Rob Oliphant

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, April 20th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, with all her concerns about Facebook, is the member aware she is broadcasting this speech today live on her Facebook feed?

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, April 20th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her thoughtful contribution to this debate. I think she opened a couple of important doors, such as the need for good governance, which is critical, but also the possibility that AI can be used for good if it is governed appropriately.

With respect to that, I just want to draw her attention to Mila, the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, which is working with Unesco, not only on good governance but also on how AI can be used for humanitarian and human rights activities. Is there, in her thinking, a way we can get this right, to use AI for good as well making sure it is governed well?

[Democratic Institutions, April 19th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, while I appreciate the hon. member's consideration on this issue, he is completely wrong. He is off the mark. If he has any evidence of individuals doing wrong, it is his responsibility to report that to the authorities. That is his responsibility. We cannot just cast aspersions in the House. We cannot just say anything we want without evidence.

I wish to be very clear. Our government will never tolerate any interference in any domestic issue that is beyond the rights and responsibilities under the Vienna Convention of diplomats in this country. Our minister and our Prime Minister have been completely clear: Any evidence that is brought forward will be dealt with seriously.

We will continue to operate to ensure that Canadians are safe and that everyone is following our expectations on domestic law, international law and international conventions. We will do that because it is our job.

[Democratic Institutions, April 19th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, the Government of Canada, as I want to say very clearly to the House, takes any allegation of inappropriate or illicit behaviour by any foreign representative or diplomat in Canada extremely seriously, including interference in the internal affairs of Canada. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister have both been very clear that Canada will never tolerate any form of foreign interference.

The government, I think more than any other government I have ever experienced, has stated time and time again that foreign interference activities in Canada and violations of Canadian sovereignty are unacceptable. This includes harassment and intimidation of individuals, the establishment of illegal overseas so-called police stations and, of course, covert and malicious influence in Canadian democratic processes.

As my hon. colleagues are well aware, the Prime Minister relayed these messages directly to China's President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Indonesia last November. Our foreign affairs minister reiterated these same messages to her Chinese counterpart as recently as March 2 of this year, and had done so with her previous counterpart on more than one occasion. Global Affairs Canada officials have also repeatedly delivered similar messages to Chinese officials in both Ottawa and Beijing. Our message has been consistent: There is no tolerance for interference by the People's Republic of China on Canadian soil.

The government has clearly stated its expectation that China respect Canadian and international law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and any domestic law. We will never tolerate any breach by Chinese diplomats or diplomats of any other country of the Vienna Conventions on Canadian soil.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs was very clear during her last appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in March, when she said she would never hesitate to order out of Canada any foreign diplomat suspected of wrongdoing. She would never hesitate to do that, should clear and concrete evidence linked to specific individuals come to light. As my colleagues know, and this was emphasized by the minister before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, the expulsion of any diplomat accredited to Canada would be a measure of last resort. No decision would be taken without considering all factors and risks. This decision is never taken lightly.

The government will continue to choose the most effective tools from a wide range of options at our disposal to properly combat foreign interference. This includes diplomatic tools that may be subtle to some, but are very effective in preventing foreign interference before it starts. Sometimes that means stopping certain positions from being created at foreign diplomatic missions. For example, we denied China's request to create a new position at the embassy in Ottawa for the international liaison department of the Chinese Communist Party. It was inappropriate, and we refused permission to create it. Sometimes we stop certain individuals from being posted to foreign diplomatic positions here. In fact, very often the government in question will withdraw an individual's application as soon as we raise concerns.

Our government will also continue to ensure that China faces consequences for any illegal or inappropriate actions. The question of foreign interference is not one that is unique to Canada; this is a problem that our partners and allies around the world are also grappling with. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has been very clear that she is working with her counterparts from around the globe to share best practices. We will continue—

[The Budget, April 17th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I actually think we are very consistent.

I want to thank the member for her earnest and always important contributions on climate change and on a greener economy. However, I would like to take the opportunity to get to a paragraph of my speech that I was not able to put in due to time. That is our proposal in the 2023 budget to introduce a 15% refundable tax credit for eligible investment in clean electricity projects. This significant investment is being extremely well received in the business community. It includes zero-emission electricity generation systems, emission-reduced natural gas-fired electricity generation, stationary electricity storage systems that do not use fossil fuels, and interprovincial and territorial electricity transmission equipment.

We will continue to build the economy of the future while we help it in transition, leaving no one behind.

[The Budget, April 17th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, indeed, I actually believe we have already started on that practice. We have been engaged in it for the last seven and a half years. We have found a way to encourage investment in greener energies while continuing to support those who make their living in fossil fuels. That has been part of our goal.

The Liberal government is a government for all of Canada. This is a government for every part of the country where the economy is still dependent on fossil fuels. I am still, as a person who drives a hybrid vehicle, dependent on fossil fuels. We will continue to transition away from fossil fuels as we move to cleaner sources of energy, but doing it making sure we do not leave people behind. That is what we will do.

[The Budget, April 17th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Chatham-Kent—Leamington for his interventions and also for a good, collegial approach to our work.

Canada is obviously part of a world economy. We see inflation as a worldwide phenomenon. We also see Canada's response to inflation being targeted and careful. I would describe this as a business-friendly budget, one that makes sure those who may be at risk of being left behind are not. Businesses will also have an environment in which they can flourish.

We are not an island. Canada is part of a world economy, and we will always continue to be among the best G7 and G20 leaders in debt-to-GDP ratio. We will continue to build, knowing that we need at times to invest, at times to save. Right now, we do not want to leave anybody behind as we grow our economy in a greener future.

[The Budget, April 17th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, it is really a privilege to rise in yet another budget debate where we are taking time to analyze the budget. What also happens in these debates is that they reveal our visions, our values and our priorities.

I want to begin by commending the Minister of Finance for her excellent effort in having listened to Canadians and having tested the waters with experts and individuals in communities across this country in an attempt to craft a budget. This is an art that takes into account both the moment in life we are living and also how we are able to move into the future. It was not an easy task.

Obviously, our country is coming out of a period, with COVID, when we had extremely high expenses and kept the economy going and kept people going. We are now in a period of global recession with higher-than-normal inflation even while we have a period of very low unemployment. It is a risky time in the Canadian economy, and I believe that the Minister of Finance has crafted the fine art of targeting support for the most vulnerable, who are at the highest risk of problems during this recession, while also moving our economy into the future.

Budget 2023, “A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future”, is that kind of artistic endeavour of a budget that attempts to target supports to the most vulnerable while creating a cleaner and greener economy. It would deliver on tax fairness, strengthen our health care system, develop a clean economy, and help us to invest in clean electricity. In particular, I would like to focus on a couple of things in this part of the debate, and those are our proposed support for low- and modest-income families and individuals and our plan to build a stronger and cleaner economy for everyone.

We have all just come back from two weeks in our constituencies. For me this was a time when I could meet with a number of people during the three Abrahamic festivals of Ramadan, Easter and Passover, when families gathered and there was much conversation and rich engagement. It gave me an opportunity to look at both the problems Canadians are facing in my riding and also the opportunities this budget would afford them.

This is a post-COVID-driven, recession budget. Canada's economy is showing signs of recovery from the pandemic, and we are in a much better position than other countries around the world. In fact, we had the strongest growth rate among G7 nations in 2022. However, as with many economic recoveries, not everyone sees these improvements equally in their day-to-day lives. Inflation has been decreasing, and we have noticed that steadily over the past eight months.

However, people earning low to modest incomes still need help with higher grocery prices, especially for fresh produce. Canadians are facing that. I face that. I go to the grocery store, just like everybody else, and notice the high cost of groceries. That is why we have been attempting to find ways, both directly, to deal with the high cost of groceries, and also indirectly, through a series of sustained long-term supports that are changing the world in which we live, at least in my riding.

I want to tell members that, when I started in politics in 2008 and I represented an area in Toronto called Thorncliffe Park, I regularly saw kids going to school without parkas, mittens or a full stomach from breakfast. That has changed dramatically in the past 15 years. With the onset and the advancement of the Canada child benefit, with other supports and with the increased Canada workers benefit, I see the children going to school in Thorncliffe Park, and elsewhere in Toronto and in my riding, with full stomachs, the right clothes on and opportunity for advancement in the world, where they will be able to make a difference.

I have often thought that the cure for cancer could be locked in the brain of a child who does not get advancement in the world. Through our targeted early childhood benefits, through the early childhood care benefit, through the Canada child benefit and through other targeted supports, that cure for cancer may be found in our lifetime, because it is no longer going to be locked in the brain of a child who does not get a chance to succeed.

This is not just about the grocery rebate. We can talk about that, but it is also part of a targeted response that would make sure that at least 11 million Canadians with low and modest incomes would be able to benefit from a targeted benefit.

Budget 2023 would also see, as we have said repeatedly in the House, the creation of the Canada dental care plan. I do want to acknowledge the work of the New Democratic Party on that important policy. It is one of the things the Liberal Party has wanted to do for some time and, with that encouragement, we have continued to develop it. In 2022, the plan was brought in. It will be improved in 2023 and it will continue to help Canadians have a fresh face and a fresh start as they continue in life. One in five Canadians delays seeing a dentist right now because of the cost. That will end, and that is the way Parliament should work. It is the way we should engage together as colleagues in this place.

Since federal dental coverage for children under 12 was announced in 2022, applications for 970 children in Don Valley West have already been received and processed. That is almost 1,000 children, and almost as many families have received a benefit that is making a difference in their lives. Everyone in the House should take credit for that, especially those who will support this budget in the coming days.

The economy and our lives coming out of COVID are profoundly affected by the COVID pandemic response but also by climate change, which continues to plague our planet. The world's leading economies are moving at an unprecedented pace to address climate change. We have to reshape our economies. We have to build net-zero industries for tomorrow. It is a goal of the government. Therefore, while we are doing targeted responses with respect to helping Canadians in a time of recession, we are also, at the same time, building for a greener future that will create better-paying jobs and will continue to help our economy evolve and change and keep pace with the world. We will create better jobs and we will get to net zero; those two things go hand in hand. It is the economic and social imperative of our time.

Budget 2023 showcases Canada's potential to become a clean-electricity superpower with a more sustainable, secure and affordable electricity grid with better and cleaner electricity for all. Everyone would benefit. Resource industry workers who extract essential minerals would benefit. Engineers who design next-generation batteries would benefit. Auto workers, particularly but not exclusively in my home province of Ontario, would benefit. Secondary industries, including auto parts and all of the industries related to that, would also benefit. This is building an economy for the future, for Canadians of the future.

The investments made by the government since 2015 have built on Canada's existing competitive advantages, which have made our country a destination of choice for investment in the global clean economy. However, we recognize that we cannot sit on our accomplishments so far. As a country, we need to keep pace and we need to never fall behind. Our government has a plan, and the plan is to make Canada a leader in clean and affordable energy. Budget 2023 makes a series of major investments to ensure that Canada's clean economy can bring prosperity, middle-class jobs and more vibrant communities across the country. We will continue to do that.

Some members know that I was a member of Parliament, that I left and then came back. During my time out, I worked with the Asthma Society of Canada. What I wanted to do was push the problem of respiratory illness upstream. The reality is that asthma is related to climate change. If we do not invest in these technologies today, we will simply have more people demanding more health care, and more people dying. Every day in Canada someone will die of asthma. It is an environmentally driven illness, so we need to be invested in it in this place and across the country, ensuring that Canadians have a budget that will allow for the advancement of their dreams as individuals, with targeted responses, but also for an economy of the future. We will continue to do this, building measures that are widespread.

We have heard in this debate many members who have offered different windows into the budget. I will attempt to answer members' questions on these or other issues, and I thank them. This is an opportunity for us to engage in an important debate and an important subject.

[Maureen Breau, March 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I can safely say that everyone in this House shares at least two things in common: We are all committed to working for human and civil rights in Iran, and we all get frustrated from time to time.

Last week, after three hours of a Nowruz event, organized by the wonderful Tirgan community, I became frustrated with what I felt were inaccurate and unfair comments by one speaker and I left, maybe ironically to go home and write a sermon on reconciliation, making an intemperate comment on the way out, and for that I am sorry.

However, let there be no misunderstanding. I remain committed to working with, holding and supporting the families of the victims of PS752 every day. I remain committed to working to hold those who committed those atrocities accountable. I continue to work for the human and civil rights of all people in Iran, and the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement.

[Foreign Affairs, March 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I think I can say safely that, without exception, everyone in this House stands with the people of Iran and their struggles against the regime, making sure that they stand with human rights. Every one of us is incredibly aligned on that issue.

Canada is recognized as a world leader in leading the way against the regime and for human rights. We have announced the 10th package of sanctions this last week. We have also made sure that IRGC officials cannot come to this country. We will continue to work.

Let me say that we may have different strategies—