Debates of April 7th, 2014

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, what the member for Markham—Unionville just said is not true. It is not true that the NDP is opposed to the temporary foreign worker program. What the NDP is opposed to, and we have often spoken to the minister about it, is the possibility that temporary foreign workers could be hired instead of our workers, who want to work and who are available to work. They should be hired before foreign workers.

However, let us not forget that under the Liberal government, people who worked in Prince Edward Island's agriculture industry for six months and then went home to their country for six months never became permanent residents in Canada. They wanted to stay here in Canada. That was under his government in 2004 and 2005. The same thing is happening here today.

Is the member saying that we need to bring in temporary foreign workers when unemployment is at 16% and there are people who want to work and to receive the training they need to get jobs in Canada? Is that what he is saying?

Is it not true. The NDP is not against temporary foreign workers. However, we are opposed to the idea of having them come here when our workers have no work. I would like him to acknowledge that before the House of Commons.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, given what the member just said, perhaps the NDP members have changed their minds and now agree with the Liberals' policy. If so, I congratulate them because we have said pretty much the same thing he just said. We are not opposed to the program in general, but we are not okay with letting foreign workers come here to take Canadians' jobs. That is what I just said and what he just said.

At the same time, in the agricultural sector, as I said—though he may not agree—I know there is a need for these foreign workers, and in some cases, we would like these temporary workers to become permanent workers in Canada and eventually Canadian citizens.

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, those of us in the Harper government are immensely proud of economic action plan 2014, and for good reason.

Once again, our government has delivered for Canadians while making plans to return to a balanced budget in the short term. Under our Conservative government's financial stewardship, Canada has seen the strongest job growth rate among G7 countries. Canada is the only G7 country to receive a triple-A credit rating from all major reporting agencies, thanks to our government's sound economic policies. Canada's net debt to GDP ratio is, by far, the strongest among the G7 countries.

In short, our Conservative government has steered Canada through a worldwide economic storm and come out on the other side stronger and better equipped for the future than any other nation.

It should come as no surprise that economic action plan 2014 delivers for Canada's aboriginal community, a segment of the population that, for obvious reasons, is very close to my heart.

A quality education is more important than ever in today's global marketplace. Economic action plan 2014 allocates $1.9 billion to first nations education. In addition, new funding of $500 million for building and renovating schools on first nations, set to begin in 2015-16, is confirmed in our new education infrastructure fund.

These investments in learning will manifest themselves not only in new schools and improved staffing, but also in building a stronger future for first nations communities and Canada itself. With quality education, first nations members will participate more fully in the world economy, providing benefits to all segments of our nation's population. Improving first nations education improves Canada.

Canada's national disaster mitigation program has been funded, to the tune of $200 million. This fund allows our government to mitigate the effects of catastrophic situations affecting Canadian communities through the assessment of risks and the implementation of measures to eliminate those risks.

These disaster elimination protocols are vigorously applied on Canada's first nations, but an additional $40 million has been set aside for on-reserve emergency management. Those of us living in northern Saskatchewan are too familiar with the disasters that can affect first nations, such as floods, fires, severe weather, and power outages. The on-reserve emergency management framework for Canada provides crisis funding to assist in combatting the effects of these disasters, including search and rescue efforts, and action to reduce the impact of community infrastructure failures such as bridge collapses.

The funding agreements between Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and Canada's provincial governments ensure that first nations communities have comparable emergency services to non-aboriginal communities in the same province.This system provides assurance to provincial governments that Aboriginal Affairs will provide funds to cover emergency costs, ensuring rapid responses from provincial authorities. First nations deserve the same level of care as all other communities, and measures such as the on-reserve emergency management framework for Canada are helping to make this a reality.

With a young and vibrant populace, Canada's first nations members are entering the workforce in record numbers. Our Conservative government's job creation strategy has been wildly successful, with more than one million jobs created since 2009.

Education programs targeted at aboriginal Canadians are helping place first nations members in high-paying, high-demand jobs. With so many bright, young first nations members entering the workforce with skills in high-demand fields, we are growing that workforce at a record rate. We are reversing the near criminal neglect of a valuable segment of our workforce by helping aboriginal Canadians get the education and skills necessary to compete in the global economy.

For too long, we have recklessly squandered the talents of our first nations citizens, and our government is now taking concrete steps to address this shameful situation, allowing first nations citizens to fulfill their potential.

A healthy Canada is one in which we recognize and reward the skills of its citizens. Now that first nations members are finally getting a toehold in the workforce, there is no holding us back. By forging strong ties to our aboriginal communities, our Conservative government is now showing that working together makes us all stronger.

Violence against women is a concern for all segments of our Canadian society.

Often living in remote areas, traditionally without much in the way of support or protection, aboriginal women and girls will benefit from the renewal of our government's addressing violence against aboriginal women and girls program. This effort continues our government's mission to address the alarmingly high number of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls. This initiative has made possible the creation of the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains.

Enhancements to our government's victims fund will ensure that aboriginal victims and their families as well as missing first nation members and their families have access to culturally appropriate services.

Perhaps most important, our government has materially supported the development of community-based awareness initiatives and safety plans to promote the safety of aboriginal women and girls.

With a disproportionate rate of incarceration as well as victimization, a plan is necessary to allow Canada's first nation members to emerge from this crippling situation.

Economic action plan 2014 proposes $22.2 million for the continuation of the aboriginal justice strategy. The initiative, which is showing very positive results, has allowed aboriginal people to take a larger role in the administration of justice in their communities while giving victims of crime a strong voice. By allowing first nation communities a stake in the judicial system, we are demonstrating a desire for justice rather than punishment.

Community-based justice for non-violent crimes gives aboriginal communities a say in the administration of punishment with regard to crimes affecting their neighbourhoods. It also demonstrates to the accused the impact of their crimes on the region and eliminates any suggestion of bias on the part of those administering the punishment.

Community-based justice is working, and I am proud of the part the government has played in its implementation.

More than $323 million has been earmarked for the purpose of continuing the first nation water and waste water action plan. Since 2006, our government has invested more than $3 billion in assisting first nations in the construction, maintenance, and operation of their water and waste water systems. This investment was sorely needed and has resulted in a vast improvement in water quality for first nations.

These communities have also been made safer through the enhancement of waste water management systems. Clean drinking water and the safe handling of waste water are essential to the health of any community. Through our government's investments in water on first nations, we have made them safer places to live. Insurance for these investments is provided through the disaster mitigation protocols I spoke of earlier.

A particular point of pride for me with regard to the economic action plan concerns the support provided to first nation fishing enterprises. Great progress has been made in the integration of first nation fishing enterprises with existing fishing operations since our government instituted the supporting first nation fishing enterprises initiative.

With an investment of more than $66 million over the next two years, our government is taking concrete action to improve the overall management of fishing on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This program will continue to create new jobs and opportunities for first nation fishers.

Many aboriginal communities will also benefit from our government's improving access to broadband in rural and northern communities proposal. Social networks and the worldwide web are helping to bring people together, not only on a personal level but for the purposes of business networking and promotion as well.

Canadians in rural areas are demanding faster access to the Internet, and our government is responding. We are proposing more than $300 million over five years to improve access to broadband Internet connections for 280,000 households, with a target of five megabits per second. This would represent near-universal access to broadband for Canadians.

By improving Internet access for first nations, we will increase the ability of aboriginal businesses to compete globally.

As members can see, our government understands that the things that make Canada's aboriginal communities better make Canada better. By continuing to improve the already strong relationship between the aboriginal people of Canada and our Conservative government, we build a stronger Canada.

The healthy bond that the government has forged with the aboriginal peoples of Canada is reflected in the budget, and I am proud to stand today in support of our government's economic action plan 2014.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

There will be five minutes available for the member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River for questions and comments when the House next resumes debate on this motion.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

The Environment

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to revisit a question I asked a few weeks ago regarding the Conservatives' habit of being satisfied with half-measures when it comes to climate change. To call them half-measures is being generous.

At the time, I referred to a heartfelt plea from a scallop producer from British Columbia. He lost nearly 10 million scallops and had to lay off dozens of employees after what happened.

It is important to point out that, for years now, we have been calling on the common sense of Conservatives—this goes back to the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s—but they do not appear to have much common sense, since they do not seem to understand the urgency.

I will talk about IPCC's latest report, which was released last week. Many articles were written on the basis of that report and several of them were devastating. They were devastating because, unfortunately, people like the Conservatives are not doing anything to fight climate change. I am generally quite optimistic and like many of us who have children, we want to take care of our future generations. That is why I think there is still time to take action and even act urgently, despite the devastating headlines we have before us.

IPCC's recent study mentions that the Conservatives' inability to take action will result in problems with food security. It is also reported that a number of essential food crops such as rice, wheat and corn will be increasingly hard hit in the coming years, and that this threatens food security not only in Canada, but around the world.

The fisheries are mentioned as well. One article says:

Global fisheries are also at risk of significant decline. In the more southern regions, in particular, a number of species will completely disappear. The United Nations environment program projects that it will not be possible to commercially fish the oceans by 2050.

That is not so long from now. Can you imagine?

That is from an article in Le Devoir entitled “Climate: catastrophe on the horizon. Changes are already having a major impact on all continents”. And then there are all the studies, even the secret reports by government officials, prepared by Environment Canada, which tell the government that if it does not take action it will not even reach its low Copenhagen goals. We know that it is even an insult to human intelligence to consider that the Copenhagen goals are high. Despite that, instead of cutting emissions to 17% below 2005 levels, we are headed towards the same results as in 2005, which represents no reductions. Reductions are even lower when compared to 1990 levels. Those are scientific figures.

What I would like from my honourable colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment, are some figures other than the government's own figures. I would like him to give me some scientific figures that were not produced by the government. In fact, all scientists are saying that the Conservative government is going to hit a wall. I want some figures other than the ones the Prime Minister gave him.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague's speech, and he is going to be very happy to hear what I have to say, because our government has made responsible resource development a priority. That is why, together with the Government of Alberta, we have implemented significant monitoring enhancements through the joint Canada-Alberta implementation plan for oil sands monitoring. This is a scientifically rigorous, comprehensive, and transparent undertaking.

Since the joint implementation plan for oil sands monitoring was announced, significant progress has been made. Monitoring has been enhanced with greater geographic coverage, more monitoring sites, more frequent sampling, and testing for a greater variety of contaminants. All environmental components—air, water, land, and wildlife—now will be studied. By the time the three-year plan is fully implemented in 2015, water sites will increase from 21 to more than 40, air sites will increase from 21 to more than 30, and biodiversity monitoring sites will increase from 35 to more than 70, with thousands of additional samples being taken each year to assess impacts on individual species.

The data that has been collected is public and is intended to be used for independent scientific analysis. The fact that the University of Toronto used information from the joint Canada-Alberta implementation plan for its study shows that our objective is being achieved. This shows we are delivering on our promise to produce oil sands monitoring data and ensure this information is publicly available.

We are also delivering on our commitment to ensure that Canadians continue to have some of the cleanest air in the world for generations to come. On this note, I would like to highlight the air quality management system. It represents a major step forward in addressing air pollution in Canada. It is a comprehensive system that includes stringent outdoor air quality standards, emission requirements from major industries, and provincial actions to address local sources of air pollution. Once fully implemented, the system will provide significant health and environmental benefits. It was developed through years of extensive collaboration with the provinces, territories, and stakeholders. The result is a system that lets all levels of government work together to address air pollution in a coordinated and effective way.

Working with all levels of government is the key to a cleaner environment, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Province of Alberta to achieve the goals of the joint Canada-Alberta implementation plan. Our co-leadership of environmental monitoring contributes to the development of the oil sands in a responsible and environmentally sustainable manner, for the benefit of all Canadians.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to the fight against climate change. This is a major challenge for all humanity, as clearly shown by the most recent IPCC report.

Unfortunately, I have not heard any scientists say that Canada is making a concerted effort to combat climate change and allow scallop fishers and farmers, for example, to continue with this very worthwhile economic activity.

The member spoke about the oil sands, but that is a discussion for another time because today we are talking about ocean acidification.

In January 2014, an Environment Canada report—thus written by government officials—showed that Canada is moving farther and farther away from the targets set in Copenhagen, which are very small.

According to another study published last year by Concordia University's Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, under the direction of Damon Matthews, Canada is ranked tenth in the list of largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world. That is huge. Canada is the third worst country in the world per capita.

It is time we did something to improve our situation. I would like to see ambitious new measures to combat climate change because the measures that are currently in place are insufficient.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague will be happy to hear that we are taking a balanced approach that will continue to support Canadian jobs while protecting our environment. We have worked very well with the Province of Alberta to launch a world-class scientific monitoring system of the oils sands. This undertaking, which is unprecedented in Canada, involves monitoring the impact of oil sands activity over an area covering 140,000 square kilometres.

Environment Canada is pleased that the University of Toronto used the data provided by the joint Canada-Alberta implementation plan for its very important study, and that shows that our plan is working. We are going to continue to work with the Province of Alberta to achieve the goals of this plan.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand this evening in adjournment proceedings to pursue a question I asked on March 27. I asked the Minister of the Environment to face the facts and do the math. I prefaced my question on March 27 by saying that I wanted to address the problem of math and red herrings.

The math is this. On the numbers that have come from Environment Canada's own database, published by the current government, there is not a chance in the world that on current plans Canada would come anywhere near the target selected by the Prime Minister after breaking faith with the world and abandoning the Kyoto protocol and choosing a much weaker target.

When the Prime Minister committed in 2009 to the so-called Copenhagen target, that represented the second time he had weakened Canada's targets. First, they were weakened in the spring of 2006 when the Prime Minister, after cancelling the plan in place that would have brought us quite close to Kyoto, announced that he did not feel that Canada was bound to pursue Kyoto and that Canada's target would be 20% below 2006 levels by 2020. Then in Copenhagen the target accepted by the Prime Minister for Canada was even weaker than the one he moved to in 2006. I know that percentages fly by and one's eyes can glaze over, but in accepting the target of 17% below a different base year this time—that is, 2005—the target was further weakened. It was an anomaly that in 2005 our emissions were higher than they were in 2006. That was the peak year for emissions for Canada.

We have seen a weakened target. Now we see the evidence. It is right in front of our face. The Environment Canada report from October 2013 makes it clear that by 2020 our emissions will have risen steadily from the low point that was achieved, but not through any effort on the government's part, but due to the recession in 2009 when greenhouse gases in Canada had gone down to 692 megatonnes. They are now climbing steadily up to where Environment Canada projects they will be 734 megatonnes by the due date of 2020.

I know that numbers are hard to discuss in the House of Commons, but here is the math. It is simple. We pledged a reduction of 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. We will have perhaps achieved a 1%, not a 17% reduction.

My question was this. Would the government remain committed to the Copenhagen target given this record of failure? Would we adopt additional measures to try to get there?

Instead, we get a repetition of something, such as in question period earlier today, which I once again had to call nonsense. It is the idea repeated ad nauseam, so we know it by heart, that under this administration we have 130 megatonnes less than what we would have had under the Liberals.

If we go to page 4 of the report I have already mentioned in referencing Environment Canada's October 2013 numbers, we find this imaginary figure of 130 megatonnes above where we are now. It is hard to express this because it is such nonsense. It is called a “business as usual” number or, as it appears in the Environment Canada report, a “without measures” number. If nothing at all were done by anyone, our emissions would reach a level they have never reached of 862 megatonnes a year. Then this administration tries to take credit for doing nothing and staying at the same level we were supposed to reduce from by 17%, saying, “Look how great this is. We are 130 megatonnes below an imaginary figure that has never happened based on no measures at all”.

It is time to be honest with Canadians. There is no chance of reaching the Copenhagen target. Will this administration commit to meeting its weak Copenhagen target with new measures?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to let my colleague know that our Conservative government is committed to addressing the challenge of climate change and is following through on that commitment with concrete actions, both domestically and internationally.

Domestically, the government is implementing a sector-by-sector regulatory approach that started by addressing emissions in two of the largest emitting sectors of the Canadian economy, which are the transportation and electricity sectors. In collaboration with the United States, the government has developed emission standards for passenger automobiles and light duty trucks, as well as heavy duty vehicles. With these regulations, it is projected that by 2025, light duty vehicles will produce 50% less greenhouse gas emissions than 2008 vehicles. This is great, since I come from Oshawa, where we build cars.

With the government's coal-fired electricity regulations, Canada became the first major coal user to ban the construction of traditional coal-fired electricity generating units. In the first 21 years, the regulations are expected to result in a cumulative reduction of about 214 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. This is great news for Canadians. It is equivalent to removing 2.6 million personal vehicles per year from the road over this period. The government will build on these actions by working with the provinces to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sectors, while ensuring that Canadian companies remain competitive.

The government has also made significant investments to transition Canada to a clean energy economy and advance this country's climate change objectives. Since 2006, the government has invested over $10 billion in green infrastructure, energy efficiency, the development of clean energy technologies, and the production of cleaner energy and fuels.

We are taking the responsible approach, working closely with all stakeholders, and it is paying off.

It is estimated that, as a result of the combined actions of provincial, territorial, and federal governments, consumers, and businesses, greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 will be 734 megatonnes. This is roughly 130 megatonnes lower than they would have been under the Liberals. I make this distinction because, in contrast to the Liberal climate change policy of international rhetoric and domestic inaction, our Conservative government's policies are achieving real results.

Internationally, Canada is playing a constructive role in the United Nations' negotiations toward a fair and effective new post-2020 climate change agreement. At the latest UN climate change conference in Warsaw, Canada demonstrated leadership in helping to achieve a breakthrough in an important initiative to help developing countries reduce deforestation and forest degradation, which account for nearly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Canada is also taking a leadership role on a number of collaborative international initiatives outside of the United Nations to combat climate change. For instance, the government is taking meaningful action to address short-lived climate pollutants, such as black carbon and methane, through active engagement on the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, of which Canada is a founding member through its chairmanship of the Arctic Council.

Due to their short lifespan, reducing these types of pollutants can achieve more immediate climate benefits, particularly for the north.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to blame my friend, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment. I have not been able to get a straight answer from the Prime Minister or from the Minister of the Environment, and it is his unhappy task tonight to try to defend an indefensible record.

The math is clear. Just as the parliamentary secretary says that by 2020, emissions will be 734 megatonnes, the promise that was made by the Prime Minister was that they should be 607 megatonnes, a reduction against 2005 levels.

Instead, there has been no plan to deal with the oil sands sector. The government keeps telling us there is a sector-by-sector approach. We had to bring in regulations on transportation because our car market is shared with the United States. They were good regulations. I supported them.

The coal-fired regulations do not take effect until 2015, and they will not actually shut down any existing coal-fired power plants.

However, the oil sands sector, where the Prime Minister and successive ministers of the environment promised regulations, remains unregulated.

This is a record of inaction and missed targets. I still do not know if the administration regards Canada as committed to the Copenhagen target.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the evidence speaks for itself. I do not know if the member had the opportunity to listen to the speech about all the wonderful things we have been doing and to compare that to the Liberal record.

When the Liberals were in government, emissions actually went up 130 megatonnes. They signed all of these international agreements and there was all this rhetoric, but they did absolutely nothing.

We are actually seeing our economy grow as the trend in emissions is slowing. Our Conservative government's actions have resulted in a constant decline in emissions intensity and emissions per capita. Both these trends, which are projected to continue through 2030, clearly demonstrate that our sector-by-sector approach is achieving real results in terms of reducing greenhouse gases, while fostering economic growth.

That is something Canadians should be proud of.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6:50 p.m.)