Debates of March 24th, 2016

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, one of the most important initiatives is to deal with counter-radicalization, something that the previous government absolutely failed to do. We made a commitment in the campaign, and we began the funding for it in this budget, to establish a Canadian office for community outreach and counter-radicalization and to work with all of our partners across this country and around the world to make sure we can head off these tragedies before they happen.

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal budget is an attack on our armed forces. The Liberals slashed $3.7 billion from the defence budget, and they are killing military procurement for five years. Our armed forces cannot afford another dark era of Liberal neglect. The Liberals have put us on the sidelines in the war against terrorism.

Why will the Liberal government not support our troops?

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

Mr. Speaker, the only attack on our troops was the $3 billion that were cut by the previous government, starting in 2012. We have re-profiled our money for when our major acquisitions will be needed. We have increased the operational budget by $360 million, and we added another $200 million for military infrastructure, $50 million of which will go to military family housing.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs refused to recognize that Canada is at war against the Islamic State. However, many of our allies are not afraid to call this conflict what it is: a war.

Is it because of that ideology that this government has indefinitely postponed the $3.7-billion investment in equipment that our armed forces need to go to war against the Islamic State?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to read a quote by General Vance, our Chief of the Defence Staff. He said:

We are a lawful party to an armed conflict against a non-state actor—that’s the legal terminology…

The so-called Islamic State wants to be recognized as a state, but it is not and never will be a state. That is why we are engaged in an armed conflict, and we are going to win the fight against this terrorist group.

Employment Insurance

[Erin Weir, NDP, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, today's EI numbers show just how hard cities like Regina and Edmonton have been hit. For weeks, the Liberals have been pledging help for Alberta and Saskatchewan. Yet, despite Liberal promises, the budget's only concession for regions hit by the collapse of oil and gas has been an extension of EI benefits; except, this measure excluded Edmonton, Regina, and southern Saskatchewan, where oil workers are being laid off.

Why does the budget's EI extension exclude Saskatchewan's oil patch?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to be standing in the House today to talk about the significant investments we are putting in to those workers who, unfortunately, have been hit by layoffs across the country.

Not only are we reducing waiting periods for benefits, but we are improving service quality. We have ended the negative 2012 changes. We have eliminated the punitive measures to youth, women, and new immigrants, and we have helped those regions of Canada—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Jonquière.

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are planning to implement an unfair two-tiered employment insurance system. The benefit period will be extended by five weeks in 12 regions of the country, but none of the regions of Quebec will benefit. There is nothing for the Gaspé or for Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean in particular.

The people there need help too. The government is going to divert $7 billion from the employment insurance fund and, to top it all off, it is going to exclude seasonal workers and workers in Quebec.

Is the minister not ashamed of this measure?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I can say we are very proud to help every region of Canada, including the areas of Quebec and seasonal workers, by reducing the deductible, the waiting period, by improving the quality of our service, by eliminating the 2012 negative changes, and by helping young people, new immigrants, and women from coast to coast to coast.

The Environment

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is losing its competitive edge to the U.S. when it comes to exporting our oil, and now we are losing it on LNG also. In fact, the Ambassador of Japan said if the approval of the environmental assessment is delayed further, Canada may run the risk of missing the chance to export LNG to the growing Asia market for a long time.

The Liberals have no plan for jobs. Why do they not get out of the way and let the private sector in Alberta and B.C. create jobs?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, we understand that the economy and the environment go together.

We are committed to ensuring that the energy sector remains a source of jobs and prosperity, but we also remain committed to ensuring that we do proper environmental assessment, a system that was gutted under the previous government.

I would like to point out that last Friday we approved an LNG project called Woodfibre that they might like to look at, but with PNW, they produced additional information and we will do a proper review and ensure that developments are done in a sustainable manner.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, every chance the Liberals get, they delay crucial energy infrastructure projects. They call for moratoriums on oil sands and tankers. They suck up to anti-Canadian energy lobby groups, and they add extra red tape and uncertainty at the very worst time.

In 2012, the current Minister of Justice said:

The country's reputation is at stake with approval of these projects like Site C, like the Enbridge pipeline.

How can Canadians trust the Liberals to support energy development and the hundreds of thousands jobs it provides when senior members of their cabinet are such vocal opponents?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, as I repeated previously, our government believes that the economy and the environment go together, and that is the only way we will get our resources to market.

Last Friday we approved a project because we believe that it met high environmental standards and it made sense for the economy. We are reviewing other projects to ensure that they do the same.

We will get projects to market when they are done in a sustainable way, unlike the previous government.

The Senate

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we do not know whether all seven new senators, including Mr. Pratte and Mr. Harder, were on the final lists submitted by the advisory board to the Prime Minister.

If Mr. Pratte was on the list, the Quebec board has broken its requirements to only nominate qualified persons.

If any of the seven was not on the lists, then the Prime Minister has broken his promise to rely upon independent advice.

If there was any communication between the Prime Minister and the advisory board to smooth out these wrinkles, then talk of the advisory board being independent is a farce.

One of these three scenarios is what actually happened. Which one is it?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate all the individuals who have been appointed to the Senate. They are all outstanding Canadians of the highest merit. I am confident that they will serve the best interests of Canadians. They also represent the diversity of our great nation.

This is an opportunity to express deepest gratitude to the individuals on the independent advisory board for reviewing the applications. We look forward to opening the process to all Canadians in the very near future.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship for his incredible achievement in bringing in 25,000 refugees by February 29. I am particularly proud of his commitment to bring in an additional 10,000 refugees by the end of this year.

I would like to ask the minister about housing for the new arrivals, and how the minister has progressed in helping government-assisted refugees move into permanent housing.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to report to the House that, while three weeks ago the proportion of refugees in permanent housing stood at 52%, as of yesterday the proportion of the Syrian refugees in permanent housing had increased to 78%. While I have always said that there would be bumps along the way, this is clearly strong progress, and I am confident that every single one of these refugees will be in permanent housing before the end of June.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

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

Mr. Speaker, budgets are demonstrations of governments' priorities, and farm families are convinced that they are not a Liberal priority. Even after borrowing billions of dollars, farmers and farm families were left out in the cold.

However, there was one suggestion for farm families in the budget. The suggestion was that farmers should become solar and wind power producers so that they would have good jobs. Farming is a good job. It is an honourable job.

I wonder when the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food will stand in this House and start defending honourable, hard-working farm families.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's question, but the problem is he is dead wrong.

The fact is that our government took essential steps to grow the middle class and revitalize the economy. The $5 million for broadband is vital for rural areas. We farmers live in rural areas. We farmers do business. We also put over $38 million in CFIA—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. There is way too much noise today. It is unnecessary; it is inappropriate. Let us show a little respect for each other and for this place.

The hon. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has the floor.

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

As I indicated, the broadband is so important, and so also is millions of dollars going into CFIA and millions of dollars into research. Research is so valuable in agriculture. As well, the gag order is lifted from the scientists.

Youth

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our farmers deserve much better than that.

On another subject, the Liberals made big election promises to Canada's youth during the campaign: hundreds of millions of dollars for a youth employment strategy and millions of dollars for a youth service program.

Unfortunately, there is $365 million less in the budget than promised for the next two years. Youth organizations are calling for more long-term investments in preventive measures and to improve job security.

Why has the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister for Youth so cynically abandoned Canada's youth?

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister (Youth)]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to answer the question posed by my hon. colleague from Salaberry—Suroît.

One thing I can say is that we are incredibly proud of what we are doing as a government for our youth. Keep in mind that the previous government did not have a minister of youth. Keep in mind that the previous government did not take the needs of our youth seriously, and because of that we saw that, for 10 years, the unemployment rate for young people in this country stayed stagnant at roughly the same amount.

We are taking this seriously. We are investing and ensuring that we are providing opportunities for young people, to create jobs and give them opportunities to go to university and make sure they have a better future.