House of Commons Hansard #94 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was yazidis.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, a ploy is a secret manoeuver carried out with the intent of misleading people, or trumping people, if you will.
When in opposition, the Liberals said that the unfair electoral system had to be changed, and they were right. Oddly enough, once they were elected with 39% of the vote, they decided that the current system makes a lot of sense.
Will the Liberals stop laughing at Canadians and keep their promise so that the vote and the voice of all Canadians is—
Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Democratic Institutions
Mr. Speaker, it is October 20. On December 1, the special all-party committee empowered to study this very matter will report its recommendations on electoral reform. We have been very clear all along about the respect we have for the independence of this committee. We have been clear that we will not move forward on any reforms without the broad support of Canadians.
I urge hon. members on the committee to work together and provide us with one report outlining the areas where they have been able to find common ground.
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, during the special immigration committee study of the Yazidi genocide, a Liberal member suggested that, because of the Yazidi refugees' ancient culture, they might not integrate well into Canadian society. That suggestion was properly rejected by genocide survivor, Nadia Murad, and Canadians of Yazidi origin.
There are many Canadians, including descendants of the Holocaust and other genocides, offering private sponsorship of Yazidis, particularly widows and girls. Why is the minister and the Liberal government ignoring them?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, far from ignoring them, we are acutely conscious of the tragic situation facing the Yazidis. It was to that end that we had discussions throughout the day with the Conservative Party with the view to finding a motion that all of us could support, because in my view, this issue is such that it should go beyond partisan issues and we should be able to agree. In the end, no agreement was reached, but that does not diminish our concern and our determination to act on this issue.
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, the allied coalition battle for the liberation of Mosul will, we hope, see the liberation of more Yazidi women and girls who have been enslaved and brutalized by the ISIS death cult, but the villages, towns, and cities that have been freed are largely uninhabitable. Any Yazidis freed will have only inadequate sanctuary in the Kurdish region of Iraq, unrecognized as refugees by the UN.
Why will Canada not fulfill its genocide convention obligations and circumvent unworkable UNHCR protocols?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, far from not living up to our obligations, a group of officials from my department just returned yesterday from a visit to Iraq to the region, and it was there that they interviewed Syrian refugees. In addition, they consulted with UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration to determine the best way to bring over Yazidis and others who have been hurt by ISIL.
Therefore, we are doing everything we can, but the member would understand that with a war going on in Mosul, it is not the easiest region—
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, doing everything they can means that the government brought nine Yazidis to Canada, and that is unacceptable.
Our party amended the motion before the House today. We took out a significant portion of the motion, which Liberal caucus members had a problem with, and we extended the timeline for the government to act to bring Yazidis to Canada to 120 days. That is four months.
Can the minister explain the difference as to why the Liberals could bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada in a two-month period commitment, but cannot do this?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, as I said before, we made strong attempts to find an agreement with the opposition members. In the end, they would not agree to our position.
My position is that we will do everything we can to work in this area, but to guarantee a certain number by a certain date is not possible when we consider the war—
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON
What I am saying, Mr. Speaker, is that one cannot guarantee a precise date when a war—
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, does 25,000 refugees by December 31, 2015, ring a bell? This is the epitome of hypocrisy.
My question to the minister is this. We have a reasonable motion that has been accepted by all parties in here, which has tangible action for the Yazidis. Why on earth can the government not stand up and say that it will bring Yazidi sex-slave girls to Canada?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, nothing makes me prouder than the fact that we brought, in 2016, three or four times more refugees than the Conservatives did. In four short months, we brought in 25,000 Syrian refugees. I, as a Canadian, am very proud of that accomplishment. In addition, we will work to bring in Yazidis and others who have been oppressed by Daesh in the years going forward.
Georgina Jolibois NDP Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK
Mr. Speaker, yesterday students and faculty gathered to protest the cuts to NORTEP-NORPAC programs in La Ronge. These programs train many first nations, Métis, and non-aboriginal professionals in northern Saskatchewan. Graduates go on to be leaders in our communities and build great futures for northerners.
The Liberals promised to invest $50 million in first nations post-secondary education. Where is it? Will the Liberals ensure that programs like NORTEP-NORPAC receive funding that strengthens education services for northerners?
Carolyn Bennett LiberalMinister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her ongoing advocacy for students and for her constituents.
Our government is totally committed to improving access to post-secondary education for indigenous students and we are pursuing a whole-of-government approach to achieving this critical goal. We have increased the Canada student grants by 50% this year and are working with students, parents, educators, and indigenous groups to improve access to these funds for first nations students.
We are also committed to working with indigenous communities to expand the scope of post-secondary student support in the areas of—
Romeo Saganash NDP Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Mr. Speaker, if there are movements such as Deeds Not Words, it is because we hear only rhetoric in the House, and no action is being taken. According to the member's department, there is an immediate need of $2 billion to repair 115 first nations schools.
The promise to invest $800 million in first nations education has already been broken. What is the minister waiting for to take action and repair these schools immediately?
Carolyn Bennett LiberalMinister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs
Mr. Speaker, it is very important to provide the best possible education to first nations students. We have invested almost $1 billion in school infrastructure. It is just a first step, and we are working on it.
Iqra Khalid Liberal Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON
Mr. Speaker, over the summer in my beautiful riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills, I had the opportunity to meet with many youth organizations to discuss the challenges that they face with respect to employment.
Could the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour please update the House on the activities she has carried out to break down job barriers and help youth get employment, and what steps have occurred to create an expert panel on youth employment?
MaryAnn Mihychuk LiberalMinister of Employment
Mr. Speaker, I want to point out to the member for Mississauga—Erin Mills that Canadian youth are facing unprecedented employment challenges. We all recognize that.
I am pleased to inform the House that we established an expert youth panel on youth employment this Monday. I encourage all Canadians and youth to participate in informing the council. The council will be reporting to me and to the House in the spring.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, today the finance minister will announce new recommendations from his so-called growth council because he knows so well that his current plan is not working. While there are many smart people on the minister's council, not one of them is an entrepreneur or owns a business.
Then there is the Prime Minister. Instead of meeting the Canadian tech companies that are in Ottawa today, he snubbed them to hang out with Amazon, one of their biggest competitors.
When will the Liberals pay respect to the real creators of wealth and jobs, our entrepreneurs?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, we very much welcome the recommendations from the growth council. I met with members this morning and they are doing astonishing work.
I would advise the member that we are going to be in his city tomorrow, Quebec City, to meet with entrepreneurs. I will be meeting with the youth chamber of commerce to talk about the budget. We are going to go from town to town in every region of this country because we want to hear from Canadians.
Last year we heard from 250,000 of them. Many of them were entrepreneurs. That is why we have measures in the budget that are going to grow the economy. We will do exactly the same this year.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, we have good contact with our chamber of commerce in Quebec. That is why five Conservative members were elected in Quebec City.
There are real estate problems in Toronto and Vancouver. In order to correct those problems, just a few days ago, the minister announced measures that affect all Canadians who are interested in buying a home.
There are problems in Toronto and Vancouver. However, elsewhere in Canada homes values are dropping and sales have slowed. For example, housing prices have dropped by 3.5% in Calgary, Edmonton, and Quebec City and by 4.5% in Halifax
My question—
