Debates of April 10th, 2017

Veterans Affairs

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is falling down on the job by refusing to provide us with a clear game plan for returning to a balanced budget. Families do not run their households by constantly maxing their credit cards and paying only the interest on those credit cards. We do not see entrepreneurs run their companies on their lines of credit with no regard for making a profit. It makes no sense.

The Liberal government is testing Canadians' common sense.

My question is simple. In what year will Canada's budget be balanced?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we have a plan for improving our economy. Fortunately, it is starting to work. The unemployment rate was lower in the past year and a half.

Over the past year, 276 new jobs were created, 81% of which are full time. This is a very different situation for Canadian families. Our plan is working and it will improve the lives of families across the country.

Interprovincial Trade

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, those are interesting figures, but we cannot verify when they were released.

Last Friday, the Liberal government very proudly announced that we now have an interprovincial free trade agreement. They called it an historic agreement. I acknowledge that it is historic. It is an historic failure because it does not address what is important to Canadians. On many issues, it complicates the situation. Even worse, instead of helping the wine and beer industries, it just taxes them more, thanks to the Minister of Finance.

Why is the government refusing to free up the trade of beer and wine in Canada?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, it was our government that had to play the leadership role in making sure that the liberalization of alcohol was part of the Canadian free trade agreement. This is a historic agreement that covers the entire economy from coast to coast to coast. All provinces and territories have signed on. This shows how we can work together and negotiate an agreement. Whether Liberal, Conservative, or NDP, we can all come together to grow the economy, reduce red tape to make sure we are more competitive, create good-quality jobs, and strengthen the middle class.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals like to think of themselves as free spirits, but when it came to Canada's free trade agreement, they did not free the beer. They did not free the grapes. They did not free the spirits. In fact, they did not really free anything at all.

The Canadian free trade agreement has more goods and services excluded than included. In fact, not only did the Liberals exclude beer, wine, and spirits, but in the budget they slapped a tax increase on them. It is an escalating tax that will increase their costs year after year, putting our craft brewers, distillers, and vineyards at risk.

Why did the Liberals fail on free trade? Why did they fail to free the beer?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we actually have an agreement with the provinces and territories. The Canadian free trade agreement is the most ambitious free trade agreement signed with the provinces and territories. It is an agreement that will open up the economy for small businesses so they can grow and scale up. It will reduce red tape for small businesses, which means it is good news for consumers. They will have more choice, availability, and better price points.

This is really about making sure that the market access far outweighs the exemptions. That is why this was supported by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of Canada, and small businesses across the country. This is good for the economy.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this free trade agreement is not a success; it is a failure. It is not a free trade agreement at all. It did not eliminate interprovincial trade barriers and subsidies. In fact, the list of goods and services that are excluded is longer than the list of those that are included.

Canadians have a constitutional right to free trade. Section 121 clearly states that products produced in one province shall be traded freely into another. We need the Liberals to ask the Supreme Court for clarification on section 121.

Will the Liberals stop with the photo ops, stop with the participation trophy presentations, and do something to free the Canadian economy?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we got the job done. I know why the member opposite is frustrated. It is because the Conservatives could not sign a free trade agreement. We are working with the provinces and territories. Not only did we enhance the Canadian free trade agreement, but we also worked with them on health care and climate change.

We work with the provinces and territories to create more opportunities for the middle class, to grow the economy, and to help our small businesses grow and scale up so they can be more export-oriented and compete globally. This is about creating jobs. That is why, since we formed government, 321,000 jobs have been created in the economy. It is because we have a plan and it is working.

The Environment

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I visited SunTech, a green technology farm in Ottawa, which produces tomatoes for customers in Ottawa.

In January, the farm paid $6,000 in Liberal carbon taxes. Its Mexican competitors do not pay these taxes or Liberal electricity bills, so they get their tomatoes to Canadian grocers for a third of the price. That means more greenhouse gases from shipping the produce across the continent.

Why is the government raising taxes on green technology farms and sending our jobs to Mexico?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government understands that we need to put a price on what we do not want, which is pollution, to foster what we do want, which is clean energy innovation. It would be really good if the member opposite maybe learned some lessons from the Ontario Conservative leader. The Ontario Conservative—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. I had no trouble hearing the question, but it is important to hear the answer too. I know members want to hear the answer.

The hon. Minister of Environment.

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite may like to take some lessons from the Ontario Conservative leader, Patrick Brown. He said, “Climate change is a fact. It is a threat. It is man-made. We have to do something about it, and that...includes putting a price on carbon.”

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member is so concerned about climate change, why is she so pleased to have emissions of greenhouse gases resulting from transporting produce from Mexico to Ottawa rather than from Ottawa to Ottawa? That is exactly the effect of her new carbon tax. She says that she wants more innovation. SunTech Greenhouses is innovative. It makes tomatoes in Canada in January. That is innovation.

Why is the government so determined to tax our farmers and our innovators out of jobs?

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

Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate all our job creators in our country. We actually have seen strong support from the private sector to put a price on pollution. Let me be perfectly clear. Every dollar that comes from putting a price on carbon pollution to the federal government goes directly back to the provinces. Eighty per cent of Canadians live in a jurisdiction where there is a price on pollution.

We appreciate the actions the provinces are taking. We are moving forward on climate change. I wish the party opposite would join us.

Marijuana

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they want to protect young people while we wait for marijuana to be legalized, but the government is investing less than $2 million a year in prevention and there is no new money for scientific research.

The Liberals say they want to fight organized crime, but they are holding up the decriminalization of marijuana and clogging our courts. Thousands of youth will have a criminal record and have difficulty travelling or finding a job for the rest of their lives because of the Liberals' failure to take action.

Will the government stop spouting rhetoric and explain why it still does not have a transition plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have stated, our government is committed to the legalization of cannabis, strict regulation, and restricting access in order to keep it out of the hands of kids and the proceeds out of the hands of criminals. Simply decriminalizing right now would not achieve those objectives. Until cannabis is legal in the country, the law remains the law and should be obeyed.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, an Alberta woman was arrested for having a single marijuana plant. She now faces charges of possession and production, despite task force recommendations that Canadians be allowed up to four plants.

Police resources are strained, yet the RCMP's mandate is still to raid homes for a single marijuana plant, and Canadians, especially young Canadians, continue to face charges for something that will soon be legal.

Does the minister honestly think that handing out possession charges is the best use of our precious police resources?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated, our government is committed to the legalization of cannabis, with strict regulation and restricting access. This is a complex area and we are looking forward to introducing legislation in the near future in order to keep it out of the hands of children and the proceeds out of the hands of criminals.

As the member opposite has alluded to, simply decriminalizing will not solve or answer these challenges. Until cannabis is legalized—

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

The first step. You know it's just the first step.

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the law is the law and should be obeyed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. I would ask the member for Hamilton Centre to restrain himself.

The hon. member for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston.

Standing Orders of the House of Commons

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on March 9, the Minister of Democratic Institutions asked the PROC committee to report to her by June with proposed Canada Elections Act changes. However, a day later, the Liberals ordered the committee to report back by the same deadline with omnibus changes to the Standing Orders. Lest we think we are allowed on the committee to discuss anything else, last week the Liberals explicitly stated that even matters of privilege may not be dealt with until the opposition did what it was told.

Given this change to the government's priorities, will the minister commit to not changing the Elections Act until the committee has produced the report she herself requested?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I thank all members of PROC for the work they have done so far on the CEO recommendations to the electoral act. I look forward to continuing the good work that I have with them so far so we can all work together to ensure we make our elections in Canada as fair, as equitable, and as accessible as possible.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons has finally started talking, but only to the media. During an interview, she said that she did not want to give the Conservatives a veto over the Liberal Party's campaign commitments.

The government does not need the opposition's help to break its promises. It can do that all on its own. The Liberals promised to run a small deficit of $10 billion. That is a broken promise. They also promised to reform the voting system. That is another broken promise.

When will the leader of the government admit that the unanimous consent of all members is needed to change the rules?