Debates of Sept. 27th, 2016

Croatian Person of the Year

[Bob Bratina, Liberal, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Hamilton's Croatian community is one of Canada's oldest and most active.

On Sunday I attended, as the only MP of Croatian heritage, the annual Croatian Person of the Year banquet.

Michael Loncarich exemplifies the best of Canadian and Croatian values, an outstanding musician on our traditional instrument, the tambura, a teacher to both young and old, a successful businessman and a proud husband and father.

Croatians are an important part of Canada's great diversity, and I am proud to honour Michael Loncarich as Hamilton's Croatian man of the year.

Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of two of our paralympic athletes. Hearty congratulations to Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito, who distinguished themselves in synchronized diving.

This duo from my riding, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, and that of my colleague, the hon. member for Alfred-Pellan, worked hard and brought the bronze medal home to Laval.

With their determination, they have inspired us all, especially young Canadians living with disabilities.

In 2012, they won at the London Games despite injuries and obstacles. Through perseverance, they managed to triumph over the world's best athletes.

I am proud of them and all the athletes who represented us in Rio. Again, congratulations.

Fort McMurray

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, over the last three years I have seen my riding suffer like no other area in Canada.

First it was the price of oil. When it dropped, thousands lost their jobs and many lost their homes. Then the wildfires tore through my community, leading to the largest evacuation Alberta has ever seen. Then there was flooding.

Now, as the people of Fort McMurray begin to rebuild their lives and their homes, the government is once again making things worse. This time the Liberal government is imposing a tariff on drywall that will raise the price by as much as 276%.

This tariff will add thousands of dollars to the cost of rebuilding a home. All of this money will go directly to the government in what can only be described as another tax grab.

Residents of Fort McMurray need a repeal of this tariff. This is another example of the Liberals turning their backs on the west and profiting from the hardships of the fire ravaged community of Fort McMurray.

Research and Development

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

Mr. Speaker, it gives me pride to rise and highlight post-secondary education, specifically two schools that are located in London, the city I have the honour of representing in the House.

Western University is a world class research-intensive institution. It was an honour to recently announce the $66-million grant, the largest in the university's history. These funds are for the BrainsCAN initiative that concentrates on research in cognitive neuroscience imaging.

Fanshawe College is one of Ontario's largest colleges with a promise to educate, engage, empower and excite. I had the privilege to speak at the grand opening of their Canadian Centre for Product Validation, a facility offering prototyping and testing in one location, a project made possible through FedDev.

On behalf of researchers, staff and students at Western and Fanshawe, I thank the Minister of Science and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development for their commitment to advancing a research and innovation agenda in Canada.

Religious Freedom

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on e-petition 411, sponsored by the hon. member for Pierrefonds—Dollard. It calls on the House to condemn all forms of Islamophobia. I want to thank my colleague for his leadership.

In 2008, Masjid Usman opened in Pickering and it has welcomed Muslims from across the GTA for prayers and spiritual reflection since. This petition is so important to me because over the past several years a few individuals have vandalized the mosque, where many of my constituents worship. I am always amazed at the response from community leaders and neighbours who condemn these hateful acts and come together to express their support.

In difficult times, our country's values are on full display. I urge all my colleagues to spread awareness of e-petition 411 and join Canadians from all walks of life in condemning Islamophobia.

Pipelines

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to pay tribute to a great Canadian nation-builder, one that contributes immensely to Canada's economic growth. It is a pipeline.

More than 700,000 Canadian jobs rely on the energy sector, but the Liberals are turning their backs on these hard-working Canadians. Liberal inaction is putting this industry in jeopardy. Trans Mountain, northern gateway, and hearings on energy east have all been delayed. Billions of dollars in investments are gone.

While the Liberals delay and dither, more than 100,000 energy workers have lost their jobs. Royal Bank CEO David McKay has come out and said that he must speak out because Canada will not succeed if Alberta does not succeed. Alberta will not succeed if its energy sector does not succeed.

Our energy industry is world class. We must focus on how cleanly we can produce it, how safely we can transport it, how wisely we can consume it, and how many jobs it creates.

The Conservatives understand pipelines are critical to Canada's economy. As Conservatives, we understand pipelines are an essential nation-builder.

Community Advocacy

[Darshan Singh Kang, Liberal, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in the House to recognize an exceptional member of our community of Calgary Skyview, Mr. Syed Soharwardy.

Mr. Soharwardy immigrated to Canada from Pakistan in 1995 with his wife, son, and daughter. In 1998, he founded the Muslims Against Terrorism in Canada, which has become a global organization for peace. He founded the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, which has chapters in six different provinces. In 2008, he led the multi-faith walk from Halifax to Victoria against domestic violence, animal abuse, elder abuse, and terrorism.

He has participated in over 180 interfaith dialogues and co-founded the Calgary Jewish-Muslim Council. He united Canadian imams to speak out against the Taliban, al Qaeda, Daesh, and against terrorism, to Canada and the United States. He also works on the de-radicalization of youth with the RCMP.

Imam Soharwardy is an example of the exceptional individual who makes our nation stronger because of our diversity and not in spite of it.

The Environment

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Texas-based oil giant Kinder Morgan wants to build a pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby in order to export raw, undiluted bitumen to foreign countries. This is a bad idea. British Columbians take all the risk and get none of the reward.

Kinder Morgan will pocket at least $5 million dollars a day if this pipeline is built, but all British Columbians are left with is a giant environmental time bomb.

This ripoff project is opposed by Premier Christy Clark, John Horgan, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, and thousands of British Columbians.

During the election the Liberals promised to redo Harper's flawed pipeline review process. They broke their promise, but can redeem themselves if they reject Harper's pet pipeline project in December.

Since 2011, I have stood with British Columbians against this project, and will stand with again if the Liberals approve the project in December. I urge the Liberals to reject Kinder Morgan and embrace a green energy future.

Supreme Court of Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, for 141 years, Atlantic Canada has maintained representation on the Supreme Court. Every government has respected Atlantic Canadian representation, until the Liberal government with its appointment process that does not guarantee Atlantic representation on the court.

Just about everyone has criticized this flawed appointment process, except the 32 Liberal MPs from Atlantic Canada who have been absolutely silent when it comes to defending 141 years of Atlantic Canadian representation on the court.

For the 32 Liberal MPs from Atlantic Canada, when given the choice between standing behind the Prime Minister or standing up for Atlantic Canada, they chose to stand behind the Prime Minister at the expense of Atlantic Canada. They should be ashamed.

Hope in High Heels

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday, Halton Women's Place held its seventh annual Hope in High Heels event in my riding of Burlington. Boys and men of all ages from 8 to 82, including our mayor, fire chief, Halton police, labour, business, and sports leaders, and my husband and my brother all slipped into a pair of hot-pink heels and strutted in solidarity with Halton Women's Place to fight to end violence against women.

The message is simple: we will not end violence against women and children if boys and men are not included in the conversation and part of the solution. I thank all the boys and men for their leadership and their positive role modelling to help raise awareness and funds for a heroic organization in my community that provides vital support for our most vulnerable in their time of need.

I was thinking that the event was such a success this weekend in Burlington that maybe we should organize a Hope in High Heels on the Hill. Are you up for it, Mr. Speaker?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Question period starts in a moment and, of course, the Speaker just moderates; he does not answer questions.

Oral questions. The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Natural Resources

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is failing when it comes to backing our resource workers and their families. He has been faltering on making decisions on major energy projects, and this has to stop. The Pacific NorthWest LNG would provide thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment at no cost to taxpayers. These workers and families need the Prime Minister to make a decision. They cannot afford to wait any longer.

Will the Prime Minister finally make a decision that is in the interests of energy workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected this government to make decisions in the interests of all Canadians, and that is why we are focused on making sure that there is no longer a false choice put forward between being good for the environment and building strong jobs. We are actually going to do them both together on a broad range of projects. That is what Canadians expect, that we defend our environment and create economic growth, and do that while respecting communities and partnering with indigenous peoples.

That is what Canadians expect of their government and that is exactly what this government is going to do.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we warned the Prime Minister that his reckless spending and higher taxes would not create jobs, and now this is Canada's new reality. It means less jobs and less economic growth. However, there are solutions. We have workers in this country with the skills, the ambition, and the ability to get to work today, but too many projects are stuck waiting for the Prime Minister to make a decision.

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and approve job-creating pipeline projects so we can get our hardest-hit families back to work?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years the previous government was unable to approve large projects simply because it did not have the public's confidence. It did not demonstrate that it understood that building a strong economy requires one to protect the environment at the same time. That is what we are focused on.

The Conservatives also do not understand that the only taxes we have raised are on the wealthiest 1% so we could lower them for the middle class, and they voted against it.

Foreign Affairs

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we are starting to learn details about the Prime Minister's secret negotiations on a cybersecurity agreement with China. Let us be clear. The Chinese have hacked into our National Research Council; they have hacked the government's networks thousands of times; Canadian companies are under a constant threat of Chinese hacking to steal their ideas and intellectual property, and this illegal activity has gone on for decades.

How dangerously naive can the Prime Minister be to enter into a cybersecurity agreement with the country that poses the largest cybersecurity threat?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for years Canadians governments have been bringing up security and rule of law concerns with the Chinese government, but the fact is that it has always been done on an ad hoc basis. What we have actually established is an ongoing rigorous security and rule of law dialogue that will allow us to advance the issues of consular affairs and cybersecurity, issues that matter to Canadians in a robust way that is going to get results.

For too long the previous government's back and forth and dilly-dallying on engagement with China did not produce the results that Canadians need.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, last month, the immigration minister said that an extradition treaty with China was off the table because of its human rights record. Then last week, the Prime Minister and the Chinese premier indicated that they were negotiating an extradition treaty. Then this past weekend, the foreign affairs minister publicly contradicted the Prime Minister and said they would never negotiate an extradition treaty with China.

Will the Prime Minister let us know once and for all, is he or anyone in his government negotiating an extradition treaty with China?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

As I have said a number of times, Mr. Speaker, the previous government had many conversations around issues of extradition, of rule of law, of consular affairs with China, but always on an ad hoc basis. What we have established is a rigorous security and rule of law dialogue that will allow us to bring up difficult issues and emphasize that Canada has very high expectations around rule of law and process around any such things as extradition. That is something that Canadians expect us to hold to.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Prime Minister and the Chinese Premier confirmed that they were negotiating an extradition treaty between the two countries.

Then, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada's top diplomat who is aware, one would hope, that the treaty is being negotiated with China, contradicted the Prime Minister saying that we would never negotiate an extradition treaty.

Who are Canadians to believe, the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the Prime Minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, last week, we confirmed that we established a dialogue on security and rule of law to show that our government is prepared to work with the Chinese government on issues that matter to Canadians. We now have a robust way to have regular discussions on important matters, such as consular affairs and human rights. We will continue to uphold the principles of Canadians and to meet their expectations when it comes to extradition treaties. We have extremely high expectations in such matters.

Natural Resources

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when the royals arrived in Canada over the weekend, the Prime Minister said:

The Great Bear rainforest is no place for a crude oil pipeline.

British Columbians give that a big high five.

What he seems unwilling to do is to say whether he thinks the Great Bear rainforest is a place for a natural gas pipeline. Can the Prime Minister reassure British Columbians on that, or is he just going to leave them hanging?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in the previous election, we made a very clear statement that we would both protect the environment and create the jobs and prosperity that Canadians expect.

It is no longer a question of making a choice on one side or the other. That is why we are moving forward in a responsible way to analyze various projects. We are going to make the decisions in the best interests of all Canadians, whether it is communities, whether it is indigenous partners, whether it is people concerned about the environment or, indeed, people concerned about growth.

That is our responsibility, and that is what we are going to live up to.

Health

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me read what the current Minister of Public Services said in the House before the election:

It is not right that throughout our country we are seeing reduced health care funding to the provinces by nearly $36 billion....

Now in government, the Liberals have adopted the health care plan of Stephen Harper. Do members hear that applause?

Was this always the Liberal plan? Attack Stephen Harper's policies to get elected and then, once in government, adopt those exact same policies?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, under the Liberal government, we have demonstrated an unprecedented level of co-operation and collaboration with the provinces.

Indeed, the previous government refused to talk about health care, refused to work on this important issue to Canadians with its partners in the provinces. That is exactly what we are doing. The Minister of Health is engaged with her counterparts across the country. We are working to respond to Canadians' desire to have a health system that works and that keeps us all healthy.