Debates of Feb. 13th, 2017

Public Safety

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, again, our government, and in terms of the review we are doing of the criminal justice system, hold public safety, the rights of victims. A comprehensive approach is needed to ensure the rights of victims as well as the realities of the Constitution are held foremost in our minds.

We are conducting a broad review of the criminal justice system, including sentencing reform over the last 10 years, to ensure the sentencing provisions are in compliance. The courts have spoken quite clearly in terms of the constitutionality of mandatory minimum penalties. We are going to be proceeding in a concerted way that ensures the safety and—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Taxation

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, beyond travelling to Washington, there are concrete actions the Prime Minister could be taking to protect Canadian jobs from heading south. He could shelve his carbon tax that will increase the costs of energy and goods that we sell to the United States. He could stop raising taxes on families.

Does the Prime Minister understand that it is actually his decisions in Canada that are going to make it easier for Trump to steal our jobs?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, there has been some improvement in recent job numbers, but the global economy continues to be fragile. That is why it is important that our government continues to focus on the middle class, to lower the taxes of the middle class, to introduce a Canada child benefit that will lift 300,000 kids out of poverty, to invest in infrastructure, to invest in communities, to invest in innovation.

The real question is this. Why are the Conservatives opposed to those investments that are clearly necessary to grow the Canadian economy, to attract investment, and help the middle class?

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

Mr. Speaker, 75% of Canada's exports are destined for the United States. Our businesses are worried, and not just because of the election of a new president, but also because of the uncertainty created by the Liberal government.

After being lackadaisical on softwood lumber and diafiltered milk, after reneging on its promise to lower small business taxes, and after imposing a carbon tax that will jeopardize the competitiveness of Canadian businesses, will the government finally realize that the party is over and that it is time to create jobs here in Canada?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. That is exactly what we are doing.

Let us talk about today's meeting between the Prime Minister and the U.S. president, which focused on the solid relationships and partnerships built by our two countries. Relations between our two countries are based on a shared history, culture, and environment and common values.

What the Prime Minister is doing today is exactly what Canadians want, and that is having a constructive relationship with our southern neighbours. In my opinion, all Canadians are proud of their Prime Minister today.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time we have heard such rhetoric from the government. Today, I am reaching out to the government, as did the leader of the official opposition.

I have several suggestions about what the government could do. It could be proactive and lower corporate taxes in the next budget. It could eliminate tariff barriers between the provinces. It could withdraw the carbon tax, which will cost the middle class thousands of jobs.

Together, we can take the initiative and create jobs here in Canada. What choice will the government make? Will it wait and watch our jobs disappear or take action and create jobs for the middle class here in Canada?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, there have been some improvements in economic growth and job creation recently, but the global economy is still fragile. We need to continue making significant investments in infrastructure and in the middle class, for families and for children. The Conservatives want to reduce investments in families and infrastructure. However, we are listening to Canadians and we are going to continue to invest in the middle class to promote economic growth.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, more and more people are demanding that Canada end the safe third country agreement with the U.S. Immigration lawyers are now saying that many refugee applications have to be rejected because of this agreement. The minister continues to turn a blind eye and be complicit to the reality these refugees are facing.

On Friday in this House the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness admitted, “Obviously, a number of these issues are emerging”.

If the government admits there is a problem, why will it not do anything about it?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, our country has been recognized as having one of the most compassionate refugee systems in the world. The safe third country agreement between Canada and the United States is crucial to the handling of asylum claimants in both countries. We have no indication whatsoever that the U.S. executive order has had any impact on the safe third country agreement.

We continue to welcome newcomers into our country. All refugee claimants get fair access to a fair hearing and all claims and cases are judged on their merits.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is once again telling us that the government does not have any proof that the recent presidential order has had an impact on refugees. I have some news for him. Across the country, in Emerson, Manitoba, as in Hemmingford, in the Eastern Townships, people are braving the snow and winter weather to try to seek refuge in Canada. We cannot turn these people away in these conditions. What is the government waiting for? When will it suspend the safe third country agreement?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that the safe third country agreement applies to asylum claimants. It has no bearing on refugees who settle from abroad, which is what the executive order is about. She knows that. Having said that, we are proud to have a compassionate refugee system in Canada. All refugee claimants get a fair hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and all cases are judged on their merits.

Public Safety

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, my colleagues, the NDP leader and the member for Sherbrooke, met with Yassine Aber, the 19-year-old Quebecker who was turned back at the U.S. border last week when he was on his way to Boston for a sports competition. The young man still does not understand why he was refused entry to the United States, and neither do I. What will the government do to ensure that Canadian citizens need not fear being denied entry to the U.S. for no valid reason?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Naturally, we share her concern about the situation she described. We are working constantly to ensure that Canadians receive fair and appropriate treatment when travelling abroad. Nevertheless, we must recognize that all countries can decide whom to admit at their borders. We encourage people who have concerns about things like this to contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, another Canadian came forward about being turned away at the U.S. border. Immediately following Trump's discriminatory ban, the Liberal government promised no Canadians would be affected. This is clearly not the case. Canadians are being stopped, interrogated, and turned away at the U.S. border, even though they have valid Canadian passports. Let us just call it for what it is, racial profiling, and it is outrageous.

What is the minister doing to guarantee that Canadians are not being treated this way at the U.S. border?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, we share the member's concern with respect to the situation. The government constantly works to ensure that Canadians receive fair and proper treatment when they travel abroad. At the same time, I think we must recognize that every country makes its own decisions as to whom they admit on their territory.

I would encourage anyone who has concerns about treatment like that to take the necessary measures with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to bring this matter to its attention as well.

Taxation

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a proposal by leaders in Congress to impose a 20% border-adjusted tax would kill hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs. One-fifth of our economy is exports to the U.S. It would be a 20% foreign tax on one-fifth of our economy, and yet our foreign affairs minister reportedly told the author of the proposal, House Speaker Paul Ryan, that the Government of Canada has no position on the border-adjusted tax.

Did the Prime Minister make the same mistake, or did he stand up against the tax when he met with the President?

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, when in Washington, the minister met with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and senators John McCain, Bob Corker, and Ben Cardin. The minister made it clear that Canada is strongly opposed to any imposition of a new tariff between Canada and the United States. I am sure that every member of the House agrees with us on that point.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the question was on the tax, not the tariff.

Another question I asked through access to information was on the impact of the new carbon tax. The government blacked out the data, relying on paragraph18(d) of the Access to Information Act, which allows it to withhold information that could “reasonably be expected to be materially injurious to the financial interests of a government institution or to the ability of the Government of Canada to manage the economy”.

If mere public knowledge of the effects of the carbon tax is so damaging that it needs to be hidden, what does that say about the tax itself?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I am always happy to speak to the opposition about the merits of putting a price on pollution. It is actually a free-market solution to something we do not want, which is pollution, and what we do want, which is to create good jobs, clean growth, and innovation.

Once again, the member need not take it from our party, leading economists, and job makers. Let us talk about former MP Patrick Brown, the Ontario Conservative leader, who said, “A price on carbon is coming and it’s going to come everywhere. Conservatives can’t run from the debate on the environment.”

Finance

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this Liberal government is spending left and right and acting like a business on the verge of bankruptcy.

It feels like a profitable company whose successful boss has passed on the torch to new management, which is terrified and spending money recklessly. For a clearer picture, the former boss, Stephen Harper, left the country with a surplus of over $1 million. The new boss, as the House knows, is our current Prime Minister, who has no plan.

Will this Liberal government actually do something concrete, create wealth, create permanent jobs, and give Canadian families some hope?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we inherited a sluggish economy after 10 years of Conservative power. On top of that, we did not inherit a surplus. In fact, we inherited a deficit, because the Conservatives invented a surplus going into the election. It is quite clear that there was no surplus.

We think it is important to invest in infrastructure and the middle class in order to create economic growth. That is exactly what we will continue to do.

Taxation

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we must support Canadian workers who get up every morning to support their families. They need to be able to build equity in order to gain a bit of financial freedom. This government is making it impossible for our Canadian families to have more money in their pockets. The government is giving with one hand and taking away with the other. This Liberal government is not telling the truth. Canadians have less money to spend.

Can this government stop reaching into taxpayers' pockets and commit to not cancelling any more tax credits, such as those in the pension plan for seniors and the registered education savings plan for our Canadian families?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the question.

It is our government that committed to helping the middle class and those working hard to join it. It is our government that lowered taxes for the middle class. It is that government who voted against that. It is our government that introduced the Canada child benefit. Again, the party across the way voted against that.

We have a plan and we are moving forward to support the middle class.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have broken their promise of supporting the middle class. They have run multi-billion dollar deficits with no end in sight, removed income splitting, cancelled tax credits for children's fitness and arts courses, textbooks and education, lowered the contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts, and to top it off, introduced a national carbon tax. These Liberal tax increases are costing struggling Canadian families substantially more.

Will the Prime Minister quit falsely claiming to support the middle class and reverse these aggressive tax increases?