House of Commons Hansard #166 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was debate.
Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, once again, I can reassure my colleague that we are working on this file. We allocated $3.3 million in the 2016 budget to examine the possibility of a high-frequency train between Windsor and Quebec City. This issue is top of mind these days. We will be able to make decisions once we have completed our study.
Wayne Stetski NDP Kootenay—Columbia, BC
Mr. Speaker, one month ago, UNESCO warned that Wood Buffalo National Park might be put on the UN's world heritage endangered list. This would be an international embarrassment for Canada and for the Liberal government.
UNESCO said that the Site C dam in British Columbia should not go ahead until a proper impact assessment was complete. In response, the environment minister said that the report was “a call to action”, but we have had nothing but silence since then.
What action will the minister take to protect Canada's largest national park, and when will she finally take it?
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, I would like thank the member opposite for raising this very important issue. We do consider the UNESCO report a call to action. I met with Wood Buffalo people to talk to them about how we can move forward. We understand that we need to be working also with the provinces to find a solution. We are moving forward right now to do so.
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley—Aldergrove, BC
Mr. Speaker, a new report reveals that the Prime Minister will take $130 million out of Alberta and B.C. this year by charging GST on top of their provincial carbon taxes. It is shocking. That is $130 million in federal taxes, despite the Prime Minister's promise that carbon pricing would be revenue neutral for the federal government. It is yet another broken promise that will take more money out of the pockets of hard-working Canadians.
Will the Prime Minister stop increasing taxes, keep his promises, and immediately eliminate this unfair tax on a tax?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, it is important to consider the actions we have taken on taxes. We lowered taxes on middle-class Canadians. That is the very first thing we did. We are committed to tax fairness. That means we are going to think about Canadian families first. We are going to continue with measures that are going to help families so we can have a better economy. We know that works.
What we are seeing with the changes we put in place is that our economy is becoming more resilient. We are seeing more jobs. Behind those jobs, families are being more successful. This is what we are working toward in making our economy better.
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are adding bigger deficits, and Canadians are being taxed deeper and deeper in debt.
The Prime Minister claimed that revenue from his carbon tax would stay in the provinces and territories where it was collected, yet the GST on carbon tax goes to Ottawa.
When will the Prime Minister get his story straight, come clean with Canadians, and not tax a tax to pay for his out-of-control spending?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, we want to be clear that what we are working toward in all of the efforts we put forward is improving the lives of middle-class Canadians and making our economy stronger. As we think about taxes, we are thinking about how we can lower the impact on middle-class Canadians, so we can have a more optimistic sense of what they can achieve. That is helping to turn around our economy. We have more jobs being created and we have a future that looks brighter as a result of the actions we have taken in this regard, in all of our measures.
Phil McColeman Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, during the last election, do members remember what the Prime Minister promised? It was small, modest deficits.
Since then, the Prime Minister has been nickel-and-diming Canadians by raising taxes and eliminating tax credits. This week, the Liberals tabled 300 pages of billions of dollars of new taxes and user fees on struggling Canadians, including increases for passports, fishing licences, and permits for small businesses.
How much more will these Liberals take out of the pockets of hard-working Canadians?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, we care about hard-working Canadians. We care about putting Canadians to work.
What we can see from the things we have done is an enormous difference in our country. Over the last year, 286,000 new jobs have been created in the country, 81% full time. Behind every one of those jobs is a family, a family that is more optimistic, a family that can help their family to be more confident about the future. That is what is creating the growth in our economy that we need.
We are focused on growth and on making our economy better, and it is working.
Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, one sector that is particularly important to my constituents in Alfred-Pellan is the burgeoning electric vehicle industry. My constituents want to contribute to reducing emissions and protecting future generations.
Can the Minister of Transport tell Canadians how he plans to make it even easier to use electric vehicles across the country?
Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Alfred-Pellan for that very good question.
Canadians know that a strong economy and a clean environment go hand in hand. That is why we are actively working on making Canada a leader in the green transportation sector.
In budget 2017, we announced a $120-million investment to deploy infrastructure for electric vehicle charging and natural gas and hydrogen refuelling stations. These are the types of measures that are going to help us achieve our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have had the chance to travel coast to coast across Canada listening to young people. They have told me that they want real action when it comes to the unemployment crisis they are facing.
In the past year, 42,000 full-time youth jobs have been lost in our country. Instead of providing incentives to employers to create new jobs, however, budget 2017 only provided money or incentives for existing jobs.
Will the minister of youth finally listen to Canada's young people and quit attacking innovative employers that want to create new jobs? Will the government equip them as the best-equipped individuals in the country to give Canada's youth a second chance?
Rodger Cuzner LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we are doing as a government.
We are equipping the youth for the jobs of today and the jobs of tomorrow by providing those opportunities in skills training, apprenticeships, access to post-secondary education, co-op placements, work integrated learning opportunities, and summer jobs, doubling the number of summer jobs that went 10 years under the last government without any investment. We are getting the job done for young Canadians.
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
Mr. Speaker, although many people may have overlooked it, budget 2017 announced changes to the GST treatment of ride-sharing services. Could the Minister of Finance share the rationale behind this decision?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, as the House knows, we are focused on tax fairness for Canadians. We know that as the economy changes, we need to ensure our tax system stays up to date. That is why in budget 2017 we made sure that ride-sharing services and taxi services were at a level playing field. They both are subject to GST/HST. That is a fair way to deal with this system.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Mr. Speaker, this week I introduced Bill C-350, a bill that is identical to Bill C-561, which had been put forward by the former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler. This is good, non-partisan legislation to combat forced organ harvesting, people being killed and having their organs taken.
Will the Liberals do the right thing, regardless of the opinion of the Chinese government, and support this life-saving bill?
Marco Mendicino LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I commend my hon. colleague across the aisle for introducing the legislation. Of course this government stands against the harvesting of organs. We look forward to studying the bill when it goes to committee, and receiving a report back.
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Mr. Speaker, Quebec suppliers have already begun to pay the price for the sale of Rona to Lowe's. In some cases, their sales have already dropped by 20%. It is remarkable.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development had the power to impose guarantees, but he did not. He had a duty to examine the net benefits of the transaction, but he did not. He just wanted to get the file off his desk. This is about Quebec suppliers and jobs in Quebec.
Will the economic development minister finally admit that he did not do his job on the Rona file?
Navdeep Bains LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, when we looked at the file, we made sure that we did the proper net economic benefit examination. Based on that, we were able to secure good, quality jobs in Canada, particularly in senior management positions. We were also able to secure the head office in Boucherville. More important, this transaction will allow the company to tap into global supply chains as well. This is good for Quebec, this is good for the economy, and this is good for job security.
Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC
Mr. Speaker, that is certainly not what is happening.
With its mammoth bills, the government is breaking more election promises. Last fall, it was Bill C-29. The government pulled a fast one on us by allowing the banks to get around Quebec's Consumer Protection Act. The change was so well hidden that no one saw it except for the Bloc Québécois. It was a close call. With spring came another mammoth bill, Bill C-44, which is 50% longer than Bill C-29.
What bill of goods is the government trying to sell us this time?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the budget is really about improving the lives of middle-class Canadians and boosting our economy. Every measure in our budget can be found in our bill. It contains only budget measures. That is our approach, and it is the right approach to improve our economic situation now.
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, in a few minutes the Liberal government is going to introduce its bill to legalize marijuana. This bill will have many more implications for the Government of Quebec than it will for the Government of Canada. It raises issues related to public health, safety, education, economic development, agriculture, and more. This file raises a lot of issues that do not fall within Ottawa's jurisdiction.
Will the government make a solemn promise to not use marijuana as an excuse to infringe on Quebec's jurisdiction?
Jane Philpott LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, over the past few months, I have spent a lot of time working with my counterparts, the health ministers. We have discussed many issues. We discussed the introduction of the cannabis legislation, and we are going to continue to work hard and work with them to protect Canadians' health and safety.
Hunter Tootoo Independent Nunavut, NU
Qujannamiik uqaqti. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Public Services and Procurement.
On February 16, a letter signed by all indigenous members of Parliament was received by the minister requesting that the name of Langevin Block be changed. This request has been made because we believe that the building that houses the Prime Minister's Office should not be named after a key architect of the devastating Indian residential school system.
Could the minister provide the House with an update as to the status of this request?
Steven MacKinnon LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
Mr. Speaker, indeed the minister did receive the letter, and I thank the member for Nunavut and his colleagues for their advocacy.
As our government has said, there is no relationship more important to our government than the one with indigenous peoples. Our government is fully implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls for action, and this includes developing a reconciliation framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration. Any decision on this issue will be made, of course, in full partnership with indigenous peoples.