Debates of May 11th, 2017

Firearms Registry

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are sneaking a new gun registry in by stealth, tabling it on the same day as their pot legislation. They are not fooling gun owners across Canada, though, that this is not just a gun registry by another name.

Bill C-47 requires any Canadian company importing firearms or firearm technology to keep records electronically. What agency will hold and administer this new electronic registry, and who will have access to it?

On June 1, the United Nations Firearm Marking scheme also comes in to effect, targeting responsible gun owners and legitimate firearm businesses, saddling them with an annual $60 million dollar bill. Rather than protect us, this marking scheme will increase the cost of each legitimately purchased firearm by some $200.

Criminals do not follow law and they are not going to register their guns. International arms dealers will never be compliant with the UN and they will not be registering any of their contact information.

The Liberals again put a target on recreational sports shooters, hunters, and small family-run businesses. Instead of wasting time and money on a new gun registry, how about the Liberals really tackle the criminals.

British Columbia Floods

[Stephen Fuhr, Liberal, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this week, residents across the Okanagan are on alert, facing the uncertainty of rising flood waters. Unfortunately, the worst may be yet to come with saturated ground, a melting snow pack and more rain in the forecast. Uncertainty and loss are causing stress and hardship for many families in my communities as we all prepare to deal with the days ahead.

I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the City of Kelowna, the District of Lake Country, the local fire departments, and the many citizen volunteers who have come together to deal with this perilous and unpredictable situation. I am also grateful the Government of Canada is both aware and prepared to provide assistance in the event that a federal response to this crisis is requested by the province of British Columbia.

Royal Canadian Navy

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

Mr. Speaker, last week, I had the wonderful opportunity of accepting an invitation from the Royal Canadian Navy to Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, home of Canada's Pacific naval fleet. There I joined with several other members of Parliament to go aboard Her Majesty's Canadian ship Vancouver.

Once aboard, Vancouver's courteous, welcoming, and professional officers and crew gave us a complete tour of this Halifax-class frigate's capabilities and incredibly complex systems, from the bridge to the engine room, and everything in between. I had the opportunity to participate in several exercises, including damage control, firefighting, and even steering the ship.

My riding is home to many naval veterans and to the civilians, naval reserve, and regular force members who work at CFB Esquimalt. I sincerely appreciated the opportunity to experience the amazing job the sailors of the Royal Canadian Navy do on our behalf every day, and who very much live up to the motto “Ready, Aye Ready”.

Taiwan

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Taiwan, after eight years of participating at the World Health Assembly, was not invited by the WHO to attend this year's assembly.

Taiwan's participation at the WHA has enabled Taiwan to contribute to global public health and disease prevention initiatives. Indeed, Taiwan is a leader in areas of global health and disease prevention and has contributed more than $6 billion to medical and humanitarian aid since 1996.

Canada has consistently supported Taiwan's participation at the WHA. Now that the WHO has bowed to political pressure to exclude Taiwan, I urge the government to call upon the WHO to reverse this decision and extend an invitation to Taiwan.

National Nursing Week

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Brampton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as a proud registered nurse, it is my distinct honour to recognize the dedication of my fellow outstanding nurses during National Nursing Week. From working on the front lines in our hospitals or in our communities advocating for better health care across our country, nurses are the backbone of our health care system.

Our health care system would not be where it is today if it were not for the efforts of the mother of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. Known as the lady with the lamp, Florence Nightingale single-handedly helped nurses gain recognition for their tireless efforts.

This spirit of dedication and service is echoed by the nurses serving us every day. I very much thank all our dedicated, compassionate, and hard-working nurses in Brampton West, across Canada and all over the world.

Infrastructure

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we have warned the Prime Minister that his infrastructure bank will be a cocktail of waste, duplication, and bureaucracy, all to pad the bank accounts of the wealthy elite. We do not expect him to listen to us, but he should at least listen to the experts he hired who told him the same thing. In fact, a KPMG report has given the government a stark warning about the pitfalls of this tax-funded bank.

If the Prime Minister really believes in evidence-based policy-making, then why is he ignoring his own experts and rushing through with this bank?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, after a decade of an inconsistent and ad hoc approach to supporting municipalities and provinces, we are putting in long-term, sustainable, and predictable funding of $180 billion over 12 years, which will help grow the economy, create jobs, and help those Canadians who work hard each and every day to be part of the middle class. That is what our communities expect from us. That is exactly what we are delivering. We are proud that the bank will help deliver more infrastructure than is needed in communities from coast to coast to coast.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

No, Mr. Speaker, for 10 long years, we did not give billions of dollars to billionaire bankers.

This infrastructure bank could force tolls on Canadian bridges and roads. It may also force Canadians to actually pay new fees on basic services, such as water. It all adds up to what experts are saying would be “public relations disasters and embarrassment” for the Prime Minister.

When is the Prime Minister going to do the right thing and put the brakes on this terrible idea?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, we have consulted with our stakeholders for the last year. We have consulted with municipalities, provinces, trade unions, building councils, municipal leaders, and mayors. They all understand that we have put forward an ambitious plan to build infrastructure that their communities need. They are the ones who select the projects. They are the ones who prioritize which projects to fund. We are so proud that we are mobilizing private capital to build more infrastructure that communities need and deserve.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this is going to turn out to be the ultimate cash-for-access project. The experts do not like it. His officials do not like it. Taxpayers do not like it. I do not think the Prime Minister's members even like it.

This bank is not in the public interest, so why is he pushing ahead with it? This is $35 billion that belongs to Canadians. Why will the Prime Minister not put this money to better use instead of helping out a group of wealthy bankers?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, out of the $186 billion that we are investing in Canadian communities, only 8% will be delivered through the bank. The rest of the money will go to provinces and municipalities through the traditional funding that is available to build more housing, to build more shelters so that women fleeing domestic violence have a decent place to live, to reduce commuter time for communities, to reduce the gridlock that people in urban centres are facing. That is what our communities expect us to do. That is exactly what we are delivering.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, right now, “Liberal government” seems to be synonymous with “conflict of interest”: BlackRock’s questionable involvement in designing this bank, bankers chosen in secret by the Liberals even before the bank is created, $15 billion diverted from small and medium-sized municipalities to rich foreign bankers. All this was done behind closed doors without meaningful consultation in the House of Commons.

Is this the start of sponsorship scandal 2.0?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, we are proud to say that under our transit plan, more mid-sized communities have received more funding than they ever did under the Harper plan. We have dedicated $2 billion for small communities only so we can help build the infrastructure those communities need. Our plan is focused on all communities, regardless of their size.

Canadians expect us to treat them fairly. That is exactly what we are doing.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will now talk about BlackRock.

The minister has said that all the information about the bank is available. However, through an access to information request, we obtained a document about a meeting arranged by BlackRock for its clients and attended by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and several other government ministers.

Strangely, we are unable to see the list of attendees or the subjects discussed, because they were simply blacked out.

Is that transparency? What are the Liberals hiding now?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, the presentation we made to investors is available to the public and the hon. member is welcome to read it. I hope he has read it, because there is nothing dubious about it.

We are very proud that we are attracting international capital to invest in our Canadian infrastructure. We are encouraging our own pension plans, such as CPPIB and the Caisse de dépôt, that invest in foreign countries to invest in our own country, to create jobs for the middle class and build the necessary infrastructure that our communities need. We are doing better, and will continue to do better, than the previous government.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is really rushing ahead with this privatization bank to please his Bay Street friends. However, there are still many unanswered questions about a bank that will cost taxpayers $35 billion.

With that in mind, will the minister agree to our proposal to withdraw the bank legislation from the omnibus bill—an omnibus bill they promised to no longer introduce in the House—and to conduct a thorough study of an issue that truly deserves one?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, I can say as a former municipal councillor that one of the things our municipalities need is consistent, sustainable, and long-term funding, which did not happen with the previous government.

We have been consulting with our partners for the last year to establish the Canada infrastructure bank. We talked to unions, talked to provinces and territories, talked to investors. We talked to all sorts of Canadians, many people. As a matter of fact, the hon. member was with me in Washington when we consulted with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on the creation of the Canada infrastructure bank.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, then the government should separate it from the omnibus bill.

The priority of corporations is not to provide infrastructure; it is to make profit. I know. It is breaking news. The Liberals secretly plan to develop their privatization bank with corporations behind closed doors. That is as transparent as, say, a black rock.

If the Liberals actually want to put Canadians ahead of corporate interests, will they simply commit that there will be no tolls or user fees as a result of this bank?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, we always put Canadians ahead of anything else. We approved 11 projects in the member's own riding, with a combined investment of $34 million this year. That is putting Canadians first. That did not happen under the previous government and that would not happen if her party were in power, because New Democrats have no plan for infrastructure.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Let us make this clear, Mr. Speaker. It is not just the NDP that is raising red flags. KPMG, that old socialist firm, provided a report to the government that said this so-called infrastructure bank could lead to “public relations disasters and embarrassment”, embarrassment because of the potential to slow down projects, lack of clear details, and Canadians' aversion to user fees.

Will the Liberals reconsider this corporate welfare bank? We are just trying to save them from some embarrassment.

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, we have some investment funds in Canada that are known worldwide. CPPIB is one of them. OMERS is one of them. These are funds that would like to invest in Canadian infrastructure to grow our economy and create jobs for the middle class. That would benefit Canadians from coast to coast. That is exactly what our plan talks about. We will continue to invest in our traditional funding models. We will continue to engage with the private sector, because that sector is the one that delivers infrastructure on behalf of Canadians now.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that same report my colleague just mentioned also states that the bank would be a bureaucratic disaster. It would mean more red tape for municipalities, further delays, and greater costs for everyone. Taxpayers are the ones who will be paying for this bank.

There are urgent infrastructure needs. Everyone can agree on that. However, the money is taking a long time to get out the door now, even for public investments by the government, and things will only get worse with the new privatization bank.

Why has the minister decided to put the interests of private investors behind closed doors ahead of the municipalities that so badly need this help?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely incorrect when he says money is slow in flowing.

We approved 2,200 projects with a combined investment of $20 billion with provinces and municipalities. Almost 50% of those projects are under way. They are allowing us to create a transit system that is accessible for people with disabilities. We are allowing them to buy 1,000 buses that will improve transit services. We are improving drinking water in our communities. We are delivering on what we promised to Canadians, and we will continue to do so.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, BlackRock billionaires met the Prime Minister in Davos, then again in New York, and then at the Shangri-La summit, and they have had unfettered access to staff, officials, and ministers ever since, all to discuss how they will use 35 billion tax dollars in the new infrastructure bank.

Taxpayers have had a whole two hours of consultation in a parliamentary committee. Why does the Prime Minister have two years for the billionaires who have everything to gain, and only two hours for the taxpayers who have everything to lose?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of projects being funded in the member's own riding as well, through the other government.

We are not ignoring the needs of Canadians, obviously. We want to work with all stakeholders. We want to work with unions. We want to work with the building trades. We want to work with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We want to work with the private sector.

We believe that the private sector can deliver more infrastructure that our communities need. If we can leverage public dollars, what is wrong with that? The member may have something against the private sector; we—