Diane Finley

[Rouge National Urban Park Act, February 21st, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from Thornhill for sharing his time with me today.

I am honoured to rise in the House to speak to Bill C-18, an act to amend the Rouge National Urban Park Act, the Parks Canada Agency Act and the Canada National Parks Act. The Rouge National Urban Park is the first of its kind in Canada. We live in a country that is culturally diverse, but it is environmentally diverse as well.

It is important that all Canadians have an opportunity to experience the beauty of our rich environment and everything it has to offer, which quite frankly, is why this park was established, to introduce more Canadians to nature, local culture, and agriculture.

I would like to start by talking about the history behind the Rouge National Urban Park because it is important for the context of Bill C-18.

As has already been discussed by my hon. colleague from York—Simcoe, the establishment of the Rouge National Urban Park can be traced back to the days of the Mulroney government when members of the House and members of the community recognized the unique environmental landscape of the Rouge Valley area and decided they wanted to protect it for the enjoyment of future generations. However, it was not until 2011, under the previous Conservative government, that concrete action started to take place to secure the formation of the new park.

In the 2011 Speech from the Throne, the previous Conservative government committed $143.7 million over 10 years for the creation of Rouge National Urban Park. From there, legislation was drafted to ensure that the protection of the park was enshrined in law. In May 2015, the Conservatives passed Bill C-40, an act respecting the Rouge National Urban Park.

During that time, I frankly was shocked at the amount of opposition coming from my Liberal and NDP colleagues and the amount of political interference that came from the Ontario Liberal government at the expense of protecting the Rouge Valley area.

This leads me naturally to a few concerns I still have with Bill C-18. In my opinion, and this is one many of my colleagues share, Bill C-18 is being used by the federal Liberals as political cover for the refusal by Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberals to transfer the provincial portion of the lands before the 2015 election.

The Liberals have consistently played political games with the Rouge National Urban Park. In fact, provincial infrastructure Minister Chiarelli, secretly demanded a $100 million payment for the land transfer, which as one would expect, was rejected on principle by the previous Conservative government.

Following this, provincial Minister Duguid wrote a letter stating that the Ontario government would not transfer the lands until the Rouge National Urban Park Act was amended to “ensure that the first priority of park management was “ecological integrity”.

That leads me to my second concern, which is the use of the term “ecological integrity”. The true environmental definition of ecological integrity implies letting forests burn, letting floods run their courses, and allowing wildlife survival without human intervention.

The Rouge sits alongside residential neighbourhoods. It has highways, power lines, and a pipeline across various parts of it, with working farmlands, a former landfill dump site, and even an old wreckers yard within its borders. For these reasons, any attempt at calling our actions ecological integrity would frankly be in words only.

The term “ecological integrity” as the first priority of park management could also provide an opening for the interference or indeed even the removal of the farmers from the park.

Let us be clear, this park is unique in its composition. Everyone who has spoken to this bill has recognized that. There are no other parks like it in Canada. In fact, an important part of its makeup, in my opinion, is the inclusion of farmlands. Coming from the agriculturally diverse part of Canada, I think that it is extremely important for all Canadians to understand the crucial role that farmers play in our daily lives.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to walk out their door and see those farms in action. Having farmers as part of this park will expose many more Canadians to what they do and how they do it and, hopefully, garner more appreciation for the work they do for us.

Opening up the opportunity for farmers to be removed from Rouge National Urban Park would be a disservice to the park as a whole, and to those who visit it.

What is more, and perhaps most important, to protect the safety of Canadians living in close proximity to the park, ecological integrity cannot, and should not, be applied to an urban national park.

As I mentioned previously, part of the definition of “ecological integrity” allows for forest fires to burn and floods to flow freely. If this were to happen in this case, the lives of the people residing in the area could be placed in jeopardy. What exactly would that accomplish, at the expense of safety to Canadians?

Simply put, it is a designation that even Parks Canada has disagreed with, because it is an unrealistic approach to an urban park.

As members know, the safety of Canadians should be of utmost importance to any government. I am extremely disappointed to see this lack of respect for Canadians living in this area from the Liberal government.

Bill C-18, by the way, does not include the transfer of the parklands that were expropriated by the federal Liberals in the early 1970s for an airport that is yet to be built. Nor does it include the additional $26.8 million over six years and $3 million annually thereafter in funding that our previous government announced in 2015. I have to admit that I am very disappointed that the Liberals have not followed through on this either.

While Rouge National Urban Park is not particularly close to my riding of Haldimand—Norfolk, we in Haldimand—Norfolk are no strangers to wildlife or to environmental conservation. We are one of the first areas to develop ALUS, the alternative land use services incentive program, which just recently attained national certification, and our area is a biodiversity hotspot as part of the Carolinian life zone. This zone contains productive agricultural lands, forests, and wetlands, and provides habitat for nearly 25% of all of our species that are at risk. This part of our area is home to an extensive list of flora and fauna and, believe it or not, around 400 different species of birds.

In fact, UNESCO, in April 1986, designated the Long Point area as a world biosphere reserve, which was the third to be so designated in Canada, at the time. Today, it is one of 16 biosphere reserves in Canada and provides a great example of the Great Lakes coastal ecosystem and a unique blend of habitats.

I am proud of the hard work that residents in our area, and organizations like Bird Studies Canada, the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve, the Long Point Region Conservation Authority, and other agencies, do to promote the environmental sustainability of our area for people from across Canada and, indeed, from around the world, to enjoy.

These same principles and practices will be applied to Rouge National Urban Park, I hope.

To conclude, I would like to say that I support Rouge National Urban Park and I will be supporting this bill. However, as Her Majesty's official opposition, it is our duty to bring up these concerns. I hope that the Liberal government will not just consider them but take action on them.

[Small Business, February 17th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our economy, but the Liberals want to shut them out at every turn.

Small businesses in Haldimand—Norfolk are struggling to survive under Liberal governments. With hydro prices skyrocketing out of control, small businesses are forced to pay Ontario Liberals out of one pocket while these Liberals reach into the other to grab money for the carbon tax and CPP hikes.

Why will the Liberals not get their hands out of small businesses' pockets and start showing them the respect they deserve?

[Aerospace Industry, February 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, when the previous government helped out Bombardier in 2008, it was in the initial stages of the C Series development, when it was doing research and development. Since then, Bombardier has secured many large orders and its balance sheet is much, much stronger.

There are many smaller businesses in the aerospace sector, companies that have truly innovative products that could really have used that money to help get those products to market. How is the government going to explain to them that one company, which said it does not even need the money, is more deserving than they are?

[Aerospace Industry, February 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to Bombardier, the Liberals need to understand that these are taxpayer dollars that they are spending, not their own. If they are going to give big handouts to one favoured company, they need to have a plan to get the money back.

Can the Liberals explain what the repayment plan is for Bombardier, and how they are going to make sure that the hard-earned money of Canadian taxpayers will be returned?

[Employment, February 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, in spite of the Liberals, Canada does have a great aerospace industry, with lots of small and medium-sized enterprises. However, like the big players, they have to compete internationally as well.

Will the Liberal government stop making the situation worse, and actually start helping these small businesses to compete by lowering their taxes, as was promised, and giving them a fair and level playing field?

[Employment, February 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canada does have a great aerospace industry, no question. There are also lots of small and medium-sized enterprises—

[Employment, February 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have had multiple occasions to help out Bombardier, without spending taxpayer dollars. For example, they could have allowed the expansion of the runway at Billy Bishop Airport. If the Liberals had done that, then Porter Airlines would have bought more C-Series planes from Bombardier, and Bombardier could have made its own money, which it said it could.

How can the Liberals responsibly give over $372 million of taxpayer dollars when (a) when other options were there; and (b) Bombardier, itself, said it did not need the money?

[Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act, February 6th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, as a Conservative, I have always been a proponent for smaller government, less government, less intrusive government. To that point, I believe there are a number of organizations that can and indeed should and probably will be helping small businesses take advantage of these new export opportunities.

That said, I do believe the government has a leadership role in making sure that all of the information that is necessary is available to these groups, to the producers and service providers that are trying to export. I know under the previous Conservative government, the minister of agriculture brought in programs that were directly supporting agricultural and agri-food exports. He was able to open new markets for many of our agricultural producers. He took them with him to open the doors, to introduce those producers to new customers, potential new clients. Many of them, and I am thinking of the ginseng industry in Haldimand—Norfolk, benefited significantly from those opportunities. Once taught, they never forgot, and they are succeeding.

[Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act, February 6th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, my region of Haldimand—Norfolk has indeed benefited from NAFTA.

We have a lot of small companies that do a lot of exporting. I did say that most of our exports are to the United States, because of the favourable treatment that Canada has with the United States in terms of tariffs and the thin border.

What is concerning, though, is a loss of jobs, particularly in southern Ontario. Just a week or so ago we heard of 600 jobs lost at the Ingersoll CAMI plant. I do not think we can blame that on NAFTA, because there are a lot of other factors at play. Particularly in Ontario, we are seeing a rapid decline in manufacturing jobs because of the high cost of doing business in Ontario, the skyrocketing hydro prices that are forcing families to choose between buying food and paying the utility bills. That is one of the key things I am hearing from my local manufacturers that could in fact be the single biggest determinant of their future.

[Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act, February 6th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I am honoured today to stand to speak to Bill C-30, an act to implement the comprehensive economic and trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, otherwise known as CETA.

This is a historic agreement, so I would first like to take this opportunity to thank my Conservative colleagues, the hon. member for Abbotsford, the hon. member for Battlefords—Lloydminster, and of course, the Right Hon. Stephen Harper, for all of their hard work and dedication in making this become a reality. Without their steadfast commitment to increasing Canada's economic productivity, driving our country's prosperity, and creating good-paying jobs for Canadians, we would not be discussing this trade agreement today, so I thank them.

When the previous Conservative government had the privilege of being elected in 2006, Canada had trade agreements with less than five countries. It was our party that understood the importance of trade and the economic benefits that it produces. As a result, Conservatives fought to increase the number to over 50, signing 46 new trade agreements, and opening up new markets for Canadian companies to have access all over the world.

Canada has always been a trading country. Right now, trade makes up 70% of our country's GDP, and one in five Canadian jobs depends on it. Needless to say, our economy depends on having this open, secure access to foreign markets to trade our Canadian products, and in a rapidly more global economy, our companies will need even more favourable access if they are to thrive.

With 28 member states, the EU represents 500 million people and annual economic activity of almost $20 trillion. This makes the EU the world's largest economy. It is also the world's largest importing market for goods. In fact, the EU's annual imports alone are worth more than Canada's entire GDP, making the EU market a lucrative place to do business.

As the largest market in the world, Canadian companies deserve an opportunity to sell their products and services to and in those countries. The previous Conservative government recognized early on that this part of the world would provide a great opportunity for Canadian businesses to expand and succeed, and I would like to thank the Liberals for continuing with this important work. However, with the recent waves of protectionist sentiment and the Prime Minister's willingness to renegotiate our most vital of trade agreements with one of our largest trading partners, the U.S., it is crucial now more than ever that we get it right.

Ontario in particular stands to benefit significantly from preferential access to the EU market. The EU is already Ontario's second largest export destination and second largest trading partner. Once in force, CETA would eliminate tariffs on almost all of Ontario's exports and provide access to new market opportunities in the EU. CETA would also provide Ontario exporters with a competitive advantage over exporters from other countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the EU.

In my beautiful riding of Haldimand—Norfolk, agriculture is a very important part of the local economy. When many people think of my area, agriculture is the first industry to come to mind, but there are many other industries, including manufacturing, that are crucial components of what makes the community function. Once CETA comes into force, nearly 100% of all EU tariff lines on non-agricultural products would be duty-free, along with close to 94% of all EU tariff lines on agricultural products.

Many of the businesses in my area currently export to the United States, so naturally, the talks around negotiating and renegotiating NAFTA are making many of these business owners nervous and, indeed, uncertain about their future. On the positive side, CETA would open a huge new potential for many of these businesses and they would be able to ship their products to the EU, in many cases tariff-free. CETA is an important opportunity to provide constituents in my riding with perhaps a little peace of mind during these uncertain times, providing them with potential new markets and a customer base that would continue to bring in economic benefits to Haldimand—Norfolk.

In fact, studies have shown that a trade agreement with the EU could bring a 20% boost in bilateral trade and a $12-billion annual increase to Canada's economy. This is the equivalent of adding $1,000 to the average Canadian family's income, or almost 80,000 new jobs to the Canadian economy. In Haldimand—Norfolk, that means a possible $3 million coming into our small communities. What is more, the agreement would also establish greater transparency in the EU services market, resulting in better, more secure, and more predictable market access.

I do, however, have some points that I would like to emphasize, and I hope that the Liberals will keep these in mind as they enter into the final stages of this deal.

The first is that the Liberal government must honour commitments that were made to vital sectors of our economy. These include the agricultural supply management arena, as well as commitments made to the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in terms of the CETA fisheries investment fund.

The second is that, as my Conservative colleague from Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola has previously mentioned, I too hope that the Liberal government will work hard to assist small businesses looking to enter into these new international markets. As he pointed out, many of these businesses simply do not have in house the resources necessary to navigate these new trade waters in a way that would benefit their company and help them succeed. Most companies in my riding of Haldimand—Norfolk are small businesses, and I know that they would welcome any assistance.

I support CETA and I look forward to the opportunities that it would create for my riding, for southwestern Ontario, and indeed for all of Ontario and Canada. The fact is that many businesses in Ontario in particular and in my riding of Haldimand—Norfolk are hurting. They need to see some light at the end of the tunnel. With rising hydro costs and increasing Liberal taxes, many of them are struggling to survive. They need more opportunities to get their products and their services to market, to make a living, to provide for their families, and CETA would do just that.

This trade agreement would also establish trading relationships beyond North America, provide economic prosperity for Canada, and help create well-paying jobs for Canadians. As CETA approaches its final implementation, our party will continue to hold the Liberal government to account and ensure that Canadians reap the benefits and the rewards of free trade.