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Results: 101 - 200 of 1564
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, on money laundering, let me point to one of the measures that I think is important in the budget: the measure on beneficial ownership. It brings transparency to this area. Many activists in the area of transparency have been directly in touch with me to say—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the new registry needs, as a first step, all of us to vote for the budget, so let us do that.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the budget makes unprecedented investments in reconciliation with the indigenous people in Canada, with $18 billion over five—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I have had exchanges with the member opposite about this issue.
When we created the emergency relief programs, our immediate objective was to support the businesses that were up and running that had no choice but to try to keep going when the pandemic hit. We absolutely understand the particular situation faced either by businesses that have been created since the pandemic or businesses that were on the verge of launching when the pandemic started.
I will finish in my next answer. I realize my time has run out.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, Bill C-30 and the budget contain a huge amount of support for all Canadian small businesses. I will start with the digital adoption program, which is going to be a huge productivity boost. There is also talk about the tax incentive—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the question was asking if there are measures to support new businesses. In fact, in the budget, there are so many measures to support all small businesses across the country. I spoke about the digital adoption scheme. I would like to talk about an essential tax measure that will encourage businesses to invest in themselves.
I will finish discussion of that—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I will just finish by talking about this tax measure because I think it is one of the most productivity-enhancing measures in the budget.
For the next three years, businesses will be able to count, as a tax expense, up to $1.5 million of investment in themselves in each of those three years. All Canadian businesses can do that.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I think it absolutely makes sense that businesses that were already up and running, and that had no choice but to continue, have been the priority of our government's support measures. I think that is absolutely right.
I absolutely agree with the member opposite that we need to have continued support for all Canadian businesses into the recovery, and this budget makes unprecedented investments in small businesses that will do exactly that.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, Mitacs is a very reputable, long-standing Canadian government program that has done tremendous work in supporting innovation in the Canadian economy.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, some measures in the budget, such as the continued support of Mitacs, are continuations of and further investments in existing highly successful programs. I think that is the right approach to take, particularly in this urgent moment when we all need to devote our attention to the recovery. That is the approach we have been taking here, to take a program that is already working and to double down on it.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, as I said, this is a tried, tested and well-known Canadian program. It is absolutely right in this budget, when we need to invest in innovation, to use systems that work.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the rent subsidy is one of the big success stories of our government's efforts to support Canadian businesses throughout the pandemic.
I will remind the member of how many businesses have been supported through that program. There are 182,000 businesses across the country that have benefited from the rent subsidy.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I have a lot of respect for the member opposite, especially late at night, but he has to get his lines straight.
Either he can claim credit for the rent subsidy and say it is great, or he can criticize it. He cannot have it both ways.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, one of the elements of the budget is that EI sickness benefits will increase from the current 15 weeks to 26 weeks. That is a good thing.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I will speak about my personal experience.
My mother died of cancer and, during the pandemic, my father had cancer. He is all right now.
I have personal experience with cancer, and that is why I supported increasing EI sickness benefits from 15 weeks to 26 weeks.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I think it is excellent that our government chose to increase EI benefits from 15 weeks to 26 weeks and—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would like to add something about the EI sickness benefits. The Conservatives need to pick a lane. On one hand the member asks questions about the debt, on the other he asks questions on the lack of programs. He has to—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I am proud that our government kept its promise and increased the old age security pension for people 75 and up. That was one of our campaign promises.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the interpretation problems may be related to the fact that it is hard for the interpreters to follow us. I thank them for their work.
No one has been abandoned in our budget.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I believe and I know that people who are 75 and up are older, so it makes sense that they would have greater needs.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, that is correct, it is exactly like saying it is light out in the daytime, and that is why our program is clear and correct.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, if the member has questions about inflation and interest rates, I want to assure him that we have a prudent program to manage the country's debt.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I greatly respect the independence of the Bank of Canada, which made an important announcement last week.
I do not wish to make a comment.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would like to add a comment to the previous question. The Conservatives may think it a good thing to question the independence of the Bank of Canada, but that is not our position.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, if the member has questions or concerns about inflation and debt, I think it is important to explain to him that our government has a prudent debt management strategy. The government—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, it is important to explain to Canadians that the federal government's share of long-term bond issuance increased to about 29% in 2020. We are now proposing to increase that to 40%—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, if the member thinks it is important to support the provincial and territorial health care systems, then he must support our Bill C-30, which includes $4 billion for the health care systems of the provinces and territories.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, once again, if the member thinks that supporting the health care system is important, the budget also earmarks $1 billion to support vaccination campaigns in the provinces and territories. That is one more reason to support the budget.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the budget contains a lot of support measures for farmers across the country. This support was necessary, and we have provided it.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I agree with the member opposite that the energy sector is a vital part of the Canadian economy, and I would remind all members of this House of the very effective orphan wells program, which our government put in place with strong support from the provinces. In terms of this budget, one measure that I think is really worth highlighting is the tax incentive on carbon capture, utilization and storage.
I see, Madam Chair, that you are rising, but I will be happy to talk about this some more in further questions.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I just want to say a couple of things about carbon capture, utilization and storage, because this is so important for our energy sector. It is important for the planet. This new tax incentive, for which we are launching a 90-day consultation, is going to really help Canada and the Canadian energy sector make the green transition and make the leap into a clean and green economy. It is an important measure, and I am glad it is there.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, actually, I was talking about natural resources.
Let me just talk about one other aspect of natural resources where I see tremendous potential for Canada, and that is in heavy earths and the critical minerals and metals for electric batteries. There is a huge opportunity here for Canadian leadership, and this budget makes big investments in electric cars, in batteries and in that whole value chain.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I have to say to the member opposite that I have a real interest in agriculture, too.
This budget makes tremendous investments in agriculture. Let me talk about the clean fuel standard, which is going to be transformative for Canadian canola producers. I spoke recently with Kyle Jeworski of Viterra, and he told me about the investment in canola crushing they are working on, which will be tremendous for our canola producers. Likewise, our investments in the green transformation for farmers will be very important for the sector. Let me just mention wild salmon, another natural resource.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, there is just so much good stuff in the budget, and I do want to touch on all the issues that the member opposite is raising.
She talked about early learning and child care, and I am delighted she raised that issue. This is one of the key investments this budget proposes. This will drive long-term growth for the Canadian economy and provide a huge amount of relief to Canadian families.
The member asked about the role of provinces and territories. Of course, this needs to be a shared effort. We are already working with provinces and territories on this. I have to say that I believe there is going to be real enthusiasm, because everyone understands this is what Canada needs for jobs and growth.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the plan is jobs and economic growth.
Let me tell the House about some other people who did the math and came up with an AAA grade for Canada. That is the economists at S&P. Their job is to determine the creditworthiness of borrowers, of countries, and when they looked at our budget, they saw that the numbers, including the growth supportive measures, add up. They reaffirmed Canada's AAA rating, the highest rating possible. Let me remind members that Canada continues to have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, this gives me an opportunity to thank my deputy minister, Michael Sabia, who played a key role in our work with Air Canada.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, our agreement with Air Canada is a tough and excellent agreement that guarantees a great deal for Canadians. The Government of Canada—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I just need to say a few more things about the Air Canada deal. Our government [Technical difficulty] so we have an upside, and there are strict limits on executive compensation.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the Canada child benefit top-up, which has been lamentably delayed by the filibustering tactics of the Conservatives, is going to provide crucial support to Canadian families as we get through these last weeks and months of COVID.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, let me just point out again that it is the members on the opposite side of the House, in particular the Conservatives, who have delayed this essential support coming to Canadian families. They—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the Canada child benefit is a program that has lifted millions of Canadian children out of poverty. It is such an effective program that it is being used as a model in the United States—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, let me just underscore how important the Canada child benefit was before COVID as a program to lift Canadian children out of poverty, and this top-up in the fall economic statement is essential for Canadian families. Thank goodness it is—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I hazard to guess that I speak more with the municipal leadership of Edmonton than do the members on the opposite side of the House, and I am very proud of the innovative programs Edmonton has put in place to tackle homelessness.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would really challenge whether the municipal government of Edmonton feels the member opposite speaks for the elected representatives at the municipal level of the City of Edmonton.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would like to just salute Edmonton for its innovative and, I would say, Canada-leading programs on people experiencing homelessness. I am pleased, although somewhat surprised, to see the new-found concern for homelessness on the Conservative benches. I would encourage the Conservatives to vote for the budget, which includes $1.5 billion for the rapid housing initiative.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Now that the problem has been resolved, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the interpreters. They must be tired as well.
Let me say I welcome the rather surprising conversion of the Conservatives to really caring about homelessness. Why do you guys not put your vote where your questions are, support the budget—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the rapid housing initiative is $1.5 billion. Vote for it in the budget. I would urge all members to vote for it in the budget. It is a great way to end homelessness.
Okay, on the wage subsidy—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the wage subsidy supported 5.3 million jobs across the country, and 674,000 in Alberta alone.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I thank the member for her question.
I completely agree that this is an economic and health crisis. That is why the federal government was there to support the provinces and territories on health care and will continue to be.
With Bill C-10, we hope to provide an additional $4 billion for health care, to help the provinces and territories deal with the immediate pressure on their health care systems, in particular to help them clear health care system backlogs caused by the pandemic. We know that this assistance is urgent, and that is why I hope all members will support Bill C-30.
Furthermore, the bill would provide $1 billion for the vaccine rollout. I hope that all members will agree that the provinces need this money. They need this assistance.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I thank the member for her question.
Our government is grateful for the contribution that seniors made and continue to make in our communities. We have taken measures to fight poverty, including among seniors. I am very proud to assure members that our policies are yielding positive results.
Today, 25% fewer seniors are living in poverty than when we took office in 2015. That result is directly linked to the good work done by our government, particularly in restoring OAS eligibility to 65 years and increasing support to the most vulnerable single seniors.
Bill C-30 also proposes to increase old age security by 10% for people aged 75 and older, which will help lift a large number of seniors out of poverty.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her question. I, too, would like to know what you are going to do with all those programs. I am kidding.
With regard to our employment insurance program, I generally agree with the Bloc Québécois member, and I think that all Canadians agree with us. The pandemic has shown that there are Canadians who are not covered by our programs. Our worker support system was designed for another economy and for another time. However, the economy has changed and our system needs to change too.
I want to thank all members of the House for supporting the government when it had to very quickly create new programs to support Canadians in a time of crisis. That is a good thing that we did together. I am pleased that Bill C-30 extends those emergency measures until the end of September and extends the more flexible EI requirements for another year.
That being said, I agree with the member that there is still work to be done and that we need to do it together. If there is another question, then I would like to talk about the Canada workers benefit, which is also important in this area.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I thank the Bloc Québécois member for that important question.
I agree with her that extending EI sickness benefits from 15 to 25 weeks is one of the most important measures in the budget. That is one of the big things Bill C-30 will do. It will be life-changing for many Canadians. Fifteen weeks of sickness benefits is not enough; 26 weeks is much more.
We talked about the disadvantaged, the poor and the employment insurance system. I want to stress the importance of the Canada workers benefit. This measure will help Canadians who are working but are still poor. It will lift 100,000 working Canadians out of poverty.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am pleased to inform the member opposite that this budget invests $18 billion in supporting indigenous people in Canada and reconciliation.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I do not think that clean drinking water is a joking matter. I am pleased that we are investing $18 billion to support indigenous people in Canada.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I thought, and there have been times when the questions from the Conservatives have suggested, that they believe we need strong border measures. I hope they still think that way. I certainly do and so does our government.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am delighted the deputy minister is here, because he is working very hard with WestJet, perhaps not as we speak, but every day.
When it comes to travel, we listen to the advice of our public health authorities, and our priority is keeping Canadians safe.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am afraid the Conservatives need to pick a lane. Do they believe in strong border measures to protect the health and safety of Canadians, or do they believe in something else? They should be clear.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, we are very clear and careful about all of the Government of Canada's holdings. The Air Canada deal provides an important upside to Canadians. That was important to our government, and rightly so.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, again, if the Conservatives believe that Canada needs weaker border measures now, when we are still fighting a tough third wave, they should just come out and say so.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, let me be very clear. Every woman in Canada, very much, including the brave women who serve our country in uniform, has the right to work free of harassment and fear.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I really think the Conservatives owe Canadians a straight answer. Do they believe now is the time to relax the border measures, which I believe are keeping Canadians safe?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, let me be very clear. Every person in Canada deserves to be free of sexual harassment. Our government takes all allegations very seriously.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I have been very clear and our government has been very clear on the Canadian Armed Forces. All Canadian women, particularly perhaps Canadian women in uniform, deserve a workplace free of harassment.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am very proud to serve in this cabinet, and it is a tremendous privilege to be supporting Canadians in this once-in-a-generation national crisis.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am proud to serve in a government that is working hard to support our amazing country in a very challenging time. When it comes to the Minister of National Defence, I worked closely with him as the foreign minister, and it was a privilege to work with him.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, again, the Conservatives owe it to Canadians to be clear and direct and to pick a lane. If they are seriously suggesting that our border measures should be weakened today, they need to come right out and say so.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am always happy to talk to my colleagues in provinces and territories across the country, very much including Alberta. I had a great conversation with the Alberta finance minister on Friday evening.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am hearing a lot of questions from the member opposite about weakening and softening our border measures, which are there to protect Canadians. If that is what the Conservatives seriously stand for, they should come right out and say it to Canadians.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, is today's policy of the federal Conservatives to call for weakening of our border measures? I think that may be news to some Conservative premiers.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, our government is making strong investments in innovation in this budget. Perhaps the member opposite would like to say whose ranking he is referring to.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, it would probably be good to cite a source, but let me assure all members of the House and all Canadians that we absolutely believe innovation is an important engine in growth. That is why we are investing in it.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, let me give some job growth numbers. Our budget will create 500,000 work experience and work placement opportunities, and our budget means that there will be one million new jobs created in Canada by the end of the year.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, the member seems to be interested in numbers this evening, so I am going to talk about a few that I think are really important to Canadians. The first is for jobs. As of April, we have recovered 2.5 million jobs of the three million lost at the peak of the pandemic, which is eight in 10.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am going to provide some other important numbers to Canadians. Let us talk now about GDP. In the fourth quarter, GDP grew by nearly 10%. In the first quarter it was 6.5%, which is higher than the U.S.'s growth.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I want to say a couple of things about the energy sector. I am very, very pleased to see the strong embrace by the energy sector, particularly in Alberta, of targets for net zero by 2050. Our CCUS tax incentive is going to help them get there.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, let me start by congratulating Canadian farmers. Commodities are doing very well right now, and Canadian farmers, whose productivity and hard work is contributing very much to Canada's strong economic performance right—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, there is so much support for agriculture in this budget it is hard to know where to start. As I mentioned, the clean fuel standard is going to be great for canola producers across the country. The incentives for green agriculture will be transformative. There is great support for wine producers.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, exports and strong commodity prices are an important part of Canada's economic strength right now. Let me just remind people that GDP grew by 10% in Q4 and 6.5% in Q1. That is—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I agree, and let me just take an opportunity to talk about a text conversation I have been having this evening with Mark Little, the CEO of Suncor. It has just updated its strategy to get to net zero by 2050, and that includes reducing emissions by 10 megatonnes by 2030.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, our budget is strongly focused on productivity and economic growth. That is something members of the Standing Committee on Finance heard from Stephen Poloz in his testimony at committee last week.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Yes, Mr. Chair, targets are definitely important, and let me talk about probably the target that is the most important to Canadians, which is the one million jobs promised in the throne speech. This budget will create them by the end of the—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, what I am going to do is talk about some of the things our government has done to support Canadians. How about this number: 876,000 businesses across the country have been supported by a CEBA loan.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, here is another number that might interest the member opposite: 182,000 businesses across the country benefited from the rent subsidy and emergency lockdown—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, one of the most important elements in the budget is investments in small businesses. There is the digital adoption program that is going to help drive a surge in productivity, and the tax credit for up to $1.5 million a year.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, that is actually precisely the opposite of what I said. When it comes to small and medium-sized businesses, this budget makes a historic, unprecedented investment. One of the most important elements is the tax expensing of $1.5 million for three years.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, if the member opposite is concerned about his grandchildren, as I am sure he is, and all of us care very much about our children and grandchildren, what I hope he will tell them is that this government is investing in the future. It is investing in jobs and growth. It is investing precisely in those grandchildren.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, let me start by congratulating the hon. member and all the people of B.C. for the announced plan for reopening and for the successful efforts of B.C. in pushing back the third wave of the coronavirus.
When it comes to tourism, we are very aware that this sector is particularly challenged. That is why the budget includes a billion dollars of additional support for tourism. That includes $400 million to support major and local festivals, $100 million to Destination Canada and $500 million to the tourism relief fund.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am really pleased that our government has been able to support 8.9 million Canadians through the CERB and another 1.95 million Canadians through CRB.
The member spoke about this specific constituent as being a parent with children. If those children are under six years old, the good news is, thanks to the fall economic statement finally being passed by this House, that member should be getting $1,200 per child under six to provide some further support because we know families need it.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, there are lots of questions in there. I will go through them quickly.
On the independent travel advisers, let me remind the member opposite that there is a billion dollars in the budget specifically for tourism. The hiring credit will be very helpful for the tourism sector and all-season businesses. It is designed to provide them with particular support. I will also point out that the way we have structured the voucher refund program takes into account the needs of travel advisers as expressed to us.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I will remind the member of the specific support that is being directed to the tourism sector. There is $1 billion, including $400 million for major and local festivals and a $500-million tourism relief fund.
I also urge the member to be in touch with the RDA. B.C. has now its own RDA, and in some special circumstances, the RDAs are the best places to go for support.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, the government definitely supports a harm reduction approach to the opioid crisis. I would like to really salute the important work being done in B.C. on this issue. The budget invests $116 million to support community substance use and addiction treatment, and that is on top of $66 million in the fall economic statement.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, as I said, our government absolutely agrees with the member opposite that opioid-related deaths are a real tragedy in Canada. That is why we are investing significantly to support work in this space and to save lives. We absolutely believe in a harm reduction approach.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am delighted to get a question about Vancouver's Chinatown. As part of my post-budget virtual tour, I had conversations with some of the great entrepreneurs in Vancouver's Chinatown. They told me about an innovative program they have to ensure that Chinatown businesses in Vancouver are aware of all the business support programs. I have part of Toronto's Chinatown in my riding, and I am working hard at the constituency level to try to use some of the innovative techniques pioneered in Vancouver's Chinatown to share the news with businesses in my riding.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, our government absolutely believes that affordable housing is a priority for Canadians. It is a priority for our government. That is why we are acting.
I will list some of the things we have been doing. Over $70 billion has been invested in the national housing strategy, which will support the construction of up to 125,000 affordable homes. There is also the rapid housing initiative, which is addressing urgent housing needs for vulnerable Canadians. It is a $1-billion program and is set to be expanded by an additional $1.5 billion in the recent federal budget. On January 1—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, our government is working closely with provinces and territories to get Canada vaccinated as quickly as possible. To date, we have sent over 20.2 million vaccines to provinces and territories with millions more arriving in the weeks to come. Let me remind the member opposite that the budget bill includes $1 billion to support provinces and territories in their vaccination efforts.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, our government has the highest opinion of Canadians and I believe every single member of the House does, too. All of us are privileged to serve our Canadian constituents.
As a former journalist and editor, let me assure Canadians that our government understands how essential freedom of expression is to democracy. We will never limit freedom of expression. This bill does not do that.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, speaking very personally as a former journalist and editor, I absolutely understand how important freedom of expression is. It is a foundation and pillar of our democracy, and I want to assure all members of the House and all Canadians that our government will never limit freedom of expression. That is not what this bill does.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, our government is absolutely against censorship, and I believe that every member of this House is too.
Canadians expect us to be there to support our artists and our creators. That is why our government was very pleased to see a unanimous resolution at the National Assembly of Quebec to support Bill C-10.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, as a former journalist and writer, I can assure you that I am acutely aware that Canadians have the right to freedom of expression. Our government would never limit freedom of expression. That is not what Bill C-10 does.
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