Debates of Nov. 1st, 2016

Indigenous Affairs

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the vote this afternoon is to order the government to comply with the Human Rights Tribunal and order the immediate $155-million shortfall to child welfare. The finance minister's advisers said that money must flow, but I am concerned the government is floating the idea that spending more money on first nation children will somehow harm them and the documents they were forced to put in court yesterday directly undermine this vote.

After 150 years of broken promises, this is about the credibility of the Prime Minister's words. Will he stand up and vote yes and will he ensure that money flows today, as ordered by Parliament?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the government accepted the tribunal's ruling and is taking concrete steps to address its orders. We have committed $635 million to address the child funding gap. As well, since July, 900 more kids have received care because of the $382 million in additional funding and the expanded definition. I have appointed a ministerial special representative to fix the broken system, and as the member knows, we are beginning conversations with the Human Rights Commission to get this thing done.

Ethics

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, big money donors continue to buy private time with Liberal ministers. Many of these donors have financial interests that are regulated by these same ministers. The justice minister took money from lawyers, the finance minister took money from Bay Street bankers, and now we have learned that the natural resource minister has had a little fundraising help from natural resource lobbyists.

When will the Liberals finally do the right thing and end this shameful cash for access scheme?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise once again in the House to remind all members that the federal rules are some of the strongest in the country. There is no preferential access to this government. This government is demonstrating the most open and transparent approach, not just by following the rules but by being more engaged with Canadians, listening to Canadians, consulting with Canadians, and we will continue to do the good work that we are doing.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, those talking points are as old as the Liberal culture of corruption.

Liberal ministers continue to put themselves in blatant conflicts of interest by selling access to the big money donors they regulate. This is not a coincidence. This is coordinated corruption with the Prime Minister himself leading the parade.

What will it take for the Liberals to finally put an end to this cash for conflict of interest fundraising scheme?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows very well that all members of Parliament and all parties fundraise, and we all abide by the exact same rules. When the rules are followed, no conflicts of interest can exist. We will continue to follow the rules.

It is true that we are engaging with Canadians and we are listening to Canadians, something the previous government did not know how to do.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, right now, millions of people are working hard to support their families. There is no way any of those workers will ever be able to cough up $1,500 for privileged access to a Liberal minister.

Fundraising rules are as strict as can be, but they have clearly not stopped the Minister of Natural Resources from holding a fundraising campaign with a firm that has a vested interest in his portfolio.

When will the government show a modicum of good judgment, stop granting privileged access to the wealthy, and stop being in conflict of interest all the time? Will the guilty party please rise.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, the member is well aware that federal rules are among the most stringent in the country.

Our government does not practice favouritism. Its approach is as open and transparent as can be. It is not just following the rules; it is more deeply engaged with Canadians than any other government in history.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it seems the Prime Minister is importing all of Kathleen Wynne's bad ideas and the insiders who were trained to execute her playbook.

For weeks, Canadians have been learning about these tactics and have become increasingly concerned. Today, we have learned that some of these people are being charged with criminal activity. Just minutes ago, Gerry Lougheed, a long-time Liberal supporter and fundraiser for the Prime Minister was charged with one count of bribery.

When will the Prime Minister admit that the tactics and people who are around him have failed to live up to any measure of ethical standards?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows very well that the federal rules are some of the strictest in the country, and all members abide by the exact same rules.

It is true that our government has embarked on an unprecedented level of—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. I invite the member for Grande Prairie—Mackenzie and others to listen to the answer, not intervene, and to try to restrain themselves. Most members in all parties are able to sit and hear things they do not like without reacting. Let us all do that.

The hon. government House leader has a few more seconds.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that.

Once again I will remind members that our government has embarked on unprecedented levels of public consultation to make sure that we are responding to the very real needs and challenges of Canadians. This is why we raised taxes on the one per cent, the wealthiest Canadians, and lowered taxes for the middle class.

We will continue to do the good work that we are doing.

The Environment

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals campaigned on a promise to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Under the Paris agreement, Canada now must submit to the UN its plan on climate action and climate change mitigation. Mitigation experts are calling for urgent action here at home, warning that Canada remains unprepared to respond to increased flooding and extreme weather.

Where is the minister's plan to mitigate the impacts of climate change? Will she show her plan to Canadians before taking it to the UN?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, we are working with the provinces and territories to develop our pan-Canadian plan on climate change.

The Prime Minister met with the first ministers. They agreed on this plan, which included taking action to adapt to the impacts of climate change. We know that we are seeing flooding across the country. We are seeing forest fires. Prince Edward Island is shrinking by 43 centimetres per year. We know in the north, indigenous peoples are on the front line for the impacts of climate change.

We are going to take action. We will be announcing this plan at the first ministers meeting later in the fall.

Transportation

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Transportation Safety Board is sounding the alarm over the government's inaction.

No less than 52 TSB recommendations have been on ice for at least 10 years now and the minister, who claims to be an advocate of safety, is dragging his feet just like the previous government did. The same goes for the transportation of dangerous goods. The TSB has made it clear that current safety measures are inadequate.

Is the minister waiting for another tragedy before following through on the TSB's recommendations?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, our government always appreciates the recommendations of the Transportation Safety Board. We take this very seriously. I have indicated many times how important safety is to our government.

We are looking at all the reports submitted to us by the Transportation Safety Board. We have done a lot in a year. Can we do better? Of course we can and we are working on doing better when it comes to safety.

International Trade

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there are many small businesses in my riding of Scarborough—Rouge Park that are looking for opportunities to grow and scale up. Scaling up of businesses is essential for Canada's economy, and ultimately our middle class, to grow and prosper. One of the challenges I hear from my local business leaders is the need to increase access to new markets.

Could the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development share with us how CETA will help businesses face this challenge?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Scarborough—Rouge Park for his advocacy in promoting business growth. As the member knows, the European Union is a market of more than 500 million people and it has economic activity of over $20 trillion. In signing this free trade agreement with Europe, all Canadian businesses and all sectors will now have greater market access. When businesses are able to grow, they create good quality Canadian jobs from coast to coast to coast, and this is a priority for us. We are going to grow the economy and create good quality jobs.

The Environment

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in October, the Prime Minister unilaterally announced a massive carbon tax grab on Canadians. He perversely claimed that Canadians would benefit economically from this new tax, but we recently learned from the assistant deputy minister for environment that an economic impact analysis has never been done and that the Liberals believe such an assessment was premature. Did he say premature? The Prime Minister just hammered Canadians with a punishing carbon tax, and his officials say an impact analysis is premature.

When will the Prime Minister finally tell us how badly this carbon tax will hurt Canadians?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to hear that the member opposite has decided to join the Canadian delegation at COP22. Of course that does not change the fact that the party opposite is the only party that voted against the Paris agreement.

Unlike the party opposite, we understand that the environment and the economy go together, and I am very pleased about our achievements this past year. We helped achieve an ambitious Paris agreement. We announced the greenest budget ever. We had the pan-Canadian plan on climate change, which includes pricing pollution. We had a climate and clean energy agreement with the United States—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Abbotsford.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, she should be listening to real Canadians and real job creators. Here is what the Nova Scotia Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters had to say: “With half the [carbon tax] cost being incurred by businesses, this will definitely negatively impact competitiveness and an already fragile economy”.

To the Prime Minister, why a harmful carbon tax, why the distain for job creators, and why the betrayal of provinces like Nova Scotia, which already leads Canada with clean electricity?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite actually praised B.C. for its carbon price. I find it quite surprising that he is now arguing against something that he knows is the most efficient way to reduce emissions, foster innovation, and grow our economy. He also knows that 80% of Canadians already live in a jurisdiction where there is a price on pollution.

We understand that we need to take action to tackle climate change. That is also the way to grow our economy, create good jobs, and ensure a sustainable future for our children.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, rural Albertans recently rejected the urban-centric Liberal agenda. The out of touch edict to close the Vegreville case processing centre, which shocked the town and region, is an example of why they did. This unilateral deliberate removal of rural jobs to a Liberal-held city riding will cause unnecessary pain to families and devastate this rural town. When will the Liberals end their attack on rural Canada? Will the minister stop this edict and save the jobs of these hard-working people?