House of Commons Hansard #137 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was refugees.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I believe there was a fair fight, and it was actually precipitated by the Liberal Party when it voted for an early election. It was almost like a group of turkeys voting for an early Christmas. Its members ended up way over there in the corner where Canadians put them.
We, on this side, are focused on jobs, growth and long-term prosperity. That is why we have an economy that has generated over 700,000 net new jobs.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister vowed to root out and attack any environmental groups opposed to his agenda. If any organization disagrees with the Conservative Party, the Prime Minister will cut them off.
He is supposed to be the Prime Minister for all Canadians. Instead, he only wants to hear from experts and scientists who agree with him, and he showed us that he cannot handle any dissent in doing so.
Is this a way to run a G8 country?
Michelle Rempel ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, one of the great things about our country is the capacity we have for research. Our scientists across the country, regardless of where they are employed, develop tens of thousands of peer review journals.
More important, on the environment, Environment Canada produced over 600 reports and journals that were published last year, and we use this in our policy development.
Our government is committed to ensuring that we have great research and that we support research across this country, including within the environment portfolio.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, we hear words from the other side but, when it comes to actions, we know that many scientists have most recently received a pink slip, and we will not be hearing about that kind of research from them any more.
Does the Prime Minister and the government not realize that if they just fire everyone who disagrees with them, they may be the only ones left in the end?
The Prime Minister vowed he would attack anyone who was “doing things contrary to government policy”. In the words of former Conservative MP, Bob Mills:
...if you’re smart you surround yourself with a bunch of really smart people and if you’re dumb you surround yourself with a bunch of cheerleaders,
Do the Conservative believe they can only really surround themselves with cheerleaders?
Michelle Rempel ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite spoke about a pink slip. If the NDP had its way, it would issue pink slips to the hundreds of thousands of people who are employed in our energy sector.
The member talked about comments that do not resonate with Canadians. What the leader of the NDP said with regard to divisive strategies, pitting one worker against another in different parts of this country, is what we should not be supporting in this government.
Our government supports jobs, economic growth and research and development across the country.
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives think they can hide their attack on the environment from Canadians by burying it in their Trojan Horse. However, Canadians now realize the scope of the changes hiding in this bill, which will have huge consequences for an entire generation. They are strongly opposed to this bill. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Assembly of First Nations, four former fisheries ministers and thousands of Canadians have called on the Conservatives to split up this bill.
Will the Conservatives continue to ignore Canadians' concerns?
Michelle Rempel ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of being part of the subcommittee that reviewed section 3 of the budget implementation act. We heard from groups that represented millions of Canadian workers across the country.
The NDP will try to paint this in the context of what we are trying to provide. We should be supporting long-term growth by providing streamlined regulations while supporting environmental protection. That is what the budget bill would do.
We have increases in pipeline safety funding. We have increased penalties for people who break the rules on environment assessment follow-up. This is a great bill and I hope the NDP will support it.
Fin Donnelly NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, why is it that when people speak out against the Conservatives, they are attacked and ignored? Canadians deserve better. Communities that rely on the fisheries could be devastated by the environmental--
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Order, please. The hon. member for New Westminster—Coquitlam has the floor.
Fin Donnelly NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, communities that rely on the fisheries could be devastated by the environmental deregulation and the gutting of the Fisheries Act proposed in this Trojan Horse budget bill.
The Conservatives are gambling with our local economies, gambling with our way of life and they are doing it while hiding it from Canadians.
Will the minister show some accountability and split this reckless bill?
Randy Kamp ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Mr. Speaker, none of that is true. The changes to the Fisheries Act that are contained in Bill C-38 would allow Fisheries and Oceans Canada to focus more effectively in a practical way on the protection of commercial, aboriginal and recreational fisheries.
There are some additional protections in that act. For example, it would allow the minister to identify some ecologically sensitive areas, which he currently does not have the ability to do, which will provide even greater protection to those fisheries than they currently have.
There are some new tools to identify and regulate aquatic invasive species, which is a serious problem in this country.
Philip Toone NDP Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday when I asked the minister a question about fleet separation, a very important issue for fishers on the east coast, he responded that he had no idea what I was talking about.
Is he really so out of touch with Canadians on the east coast? Fleet separation is essential to the survival of our fishers. When will the Conservatives stop threatening to slash fleet separation?
Randy Kamp ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a very complex system of rules that we use for fisheries management. The rules tell us who may fish, what they can fish for, where they can fish, when they can fish, how much they can catch, the size of the boat, the size of the nets, where they can land the fish and many others.
The minister, in his consultations earlier in the year, was out talking to fishermen about those policies and others, asking if they had any suggestions about how they could perhaps be changed in a way that would allow them greater flexibility to ensure greater prosperity.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister has demonstrated his contempt for democracy time and time again in this House. He handled the biggest fraud in Canadian history as though it were merely a hiccup.
And now he is under investigation by Elections Canada. Apparently, he gave his own campaign 10 times the allowable limit. Not once or twice as much—10 times more.
Will the parliamentary secretary step aside until the investigation of his election spending is complete?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister handed the documents over to Elections Canada almost four years ago. Elections Canada verified and accepted those documents.
However, the member opposite donated $3,700 to Québec solidaire, a party that says in its statement of principle that it wants a sovereign Quebec.
The hon. member gave them $150 last year when he was a federal member of Parliament. Does he believe in Canada?
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have three words to say to my Conservative colleagues: in and out.
The man who assists the Prime Minister, his parliamentary secretary, the person who continually rises in the House to say that the Conservatives—
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Order, please. The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
The parliamentary secretary, who rises in the House to say that the Conservatives are squeaky clean, is being investigated for violating the Canada Elections Act by exceeding spending limits and possibly giving his own campaign 10 times more than what is allowed by law. However, no one on the Conservative side seems to have a problem with that.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister do the only honourable thing and step aside?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, speaking of in and out, this party believes that Quebec should be in Canada. Québec solidaire believes that Quebec should be out of Canada. That is what it says in their statement of declaration, “Québec Solidaire Opts for Independence/Sovereignty”
That member donated to the hardest line separatist party in the country while sitting in the federal Parliament of Canada proposing himself as a future cabinet minister.
If one wants to be minister in the Government of Canada, one must start by first believing in Canada. That is not done by donating—
Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, reports out today show possible voter interference by the Conservative campaign manager from Etobicoke Centre.
The campaign manager's obstruction at a senior centre poll shut it down just long enough so that many seniors would not get a chance to vote. Every day a new accusation comes out: $21,000 cheques, voter disenfranchisement.
When will the Conservatives start taking responsibility for their actions?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, speaking of electoral financing, I just pointed out that a member of that party's shadow cabinet is giving money to the hardest line separatist party in Quebec.
The problem that the Québec solidaire has with the PQ and the Bloc Québécois is that those parties are not separatist enough. That member is making donations to that party at the same time as he sits in the federal Parliament in a supposedly federalist party proposing himself to be a future federal cabinet minister.
Can that member actually stand in the House and confirm whether all members of the NDP caucus believe in a united Canada?