Chad Collins

[Criminal Code, February 13th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I listened with great interest to the last answer, and I have a question on it. We have heard in many speeches today by the opposition that it is all about supporting people, yet every time our government has provided supports, whether it was the one-time income support or assistance for housing, the members opposite have voted against those initiatives. I am not certain how they can have it both ways by suggesting that we need to be there for people in their time of need.

Why do opposition members continue to vote against the initiatives put forward by the government that are helping the very people they are referencing in their speeches today?

[Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act, February 7th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity that the member for Montcalm has provided me to reaffirm the government's support for Canada's supply management system and for the bill before us. We know that our dairy, poultry and egg producers want to keep the system strong and sustainable well into the future, and so do we.

Canada's supply management system is a model of stability. It provides a fair price for farmers, stability for processors and high-quality products for consumers, and has done so for over 50 years. Supply management is a pillar of rural prosperity. It sustains farming families and rural communities.

The great contribution of supply-managed sectors to our economy is undeniable. In 2021, the dairy, poultry and egg sectors generated almost $13 billion in farm gate sales and accounted for over 100,000 direct jobs in production and processing activities. In this context, supply-managed sectors have played a significant role in making Canada's agriculture and agri-food industry a leader in sustainable food production and processing with high economic growth potential.

For these reasons, the government has consistently reaffirmed its unwavering support for Canada's supply management system, including in the context of international trade agreements.

During the negotiations of the new NAFTA, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA, Canada faced significant pressure to dismantle the supply management system. I cannot stress enough how hard we had to resist. However, we succeeded, and all three pillars of the supply management system remain firmly in place: production controls, pricing mechanisms and import controls. Looking into the future, we will continue to preserve, protect and defend all three pillars of Canada's supply management system.

For this reason, in line with the spirit of the bill, the government has publicly committed that we will not provide any new market access for supply-managed products in future trade agreements. This policy has been clearly and publicly stated by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Bill C-282 would make this commitment even stronger.

We have made this commitment and we will keep it. In fact, we demonstrated this most recently during the negotiation of the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, which did not include any new access for cheese or other supply-managed products.

Furthermore, the government believes that ensuring greater involvement of the public, stakeholders and parliamentarians in Canada's trade agenda strengthens the defence and promotion of our broader economic interests, including supply-managed sectors. As such, we have increased transparency in the conduct of trade negotiations and have enhanced reporting obligations to Parliament for new trade agreements.

In November 2020, we updated the policy on the tabling of treaties in Parliament to provide additional opportunities for members of Parliament to review the objectives and economic merits of new trade agreements. Furthermore, in 2018, this government committed to fully and fairly compensate producers and processors of supply-managed commodities, including dairy, poultry and egg farmers, impacted by recent trade agreements.

Our government will continue to preserve, protect and defend our supply management system in the context of any challenge by our trading partners. We are confident that Canada is fully compliant in the implementation of its trade obligations, and we will vigorously defend our interests.

To close, let me reiterate the government's unequivocal commitment to maintain supply management as a pillar of strong and sustainable rural prosperity into the future. Bill C-282 is aligned with our commitment, and for this reason, we support it. The government is fully committed to defending the integrity of supply management while also continuing to pursue the ambitious trade agenda on which economic recovery depends.

[Health Care, February 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I recently met with Anna from my riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, who highlighted the need to expand the eligibility of the Canada caregiver credit. Like thousands of other Canadians, Anna has provided countless hours of care to a loved one at home, which is much-needed support that has allowed her husband to age in place.

As Canadians age, they need our support. One of the most impactful ways we can do this is by supporting those who care for them. The Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence states that Canadians spend 5.7 billion unpaid hours each year on caregiving. That is hundreds of thousands of spouses, parents and children taking care of the ones they love at home.

At a time when our long-term care and health care systems are overwhelmed, we must do more for Canadians who care for their loved ones. More caregivers would benefit by expanding the scope of the Canada caregiver credit into a refundable tax credit and by increasing the income cap for claiming the same.

I thank Anna and all caregivers across Canada for the valuable support they provide.

[Foreign Investment, December 9th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, foreign investment is key for our economy and supports the creation of employment opportunities across the country. We know that national security goes hand in hand with this type of investment.

Can the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry update the House on what our government is doing to strengthen our investment requirements?

[Housing, November 25th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely imperative that all levels of government make strategic investments in the affordable housing sector to assist those who need it most. Our government's historic $72-billion national housing strategy provides supports to co-ops, non-profits and municipalities, programs that provide emergency shelter and housing to thousands of our most vulnerable Canadians.

We cannot do it alone. We need all provinces and territories to provide the same types of investments. Unfortunately, here in the province of Ontario, Premier Ford has adopted the same approach to the affordable housing file as the federal Leader of the Opposition and former prime minister Harper. They all mistakenly believe the private sector, through an archaic form of trickle-down economics, will solve the problem.

It is time we take a firm approach with Premier Ford and his government on the affordable housing file. He continues to ignore the needs of our homeless population living rough. He continues to ignore the housing needs of tens of thousands of low-income seniors and people with disabilities, who have waited years on affordable housing wait-lists. The provision of affordable housing is a shared responsibility, and it is time he got serious and committed to building more affordable housing for Ontarians.

[Housing, November 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, creating housing rapidly to address the housing crisis is a priority for the government. That is why I was pleased to hear that the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion has announced a third round of rapid housing funding that non-profit housing providers in my great city of Hamilton are eligible to apply for: in total, $1.5 billion dollars for communities to address their housing and homelessness action plans. We know that RHI investments help vulnerable seniors, people living with disabilities, women and children fleeing family violence, and many more.

As a former city councillor and past president of CityHousing Hamilton, I had the opportunity to work on the planning, design and construction of two rapid housing projects, including the city's first modular build. To date, we have funded over 120 new units in the city of Hamilton with $34 million in support from our rapid housing fund. Local providers, like Indwell, the YWCA, Good Shepherd and CityHousing Hamilton, are anxious to build more, and there is more work to be done. The government will continue to provide the necessary resources to address our affordable housing needs.

[Freedom of the Press, October 31st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it has been 48 days since the Leader of the Opposition last spoke to the mainstream media, 48 days of ducking, dodging and hiding from basic, simple questions.

In fact, the last time the Leader of the Opposition took questions from the mainstream media, he used the exchange as an opportunity to politically profit and fundraise, telling prospective supporters, “We can’t count on the media to communicate our messages to Canadians.”

The same political playbook was used by former president Trump, who bashed and demonized the press with his nonsensical “fake news” narrative and went so far as to state that the press was the enemy of the people. Like former president Trump, the Leader of the Opposition has turned to Twitter and Facebook to sow mistrust in mainstream media and silence critical voices.

Canadians demand and deserve answers from elected officials at all levels. Freedom of the press is critical to a democracy in which the government is transparent and accountable to the people. Without it, our democracy is in trouble.

[Telecommunications Act, October 31st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise this morning to talk about the importance of affordable, high-quality Internet services and the need for consumer protection in the telecommunications industry.

To start, we all know how important access to the Internet is for Canadians as we work, learn and socialize online more and more every day. To make progress against our key goals for the telecom sector, the government continues, contrary to what we just heard, to introduce new policy measures to enhance the quality, coverage and affordability of telecom services.

One of the key parts of our forward agenda is a new policy direction to Canada's telecom regulator, the CRTC. The policy direction would provide the CRTC direction that aligns with the government's priorities, and one of our government's key priorities is to ensure that Internet service is affordable for all consumers. The policy direction would tackle this issue and help consumers. In particular, it targets improvements to strengthen competition in the telecom sector.

The proposed policy direction sets out a renewed approach to wholesale regulation. It would instruct the CRTC to take action to have more timely and improved wholesale rates available, and to consider external expertise for international best practices as it sets these new rates. Ultimately, these changes would encourage more sustainable competition, and this would lead to better prices and better outcomes for consumers.

Within the wholesale regime, the CRTC requires large telephone and cable companies to provide other service providers with access to their networks. The CRTC does this by mandating wholesale access and regulates the rates charged for these services. This allows other service providers to offer their own services to Canadians. I am glad that we have taken the action to strengthen the ability of these alternative Internet providers to compete, because I know it has meaningful impacts on prices in the marketplace.

The proposed policy direction also includes a range of measures to strengthen consumer rights. For example, our government understands that having competitive service providers in the telecom sector is important, but consumers also need to be able to easily switch providers when they find a better deal. That is why the policy direction would require the CRTC to make it easier for consumers to cancel their service or change their service provider so that Canadians can take advantage of better offers.

Another key part of the proposed policy direction would require the CRTC to take measures to promote the clarity and transparency of pricing information and service plan characteristics in marketing materials. This would allow consumers to better understand their choices in the Internet market.

I regularly hear from Canadians, including those in my riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, who are having difficulty with their telecom service providers. I know that my colleagues hear about these issues as well. Questions about quality and a lack of satisfaction with how these issues are resolved can be very frustrating for our constituents. Poor quality service can lead to lagging Zoom calls for students in virtual classrooms, frustration for parents working from home and missed opportunities to connect with family and friends.

To deal with issues like this, the Government of Canada helped to establish the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services, or the CCTS. The CCTS is an independent organization that provides consumers with recourse when they are unable to resolve disagreements directly with their telecom service providers.

[Committees of the House, October 19th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and Status of Persons with Disabilities entitled “Housing Accelerator Fund”.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

[Retirement Congratulations, October 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the political career and achievements of Hamilton city councillor, Sam Merulla. Following in the hard-working footsteps of his mother Rosalia and his late father Giuseppe Merulla, Sam has dedicated his entire life to serving the public. After 22 years of service, he has decided to retire from elected office.

Like a brother to me, he was always quick to offer good guidance, counsel and support when I needed it most. He worked on enhanced public transit, affordable housing, services for seniors and the disabled, and infrastructure renewal, and the list goes on. Councillor Merulla was a leader on all issues. It is largely because of his hard work and determination that we see what many consider a renaissance in our great city of Hamilton.

I know that Sam is anxious to spend more family time with his wife Corrine, his two daughters Sabrina and Alexa, and their families, and the newest addition to the Merulla family, baby Remi.

Please join me in congratulating Councillor Merulla for his more than two decades of service to the residents of Ward 4 and the entire city of Hamilton.