Debates of Nov. 21st, 2016

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, when our troops deploy into areas where there is malaria we need to make sure that they are fully covered. We are looking at all aspects of this issue. The chief of the defence staff has asked the surgeon general to look at this. We will make sure that we make all of the right decisions so that our troops are well looked after on operations.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, supply-managed sectors are vitally important for the Canadian economy, contributing over $34 billion in overall economic benefits.

Supply management guarantees a fair income for producers and their families, stability for processors, and high-quality products for consumers.

Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food tell us how the government supports our supply-managed industries?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell for his concern. Our government fully supports the supply management sector. We will be meeting with the industry over potential changes to duty relief to improve the predictability of these imports, and we are looking at options on certification for spent fowl. We will continue to work with industry to ensure supply management is strong and competitive for many generations.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, southeastern Alberta and Saskatchewan ranch families are languishing from a single case of bovine tuberculosis. These families are in the dark and are extremely stressed about their financial situation. The herds have been quarantined by the CFIA, they have been stopped from selling their calves, and they have lost their one payday a year. Testing herds is taking months. Help is needed now. Will the Liberals implement an emergency relief program for the ranchers whose herds have been quarantined by the CFIA?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's question and concern. Our government is committed to protecting human and animal health, and has launched a full disease investigation into this case.

We understand the difficulties some ranchers may be facing as a result of bovine TB. That is why we are ensuring that CFIA does its job as quickly as possible in conducting its investigations. We also need to ensure the industry is cleared of all this disease.

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, the Liberal Party promised to respect the federal public service, but the government held no consultations and was not at all transparent about its decision to restructure the Shawinigan tax centre. Many employees, some of them still coping with the Phoenix fiasco, are worried about keeping their jobs. That is a strange kind of respect.

Can the minister provide some reassurance to those workers now by telling them that all of their jobs will be protected?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the aisle is well aware that there have been meetings with the members concerned. I would suggest that he talk to his colleague, the member for Jonquière, who congratulated us on what we did.

Pensions

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, residents of my riding of Scarborough Centre are working harder than ever, but many are worried that they will not have put away enough money for their retirement. Fewer Canadians have workplace pensions to rely on and one in four families approaching retirement, 1.1 million families, are at risk of not saving enough.

Could the minister please inform the House what our government is doing to help ensure Canadians can retire in dignity.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her advocacy on behalf of seniors. Our government is engaged in helping hard-working Canadians achieve a safe and dignified retirement. Earlier this year, we reached a historic agreement with nine provinces to make important improvements to the Canadian pension plan.

Once fully implemented, this measure will boost Canadians' pensions from a quarter to a third of their income. It will also reduce the proportion of financially vulnerable seniors from 24% to 18%.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, dozens of Alberta ranchers have been ordered not to sell their cattle that are under CFIA quarantine. These ranchers do not have the facilities, the feed, or the financial resources to feed their cattle over the winter. They are being forced to pay thousands of dollars to feed cattle that normally would have been sold by now so they could meet their bills.

Will the Liberal government commit to an emergency relief program to help pay the feed costs for the herds that have been quarantined by the CFIA?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, CFIA will bring in additional staff to ensure the testing is done as quickly as possible. CFIA will pay compensation for any animals with bovine TB when they are destroyed. We are also discussing options for financial assistance for producers.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

None is left.

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

The member will have to listen, if he wants.

We are discussing options for financial assistance for producers whose animals are quarantined but will not be destroyed because they test negative for bovine TB.

Dairy Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, according Quebec's very federalist, very Liberal premier, funding from the so-called plan to help cheese producers will be distributed equally to all 10 provinces.

Not only is $100 million over four years not nearly enough, but Quebec would receive less than a quarter of that money even though 60% of all fine cheeses are made in Quebec.

Will the minister enhance his plan so that it really meet the needs of cheese producers, and will he solemnly commit to an equitable approach so that Quebec producers—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please.

The hon. Minister of Agriculture.

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is fully aware, we sat down and consulted with the dairy industry and the processors. The package that was put in place was put in place because of these discussions. We will be putting in $250 million to ensure the dairy sector is innovative and ready for CETA. We will be putting in $100 million to ensure our processing sector is ready, and I am sure it will be ready.

[Simon Marcil, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to cheese producers, to call the minister's offer an assistance plan is clearly insulting. That plan is woefully inadequate. What it comes down to is that Ottawa does not give a damn about Quebec's fine cheeses, which are not even identified in this bad plan. Large cheddar producers, for instance, are just as eligible as artisanal producers.

Some 17,700 tonnes of cheese is about to arrive in our grocery stores, and Ottawa is doing virtually nothing about it.

Will the minister improve his assistance plan to meet the needs of cheese producers, or is he going to recite the same old government bullshit?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I ask the member to withdraw that word.

We will not hear from that member for a period of time.

Let us move on to the hon. member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel.

Consumer Protection

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

Mr. Speaker, this government seems to have become the banks' lapdog.

Bill C-29 makes it possible for banks to circumvent Quebec's consumer protection laws and the business practices they govern. This will set Quebec consumers back 45 years. The banks will be able to charge whatever they want with the blessing of this government, the same one that voted in favour of allowing banks to use tax havens.

My question is for the 40 Liberal members from Quebec: who are they working for, the people or big banks?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the question answers itself.

The 40 members on this side of the House are working on behalf of Canadian consumers. That is clear. The member is perhaps the only one who does not understand that.

What I can say is that we will continue to work on behalf of Canadian consumers. From the beginning, we have been looking at all of this country's tax laws and banking laws, and we will always do what is best for Canadians.

Oral Questions

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in answering my question, the minister talked about the jobs in Canada. Just to be sure that all Canadians have the right numbers, I would like to table a document, “Labour Market Assessment 2016,” produced by the office of the parliamentary budget officer—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to table the document?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Did you note the fact that the member for Mirabel withdrew his remarks?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

No. When I asked him to withdraw his remarks, he did not rise and he turned his head. If he would now like to withdraw them, I will give him the opportunity to do so.