Debates of June 8th, 2016

Fisheries and Oceans

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission was established in 1955 by Canada and the U.S. It was established on a fixed cost-sharing basis. The United States has consistently increased annual funding to the commission. In budget 2016, the Liberals failed to support the important work of the commission, which includes protecting our Great Lakes from invasive species such as Asian carp and sea lamprey.

Will the fisheries minister please take action to ensure that Canada pays its share to protect our Great Lakes fisheries, yes or no?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the short answer is, yes.

I know the member is rightfully concerned by the persistent problem of invasive species. He has identified the Great Lakes as an area of considerable concern. I am really excited, because my colleague, the parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister, will have some very important and significant news on this exact issue, probably in the next 48 hours.

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wait in anticipation, but the truth is that more than ever we need the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to have the tools it needs to protect our Great Lakes fisheries.

Just recently, a commercial fisherman in Quebec reeled in a 29 kilogram Asian carp from the St. Lawrence River. The results will be devastating if an Asian carp population enters the Great Lakes in great numbers, or in any numbers in fact.

Why have the Liberals failed to protect an $8.3 billion recreational fishery in Canada?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, it will not surprise members that I do not share the pessimistic view of my colleague in the opposition.

I have said that we are committed to working both with provincial partners and the Americans on the important challenge of invasive species. We are working particularly with staff members in the province of Quebec on the shared experience they have in response to this important issue in respect to the capture of carp in the St. Lawrence near Montreal. This is why I know that the anticipation is very exciting for my colleague, but he should remain calm. We have very good news coming.

Housing

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Liberals were elected on a promise to make it easier for Canadians to find an affordable home. However, with housing prices up 30% in Toronto since 2014, and 37% in greater Vancouver in the last year alone, what has the government done?

The Minister of Finance announced a study, and made it harder for middle-class Canadians to get a mortgage.

We do not need another study to prove that water is wet, and the CMHC changes target the wrong buyers. This is a crisis. Where is the real action from the government?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the importance of housing to Canadians. We recognize the very real challenge of people in Vancouver and Toronto as the housing market is active.

Upon coming into office, we immediately took a look at measures on which we could move forward. We did so in December by moving some rules around down payments for expensive homes.

We are doing a deep dive to look at all evidence around the issues that are impacting our housing market so as we make decisions we can make them with evidence to keep this market strong for Canadians.

Natural Resources

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals promised during the election to fix the NEB's broken review of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, but instead they just added a smokescreen to the gutted Conservative review process.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and B.C. first nation leaders from Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations are in Ottawa today sounding the alarm on the Liberals' flawed environmental review process.

Is the Prime Minister really planning to dismiss their concerns as easily as he broke his promise to British Columbians on the Kinder Morgan pipeline review?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure on January 27, with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, to announce a new set of rules in order to re-establish some kind of Canadian confidence in the regulatory system that, unfortunately, was broken after the last 10 years.

We have added time for a panel of three distinguished western Canadians to hear the concerns of the mayor of Vancouver, the mayor of Calgary, and indigenous communities up and down the line, so at the end people will say, “We have confidence in the regulatory process.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the campaign platform of the Liberals said the Syrian refugee initiative would cost $250 million, but total costs to date are nearing in on $1 billion. In spite of this, refugees are not receiving language training, are living in bug-infested apartments, and are having difficulty finding employment. Groups providing services to refugees are struggling.

The minister was happy to spend taxpayer money on, yes, a glossy staged photo op at Pearson airport. Why has he not developed a comprehensive plan to support refugees?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of what Liberals have done on refugees.

In seven months, we admitted 46,000 refugees, which is twice as many as the Conservatives admitted in a whole year. We re-established refugee health care, which the Conservatives had abolished, and that had been declared unconstitutional. We are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to welcome refugees, including the teaching of English and French.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the real record after seven months is that the minister's officials could not tell us how many refugees were unemployed or how many were using food banks. Later the minister was forced to apologize, after he claimed that the use of food banks by Syrian refugees might have a “cultural element”.

Food banks across the country are raising concerns. Costs to the federal government are escalating. The refugees' one year of federal funding is coming to an end.

When will the minister admit that he has no plan and no costing to support these refugees?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly do not accept the premise of that question.

In terms of achievements, I will update the member on a very good number. Ninety-nine per cent of all the refugees are now in permanent housing. While it is true that we do not have precise numbers on jobs and language training, because that takes longer than finding housing, we are certainly investing much money and making much progress in terms of language training. We are working with employers to get jobs for the refugees.

We are working hard on all fronts.

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

Mr. Speaker, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Kitchener has raised $70,000 to privately sponsor a Syrian refugee family.

This family passed all needed security and health checks in February, but is still waiting to come to Canada. The church and family were told they would arrive in Canada by the end of February. Well, here we are three months and $7,000 later, and all anyone has received is a form letter from the Prime Minister.

Why have the Liberals failed one more Syrian refugee family?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we actually satisfied 46,000 Syrian refugees who we admitted in the space of seven months.

It is true that in view of the enormous generosity of Canadians, and that is a good thing, who want to support refugees, we have been unable to keep up with the pace of demand for refugees from all these generous Canadians. That is why we have stepped up to the plate. We have committed to bring in all the refugees whose applications were made by March 31. We have sent more officials out into the field. We are working very hard to satisfy the demand of—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Ottawa South.

Canadian Heritage

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a few days ago the Minister of Canadian Heritage held a press conference to outline the Canada Day 2016 activities in the national capital region.

This year, we will be celebrating the 149th anniversary of Confederation, and as we head into a big year of celebrations, I would like to ask my hon. colleague what activities Canadian Heritage has planned for Canada's birthday on July 1 in the national capital region?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Ottawa South asked an excellent question.

I would like to inform the House that, on July 1, there will be a number of celebrations in the greater national capital region, including at Major's Hill Park, on Parliament Hill, of course, at noon and in the evening, and at the Canadian Museum of History.

The programming will be very diverse. There is going to be iconic Canadian artists such as Coleman Hell, Les Hay Babies, Coeur de pirate, Metric, and of course, Indian City. I really hope that Canadians from coast to coast to coast will be joining us in Ottawa and if they cannot, they can watch CBC/Radio-Canada—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton.

Consular Affairs

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been 299 days since the Azer children were abducted by their father. We now know that the children are in Iran. How much longer do these children need to be in harm's way? When will the government demand that Iran safely return these four Canadian children?

[Pam Goldsmith-Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the safety and well-being of the Azer children are a priority for this government. The Prime Minister did meet with Ms. Azer and reiterated justice. Our parliamentary secretary for consular affairs remains in frequent communication with Ms. Azer. It is important to understand that he is doing all he can as we continue to work both at home and abroad for the children's safe return. We will not stop until the children are reunited with their mother.

International Trade

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are letting others walk all over us. The Kénogami mill will be closed for 11 days because of the 18% export tax on supercalendered paper.

As if that were not enough, we seem to be headed straight for a fifth trade war with the United States over softwood lumber. Everyone has sounded the alarm. Thousands of jobs are at stake, including 5,000 in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean. The government promised us a solution within 100 days. That deadline is now 10 days away, and mills are already closing.

What will the Prime Minister do, and when will he do it?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question.

We are very concerned about the United States' action on this file. We are in regular contact with the stakeholders, including Resolute.

Our team is also in contact with the office of Quebec's minister of forestry and the economy. We have called for the creation of a special binational panel under chapter 19 of NAFTA , and we participated in consultations in Washington on the creation of a World Trade Organization panel. We will defend Canadians' interests.

National Defence

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces are among our country's greatest assets and parliamentarians often wish to visit military bases such as Base Gagetown in the riding I represent, to establish relationships and learn about our Armed Forces. The previous government restricted members' access by requiring ministerial approval for such visits, significantly hampering opposition members.

Could the Minister of National Defence share what measures he has taken to improve access to military bases for all parliamentarians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that our government has fulfilled its commitment and has reversed the policy of the previous Conservative government. Members of Parliament and senators no longer require ministerial approval in order to visit a military establishment. Requests are now only subject to the discretion of the base commander or a commanding officer. It is important for parliamentarians and senators to have unimpeded access to our military all across Canada.

Manufacturing Industry

[Alex Nuttall, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals ran on a platform of growing the economy from the heart out. Since December, Canada has lost over 51,000 manufacturing jobs and fallen to 10th place in the world in business competitiveness. Output is dropping, unemployment is rising, and the heart out approach is not working.

When will the Liberals stop ripping the heart out of Canadian manufacturers?