Debates of March 21st, 2016

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, there is some sense in these laws applied in certain ways, but on the whole I would agree that this is part of the long legacy of things inherited from the previous government that must be reviewed and quite likely changed.

I have sympathy with the point expressed by the hon. member. I can assure her that we will review these provisions with a view to improving them in the future.

Parks Canada

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Mr. Speaker, my home, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada's first incorporated city, established in 1783, deserves to have its story told, about its place in our nation's proud history. Unfortunately, national historic monuments like Martello Tower, Fort La Tour, Fort Howe, and Partridge Island are falling into ruin and have been ignored by previous governments. Projects like the restoration of Partridge Island would be transformative for my community by celebrating our past and promoting our future.

What is the government's plan for reinvestment in our national parks and historic monuments?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague from Saint John—Rothesay for his advocacy on this important issue.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change was pleased to recently visit Saint John, where she announced investments totalling more than $21 million in several Parks Canada sites across southern New Brunswick. This includes significant rehabilitation work on Carleton Martello Tower National Historic Site and major investments in Fundy National Park.

Our government is creating jobs and taking action to ensure our treasured places are protected, celebrated, and preserved for future generations.

Employment

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, several groups have called on the Liberals to make special changes to help address specific labour challenges across this country. Last week we learned that the Liberals were moving to help the fishing industry, but agriculture was left out in the cold. Surely the Liberals understand that agriculture is an important industry in this country, contributing billions of dollars to our national economy each and every year.

I am wondering if the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food will stand up in the House and demonstrate a real commitment to help solving the labour challenges being faced by our farm families.

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I had an opportunity to address a national agriculture-agrifood conference in Winnipeg this past week. We talked about a number of changes that are facing the agricultural sector, including very rapid industrial and innovation changes to equipment and the challenges of finding high-skilled operators.

There are new advances in training and skill development, and we are working actively with the agricultural sector.

Canada Revenue Agency

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

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, March 10, my colleague from Joliette asked a question about the Isle of Man tax avoidance scheme involving KPMG clients. In response, the Minister of National Revenue stated, “...there is no amnesty...”

I have a simple question. Since there was no amnesty, what penalties is the CRA imposing, and when will criminal charges be laid?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, there is only one set of rules, as I said.

The CRA exposed the scheme. It audited taxpayers and has taken legal action. The CRA's work is not done.

I encourage all of my colleagues to be prudent and avoid jumping to conclusions.

The Environment

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the Paris conference, the government made a commitment to the entire world to fight climate change.

According to the Pembina Institute, however, if the energy east pipeline goes into service, greenhouse gas emissions will increase by 32 million tonnes a year. That is the equivalent of adding more than seven million vehicles to Quebec's roads.

Will the government finally admit that the energy east project is completely at odds with the Prime Minister's commitments at the Paris conference?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, again, this government understands that work on the environment and the economy go hand in hand. We have a plan with respect to climate change that involves a range of tools around carbon pricing, around mitigation measures across various sectors, and around a range of different measures that will allow us to meet the commitments we made in Paris.

We have never said that energy projects will stop. We have always said that this will be done in a broad and comprehensive way as we move through the next 40 years in a transition to a lower carbon economy.

Housing

[Simon Marcil, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian homelessness strategy, which focuses on a housing-first approach, is simply not working.

The Prime Minister publicly supported the strategy developed by organizations that work with the homeless to protect Quebec's more broadly based approach, while also promising to increase Quebec's share to $50 million a year.

Will the Prime Minister honour his commitment, or is he going to penalize those in need?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question. This issue is very important to us. As we have pointed out, this is about the vulnerability of the most at-risk and poorest members of our society.

I think the hon. member will be surprised in the coming weeks by the new relationship that we plan to build with the provinces regarding this important issue.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on what the parliamentary budget officer had to say last week. For a long time, I have heard that what the parliamentary budget officer has to say is important.

I would like to table a Department of Finance Fiscal Monitor that proves that our government left the house in order with a surplus of more than $3 billion.

[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.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

In my opinion, we do not have unanimous consent.

Government Response to Petitions

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to two petitions.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, entitled “Supplementary Estimates (C) 2015-2016: Vote 3c under Canadian High Artic Research Station and Votes 1c, 5c and 10c under Indian Affairs and Northern Development.”

Justice and Human Rights

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, entitled “Supplementary Estimates (C) 2015-16: Vote 1c under Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Votes 1c and 5c under Justice”.

Agriculture

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a petition in this House from Land Over Landings, an organization in my constituency. For decades, Land Over Landings has advocated that the federal lands in Pickering be used for natural and agricultural purposes. The lands, which encompass class 1 greenbelt farmland, has the potential to become a major food source for the GTA and the province of Ontario.

I am proud to support Land Over Landings in these efforts, and I look forward to continuing to bring forward these issues in this House.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 45 and 48.

Question No. 45

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

With regard to the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ stated intentions in the Ottawa Citizen on November 11, 2015, that the government needs to engage with Iran much more than before: (a) has the government been in contact with any officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran with regard to re-opening diplomatic relations with that country; (b) if the answer to (a) is affirmative, what has been the response; (c) has the government indicated an intention to re-open a Canadian mission or office in Tehran; (d) has the government done an analysis of the need to protect Canadian officials and assets in the event of a Canadian mission being re-opened in Tehran; (e) has the government decided to lift any of Canada’s current sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran; and (f) has the government taken any measures to impose sanctions on certain Iranian individuals and companies due to recent ballistic missile tests in Iran, as did the Obama Administration?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the government cannot confirm nor deny contact with officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran with regard to re-engaging diplomatic relations with that country. In processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the principles set out in the Access to Information Act, and has assessed that it cannot provide such information in keeping with those principles.

With regard to (b), it is not applicable.

With regard to (c), the government is cautiously evaluating the process of re-engagement, which may include the reopening of a Canadian mission in Tehran. However, there are no plans to reopen an embassy at this time.

With regard to (d), the safety of Canadian officials will be of paramount importance if and when we look at re-establishing a diplomatic presence.

With regard to (e), on February 5, 2016, Canada amended its United Nations-mandated sanctions against Iran in order to comply with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 from 2016, in coordination with P5+1 countries and other like-minded countries. That same day, Canada also amended its autonomous sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act, SEMA, by lifting the broad ban on financial services and imports and exports imposed on Iran. Under SEMA, Canada continues to prohibit the export of listed proliferation-sensitive goods, and also maintains a list of individuals and entities subject to asset freezes, with whom all transactions involving property are prohibited. Canada also restricts the export to Iran of the most sensitive goods under the Export Control List.

With regard to (f), on February 5, 2016, Canada added six additional individuals and one entity related to Iran’s ballistic missile program to its list of sanctioned individuals and entities under SEMA.

Question No. 48

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

With regard to the government’s refugee-intake priorities for 2016, what are the government’s planned 2016 refugee allocation numbers for both privately-sponsored and government-assisted categories, broken down by country of origin, including Syria?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship tables the “Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration” on or before November 1 of each year, or, if a house of Parliament is not then sitting, within the next 30 days on which that house is sitting after that date. The 2016 immigration levels plan, which was recently tabled alongside the annual report, includes admission ranges for resettled refugees by stream--government-assisted refugees, privately sponsored refugees, and blended visa office-referred refugees.

The 2016 plan sets a target of 44,800 resettled refugees--government-assisted refugees, blended visa office-referred refugees, and privately sponsored refugees--within a range of 41,000 to 46,000. This level of admissions is more than triple the admissions in 2015 and is sufficient space to allow the resettlement of 25,000 government-supported refugees from Syria, and also to meet ongoing multi-year resettlement commitments, outlined below.

More specifically, the levels plan establishes the following admissions targets for resettled refugees: 24,600 government-assisted refugees, within a range of 24,000 to 25,000; 2,400 blended visa office-referred refugees, within a range of 2,000 to 3,000; and 17,800 privately-sponsored refugees, within a range of 15,000 to 18,000.

For the government-assisted refugee stream, each year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC, allocates admissions in the levels plan to various vulnerable populations to support the department’s multi-year resettlement commitments. Canada’s ongoing multi-year commitments are as follows: Eritreans, 4,000 persons by end of 2018; Congolese, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2,500 persons by end of 2017; Colombians, 900 persons by end of 2016; and mixed populations out of Turkey, e.g., Iranians, Iraqis and Syrians, 5,000 persons by end of 2017.

Accordingly, government-assisted refugees resettled in 2016 will include individuals from the countries of origin listed above. Resettled refugee admissions not allocated to a multi-year commitment are used for individual protection needs, and new refugee situations, as they emerge. Refugees resettled under the blended visa office-referred stream are selected from the same pool as government-assisted refugees referred by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees according to the above criteria. And, blended visa office-referred refugees will, correspondingly, be from similar countries of origin.

Admissions in the privately sponsored refugee stream are not determined in advance in the same way admissions for government-assisted refugees are guided by multi-year commitments. Private sponsors name the refugee(s) they wish to sponsor, and thus the number of sponsored refugees from different countries of origin fluctuates from year to year based on sponsorship. In 2014, for example, the top nine countries of origin of privately sponsored refugees were Eritrea, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Congo, Pakistan, and Sudan.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, furthermore, if Question Nos. 44, 47, and 49 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.