Debates of Oct. 17th, 2017

International Trade

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, our government strongly supports Canada's supply management system and Canadian families and producers. Our government remains committed to listening to what Canadians have to say about international trade. We recently held a round table on NAFTA with Canadian farmers, including dairy, poultry, and egg producers. The proposals our American partners have made regarding supply management are unacceptable, and we will continue to support the supply management system and all agricultural interests.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, supporting supply management means saying “no”. Dairy is officially on the table. The U.S. has called for a definitive end to Canada's supply managed system and is demanding immediate further access to our markets. This is outrageous. Both the Liberals and the Conservatives have no problem putting our supply managed sector up for grabs in trade deals like TPP and CETA, but this time, the Liberals must protect our industry and say “no”.

Will the minister drop the spin and finally tell the U.S. that supply management is not on the table?

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, we are the party that implemented supply management, and we are going to continue to defend it. Dairy trade between Canada and the United States massively favours the U.S., by a ratio of five to one. For eggs and poultry, the U.S. has seen an increase of 209% since NAFTA was signed. The U.S. has a trade surplus of $246 million. I want to reassure the House and our dairy, poultry, and egg farmers that we are going to defend our supply management system.

Ethics

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is disturbing to discover that the Finance Minister broke the law by hiding his offshore corporation for two years. It is even more disturbing to now find out that he did not put his millions of dollars in shares in a blind trust as required by the law. It must be because he sold the shares, otherwise he broke the law. Therefore, when did the Finance Minister sell his shares in Morneau Shepell?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, since the start of his term, the Minister of Finance has been working with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to ensure that he is in full compliance with all the rules that govern us and that he follows any recommendation that she may make.

Just today, the minister wrote to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner seeking a meeting. He is open to any recommendation she may make, such as a blind trust, for example.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, those are the same talking points as on billionaire island and the Liberal cash for access fundraisers. I asked a very simple question.

The Minister of Finance has said hundreds of times that his government is open and transparent, but he refuses to come clean with Canadians. He has been hiding the ownership of his offshore corporation. Now he will not come clean with Canadians about his business interest that put him into this conflict of interest.

When will the minister finally come clean with Canadians and tell them whether he still owns shares of Morneau Shepell?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, since the start of his mandate, the Minister of Finance has always been open and transparent with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. He is committed to continuing on that path, and to taking any steps she may recommend to make sure that he is in full conformity with the rules that govern members of Parliament, parliamentary secretaries, and ministers in the House.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the rules are very simple and apply to every one of the 338 MPs here: we must disclose our assets within 60 days.

There is good reason to wonder whether the Minister of Finance is working in his own interest and that of the Liberal Party or in the interest of all Canadians. We know that he did not disclose his personal affairs for more than two years.

My question is so simple that I am not sure the parliamentary secretary will attempt to answer it.

Does the minister still own shares in his company? If so, when will he sell them?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, the Minister of Finance will continue to work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to comply with the rules that govern us.

The member wants to know who the Minister of Finance is working for. I can tell him that the minister is working in the interest of the 300,000 children we have lifted out of poverty with the Canada child benefit, of the 437,000-plus jobs we have created, most of them full-time, and of the strongest growth we have seen in the past 10 years.

These factors are the reason Canadian entrepreneurs are prospering. Our Minister of Finance is working in the interest of Canadians, regardless of their income or origins.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, when he was elected, the Minister of Finance held about $30 million in shares in Morneau Shepell. When he was appointed finance minister, he promised to put his fortunes in a blind trust, but he broke that promise.

For the last two years as finance minister, he has been making decisions that could have directly helped his family business. We know he has gone out of his way to protect his family fortune from any negative tax changes.

When will the Prime Minister stop sheltering his Minister of Finance? Let him answer the question. When did he sell his shares in Morneau Shepell?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let me set the record straight for my colleague.

The Minister of Finance wrote to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner today seeking a meeting. He is committed to following up on all of her recommendations regarding his personal affairs. He made that commitment upon becoming Minister of Finance, and he has honoured it ever since. He has been working with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner since the very beginning of his term.

Health

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that millions of Canadians cannot afford the medicines they need. The PBO confirms that we can provide prescription coverage to every single Canadian, while saving billions of dollars.

Later today, the House will vote on an NDP motion to start negotiations with the provinces and territories within one year to create universal pharmacare. This is a common-sense proposal, sound public policy that will help millions and saves billions.

Will the Liberals join us and support pharmacare for all Canadians?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians pay too much for prescription drugs. Our government is taking bold action now to bring down the prices, while we also explore the need for a national formulary. We joined the provinces and territories as members of the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance. Also, in budget 2017 we are investing over $140 million to help improve access to pharmaceuticals.

These actions will save Canadians money as we continue to work with provinces and territories to make prescription drug prices more affordable and more accessible to all Canadians.

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have just learned that more than 60 people died from opioid overdoses in Montreal this fall, and the situation is only getting worse across Canada.

A number of stakeholders are calling on the government to declare a state of emergency. Even President Trump recognizes that the situation in the United States calls for a protracted battle and significant funding.

What is the government waiting for? When will it declare the opioid crisis a Canada-wide emergency?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we are in a national public health crisis in Canada and we are responding in a way that is comprehensive, collaborative, compassionate, and also evidence based. We recently announced an investment of $7.5 million that will enhance the development of evidence-based practices that could be used by those dealing with this crisis on the ground. These build on our investment in budget 2017 and many actions to date.

Social Development

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today is both the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and Housing on the Hill Day. Given the recent poverty reduction conference and the unprecedented investments over the past two budgets, we know that fighting poverty and meeting Canada's housing challenges are at the forefront of this government's agenda.

Could the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development tell the House what he is doing on those important issues?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Vancouver Centre for being such a strong advocate of a more inclusive and more fair society.

Our government believes that housing is the cornerstone of the lives of families and communities. We are going to announce, in the next few weeks, the first-ever national housing strategy, which will be a key input in our poverty reduction strategy. We look forward to building on those strategies to make sure that all Canadians have a real and fair chance to be well and to succeed in our society.

International Trade

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I was in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, and I met with dairy producers who are worried about their future. What worries them is the Liberals' doublespeak about supply management. Although the Minister of Foreign Affairs tried in vain to put the toothpaste back in the tube, her parliamentary secretary was very clear. When it comes to supply management, there is room for negotiation with the U.S.

Why is the Liberal government ready to negotiate and thereby jeopardize the future of dairy, egg, and poultry farmers?

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, our government is fully in favour of supply management and it will continue to defend it. As I said earlier, dairy trade between Canada and the U.S. massively favours the U.S., by a ratio of five to one. Canada is the second largest export market for dairy products in the United States, surpassed only by Mexico. The minister and I have made it clear that we will defend supply management and the system in place.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Those are just words, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister think that farmers are scheming to save on taxes. Mr. Wolfson, their economic advisor, claims family farms do not even exist.

Could it be that the parliamentary secretary was misquoted?

Here are his exact words when he spoke of supply management in Denton on October 11:

“Is there room to discuss and negotiate? Of course.”

Of course!

When will the government stop the doublespeak and abandon its plan to open supply management to negotiations with Washintgon?

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, our government strongly supports supply management, farmers and their families. As we have said from the very start in the House, we will continue to defend producers from the Americans. I also said that the United States' proposals are unacceptable. Therefore, we will continue to support our dairy, poultry and egg producers and all of our agricultural interests.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives know that protecting Canadian farmers from unfair competition and dumping is critical to maintaining economic stability in rural communities.

American negotiators are aggressively pushing to unlimited access to Canada's supply managed agricultural sectors. This threatens farmers across Canada, including those who produce milk, eggs, and poultry. Can Canadian farmers trust the Liberals to preserve the family farm? Does the government have a plan to protect Canadians' way of life?

[Andrew Leslie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is the biggest market to the United States, bigger than China, Japan, and U.K. combined. As members know, we are dealing with the most protectionist U.S. government since the 1930s.

We defend supply management. We believe in the family farms. We would like to encourage our neighbours to the south to emulate the good example set by our negotiations in the CETA trade issues.

Having said this, within NAFTA there are certain things we cannot accept and we will not accept. We will continue to defend our values.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary for Canada-U.S. relations clearly knows how to win friends and influence people in the U.S. Just three days after he said he was open to negotiating supply management, the Americans tabled their offer. They want an end to supply management.

Under Conservative governments, the Americans respected our system of supply management, but the Liberal government is literally ready to sell the farm. When will that member and the government stop saying one thing to Canadian farmers and another thing to their friends in Washington?

[Andrew Leslie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House, and those who are fortunate enough to be on our portion of the other side, believe in supply management. Indeed, everyone in this House, with the exception of certain members of the Conservative Party of Canada, believe in supply management. The same is true of the gang opposite.

We are delighted to defend supply management and will do so at every opportunity.