's view, strict border measures and vaccinating Canadians. That is why I am so pleased that 643,000 doses of vaccine are arriving this week alone. Once that job is done, I am confident that Canada will come roaring back, and we are hard at work with provinces, territories, municipalities, businesses and labour to do just that.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, it is, in fact, our government's support that is helping Canadians, Canadian people and Canadian businesses, do the right thing and get through COVID. I will say that Canadians would be suffering much more under Conservative economic austerity. Notwithstanding the difficulties imposed by COVID, Canadians are working hard and finding ways to get the job done. In fact, in Q4 of last year, our GDP increased by 1.9%. That is an annualized rate of 7.8%, and almost double the U.S. rate.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to hear the Conservatives say they are concerned about small businesses. I sure am, and that is why I would like to urge the Conservatives to stop their delaying tactics and pass Bill C-14. Members do not need to believe me that this is essential for small businesses. Let me quote Dan Kelly, who says that “Bill C-14 has some important measures for small businesses.... CFIB urges all parties to ensure this support is passed quickly”. Let me echo that and urge the Conservatives to pass these essential supports.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, our government absolutely understands that the single most important thing for Canadians right now is to recover the jobs lost by COVID. That is why I am delighted to say that notwithstanding the extremely difficult circumstances today, Canada has already recovered 71% of the jobs lost in the wake of the pandemic, and that compares with just 56% of the jobs recovered in the United States. I would like to thank all hard-working Canadians and Canadian businesses who are behind that.
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