Karen Vecchio

[Carbon Tax, November 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, it is clear that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

According to a recent Statistics Canada report, one in three Canadians live in a household experiencing financial difficulties. Despite these difficulties, the Prime Minister decided to respond to his declining polls and the revolt of the Atlantic caucus and axe the tax for only 3% of the population residing in Atlantic Canada.

However, it is cold across all of Canada. I have heard from people who are saying that the cost of living has increased so rapidly that it greatly exceeds their income, so they can only afford food that is on sale. Others are going without meals totally.

Canadians deserve better. When an opportunity came to help Canadians, we saw just yesterday that the people in Thunder Bay were not being heard. They elected a Liberal, the MP for Thunder Bay—Superior North, who was proud to vote against this motion.

After eight years, Canadians want and need a new government that takes care of the people.

[Committees of the House, November 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, entitled “Let's Talk About it, Period: Achieving Menstrual Equity in Canada”.

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

[Business of Supply, October 31st, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I agree that we need immigration; we know that it helps our economy go round. However, if we do not have the rest of the resources, as the member from the Bloc was saying, such as housing and health care, how can we do it so that it is working best for the people who are coming here to become Canadians? I think we have had a lot of lack of planning. Yes, we need immigration. We opened up the borders, but there needs to be housing at the same time.

We can talk about doctors getting their qualifications, but I just sat down with a person two weeks ago who has been here for almost six years and still does not have his qualifications. Maybe the member can address how we can do better, so doctors are actually in operating rooms and not driving taxicabs.

[Business of Supply, October 31st, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I really do appreciate all the commentary on this, specifically from the member when she was talking about homelessness. When we have people coming to Canada, sometimes from countries that are worn-torn or coming here to find a better life, there is the fact that there are no homes. There is no housing for them. When it comes to ensuring that people coming to Canada are actually better off, I do not believe that the government has been responsive.

Could the member comment on what she thinks the government should be doing when it comes to housing policy and immigration policy, and how they should coincide?

[Business of Supply, October 31st, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I am really glad the member got up to speak about this. What I have really noticed in my riding of Elgin—Middlesex—London, which is in the midst of southwestern Ontario, is extraordinary caseloads. I recognize that the government tries to go from one place to another, but I am wondering about that. I have a really weird file. In less than eight months, I had a citizenship approved, but unfortunately the files were separated and the rest of the family could not find the files anymore.

I am wondering what the member has to say about his government when it comes to the fact that over the last eight years, we have seen reunification more than double in some cases. I did immigration for 11 years. I can say that immigration from inside and outside of Canada has expanded and grown significantly. What does he have to say about the fact that, when people are being processed, some are not being processed together and we are having real issues there? What are the Liberals doing to fix that?

[Housing, October 25th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, too many Canadians are suffering at the hands of crippling mortgage rates. According to a CBC article published this week, a Calgary senior sold his home due to interest rate hikes and is still unable to find an affordable rental.

Seniors are forced to couch surf, find roommates, or rent a bedroom in a basement apartment. Under the NDP-Liberal government, the very people who built this country are being forced to sell their homes, with nowhere left to turn except the workforce. Seniors should not be forced out of retirement to make ends meet and achieve their dream of owning a home. It is clear that the NDP-Liberal government is not capable of ensuring housing stability and protecting Canadians of all ages, the thousands of Canadians fighting homelessness and desperate for a change.

The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. It is time for Canadians to have a common sense government that brings down inflation and interest rates so hard-working people can keep their homes and a secure life.

[Carbon Tax, October 17th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, mortgage rates and the cost of food and fuel are making it impossible for Canadian families to live. I have heard from neighbours and friends who have expressed that the NDP-Liberal government is out of touch with Canadians and is driving in the wrong direction.

The Prime Minister promised to bring down the cost of food, but Thanksgiving has come and gone, and food costs continue to escalate.

With the exception of only one Liberal member of Parliament, the NDP-Liberal coalition continues to support the increased costs of production and transportation of food by supporting the carbon tax. The only thing the carbon tax is doing is uniting Canadians against it. They are exhausted, desperate, failing and falling far behind.

Canadians deserve relief, and the Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

[Business of Supply, October 17th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I know that we live in very different parts of the country. I am about two hours west of the Davenport area. Our area is a rural part of Canada, where the carbon tax has absolutely had a huge cost on the heating, food, food production and everything else. Being in different areas, it is difficult to understand what the rural parts of Canada are going through.

Has the member spoken to a farmer about the carbon tax, about the cost of food production and how it impacts Canadians?

[Business of Supply, October 17th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I happen to represent some of the same parts, from Elgin—Middlesex—London. We are talking about new homes being built, which absolutely needs to be done. We recognize that all the policies that were put forward by the government really did not have housing, immigration, health care and all those things working in parallel, so there is a lot of desperation right now.

One of the biggest concerns right now is for people who are renewing their mortgages, who were told by the government not to worry and that it was okay to invest. People were getting up to their eyeballs in debt, and we now have interest rate increases that are causing them to face more difficult times.

What are the member's thoughts about individuals who have to renew their mortgages and who need help right now?

[Business of Supply, October 17th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know if things are different in the member's part of the country than they are in mine. I just met with members from LSTAR, which is part of CREA, the Canadian Real Estate Association. They shared with me that one of their smallest branches just announced 40 delinquent mortgages. The banks do not know what to do because, if they go forward and close some of these, what will happen to the rest of housing?

We know that we are in a crisis when we are seeing small towns with 40 delinquent mortgages. What does the member have to say about her government's record on this?