House of Commons Hansard #90 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was cabinet.

Topics

The EnvironmentOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Ottawa Centre Ontario

Liberal

Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, I was actually born in Hamilton, so I know that area very well.

I would just like to be clear that this is about growing the economy, and it is about protecting our environment. Unfortunately, the party opposite does not understand that that is the direction we need to go. Provinces are entitled to determine what system works for them and what to do with the revenues.

We have the support of business, job creators, because they understand that this is the way we are going to grow our economy, we are going to create good jobs, and we are going to create export opportunities for Canadian businesses to create more wealth for the middle class.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

Conservative

Larry Maguire Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB

Mr. Speaker, according to a recent report, Canadians are now spending more on taxes than they are on food, clothing, and shelter combined.

I worry about seniors living on fixed incomes in my constituency, whether they are from Brandon, Melita, or Pilot Mound, who cannot afford any more taxes. They cannot afford increased grocery or gas bills.

Will the Liberals commit today that their carbon tax will not take one more nickle out of the pockets of seniors living on fixed incomes?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Ottawa Centre Ontario

Liberal

Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite was so concerned about seniors living on fixed incomes, then he should have supported reducing the age of old age security to 65.

We also brought in a tax cut for the middle class. We brought in an enhanced Canada child benefit.

Let us be clear: the revenues from any price on pollution go back to the provinces. The provinces can do what B.C. is doing, giving tax cuts to families and also giving money back to small businesses.

Consular AffairsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

NDP

Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC

Mr. Speaker, we all make mistakes. The responsible course of action is to apologize and move on.

Whether he intended it or not, the actions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs offended Alison Azer.

I have two questions for the minister. Will he give a clear apology to Ms. Azer? Will he update this House on the efforts to secure the safe return of the four Azer children?

Consular AffairsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Saint-Laurent Québec

Liberal

Stéphane Dion LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I certainly feel sorry that what I did yesterday was interpreted as being directed at Madam Azer, because obviously, that was not the case.

I am encouraging all colleagues to not politicize this really difficult issue, to all work together to see which way, with constructive propositions, we may bring these kids into the arms of their mother.

This is the only goal the Prime Minister has, and I have, and the whole government has. I hope each member of this House will work together to solve this problem.

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

NDP

Romeo Saganash NDP Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC

Mr. Speaker, this government promised to make education for first nations children a priority. The Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs even presented a plan to the minister to help her government keep its promises, but she chose to ignore the department's recommendation. I asked the minister to justify her decision, but she did not give me an answer.

I am going to try again. Can the minister explain why she chose to ignore that plan?

Why does she continue to say one thing here and another outside the House?

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Toronto—St. Paul's Ontario

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett LiberalMinister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs

Mr. Speaker, first nations children deserve to get the best possible start in life and that begins with sufficient funding for education.

Budget 2016 provides for $3.7 billion over five years for K-12 education, including $824.1 million to reform first nations education.

TaxationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Conservative

Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign the Prime Minister said that it made no sense to impose plans to decrease greenhouse gas emissions on the provinces, and that it was up to them to find a solution to the problems in their provinces. Now the Liberals are imposing a carbon tax that will increase costs for middle-class families.

Why do the Liberals want to help themselves to more money from Canadian middle-class families?

TaxationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Ottawa Centre Ontario

Liberal

Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to see that the opposition party is concerned about the middle class, because that party certainly did not support our tax cuts for the middle class.

We are working with the provinces and the territories. I will again quote the Premier of Quebec, Philippe Couillard:

We believe it's good [carbon pricing], and it's not going to affect the functioning of our trading system. It puts everyone on the same course, in a strong position to combat climate change.

TaxationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Conservative

Ziad Aboultaif Conservative Edmonton Manning, AB

Mr. Speaker, the government has decided to reduce greenhouse gases by increasing taxes on Canadians. This will raise the price of gasoline at the pump by 11¢ a litre and cost middle-class Canadian families thousands of dollars annually.

Can the environment minister tell the House when her department calculated exactly how many jobs would be lost as part of the Liberals' rash scheme to impose a carbon tax on Canadians?

TaxationOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Ottawa Centre Ontario

Liberal

Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, the reason we are putting a price on emissions and on pollution is because we want to grow our economy. That is why we have job creators, major energy companies, the five big banks, and consumer companies saying to actually do this, because it will help us reduce emissions and innovate. Innovation is a good thing. I hope the member opposite believes that, because innovation is necessary so that we position ourselves well to have clean solutions that we can then export, and grow our economy.

EthicsOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Conservative

Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, the President of the Treasury Board claimed that he had never been lobbied by the McCain family. We now know that this is not true. In fact, the minister met with Michael McCain in March, and the meeting was registered with the Commissioner of Lobbying. Why did the Liberal minister mislead Canadians?

EthicsOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Vancouver Quadra B.C.

Liberal

Joyce Murray LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board

Mr. Speaker, our government takes our guidance on these matters from the Ethics Commissioner and the Lobbying Commissioner. The President of the Treasury Board proactively approached the commissioner's offices to disclose his situation and his holdings, which have been placed in a blind trust.

The commissioner decides whether a conflict of interest screen is necessary, and based on the facts of the president's case and situation, she decided against the screen.

EthicsOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Conservative

Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON

Mr. Speaker, the commissioners decide based on the information they are provided. I just want to note that. This is absolutely just another Liberal when it comes to ethics. If this was a meeting with his close friend, which he just called a social meeting, then why was it registered as lobbying if it was just a social meeting? When will the Liberal minister stop misleading Canadians and admit that there is a problem of ethics here?

EthicsOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Vancouver Quadra B.C.

Liberal

Joyce Murray LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board

Mr. Speaker, our government takes guidance from the commissioners, the Ethics Commissioner, and not from the Conservative Party of Canada.

The President of the Treasury Board has proactively disclosed the situation to the commissioner, and he has followed her guidance. All of his holdings have been placed in a blind trust, and the commissioner has decided it is not necessary to have an ethics screen in this situation. I would point out that the person in question has publicly said that no lobbying was done during that meeting.

Dairy IndustryOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

NDP

Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC

Mr. Speaker, since coming to power, the Liberals have taken no meaningful action on diafiltered milk.

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food admitted that the dairy farmers' and processors' ingredient strategy is not good enough. The minister spent more than a year consulting farmers and every other industry stakeholder, but he is still looking for a solution. That is just outrageous.

I have one simple question: will the government enforce cheese compositional standards starting now, yes or no?

Dairy IndustryOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

La Prairie Québec

Liberal

Jean-Claude Poissant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Mr. Speaker, as a dairy farmer, I am proud that Canada can count on such a strong, dynamic dairy industry.

As we on this side of the House have said and will continue to say, supply management is an important pillar of our agriculture sector. Unlike others who would like to abolish it, we support our Canadian supply management. We support our dairy producers and their families, and we support the entire Canadian dairy industry.

Softwood LumberOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

NDP

Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

Mr. Speaker, in less than a week, the softwood lumber agreement grace period will run out, and this could mean massive export tariffs on Canadian lumber, anywhere from 25% to 30%. If we do not get a new agreement, we could lose up to 22,000 jobs in British Columbia and across Canada. Yet the minister has refused to give any assurances this week.

As the deadline looms, what is the government doing to protect forestry jobs in British Columbia?

Softwood LumberOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

LaSalle—Émard—Verdun Québec

Liberal

David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.

We are working hard on this file. Our negotiators are working hard on this file. On Tuesday, in Toronto, the minister participated in a productive conversation with USTR Michael Froman as well as with Canadian industry representatives, including representatives from British Columbia and from the rest of the country. We continue to work closely with lumber producers, workers, provinces, and territories in close collaboration as we advance this file.

Any agreement has to reflect the realities of every region across the country, so we are looking for an agreement, but not just any agreement.

International CooperationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Liberal

Fayçal El-Khoury Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC

Mr. Speaker, Hurricane Matthew is the most powerful hurricane to hit the Caribbean in decades.

This natural disaster killed over 500 people in Haiti. Entire towns were completely destroyed, and no one knows what will happen to the residents of the many communities that remain cut off.

Can the Minister of National Defence update the House on Canada's efforts to provide immediate assistance to the victims of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti and elsewhere in the region?

International CooperationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Vancouver South B.C.

Liberal

Harjit S. Sajjan LiberalMinister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question.

Canadians are saddened by and concerned about the devastation and loss suffered by our friends in Haiti and in other countries in the region. Our government has sent a Canadian disaster and assessment team to Haiti comprised of three experts from Global Affairs and three officers from the Canadian Armed Forces, and they will rapidly assess the situation. In the interim, we have committed $3 million as an initial humanitarian response.

We stand ready, with my colleague from International Development, to respond quickly and effectively for those who are in need of immediate assistance.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Conservative

Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that the Canadian Forces mission in Iraq is quite different than the one the government has described. Our troops are no longer training local forces. They are engaged directly on the front lines, fighting alongside the Kurds.

Yesterday General Dawe even confirmed that the Canadian Forces have exchanged fire with ISIL several times.

We support our soldiers in Iraq. However, we would like to know why the Minister of National Defence hid the fact that the mission has changed from Canadians.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Vancouver South B.C.

Liberal

Harjit S. Sajjan LiberalMinister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, the only thing that has changed in the mission is that we are far more effective. With the changes that were made to the mission, everything that has been accomplished has been done with the advise and assist mandate.

For the protection of our troops, we provided the appropriate rules of engagement and the appropriate equipment. It is a dangerous situation. When our troops are under threat, they need to respond to protect themselves, their colleagues, and the people they are working with.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

Mr. Speaker, what is interesting is that we are hearing a new buzz word from the Minister of National Defence called “advise and assist”. Does that mean combat, yes or no?

Yesterday we heard from military leaders who confirmed that Canadian soldiers are spending more time on the front lines and are engaging in more firefights with ISIS, but on this, the Liberals have been silent.

Conservatives will always recognize the right of our soldiers to defend themselves. The fact is, the Conservatives held regular technical briefings and informed the House of the actions of our troops, but that is not happening under the Liberals.

Will the Liberals finally admit that they are withholding information because what is actually happening in Iraq is counter to the Liberal peacekeeping agenda?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Vancouver South B.C.

Liberal

Harjit S. Sajjan LiberalMinister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, the previous government had briefings for the sake of political games. That was what was happening.

I have been extremely transparent in giving information. I provide briefings to my counterparts on a regular basis and actually before we make announcements. I will not give up information that would provide information to the enemy.

I have been very open, the reason we have the technical briefings in the first place. On any future changes to the mission, I am happy to provide greater information and make myself available to my colleagues to answer any questions they might have.