Debates of Feb. 17th, 2016

Natural Resources

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, Denis Coderre was not speaking for Quebeckers when he opposed energy east. According to a new poll, Quebeckers consider pipelines to be the safest means to transport oil. Fifty-nine per cent would prefer to buy their oil from western Canada.

The Atlantic, the west, Ontario, and now Quebec support energy east. Will the Prime Minister understand that and support that project for Canadians?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to learn that the members opposite see major resource projects as nation-building, as these should be, but the only way these are going to happen is if they carry the confidence of Canadians, not the failed process of the previous government that did not get one major pipeline built to tidewater while it was a majority government. Why would we want to follow a failed practice? We are going to follow a new one that has faith in the credibility and the judgment of Canadians.

Justice

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of our young women continues to be a concern in Quebec. On Monday, the mother of a runaway personally handed a letter to the Prime Minister. She asked him to enforce the law against traffickers, a law that was passed here by all parties. Yesterday there was a cabinet meeting, but there is still no order in council. It is all very fine to talk about this, but what we need is action.

What is the minister waiting for to make it tougher for traffickers and to protect our young women? When will we see an order in council?

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, these young women and their families are in our thoughts and prayers. The disappearance of a child is a tragedy, especially in these circumstances. We are determined to achieve the important objectives of Bill C-452.

I can guarantee that we will quickly take action that is in keeping with our values and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, communities across the country are working hard to tackle this problem and so many other public safety challenges, but despite all the talk from the previous government, police forces across the country still do not have the resources they need. To make matters worse, in 2013 the Conservatives cancelled the police officer recruitment fund. The NDP has consistently called for the restoration of this fund so that communities like Halifax, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Surrey have the police officers and the resources they need to keep their communities safe.

Will the Liberal government now restore the police officer recruitment fund?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman makes a specific reference to Surrey. I can assure him that the commitment made of the number of officers to be added to that detachment will be honoured by this spring, on target, as planned originally.

I will also tell him that our platform included a very useful suggestion for a new fund to work through the provinces and with local police forces across the country to combat the awful scourge of guns and gangs, and drugs. We are being very proactive on this file.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister does not understand that Canada is an energy-rich country. He does not understand that Canada is an exporting country. He does not understand that oil is one of our biggest exports. He does not understand that those exports create jobs all across Canada.

Canada's international customers are waiting with open wallets to buy Canada's energy. They will buy as much as we can provide.

When will this Prime Minister get out of the way so that we can export more of our oil around the world, and create jobs here at home?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said many times that one of the major responsibilities of the Government of Canada is to get our natural resources to market sustainably.

If we want to access these foreign markets, if we want to create more jobs in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador, the only way that will be done is if the Canadian people see that the process that takes us to a decision is a credible one, not like the failed process of the previous government.

Air Transportation

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Bombardier is a huge employer in Canada, particularly in Quebec, and the minister's home city of Montreal.

Yet the Minister of Transport has killed a major business opportunity for Bombardier. He overruled Toronto City Council and the Toronto Port Authority, and blocked expansion of the Toronto island airport.

Why will the Minister of Transport not let Bombardier create Canadian jobs by allowing the Toronto island airport to expand?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that everyone in this chamber, on both sides of the House, is delighted with the news today that Air Canada has decided to purchase 45 airplanes from the C-series 300 and has options for 30 more.

We care deeply about the Bombardier aircraft. I, myself, have had the pleasure of sitting in the cockpit. This is the best airplane in the world in its class, and all of us should be hoping that Bombardier is going to be selling hundreds of these aircraft in the months and years to come.

Natural Resources

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, provinces like Alberta have been hit hard by job losses and, as we have heard today, they are not going to get much help from the Liberal government.

There is absolutely no plan to get Canadians back to work. There is absolutely no support for energy east. What Albertans are asking this Liberal government for is a commitment to energy east, a commitment to improve employment insurance to ensure that Albertans who have lost their jobs can take care of their families and keep their homes.

In our biggest time of need, will the government stand up, support Albertans, and help them get back to work, instead of just saying “Hey, hang in there”?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the government has a priority. It wants to move our natural resources to market. The previous government was unable to move natural resources to tidewater, because it continued to follow a process that failed and that did not have the confidence of the Canadian people. Why would we want to repeat those mistakes?

Rather, we are embracing a process that reaches out to Canadians, that reaches out to indigenous communities to build confidence in the regulatory process, to meet our combined objective—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Laurentides—Labelle.

Canada Revenue Agency

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in his mandate letter, the Prime Minister instructed the Minister of National Revenue to turn the Canada Revenue Agency into a client-focused institution.

The government must ensure that Canadian taxpayers are always treated with respect. That respect must permeate the way it interacts with citizens.

Can the minister tell us what she has done so far?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, I was pleased to announce improvements to Canada Revenue Agency correspondence to make tax information simpler and easier to understand. The content has been streamlined to include only the information most important to the taxpayer.

We will continue to consult with Canadians and draw on best practices to make sure our service improvements truly meet Canadians' needs.

Intergovernmental Relations

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Finance indicated that he would amend the territorial funding formula to take into account recent changes in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut.

As the minister well knows, western provinces have seen a sudden and dramatic drop in the price of oil and gas, however, the equalization formula does not allow these unexpected changes to be taken into account. This means that Saskatchewan is sending money to other provinces while its own resource economy is struggling.

Will the minister commit to treating Saskatchewan and Alberta fairly and address the problems in the equalization formula?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer this question. We were very pleased to deal with the situation in the northern territories over a couple of months of discussion. Statistics Canada changed its calculation method which left it in a difficult situation. We found a way to improve that situation.

Happily, what we have also done is found ways that we can help people in other provinces through the plan we put forward. We are going to be making real investments in the Canadian economy through investments in infrastructure, investments that will help people in the middle class and those most vulnerable. We believe that our plan has the best shot in improving our economy for all Canadians.

Pensions

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Broadbent Institute study released yesterday confirms that seniors' poverty rates are increasing.

Over the past 12 years, senior poverty has increased from 4% to 11%. Some 30% of single senior women are living below the poverty line.

During the election campaign, the Liberals promised to increase the guaranteed income supplement by 10% right away, but yesterday's response from the Minister of Finance could not have been more vague.

The question is clear: will the government increase the guaranteed income supplement in the budget as promised in the election campaign?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, during the course of our campaign, we talked about the importance of helping people to retire in dignity. We talked about the importance of helping those people who have already retired.

We are looking toward making significant progress on helping Canadians to retire in dignity over the course of this year through a CPP enhancement. We are also looking toward measures in budget 2016 that will help those Canadians who are currently retired and facing a difficult situation.

Small Business

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of London North Centre, small businesses are central to the economy. Many small business owners tell me it is very difficult to be competitive as unlocking new markets to move their goods and services is not an easy task.

Would the Minister of International Trade be able to update the House on what is being done to ensure Canadian small businesses are given the necessary support required to take advantage of global export opportunities and create more quality jobs at home?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for London North Centre for his hard work on this file.

CanExport is a $50 million five-year program that gives small- and medium-size companies the support they need to explore new export opportunities. We unveiled CanExport last month and it was with great pleasure that the hon. Minister of Small Business and I announced just last week that 29 companies have already been approved for funding.

This is a great program. I encourage all of us to get the small- and medium-size companies in our ridings from coast to coast to coast to apply. Let us—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order please. The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

Justice

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in his throne speech, the Prime Minister indicated that he would legalize and decriminalize marijuana. Law enforcement officials have since said that they do not have the tools they need to effectively deal with drug-impaired driving.

A device to quickly detect whether a driver has consumed drugs, like the one used to screen for alcohol, has not yet been approved in Canada.

Can the Minister of Public Safety explain what he intends to do to reassure our police forces and Canadian families, who are afraid that there will be more impaired drivers on our roads?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, this government recognizes the importance of keeping our communities safe. We are absolutely committed to working with the House to ensure that law enforcement agencies across this country have the tools necessary to keep our communities safe. It is an important part of the work that we will be doing in the future as we go forward to make our communities safe and to protect our kids, through the legalization and regulation of marijuana.

The Environment

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

All of us in the House are proud of the progressive role Canada played in concluding the agreement in Paris last year. The Paris agreement will be open for signing at the United Nations headquarters this spring on Earth Day.

My question to the Prime Minister is twofold. Will he personally accept the invitation of the Secretary-General to be there to sign the agreement, and more importantly, will he bring with him Canada's new, more robust target to meet the objectives of the agreement?