House of Commons Hansard #114 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was rouge.
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, it is quite the contrary. In fact, all of the Liberals, and indeed all members of the House, voted positively for a motion to bring Yazidi and other victims of Daesh here within 120 days. Therefore, we have all agreed to that. My department is working very hard to devise a plan in order to make this happen.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, the truth is that it has been a month since the Prime Minister stood in this place with his hand over his heart, looked into Nadia Murad's eyes and committed to action for the Yazidi sex slave girls. Earlier this week, department officials said they were going to bring 50 of them here. This is completely unacceptable.
This morning Nadia Murad said that Yazidi victims are waiting for serious steps by the current government and that “Commitment to measly numbers is not what we expected or worked for”.
The government brought 25,000 other refugees here. Why can it not do the same thing for genocide victims? This is disgusting.
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, that number is wrong, and the hon. member knows it is wrong because she received a briefing from my department on our plans two days ago. Therefore, she knows very well that we are working on a plan, and she should know by now that to go public with this in a way that attracts attention will put our plan in jeopardy, make it more difficult for our people to go into that territory, and ultimately make it harder for us to rescue those victims and bring them to Canada.
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the U.S. Lumber Coalition is expected to file a formal complaint against Canadian producers. This will cause a major crisis for the Canadian forestry industry. When the agreement expired, the minister refused to give any assurances, and her government did not have a fallback plan. It is a month later and we still have not heard her plan.
Does the minister not understand that tens of thousands of Canadian jobs are on the line? When will she finally act to protect forestry jobs in Canada?
Chrystia Freeland LiberalMinister of International Trade
Mr. Speaker, it is important to remember that the softwood lumber agreement expired under the previous government's watch. As the Prime Minister said, we look forward to working closely with the new U.S. administration. Negotiations are continuing with the USTR. I met with Mike Froman last weekend in Lima during the APEC summit, and the Prime Minister raised the issue with President Obama.
We continue to work in close collaboration with lumber producers, workers, and the provinces and territories, but we are fighting for a good agreement, not just any agreement.
Karine Trudel NDP Jonquière, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am getting tired of hearing the same old thing in the House.
Tomorrow, the Americans are probably going to file a complaint against the Canadian softwood lumber industry for unfair competition. Without an agreement with the U.S., our exports are going to be heavily taxed. The entire Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region will pay for the Liberals' failure to act: plants will close, there will be less work for our entrepreneurs, and jobs will be lost. In short, our regional economy will be weakened. I have been asking the government for a plan B for months.
Does the Minister of International Trade realize how urgent this is? What does her government plan on doing to help our businesses and support our workers?
Chrystia Freeland LiberalMinister of International Trade
Mr. Speaker, we have been engaged in intense negotiations and consultations for months.
The Conseil du patronat du Québec commended the government “for all it has done in defence of the Quebec forestry industry”.
Meanwhile, the Quebec Forest Industry Council is “pleased with the government's position on Quebec's forestry regime”.
Only the opposition fails to recognize the work we are doing to protect Quebec and Canadian workers.
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC
Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of unemployed energy workers face a bleak Christmas this year thanks to inaction by the Liberal government. Energy east is stalled, northern gateway is in limbo, and the Trans Mountain expansion is delayed.
Hard-working middle-class Canadians are tired of the delays, tired of the Liberal red tape, and tired of the silence from the minister. When will the minister speak up for the plight of these unemployed workers and when will he do something to help them get back to work?
Jim Carr LiberalMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, we have not been silent. We have been speaking from the moment this government came to power about the importance of developing our credible regulatory process and giving proponents of these projects some certainty.
In the case of all of the projects that the hon. member has mentioned, there are deadlines and processes. Literally tens of thousands of Canadians have offered their points of view, and we are very pleased to listen to all of them.
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC
Mr. Speaker, under our government, the Keystone, Alberta clipper, anchor loop, Line 9B, and northern gateway pipelines were all approved. The northern gateway pipeline will go to tidewater if the Liberal government does not kill it. Jobs will only be created if the government starts to fight for these projects to actually get built.
While the minister dithers, unemployed workers worry about how they will keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, and first nations equity partners stand to lose billions of dollars.
Does the minister have anything to offer these workers other than more empty rhetoric and Liberal inaction?
Jim Carr LiberalMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, we could talk about the action of the Harper Conservative government. Let us talk about the number of kilometres of pipeline that were built to oceans during that government's 10 years. The number is zero.
If the hon. member thinks that it makes good public policy to try to repeat that failure, we think we have a better way. We have offered the people of Canada ample opportunity to offer their views. We have a process. We have certainty of deadlines. We have a much better process than the one we inherited.
David Anderson Conservative Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Mr. Speaker, the government has failed energy workers and it is failing farmers as well.
Too many agriculture decisions are made a long way from the field and yesterday the Liberals did it again. They announced that neonic chemicals are being removed for pest control. These products have been used safely and effectively for years. There has been inadequate science, no cost analysis, and competitors have not made this move.
Why are the Liberals once again putting our agriculture producers at a disadvantage?
Jane Philpott LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, our government takes matters of health and safety seriously. Health Canada reviews pesticides on a regular basis.
As a part of its review, Health Canada has found that a particular pesticide imidacloprid can be found in concentrations up to 290 times the level of acceptable risk. Given this, Health Canada is proposing to phase out agricultural uses of imidacloprid over a period of three to five years. Health Canada is being sensitive to the needs of the agricultural community, while at the same time protecting the environment in proposing this evidence-based decision.
Majid Jowhari Liberal Richmond Hill, ON
Mr. Speaker, this summer we mobilized over 35 young volunteers in Richmond Hill in order to recruit stem cell donors for Canadian Blood Services onematch initiative. It became evident to me that stem cell research was breaking ground in cancer research and Canadians knew it.
In budget 2016, our government recognized stem cell research as one of the key issues our Minister of Science must tackle. Could the Minister of Science update the House on her work with regards to this file?
Kirsty Duncan LiberalMinister of Science
Mr. Speaker, Canada is globally recognized as a founder and leader of stem cell research. Regenerative medicine has the power to repair, regenerate, or replace damaged cells, tissues, and organs affected by illness.
To further Canada's leadership, today I announced $12 million, allocated through budget 2016, to the Stem Cell Network. Funds will support 31 projects and clinical trials that are developing real world therapies, products, and treatments regarding regenerative medicine.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals eliminated the position of minister responsible for the economic development of Quebec upon taking office, Quebec entrepreneurs and job creators lost their voice in the federal government. Not deviating from their policy to centralize all the power, the Liberals are claiming that a minister from Toronto, who rarely sets foot in Quebec, can properly represent the entire country.
When will the government stop ignoring the regions of Quebec and those of its residents who do not have enough money to pay $1,500 to get access to the Liberals?
Navdeep Bains LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, we have a strong team of 40-odd members from everywhere across the province who are working hard for Quebec. Since we took office, Canada Economic Development, or CED, has approved $290 million in grants and contributions. That funding supports the development of over 384 businesses and organizations. Our government is committed to promoting innovation, fostering the growth of businesses, and developing a clean economy that benefits everyone.
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' long-term climate strategy submitted to the United Nations claims that they will encourage green infrastructure in northern and remote indigenous communities, while ensuring that any consultations on projects must respect the constitutional, legal, and international obligations to indigenous peoples.
In the wake of federal approvals of the Site C dam and the major LNG projects that encroach on indigenous rights and territories, is this the depth of commitment we can expect to indigenous rights from the government?
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite well knows, our government is committed to our obligations under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and rebuilding our relationship with indigenous peoples. That is why, with every project, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency undergoes a review. We meet with indigenous groups, we listen to their concerns, we accommodate them.
With the Pacific NorthWest project, we have the first ever indigenous environmental monitoring committee with the indigenous groups that are impacted by the project.
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
Mr. Speaker, bovine tuberculosis is affecting ranchers in Alberta and Saskatchewan whose herds are under quarantine because of this disease.
As a member of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, could the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food please tell us what he is doing to help these ranchers who have been put under quarantine by the CFIA until testing is complete?
Lawrence MacAulay LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's his interest in the issue. Being a farmer, I certainly understand that bovine TB is a serious challenge for these ranchers.
I am pleased to confirm that working with the province we are committed to compensate these ranchers for the costs they are facing, including interest on their advance payment loans.
We are working hard to address this unfortunate situation and take measures to help these ranchers with this serious challenge.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Ottawa Hospital expert panel carefully studied all options for a future site and chose the one right across the street, on open federal land, easily accessible by ambulances.
The Liberals are forcing the hospital to move to Tunney's Pasture, which the expert panel ranked way down at number six because of hundreds of millions of dollars in demolition costs and longer travel times for ambulances.
Will the hospital have to cut patient care to pay these extra costs and what will happen to trauma patients whose ambulances are stuck in traffic?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the National Capital Commission for its hard work.
Last spring, I asked it to do a thorough review of potential sites for the new Ottawa Civic Hospital. There was a rigorous, open, and transparent process, with 8,000 people participating in it. Ultimately, the NCC came up with an excellent site, which is Tunney's Pasture.
I will ensure that we study this recommendation and have great discussions with the Ontario government as well.
This is part of our own views of the NCC having—
Rhéal Fortin Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Mr. Speaker, as we all know, the softwood lumber trade war is about to reignite. Tomorrow morning, the American softwood lumber manufacturers' association will be filing an official complaint against our lumber producers before the United States International Trade Commission. This is the beginning of another crisis.
My question is simple. Will Ottawa once again fail Quebec's forestry sector and the families that depend on it, or will the government offer the industry the loan guarantees it needs to respond to the crisis, as members of the National Assembly and Quebec's forestry producers are asking?
