Debates of Oct. 25th, 2017

Poverty

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claim to have lifted 300,000 children out of poverty with the Canada child benefit. However, a new report issued by Citizens for Public Justice clearly shows that one in seven people are still living in poverty. One in seven. Even working Canadians are still living in precarious circumstances. The government still has a lot of work to do to eliminate poverty.

What is the government waiting for? When will it help to improve the situations of first nations, the working poor, children, unemployed workers, people with disabilities, families, and refugees in order to make them less vulnerable?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question because it gives me an opportunity to repeat what we announced yesterday. We are in the process of ensuring that the Canada child benefit is indexed to the cost of living. This will help put more much-needed money in the pockets of families in the coming years and reduce child poverty by 40%. We are also giving more assistance to the working poor, who face major challenges. We will be investing an additional $750 million in 2019 to give more support to those who need it.

Indigenous Affairs

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, reliable access to drinking water and wastewater treatment is vital to the well-being of our communities and an important issue for our indigenous communities. Our government is committed to renewing the relationship with indigenous peoples and providing the infrastructure they need to prosper.

Could the Prime Minister give us an idea of the kind of work the government is doing to improve access to drinking water and wastewater treatment on reserves?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Nickel Belt for his question. The state of indigenous peoples' drinking water and wastewater treatment systems is unacceptable. That is why we recently funded 235 new drinking water supply and wastewater treatment projects in 116 indigenous communities in Ontario. These projects are helping to improve the quality of life in these communities across Ontario. We are also committed to doing more of the same across the country in partnership with indigenous communities.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, we have learned that 60 ISIS fighters have entered Canada after fighting a war against our allies and our own soldiers.

How is it possible that these criminals are allowed to return to Canada and live here freely?

We do not know who they are, where they are, or what their plans are.

Why has the Prime Minister not been proactive in informing Canadians about these criminals, and what mechanisms are being put in place to keep Canadians safe?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member and all Canadians that our intelligence services and the RCMP are working very hard to keep Canadians safe every day. We are proud to have created a parliamentary committee that will soon be able to look at everything our security services are doing, to ensure that every effort is being made to protect Canadians and to protect our values and our rules. That is the kind of initiative our government is taking and that the Conservative government never wanted to take.

Canadian Heritage

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we now know that the Minister of Canadian Heritage had all the information in hand when she negotiated her agreement with Netflix. She knew full well that it was a bad deal. She also knew her announcement would be historic, as it was the first time a law was being made specifically to exempt a company from taxes. Everyone else has to follow the rules, but not Netflix.

How is it that in a $500-million deal, there is zero money for francophone creators? This is unacceptable.

Will the Prime Minister tell his minister she needs to stop failing francophone producers and to make a minimum commitment of $133 million?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, under the deal we signed with Netflix, it will invest $25 million in the development of projects in Quebec. An additional $500 million will go to creators across Canada.

I know that Quebec is home to world-class creators and producers. This funding will give our own people the chance to tell their stories not just to Canadians, but to the world. This deal is a boon for Canadian culture in the 21st century.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Patrick O'Donovan, Minister of State at the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform of Ireland.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Rivière-du-Nord on a point of order.

Judges Act

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I believe you will find the unanimous consent of the House for me to move the following motion:

Given the scale of the #metoo campaign, launched by male and female victims of sexual assault and harassment, that the House call on the Senate to consider the victims and promptly adopt Bill C-337, the judicial accountability through sexual assault law training act.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

[members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[members]

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to)

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on September 29, I rose in the House regarding the absence of community consultation before the Liberal government decided to close the CBSA office in my riding of Oshawa. The parliamentary secretary to the minister of public safety stated that consultations did in fact take place, specifically with the mayor of Oshawa. Since that time, the mayor has been vocal about the fact that he was not consulted and has called on the parliamentary secretary to set the record straight.

I would like to give my fellow Durham MP the opportunity to correct the record and apologize to Mayor Henry and for misleading the House.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have reached out to the mayor. Our officials talked to his department beforehand. There was one international flight last year that flew into Oshawa. This is going to be a material improvement.

I have reached out to meet with the mayor on numerous occasions. The mayor says he does not want to meet, so I guess we will have to leave it there, and hopefully he will—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. That sounds like debate.

The hon. member for Calgary Rocky Ridge is rising on a point of order.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have two letters that demonstrate the difference in policy and the change that occurred with the applications for type 1 diabetics. I seek unanimous consent to table these two documents.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Is there unanimous consent to table the documents?

I see there is no unanimous consent.

Notice of Motion

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I have the honour to table a notice of ways and means motion to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 22, 2017, and other measures. Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion.

Government Response to Petitions

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to three petitions.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, three reports of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group.

The first concerns the Pacific Northwest Economic Region 26th Annual Summit, held in Calgary, Alberta, from July 17 to 21, 2016.

The second concerns the 56th Annual Meeting and Regional Policy Forum of the Council of State Governments' Eastern Regional Conference, held in Quebec City, Quebec, from August 7 to 10, 2016.

The third concerns the Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance Conference, held in Washington, D.C., United States of America, from October 2 to 4, 2016.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 42nd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, entitled, “Review of the Code of Conduct for Members of the House of Commons: Sexual Harassment”.