House of Commons Hansard #122 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was fasd.

Topics

The EnvironmentOral Questions

3 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Thornhill.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Mr. Speaker, Lebanon has long claimed to be the only democracy in the Arab world, but we know dark forces are constantly at play inside past and current governments. The minister just held what were called productive meetings with Lebanon's president and foreign minister, and he announced $8 million in security and defence assistance for Lebanon.

Did Canada's minister offer this generous aid fully aware that the Lebanese foreign minister is on the record equating what he called ISIS and Israeli terrorism?

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

3 p.m.

West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country B.C.

Liberal

Pam Goldsmith-Jones LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, the minister's visit to Lebanon was an important opportunity to reinforce our strong relationship as we continue to work together to achieve peace, security, and stability in the Middle East.

Working with the UN and other organizations, we are supporting Lebanon in welcoming refugees who are escaping the brutal conflict in Syria and also helping to provide critical services to meet the needs of all Lebanese people. The minister announced an $8-million commitment to that end.

This government will continue to rally the international community to support the victims of the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

3 p.m.

Garnett Genuis

Answer the question, Pam.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

3 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I urge the hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan not to interrupt when the member is speaking.

The hon. member for Vancouver East.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

3 p.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister became emotional when speaking about Syrian refugees. That is understandable, when we think about the hardships they faced before arriving here. Month 13 is just days away, and for many Syrian refugees, federal assistance will abruptly end. Yet over 30% have not had any language training, and B.C. has the longest waiting lists. In fact, I have met Syrian refugees who have been here for two years, and they still are waiting. How are they supposed to integrate into the workforce if they are still on a wait-list for language training?

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

3 p.m.

Markham—Thornhill Ontario

Liberal

John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question and also for her good work in this area.

When one is welcoming refugees to Canada, there is nothing more important than to teach them English or French, especially in the case of Syrian refugees, who typically speak not a word of either language, so we have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to this enterprise. Just last month we invested an additional $18 million for language training and settlement, of which $3.2 million is going to go to British Columbia. We have recently, since April, created 7,000 new language spaces, so we are working very hard on--

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

3 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Kitchener Centre.

ScienceOral Questions

3 p.m.

Liberal

Raj Saini Liberal Kitchener Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, our government supports science research. We know that scientific expertise must inform decision making.

Could the Minister of Science update the House on the ways she is ensuring that science and evidence make it to the cabinet table?

ScienceOral Questions

3 p.m.

Etobicoke North Ontario

Liberal

Kirsty Duncan LiberalMinister of Science

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Kitchener Centre for his question.

This government was elected on a promise to respect science and to restore it to its rightful place. Yesterday we delivered on that promise and launched a search for a chief science adviser. This person will ensure that government science is made available to Canadians, that government scientists can speak freely about their work, and that scientific analysis informs decision-making.

IndustryOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Van Kesteren Conservative Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON

Mr. Speaker, in my region in southwestern Ontario, greenhouse growers use large amounts of electricity. As hydro rates continue to soar, businesses are leaving Canada, killing jobs across the country. The latest, Mucci Farms in Kingsville, is paying three times more for hydro in Ontario than across the border. Guess what. They are expanding, not in Canada but in the U.S.

How can the Liberals justify imposing a carbon tax on job creators, when our sky-high hydro rates are already driving them out of the country?

IndustryOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Mississauga—Malton Ontario

Liberal

Navdeep Bains LiberalMinister of Innovation

Mr. Speaker, as I said, according to Statistics Canada, we have seen 183,200 jobs created since November 2015.

Particularly if we look at GE, it has created 220 jobs in Welland. What did the vice chairman John Rice say? He said, “Canada has all the essential ingredients to succeed in this new digital industrial reality”. That is an investment made in Welland.

With respect to Bell Helicopter Textron, Mitch Snyder, president and CEO, said, “Mirabel is a vital part of Bell Helicopter's long-term growth strategy”, and he thanked and commended the federal government for its leadership. That is--

IndustryOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Rivière-du-Nord.

Consumer ProtectionOral Questions

December 6th, 2016 / 3:05 p.m.

Bloc

Rhéal Fortin Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-29 will place consumer protection at the mercy of Toronto banks. This is a direct attack on consumers and on Quebec’s ability to make social choices.

The National Assembly has unanimously condemned Bill C-29, as have consumer protection groups, notaries, an army of constitutional experts, and law professors. In Quebec, consumers are the ones we want to fight for, not the big banks.

Will the 40 Liberal government members from Quebec stand up and—

Consumer ProtectionOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

Order, please.

The hon. Minister of Finance.

Consumer ProtectionOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Toronto Centre Ontario

Liberal

Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, we want to be clear. It is very important to protect Canadian consumers everywhere in Canada. We want a bill that will do a better job of protecting consumers vis-à-vis the banking sector. That is our goal, and it will make things better for Canadians across the country.

Consumer ProtectionOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-29 is a major step backward when it comes to protecting consumers in Quebec.

Yesterday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance played the “little guy from Shawinigan” card. That is exactly what we are telling him. The people of Shawinigan are just like other Quebeckers. They want their elected representatives to defend them, not banks. I am also talking to all of his Quebec colleagues. The National Assembly unanimously asked them to stand up for their fellow citizens.

Will they do that for once, or are they just here to take advantage of the ministerial limousine service?

Consumer ProtectionOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Toronto Centre Ontario

Liberal

Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, we have made things better for consumers across the country. It is important to protect Canadian consumers, and that is exactly what we aim to do with Bill C-29.

Presence in GalleryOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I would like to draw the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Jackson Lafferty, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

Presence in GalleryOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear!

Message from the SenateOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has passed the following bill, to which the concurrence of the House is desired: Bill S-4, An Act to implement a Convention and an Arrangement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and to amend an Act in respect of a similar Agreement.

Standing Committee on National DefencePoints of OrderOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

I have notice of two points of order. The first is from the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman.

Standing Committee on National DefencePoints of OrderOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB

Mr. Speaker, I rise on Standing Order 18 to deal with some disrespectful comments at committee by the member for Kelowna—Lake Country.

I realize that committees are masters of their own domain, but I would welcome your opinion on this situation, and would invite you to remind all chair occupants to be very fair, temperate, and unbiased when they are in the chair.

The example I wish to give is a comment by the member for Kelowna—Lake Country, who is the chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence. It was just brought to my attention this morning that at our last meeting at the defence committee on Thursday, December 1, the chair, the member for Kelowna—Lake Country, said, when he thought his microphone was shut off after an exchange between him and me—and I do not think he was referring to the Minister of National Defence, who I was questioning—“You jerk” in response to me, at 12:24:13.

I would invite you, Mr. Speaker, to remind all chair occupants to be fair and temperate and to act in a parliamentary manner to ensure proper discourse at our committees—

Standing Committee on National DefencePoints of OrderOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Standing Committee on National DefencePoints of OrderOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman has not quite finished.