Debates of Nov. 15th, 2016

Status of Women

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the number of Canadians using food banks approaches one million people. That kind of hunger should not be happening in Canada. The government should take real action.

Many users of food banks are women fleeing domestic violence. So far, the Liberal government has failed to deliver a comprehensive strategy to end violence against women.

As this evening Parliament is illuminated in purple, marking Woman Abuse Prevention Month, we call on the government to turn its feminist rhetoric into real feminist action.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for giving me a chance to talk about the work we have been doing to create a comprehensive federal gender-based violence strategy.

We knew that in order to create a strategy, we needed to talk to the people on the ground. That is exactly what we did over the summer. We met with thousands of people from coast to coast. We talked about the needs of women in our communities, the front-line workers, academics, and researchers. When we were complete, we pulled all that information together. We look forward to releasing a strategy in 2017.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, Health Canada has confirmed that the use of the harmful malaria drug mefloquine can cause long-lasting psychological affects. Many of our veterans have testified about suffering life-altering side affects after using the drug, yet the defence minister continues to support the use of mefloquine, stating that it is up to the soldiers to assess the risk themselves. Really?

My question is for the defence minister. With the evidence mounting, when will he do the right thing and protect our Canadian soldiers from mefloquine?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we take the health and well-being of our Canadian Armed Forces members extremely seriously. Malaria is a life-threatening disease present in many areas of the world to which our members may deploy during their career.

The type of medication members of our Canadian Forces use must be left to the medical experts. Individuals are carefully assessed and screened by health services to ensure they have all the necessary information to make an evidence-based decision for their anti-malarial medication.

Indigenous Affairs

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the minister why she was forcing band members from Onion Lake to go to court to get financial transparency. She indicated that she was very happy to have a meeting with me. This is not about me. This is not about the chief. This is about empowering community members and giving them the information they deserve.

When will the minister stop this fight against band members and transparency?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government and first nations governments are very serious about transparency and accountability. It is common practice for first nations to report to my department, as well as to their members, with their financial and program performance statements.

If members of any community are having trouble receiving that from their chief and council, they are welcome to approach my department directly, and we will work with them to achieve their goal.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the point is that they should not have to go to the minister's office to get basic information

Band members are being forced to take their chiefs to court to get the most basic financial information that every other Canadian deserves. Does the minister not realize how nonsensical it is to say “Contact my office, if they don't post it?” It is absolutely unreasonable.

Why will the minister not start empowering band members at Onion Lake, Samson Cree, Shuswap, and others who are begging for access to basic information?

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

Mr. Speaker, from coast to coast to coast, first nations governments are accountable to their members. They post it on websites, they post it on password-protected websites, they have town hall meetings, and they post the audited statements in their band office.

I will repeat this. If any member is unable to achieve that or has not been shown the data, which I think is sometimes a different interpretation by the member than others, we will be happy to facilitate that information.

However, most first nations are reporting this way, and the member should stop demonizing them.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Raj Grewal, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are rightly proud of the thousands of new Canadians we welcome each year into our communities, many of whom come to Canada to attend our well-respected post-secondary institutions, including my alma mater, Wilfrid Laurier University.

Could the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship please update the House on how the government is attracting some of the best and brightest international students to come to Canada?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the best potential future Canadians are international students. They are educated, they are relatively young, they speak English or French, and they know something about the country. We are in competition for their services with other countries.

That is why, yesterday, I announced changes in additional points for those students so that no less than 40% of our economic immigrants will in fact be international students.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I wish the minister had that level of rigour with the Mexican visa requirement.

Today, at a parliamentary committee, a senior immigration official, who is charge of all of Latin America, admitted that the Liberals knew there were risks associated with their rush to lift the Mexican visa requirement. We also learned from this official that the Liberals lifted the visa requirement in spite of this advice.

Canadians deserve to know, and this is really important, what were these risks, why were the Liberals hiding them from Canadians, and why did the Liberals blatantly ignore them?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous Conservative government, we do welcome Mexicans to Canada. We welcome the tourists. We welcome their expenditures. We welcome closer ties with our NATO partner, and we are aware of the risks. Of course we knew there were risks. There are risks when we do anything.

We knew there were risks. We are working with the Mexican government to minimize those risks. We are monitoring the situation. However, we are very happy to welcome more Mexican tourists to this country, and to accept the jobs that go along with that.

The Environment

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the residents in my riding of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford are calling on the government to stop the dumping of contaminated soil from Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt to Shawnigan Lake.

This contamination is seeping into the watershed, threatening aquatic life and drinking water for an entire community. The community was never consulted and never approved it.

Will the Minister of National Defence stop the dumping of this contaminated soil in this area and will the government protect Shawnigan Lake, which provides drinking water for thousands of local residents?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the situation and I have asked the department for additional briefings on it. When I have additional information, I will provide it for the member.

Education

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as a former teacher, I care a great deal about our young students' future prospects.

Can the Minister of Science tell us how the federal government is encouraging our young people to learn about new technologies in a world where technology is constantly evolving?

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Minister of Science]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Marc-Aurèle-Fortin for his question.

Our government is working hard to equip young Canadians with the education and tools they need to succeed in an innovative economy. NSERC's technology access centres grants help engage youth in the development of new technologies. Through access to new research, cutting-edge technology, and industry professionals, students at Canada's colleges and CEGEPs are able to gain hands-on experience.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister dithers, delays, and duplicates reviews for job-creating natural resource projects in Canada, president-elect Trump has said that he will move quickly to ramp up production of $50 trillion worth of American energy reserves.

The United States has gone from being our biggest energy customer to our biggest competitor. Will this game-changing U.S. election finally wake the government up to the challenges facing our energy sector, and will the Liberals finally start supporting jobs in Canada that support Canadian energy workers?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I gave an answer earlier about the attitude of the Canadian government to the Keystone XL pipeline, should the company decide to reintroduce it so that the president-elect can make a decision.

The member also knows that within the next number of weeks, there will be very important decisions made in Canada. We believe that we have followed a process that will carry the confidence of Canadians.

As the member knows, this government believes that economic development and environmental stewardship go hand in hand.

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is proposing to invest $22 billion in green infrastructure, including interprovincial transmission lines that it claims will reduce our dependence on coal.

That description seems to have been written with Muskrat Falls in mind, a project that has been cobbled together to compete with Hydro-Québec.

In addition to guaranteeing loans for this project, is the government also planning to provide direct funding for the disaster that is Muskrat Falls?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the government has extended loan guarantees to the Muskrat Falls project. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is entirely responsible for the completion of this.

It is part of the government's strategy to make sure that we are producing non-emitting sources of electricity, which will very much be a part of Atlantic Canada's energy future.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, imagine a situation where a taxpayer who was unable to make his mortgage payments went to the bank and was given a payment holiday and a generous increase on his line of credit. That would never happen. However, that is what the government is doing with Newfoundland and Labrador, which has defaulted on its $266-million loan. The Liberals are extending deadlines and adding $2.9 billion to the previous $6.4-billion loan guarantee for Muskrat Falls.

Will this government finally stop using Quebeckers' money to fund unfair competition against Hydro-Québec?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the Muskrat Falls project has been beset by difficulties, cost overruns, and delays. The project has been in trouble. The project, however, carries the potential of providing clean electricity to Newfoundland and Labrador and throughout Atlantic Canada. This is part of the national government's interest in encouraging these kinds of developments so that we will be easing the transition to a low carbon economy.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Mr. Eirik Sivertsen, member of Parliament from Norway, and chair of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region and parliamentarians attending the standing committee meeting.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Committees of the House

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I know time is tight, so I will make this quick. I just want to draw your attention to statements made on social networks concerning an accredited Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery journalist being denied access to a committee.

I know that committees are masters of their own destiny, but given your responsibility toward the precinct, as well as our relationship with the parliamentary press gallery, without the ability to verify the veracity of this claim, I would certainly hope that you would take note of it and investigate further and make sure that journalists' rights have not been impeded in this particular situation.