House of Commons Hansard #133 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was ceta.

Topics

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

Labrador Newfoundland & Labrador

Liberal

Yvonne Jones LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate that our government will always choose negotiation over litigation. As Canadians have witnessed this past year, we have made that happen in many cases across Canada.

We are continuing to work toward real reconciliation with indigenous people. That means inviting them to the table. That means negotiating in fairness and in good faith. We will continue to do that, just as we have decided to do with the Sixties Scoop, where we have started that process. We hope that all groups will come to the table and participate so we can have real reconciliation and a negotiated conclusion.

HealthOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

NDP

Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON

Mr. Speaker, not only is the opioid crisis taking lives and destroying families in Canadian cities, but this public health emergency is also impacting smaller communities, like the ones in my riding in Essex County, at an unprecedented rate.

Canadians need immediate action from the federal government, now. We cannot afford to wait for Bill C-37 to wind its way through the parliamentary process. Will the government immediately declare a national public health emergency and provide immediate and direct support to our Canadian communities?

HealthOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

Ottawa Centre Ontario

Liberal

Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, we are in a national public health crisis here in Canada, and the response to this crisis needs to be comprehensive, collaborative, compassionate, and evidence based.

Building on our five-point action plan to address opioid misuse, the Minister of Health co-hosted a conference and summit on opioids that resulted in 42 organizations making concrete commitments to address this crisis.

I was also very pleased that yesterday at committee, all parties came together to rise above partisan politics and bring us closer to the passing of Bill C-37.

Human RightsOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Mr. Speaker, reports of the ethnic cleansing of Muslim Rohingya people in Burma may not get the same headlines as events in the U.S., but the terrible killings and other crimes in that country do require our urgent attention.

Burma is a major recipient of Canadian foreign aid, yet the Liberals have barely commented. What does the minister have to say about this dire situation, and what has the Liberal government done about it?

Human RightsOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

Fredericton New Brunswick

Liberal

Matt DeCourcey LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for raising the question and for his concern in this matter. Certainly we share his concern about the violence against the Rohingya people.

We continue to provide urgent humanitarian support in Myanmar, and support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: $4.3 million alone in 2016. The government of Myanmar must do everything in its power to end the violence now, allow full access to humanitarian aid, and find a solution for the long term.

Human RightsOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the words from the parliamentary secretary, but I looked at the Facebook page for the Canadian embassy in Burma. It talks about Canadian winters, it talks about the new year, and it talks about a golf tournament, but it makes no mention of the systematic killing of minorities.

The Liberals said, when they cancelled the Office of Religious Freedom, that all embassies would be promoting human rights, but that does not appear to be happening in this case.

Will the Liberals commit today to step up and do more, and ensure our embassies do more, to speak out and to help the people in Burma being murdered and raped because of their backgrounds?

Human RightsOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Fredericton New Brunswick

Liberal

Matt DeCourcey LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I know my hon. colleague across the way will stand with me and share condolences to the Muslim faith community in Quebec and right across the country today.

I remind him that Canada has stepped up to the plate and is providing urgent humanitarian support to the Rohingyas, $4.3 million alone in 2016. The government of Myanmar must do everything in its power to end this violence, allow full access to humanitarian aid, and find the solution for the long term.

MulticulturalismOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Mr. Speaker, the Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism was established by the Conservative government in 2015 to recognize and celebrate the many cultural and ethnic communities that call Canada home. Official government documents show that the Liberals never bothered to even give out the award, blaming it on a lack of nominations. Well, it is impossible to give out an award if a call is never made for nominations.

Why are the Liberals failing to champion Canada's Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism?

MulticulturalismOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Parkdale—High Park Ontario

Liberal

Arif Virani LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage (Multiculturalism)

Mr. Speaker, I will note that this government and our country stands for values of tolerance, inclusion, and diversity. As proof positive, I have been appointed and have the honour to serve with the Minister of Canadian Heritage as the parliamentary secretary for multiculturalism. We will be entrenching those values in all of the policies we implement, including policies that will promote these important values going forward.

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Liberal

Rémi Massé Liberal Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

Mr. Speaker, the indigenous and northern affairs committee has heard that settling outstanding claims is an important part of our work toward reconciliation and to correct past wrongs. I am proud that our government has made it a priority to settle these claims through negotiation rather than litigation.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs update the House on the agreement signed between our government and the Siksika regarding the Castle Mountain claim?

Indigenous AffairsOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Labrador Newfoundland & Labrador

Liberal

Yvonne Jones LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the great work he is doing in supporting indigenous issues in our country.

Reaching settlements is one of the most important steps along the journey of healing and reconciliation and has been established as a priority for our government. In January, we concluded the negotiation with the Siksika nation, and we are very proud of that. We have been able to resolve a long-standing claim over Castle Mountain in Banff National Park, which had been going on for nearly 200 years.

We are a government of negotiation. We are a government that really believes this is a path forward to real reconciliation with indigenous people.

HealthOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Mr. Speaker, the MS Society prairie president Erin Kuan stated in January that it did not matter to her if MRls were offered privately or publicly, as long as patients had access. Saskatchewan currently has an estimated 3,700 people with MS.

Instead of congratulating Saskatchewan for successfully providing more MRI options, the Minister of Health attacked Saskatchewan for modernizing health care services. It does not make sense.

Why are the Liberals punishing my province for not signing on to the Prime Minister's carbon tax?

HealthOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Ottawa Centre Ontario

Liberal

Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, we fully support the principles of the Canada Health Act, which are meant to ensure that all Canadians have reasonable access to medically necessary physician and hospital services based on the need and not the ability or willingness to pay.

Our government fully supports the principles of the Canada Health Act and is committed to working with Saskatchewan to strengthen our publicly funded universal health care system, while, at the same time, upholding the principles of the act. The Minister of Health has asked officials to work with Saskatchewan officials over the next year in this regard.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

11:55 a.m.

Liberal

Bill Casey Liberal Cumberland—Colchester, NS

Mr. Speaker, I recently met with woodlot owners in my riding in Nova Scotia, and they are committed to help meet Canada's climate change goals through improved woodlot management and also carbon capture. However, they are wondering how a price on carbon will help them achieve this goal.

Could the Minister of Environment and Climate Change help them understand this?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

Noon

Ottawa Centre Ontario

Liberal

Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to creating well-paying middle-class jobs while attacking climate change.

Woodlot owners will benefit from measures outlined in our made in Canada climate plan, which includes increased use of wood for construction and promotion of bioenergy and bioproducts. The provinces and territories have the flexibility to decide how they will price carbon pollution and this could include offset systems for improved forest management practices and the creation of new forests.

Together with provinces and territories, we are taking action in each sector of the economy to reduce emissions, drive innovation, and ensure a better future for our kids.

Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions

Noon

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Phoenix pay system fiasco has reached a new low.

Over 150 desperate public servants have turned to the Access to Information Act in order to find out the details of their pay file. The minister is bragging about being proactive and taking quick action on this file. I do not believe that to be the case, however. In fact, thousands of families have been hung out to dry, without knowing what happens next.

After all this, does the minister seriously expect us to believe that public servants still have faith in her leadership?

Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions

Noon

Gatineau Québec

Liberal

Steven MacKinnon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement

Mr. Speaker, as the member for Gatineau, and like all members of the House, I believe that the problems with the Phoenix pay system are unacceptable, but we are going to solve them. That said, I cannot believe I am hearing this from a member of the very party that left us the problem of the Phoenix pay system. He should come with me to my riding to explain why the Conservatives left us a problem like the Phoenix pay system. In any case, we will solve the problems caused by this system.

International TradeOral Questions

Noon

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

Mr. Speaker, CBC/Radio-Canada released a Trump team document listing trade practices it does not like, such as supply management, softwood lumber, potential support for Bombardier, Hydro-Quebec's procurement policies, and patents, all of which are critical issues for Quebec.

This is worrisome because every time Ottawa signs an agreement, some Quebec industry pays the price. It happened with softwood lumber in the United States and cheese in Europe.

The government must stand firm and fight tooth and nail for Quebec's economy. Will the government commit to leaving the bargaining table if Donald Trump is unreasonable?

International TradeOral Questions

Noon

La Prairie Québec

Liberal

Jean-Claude Poissant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Mr. Speaker, we are working very closely with the new U.S. government on issues of mutual interest in the agriculture sector.

The minister will soon be meeting with the new secretary of state for agriculture. Our agriculture sectors are very closely linked, and we are working to ensure that Canadian farm families continue to prosper.

We are working with dairy producers and processors to modernize their facilities, which will make them more competitive in the long term.

Official LanguagesOral Questions

Noon

Bloc

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

Mr. Speaker, over the next 20 years, Statistics Canada projects a major decline in the number of people in Quebec and Canada who have French as a mother tongue and of those who use French to communicate. The threat to the French language are the language transfers that favour the federal language policy imposed on Quebec. The only solution is independence. Outside Quebec, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada has said that this policy is a passive way to assimilate French.

Will the federal government finally acknowledge what is going on before French disappears entirely?

Official LanguagesOral Questions

Noon

Charlottetown P.E.I.

Liberal

Sean Casey LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, as this is the first time I am rising in this role, I would like to say that I am very proud to be the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and to have the responsibility to speak to the subject of official languages. Our two official languages, French and English, are at the heart of our history and who we are. We have launched a Canada-wide consultation and we will analyze all the data that might support us in preparing our first official languages action plan that will come into effect in 2018.

MulticulturalismOral Questions

Noon

Bloc

Monique Pauzé Bloc Repentigny, QC

Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of the tragic terrorist attack in Quebec City, we must do everything in our power to ease tensions and condemn those who fuel them. Unfortunately, a Vancouver commentator used the attack in Quebec City to incite hatred, by publishing an article in the Washington Post where he states that Quebec is a society whose unique culture produces a lot of lunatics prone to public massacres. He says that Quebec is a racist, anti-Semitic, and pro-fascist society.

Does the Canadian government condemn these racist and inflammatory remarks?

MulticulturalismOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

Parkdale—High Park Ontario

Liberal

Arif Virani LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage (Multiculturalism)

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question because it draws attention to a very serious situation.

We, government members, along with all other members of the House and all Canadians stand in solidarity with the Muslim community and the friends and families of those who lost their lives last Sunday.

We know that Quebeckers and other Canadians espouse the values of tolerance, inclusion, and diversity that Canada is known for.

12:05 p.m.

Bloc

Monique Pauzé Bloc Repentigny, QC

Mr. Speaker, I believe that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that the House strongly condemn the hateful remarks made against the people of Quebec by a columnist from Vancouver in the Washington Post on February 1, 2017, and urge the government to stand up for Quebec's reputation on the international stage.

12:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

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