Debates of Nov. 9th, 2017

Human Rights

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's special LGBTQ adviser said there is no link between an apology to the LGBTQ community and remedies.

A year ago, the military ombudsman said that as soon as the minister gave approval he would begin revising service records for veterans who were kicked out for being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. A year ago every member of defence committee voted for this process to begin.

If there is no link between an apology and remedies, why are these vets still waiting?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage (Multiculturalism)]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians should be safe to be themselves, love whom they choose, and be free from discrimination of any kind.

We have already made significant progress on these issues with Bill C-16 and Bill C-39. Our special adviser on LGBTQ2 issues, the member for Edmonton Centre, has been working hard and consulting broadly with the community to ensure that when an apology happens, it will be thorough and complete. That applies to veterans who are LGBTQ as well.

Funds have been allocated for things like the expungement of records. We will be addressing the issues of veterans.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has committed to a long overdue apology to LGBTQ Canadians, but this is the same Liberal Party that promised to eliminate the discriminatory ban on gay men donating blood, and broke that promise. There is no scientific basis for this policy and it constitutes clear discrimination today.

How can the Liberals offer a sincere and meaningful apology to the LGBTQ community for past injustices when they are practising discrimination in the present?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, through our efforts over the years, Canada continues to have one of the safest blood systems in the world. In June 2016, we took steps forward in reducing the barriers that prevent men who have sex with men from donating blood. Our government has also committed $3 million to Canadian Blood Services in collaboration with Héma-Québec to make further progress on this issue.

This funding helped organize an international health conference on blood donor policy. It will support behavioural research required to develop non-discriminatory practice and encourage the advancement of this technology.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, with the previous Conservative government, Canadian pulse exports went from $1 billion to a record $4.2 billion a year, with exports to India at $1.5 billion. However, negotiating exemptions for Canadian exports expired more than a month ago, and now we have learned that there is a 50% duty on Canadian pea exports to India.

How did the agricultural minister allow this situation to go from bad to worse, and when he is going to secure this vital market for Canada's pulse sector?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, we are extremely concerned over India's increase in duty by 50% of all imported peas, without providing any advance notice. We are right in our concerns with the Government of India and we will continue to work with our farmers and colleagues to closely monitor the development, determine implications, and raise these concerns with the appropriate Indian ministers.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a third of Canada's pulse exports go to India. The Minister of Agriculture must make this a priority. There is simply too much at stake.

The inactions of the minister have very real consequences. Further delays will jeopardize Canada's $4-billion pulse sector. We have critical trade agreements that are in jeopardy and this minister has been pushed to the sidelines. He has not even been invited to a vital trade mission to India.

When it comes to these negotiations, when will the Prime Minister appoint a Minister of Agriculture Canadian farmers can trust will be at the table fighting for them?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, it is a decision that has been made by the Indian government, as I think my hon. colleague is fully aware. We are fully aware of the importance of the export of lentils to India, but it was a decision that was made by the Government of India, and we are working with the Government of India to attempt to resolve this. We do not want to complicate the situation any more.

Housing

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, first, the Liberals made it more difficult for Canadians to qualify for a mortgage, and taking away the dream of home ownership from thousands of first-time buyers. Now they are tacking on even more costs, adding thousands of dollars in expenses when Canadians build, sell, or renovate their homes. As the Canadian Home Builders' Association said, when talking about $30,000, $40,000, or $50,000, our concern will always be about what this means for affordability.

Why are the Liberals making home ownership more expensive for middle-class Canadians, while owners of fancy French villas are let off the hook?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be part of a government that knows how important it is for every Canadian to have access to affordable and adequate housing. In that context, we have invested over $2.3 billion over the last two budgets to make sure that this is achieved.

We are also going to be launching, in the next few weeks, the first ever national housing strategy with partners all across Canada. These partners have been waiting for us for a long time. We are back, and we are here to stay.

Health

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government has committed to legalizing, strictly regulating, and restricting access to cannabis. Through a public health approach, we are maximizing education and minimizing harm.

Can the Minister of Health please update the House on her efforts to raise awareness of cannabis, particularly for young people, and of the risks of cannabis use?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from St. Catharines for his hard work. As he stated, our government has already begun raising awareness about the risk of cannabis use, especially for our youth. In this area, we are proud that we are investing $46 million, which will support awareness and health promotion activities, including for classrooms and youth organizations all across the country.

Tomorrow, we are hosting a symposium that will bring partners together across the country to identify priorities and actions, and also opportunities to promote partnerships with these agencies.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, the immigration committee held two meetings to review how Canada is assisting Yazidi genocide survivors, and today I moved a motion to have the findings presented in a report and to have one additional meeting to hear directly from genocide survivors who have been resettled to Canada.

In a shameful display and in front of Yazidi witnesses, the member for Surrey Centre moved to adjourn debate. The chair then shut down the committee without a vote on anything. I feel that this should be a non-partisan issue, so will the chair of the committee correct his error and commit to holding an extra meeting and tabling a report on this issue?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill for her question and also for her commitment and her work for the Yazidi women, men, children, girls, and boys. The concern that she raised has come to our committee for the last two meetings. We have heard from officials and stakeholders. There is now a motion on the floor that we extend that by at least one more meeting, and that motion will be dealt with at the next meeting possible.

I do need to add that, very personally, I think that more information and better information is very important for us, as we all are very concerned about Yazidi men and women and their settlement in Canada.

The Environment

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government likes to deride the Conservatives for their failed action on climate change and Canada's melting Arctic. How then do the Liberals defend that it took a private petition just to get the government to finally provide just enough dollars to keep the lights on for one year for our renowned PEARL project? The government is granting a mere $1 million to a climate program that was once given $22 million overall by the Conservatives.

Will the government respect calls by our nation's leading scientists and recommit long-term support for this critical climate change research?

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Minister of Science]

Mr. Speaker, our government understands that the Arctic matters more than ever before because of climate change. That is why yesterday, along with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, I announced $1.6 million to continue operations and research at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory. It is one of Canada's most remote scientific stations, located on Ellesmere Island, and researchers there monitor the changes in the atmosphere, climate change, ozone, and the environment.

Official Languages

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, nine academics co-signed a letter in which they pose the question: “Who is standing up for official languages in the federal government?”

The question is neither inconsequential nor gratuitous. It has been coming up regularly for two years now, but the Liberals seem unconcerned about languages issue, to wit the appointment of an ultra-partisan commissioner, an agreement with Netflix that ignores the francophonie, an action plan that never materializes, and a department that is failing to meet its legal obligations, including obligations with respect to the Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences, the literacy and skills development network.

Protecting official languages is obviously not a priority for the Liberals. Why not?

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, our two official languages are central to our history and our Canadian identity. We are firmly committed to promoting the use of both official languages in society and to supporting our official language minority communities.

We are working on a new action plan to support and promote the vitality of these communities. This is a matter our government takes very seriously.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue keeps saying that the CRA recovered $25 billion from tax havens. However, her department's report that came out today indicates that it is more like $33 million for the last fiscal year. That leaves a shortfall of just $24,967,000,000, which is 1,000 times less than the minister claims.

Does the minister have a flair for exaggeration or is she getting her millions mixed up with her billions?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, our government is fully committed to collecting taxes and combatting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. We are on track to recovering that $25 billion, as a result of audits conducted over the past two years.

Every company and individual affected by these audits received notices of assessment. The CRA is recovering money that is owed to Canadians. No one is above the law.

Public Services and Procurement

[Michel Boudrias, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I asked the House to agree to the Quebec National Assembly's unanimous request to award the Davie shipyard its fair share of Canadian contracts. The 40 phantom Liberal MPs from Quebec refused. I will give them a second chance.

Meanwhile, their colleague, the member for Central Nova, announced that Quebec would get nothing because the Liberals have 32 Atlantic Canadian MPs who are great advocates for their region.

How many jobs must be lost before the Quebec MPs on the other side of the aisle start to advocate for Quebec?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to the national shipbuilding strategy. The strategy is a long-term commitment that rejuvenates our marine industry, supports Canadian innovation, and creates jobs for Canadians. As announced in the strategy, there is still $2 billion in opportunities available to the Davie shipyard and other Canadian shipyards in the small-ship construction and ship repair, refit, and maintenance programs.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is just more rhetoric to hide the Quebec Liberals' pandering. Canada is going to invest $100 billion over the next 20 to 30 years to renew its fleet, and not one cent of that is going to the Davie shipyard. Not one cent is going to Quebec.

Where is our tax money going? Where are the 40 phantom Liberal MPs and their support for the Davie shipyard?

Six hundred workers are going to lose their jobs because the Canadian government does not want to lift a finger.

What are the 40 phantom Liberal MPs doing? Are they worried about upsetting the Liberals from the Maritimes?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to the national shipbuilding strategy. The strategy is a long-term commitment that will rejuvenate our maritime industry, support Canadian innovation, and result in jobs for Canadians across the country. As set out in the strategy, $2 billion in opportunities remain for Chantier Davie and other Canadian shipyards for small ship construction projects, as well as ship repair, refit, and maintenance. We are also committed to consulting the marine industry on other requirements that may arise following an open and competitive procurement process.

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The member for Terrebonne on a point of order.