QUESTION PERIOD — Prime Minister’s Office
Crime Rates and Cost of Living
May 9, 2023
My question is for the Leader of the Government.
Leader, I was reading the news on the weekend and I saw headlines on Radio-Canada’s website such as, “Judge shortage: ‘The current situation is untenable,’ decries Justice Wagner.” He is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
A headline from The Toronto Star reads, “Bank warns mortgage delinquencies could rise by more than one third as homeowners struggle to make payments.” Further, the National Post states, “Drug fail: the Liberal government’s ‘safer supply’ is fuelling a new opioid crisis.”
A headline in La Presse read, “Beginning of 2023 marked by an increase in crime.” That’s in Montreal.
Meanwhile, at the Liberal Party convention here in Ottawa, the Prime Minister invited Hillary Clinton and Jean Chrétien to attend so they could hear him tell the party membership that everything is just fine and dandy, thank you very much, that there are no problems in Canada, that we are an exemplary country, and we can relax and head off to party in London.
Leader, how can the government be so out of touch with reality and seemingly unaware of all the disasters that are happening, especially in recent years, in Canada?
Thank you, senator.
Respectfully, the government is not out of touch, on the contrary. The government’s agenda, which I represent here in this chamber, is focused on helping Canadians and transitioning to a cleaner, sustainable energy future.
Simply put, the government is always aware that problems do exist. It is working closely with its provincial and territorial counterparts on the issue of rising street crime in Montreal and elsewhere. It is working hard on all the issues.
That doesn’t sound like what you described. This is the government’s view, and that’s not what being out of touch looks like. This government continues to work hard for the well-being of Canadians.
Leader, last week, Toronto media showed images of several hundred people lined up outside of a food bank.
Given the answer you just gave me, what do you have to say to the hundreds of people who were waiting in line at the food bank so they could feed themselves?
Although they become fewer with each passing month, there remain far too many challenges facing Canadians, especially with the cost of groceries and inflation in several sectors.
It is concerning, and that is why the government is moving forward with Bill C-46, which will be debated at third reading tomorrow, despite a translation error. This bill will help 11 million of the most vulnerable and marginalized Canadians, who need the government to give them a hand as part of a responsible budgetary framework.
