Debates of April 19th, 2016

Labour

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, what I can tell the House is that this side respects both unions and businesses and their ability to come to a deal together. They both are going to be at the table working hard for their collective responsibilities. Overall, 95% of all agreements are settled at the table, if they are fair and balanced. This is exactly what we are doing with our Bill C-4.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is making defence cuts to create a leaner military and is delaying major procurement projects until after the next election. He plans on replacing Canada's combat capabilities with peace operations. He said that he wants to implement the recommendations from the 2011 transformation report, which would reduce the size of our military.

The Liberals have already locked in their ideological direction for the Canadian Armed Forces, so why should Canadians expect their views to actually be heard in the Liberal defence review?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to the Canadian Armed Forces. With our open and transparent defence review that we are launching, I welcome the member holding his consultations with Canadians and experts alike, and I look forward to hearing his comments personally as well.

I will reiterate for the member that our government is absolutely committed to the Canadian Armed Forces, the men and women who serve us.

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

Mr. Speaker, last week I had the opportunity to speak at the ninth annual Kyiv Security Forum. All speakers shared concerns over Russia's continued aggressive military actions. Just last week in the Baltic Sea, Russian fighter jets buzzed a U.S. warship and barrel-rolled over an American air force plane. Clearly, Russia is willing to flex its military muscle.

Will the Liberals take the Russian threat seriously in the defence review, or do they think talking to Putin is the appropriate defence posture?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is committed to working with our multilateral organizations, especially NATO. I have read the intelligence report on that. Our troops are actually working with NATO at the moment. I got to visit our troops in Poland and also the troops that are in Ukraine. They are doing wonderful work, and we are potentially looking at other ways that we can support NATO and oppose Russian aggression.

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

Mr. Speaker, under Jean Chrétien's Liberals, our armed forces went through a decade of darkness. It is sad to see the current government going down the same path.

The Prime Minister already cut defence investments in the recent budget. He does not want to acquire the F-35s, and he is delaying other important procurements. He also promised to replace our combat capabilities with peacekeeping missions.

Can the Prime Minister confirm that the defence policy is not yet written in stone and that consultations with the Standing Committee on National Defence will be taken into consideration?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member that, as I stated earlier, our government is committed to making sure that our men and women have the right capabilities.

We are having the defence review, but on a separate track we are also moving diligently along to ensure that we replace our CF-18s and our ships for the navy, and we are working on a lot of other projects.

However, the defence review allows all Canadians to participate in looking at where our Canadian Forces need to go.

Health

[Ramez Ayoub, Liberal, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week, countries from around the world will be attending the special session of the United Nations General Assembly on the world drug problem.

The government promised that its drug policy, including support for harm reduction, would be evidence-based.

Can the Minister of Health inform the House about Canada's participation in this meeting?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow I will be giving a speech at the special session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Government of Canada supports harm reduction, which includes a role for supervised injection sites, the need for good Samaritan legislation, and making naloxone more readily available in emergency situations. The world is looking to Canada for leadership on these issues, and I thank the hon. member for his interest.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, by international standards, Canada has fewer doctors specializing in palliative care than countries such as the U.S. or Australia. The Liberal government promised to support palliative care, but there was no word of it in the 2016 budget or in the latest legislation.

How can the Liberal government, in good conscience, open up physician-assisted suicide when palliative care is not available to the large majority of Canadians who need it?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would agree with my hon. colleague that Canadians do not have access to high-quality palliative care in a manner that is acceptable. Some records suggest that only 15% to 30% of Canadians have access to such services.

Our government is determined to work with the provinces and territories to increase access to palliative care. I will be working with my colleagues, the ministers of health across the country, to invest in home care and palliative care to make sure people have the care they need at the end of their lives.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago the NDP passed a motion calling on the government to establish a compensation fund for fallen firefighters. The Liberals again promised this fund during the election, yet the Prime Minister spoke to firefighters yesterday and failed to act on the public safety officer compensation fund.

Firefighters are deeply disappointed. When will the Liberals honour this promise and set up this long-overdue fund? How much longer will firefighters have to wait for a fund that will protect their families should they make the ultimate sacrifice while protecting the rest of us?

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

Mr. Speaker, some years ago I was very honoured to author in this House a private member's motion that was in fact passed and adopted by the House of Commons calling for the creation, among other things, of a public safety officer compensation fund.

It was in the Liberal platform; it is in my mandate letter; it will be delivered.

International Trade

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for St. Catharines and I had the privilege to announce the first foreign trade zone in Ontario last week in our home community of the Niagara region. This FTZ will provide companies that import and export any part of their supply chain and companies looking to sell their products to markets around the world with incentives to trade in Ontario, and specifically the Niagara region.

Would the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development explain to the House what else the Government of Canada is doing to help small and medium-sized business keep costs down while opening new markets around the world?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member from Niagara Centre for his question, his advocacy, and his hard work in promoting business development in that region.

The creation of foreign trade zone points in Niagara will provide a one-stop shop for businesses to access information on Canada's foreign trade zone policies and programs.

As stated in budget 2016, expansion of trade opportunities across Canada is a key part of the Government of Canada's plan to create jobs and grow the economy. In helping small businesses to trade domestically and globally, we are able to make sure that they grow, innovate, and create good-quality jobs here and abroad.

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, members of the agriculture committee voted against a motion to hear from farmers with regard to the trans-Pacific partnership. While Conservative and NDP members voted to hear from farmers, the Liberal members refused.

Is this the openness and transparency that the Minister of International Trade meant when she was promising broad consultations? When will the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food stand up and ensure that farmers and farm families are heard on this important deal?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we said during the election what we say today.

Our party understands, profoundly, that Canada is a trading nation. We also understand that with a trade deal as significant as the trans-Pacific partnership, we have a duty to consult broadly with Canadians. In fact, the trade committee is currently in British Columbia consulting.

As for consultations with farmers, I have personally held many in Alberta, and I do consult often with the farming community, including my own father, who is—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order.

The hon. member for Joliette.

Aerospace Industry

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, instead of working on Bombardier's recovery, the government is going to cause this flagship Quebec company to be dismantled and bought out by foreigners.

That is what this government is doing by forcing the company to do away with its multiple-voting shares. This government has it in for Bombardier. This government is well aware of this, because it chose to ignore its officials, who advised giving the company a line of credit.

Why did this government, which has 40 members from Quebec, issue this political directive?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, this government understands the importance of the aerospace sector, and that is why we are engaged with the company.

The company came forward on December 11 to ask for up to $1 billion. We have been doing our due diligence and looking at the business case.

We understand this is a solid company. We want to make sure we have constructive dialogue with the company. We will do what is in the best interests of Canadians, the company, Quebec, and the country from coast to coast to coast.

Employment Insurance

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Coalition des Sans-Chemise, which has the support of the main unions in Quebec, launched a campaign this week entitled “Employment insurance is for everyone!”

Although this government wants to improve the employment insurance system, it insists on applying a two-tier policy that overlooks or even ignores workers in Quebec's regions.

Will the minister fix this problem and take into account the reality facing workers in Quebec regions hard hit by seasonal work?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to remind the House that we have invested $2.5 billion in improving services and supports for workers who unfortunately get laid off, including seasonal workers from all parts of the country, even those areas that are not affected by the commodity downturn.

We have provided a number of supports that are helping small businesses and workers from coast to coast to coast. We are there for those who need it, when they need it.

The House resumed from April 14 consideration of the motion that this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #36

The Budget

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I declare the motion carried.

Motion No. 6

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

moved that a ways and means motion to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 22, 2016 and other measures be concurred in.