Michael Chong

[Human Rights, February 16th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has long been a world leader in human rights and dignity, but today Canada is silent. Some 75 years ago, Canada liberated Europe from the tyranny of Nazism with blood and treasure. Some 35 years ago, Canada took a principled stand against apartheid in South Africa.

Will the government recognize that a genocide is taking place against the Uighur people and other Turkic Muslims in China?

[Human Rights, February 16th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has long been a world leader in standing up for human rights and dignity, but today Canada is silent. Some 75 years ago, Canada sacrificed blood and treasure to liberate Europe from the tyranny of Nazism. Some 35 years ago, Canada took a principled stand against apartheid in South Africa. Today it is clear that a genocide is taking place against Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in China.

These acts of genocide include systematic population control, sexual violence and mass detention. A number of reports have come to the same conclusion, as have two U.S. administrations.

Today we call on the Government of Canada to recognize that a genocide is taking place, and to actively seek a relocation of the 2022 Beijing Olympic games.

[International Trade, February 4th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, in 2009, when faced with the buy American policies of the Obama administration, the previous government worked with the 10 provincial premiers to present a united front to secure an exemption agreement.

Is the current government going to do the same thing? Is it going to convene a first ministers' meeting on this issue?

[International Trade, February 4th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the government is seeking an exemption agreement to protect Canadian jobs from the Biden administration's buy American policy. As the government pointed out the other day, Canada is the number one customer of 32 American states.

Has the government reached out to any of these 32 state governors to seek their support to oppose these buy American policies? Has the government asked Canada's premiers to reach out to their gubernatorial counterparts?

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the issue of Line 5 is an urgent one. The government needs to do a better job of securing our energy needs in Canada. I remember that a year ago, we were seven days away from running out of home-heating propane for hundreds of thousands of residents in southern Ontario. We are at risk of something similar happening again as we head toward the May 12 shutdown of the Line 5—

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

As I said in my speech, our relationship with the United States is an asymmetrical one. It is a very difficult situation for Canada. We have a lot more aluminum here in Canada, and we should be working with the Americans to make sure we can export our Quebec aluminum. That is why we need to set up this committee: we need to look at issues around aluminum and other Canadian exports to the United States.

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, there are huge opportunities for us to participate in the recovery from the pandemic. In particular, in both the private and the public sectors there will be huge opportunities for initiatives with respect to climate change.

The challenge is that we may very well be shut out of a lot of these opportunities because of the President's executive order concerning “buy American” policies. My hope is that this committee would provide ideas for the government on how to make our case for an exemption to these “buy American” policies. The previous government spent a year carving out an exemption to the “buy American” policies that had been implemented under the previous Obama administration. That agreement was executed in February of 2010 and allowed us to participate in exports to the United States, so—

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Prince Albert.

For some 75 years, since the end of the Second World War, Canada and the United States have shared a strong relationship. As President John F. Kennedy famously said, “Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies.”

Seventy-five years after the pivot away from the end of one empire toward a new empire, it is clear America has changed. The rise of conspiracy theories like QAnon and white supremacism, the rise in extremism and polarization, and the events of January 6 last month are all evidence of that.

The U.S. administration has also changed. The previous administration, under Donald Trump, was unlike any other in modern American history. He renegotiated our free trade agreement, which, according to the C.D. Howe Institute, resulted in a 0.4% drop in our economic output relative to NAFTA.

The new Biden administration has made it clear that it is going to continue with many of the policies of the previous administration, policies such as “buy American” and increasing protectionism. In short, the Washington consensus that began with the end of the Cold War has evolved into the “America first” consensus. This trend of “America first” did not start with the previous Trump administration; it began well before that.

For example, under President Obama, the United States began a policy of withdrawing from global leadership, albeit in a more subtle style. Under President Obama, the United States decided its role in Libya would be “leading from behind” while encouraging allies to intervene. In 2013, President Obama pulled back from his threat to strike Syria after it used chemical weapons, an action he said would cross a red line.

Both President Obama and President Trump called on Canada to spend much more, double what we currently spend, on our military. In fact, I remember sitting in this very House of Commons in June of 2016 when President Obama called on us to double Canada's defence spending, something both sides of the aisle rose vigorously to applaud. Therefore we, as Canadians, need to be realistic and clear-eyed about these changes to our largest trading partner and ally.

While many Canadians breathed a sigh of relief at the inauguration of President Biden and Vice-President Harris, we should not fool ourselves and believe that all will return to the way it once was, even with a new U.S. president, who is a decent man with good intentions. The facts are right in front of us. On the very first day of the new Biden administration, it made a decision that damaged our economic recovery and threatens the very unity of this country by cancelling Keystone XL, a project that would have created some 15,000 direct and indirect jobs in Canada. It moved quickly to disadvantage Canadian companies and workers when President Biden signed an executive order mandating a “buy American” policy.

The co-chair of the President's inauguration, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, is threatening to shut down Line 5, which has safely transported oil and gas products to Sarnia, Ontario, since 1953. This pipeline transports some 300,000 barrels a day of energy products, providing jet fuel for Pearson airport, gasoline for millions of people who live in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor and propane for many people living in Ontario. If this pipeline shuts down, it would not only threaten the environment by increasing transport by truck, train and boat over our Great Lakes; it would also threaten to cut off much-needed propane for home heating in Ontario and increase the chance of gasoline and jet fuel shortages in southern Ontario.

There is no doubt that outside of the bilateral issues of trade and investment, the new administration and Canada will find much in common. We Conservatives are hopeful that Canada and the United States can work together on a joint alliance to counter China's threats and to seek the release of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor. We are also hopeful that both of our countries can work together to engage, strengthen and reform multilateral organizations like the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization. We are hopeful that Canada and the United States can work together during this pandemic to secure PPE, medical devices, medical supplies and vaccines.

However, arguably the most important elements of the bilateral relationship are trade and investment, and on those it is clear that America has changed and that its actions are threatening Canadian jobs and livelihoods here at home, affecting millions of Canadians. As I mentioned earlier, the previous administration's actions on trade have cut Canadian economic growth by one-half of one per cent. The current administration's actions will no doubt contribute to a decline in Canadian economic growth and prosperity.

Our trade relationship with the United States has always been an asymmetrical one. We have always produced more beef, wheat, corn, cars, steel, aluminum and so many other products than we can consume, and so we have always needed to export these products to the United States.

The United States is our largest export market, and by a country mile. Our second-largest export market, China, is less than one-twentieth the size of the U.S. marketplace for Canadians. In fact, one out of five things we produce in this country is for export to the United States. That is one out of five jobs and one out of five dollars in economic output. However, the relationship is not symmetrical. We are not the largest U.S. export market. In fact, we buy the equivalent of less than 2% of America's economic output every year. In other words, they buy about 20% of our economic output, and we buy less than 2% of their economic output. In that context, the onus is on us to get their attention and to defend our interests, to defend our jobs and to defend Canadian workers. As former prime minister Brian Mulroney said, “an open door to the Oval Office opens many other doors for Canada.” We need to understand that America has changed and that we need to change how we approach Canada-U.S. relations in response.

Budgets do not balance themselves, vaccines will not deliver themselves and our economy will not rebuild itself. The time to plan to secure our future is now.

That is why I support today's motion. It will make it possible to create a special committee founded on one of the most important pillars of our recovery, namely the economic relationship between Canada and the United States. At a time when our two countries have to focus on getting people back to work and returning to our normal way of life post-COVID-19, this committee will get answers for Canadians and fight to secure our future.

Canadians need to get back to work. We need a plan to create jobs in every sector in every region of this country. We cannot afford another failure to plan. We must begin to plan to reopen and rebuild our economy and to get Canadians back to work. This motion, if adopted, would create a committee that would help to provide ideas to the government on how that can be done.

We must work together to secure our economic future. We must start now to secure our future after COVID-19, and that is why I encourage all members of the House to support this motion.

[Foreign Affairs, January 27th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in response to a question about the Uighur genocide, the foreign affairs minister said the government is calling upon China to do two things: first, allow unfettered access to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; and second, allow an independent, impartial committee of experts to enter China.

Has the government formally made these two requests of the Chinese government, either through the Chinese ambassador to Canada or through Ambassador Barton?

[Foreign Affairs, January 26th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I have another question on China.

A number of entities, including a subcommittee of this House, two consecutive U.S. administrations and Canada's official opposition, have concluded that the Government of China is committing a genocide against the Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims. Yesterday, the minister said the government believes an independent investigation is needed to arrive at that conclusion. Ambassador Rae said something similar before Christmas.

What specific action has the Government of Canada taken to initiate an independent investigation?