Debates of May 15th, 2017

Government Appointments

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, I have mentioned that we have put in place a new appointment process that supports open, transparent, and merit-based selection. Under our new process, we have made 122 appointments, of which 60% are women, 13% are visible minorities, and 10% are indigenous people. All positions are available to apply for online.

We committed to a new, open, transparent, and merit-based process, where our boards, commissions, and corporations can look like the diversity of our country. We will continue to do that good work, and I encourage all Canadians to apply.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

While the Liberals' legislative agenda fizzles and their fundraising dries up, guess who else is behind their work. Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson has told the ethics committee that her office is struggling to complete its open investigation into the Prime Minister's taxpayer-funded Christmas vacation on billionaire island, and in fact it may not complete it before the July 8 deadline.

Since the clock is ticking and there has not been any consultation with this House on who will replace Mrs. Dawson, is it the Prime Minister's intent, like a wolf looking after a herd of sheep, to approve himself as the ethics watchdog?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, as has been said time and again, we will always work with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure that we are responding to all questions she may have. When it comes to the appointment process, we have introduced a new, open, transparent, and merit-based process. All opportunities to apply are available online. I encourage all Canadians to apply, because it is important that our corporations and our boards reflect Canada's diversity, something we are very proud of.

Health

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Vancouver is on pace to reach 400 overdose deaths in 2017, double last year's number. In April, B.C.'s first responders broke the record for overdose calls in a single day. Front-line workers feel traumatized, and they do not have the resources they need. Vancouver city council is expressing anger and frustration, yet budget 2017 failed to allocate a single dime for emergency funding. Will the government finally step up with the resources necessary to bring this crisis under control?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct a fact that the hon. member stated. I think he may have misread his notes. In fact, British Columbia is on track to have 1,400 deaths in 2017. This is a significant increase over last year, and we continue to see this overdose crisis spread across the country.

I thank all members of this House for their urgent attention to this with the passage of Bill C-37, hopefully later today. We have put $100 million into the Canadian drugs and substances strategy in budget 2017, and $16 million in emergency funding for British Columbia and Alberta.

We will make sure that we put the resources behind this and that we act with the urgency it deserves.

Child Care

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday Canadians celebrated Mother's Day and all the contributions mothers make to their families and to Canada, but what we cannot celebrate is the lack of affordable child care for Canadian families.

Fees are more than $1,200 a month in Toronto, closer to $1,400 in Vancouver. Affordable child care in Canada would be good for families, for women rejoining the workforce, and for the economy.

Is the government ready to do what is right for mothers and families and bring in national affordable child care?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to address this issue, as does our budget 2017, but before we do that, we should thank mothers, and caregivers who serve as mothers, right across this country for the extraordinary work they do raising all of us and all of our kids.

Budget 2017 invests $7 billion over the next 10 years, in partnership with provinces, territories, and aboriginal groups, to achieve just what this question asks about, to move toward a national program that takes care of our kids in a more humane, safe, and regulated way.

This government is committed to delivering on that campaign promise. Budget 2017 is the first step. We look forward to making more announcements.

National Defence

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as a former parliamentary secretary to the minister of defence, I was privileged to chair a policy round table on behalf of the minister to engage experts, stakeholders, and interested Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Discussions were lively, interesting, and thoughtful, a highlight of my time working with an incredible team at National Defence.

Would the minister give this House an update on the progress being made toward the launch of the defence policy for Canada?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his considerable contributions to the defence policy review.

Our work on Canada's new defence policy is done. The next step is to share it with Canadians. First, my colleague the Minister of Foreign Affairs will be saying more about Canada's foreign policy foundation, and then, on June 7, I will have the honour of releasing the new defence policy on behalf of Canada.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that he is waiting until June 7, because the Liberals continue to dither and delay on releasing their defence policy review, which is already six months behind schedule.

Instead of rolling out his beleaguered defence policy here, the Minister of National Defence went to Washington and showed it to the U.S. administration first.

What was the point of delaying this announcement after the Liberals' so-called consultations with Canadians, if in the end the Americans have a veto over our defence policy?

Why are the Liberals showing the defence policy review to President Trump first, before they show it to Canadians?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, in our defence policy consultations, we consulted Canadians. We had approximately 5,000 contributors online, over 20,000 submissions, 18,000 social media submissions, and seven full-day round table discussions with over 95 experts from academia, industry, and the military, as well as indigenous leaders.

Of course, we consulted our allies to listen to their viewpoints, because multilateralism is really important to Canada. On June 7, I will be very proud to announce the defence policy on behalf of the Government of Canada.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the defence policy review was supposed to be delivered in December. The government used significant resources for this review, hiring a firm and a group of consultants to hold consultations across the country.

Apparently President Trump will have the last word on our defence policy and the Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Foreign Affairs are going to Washington, likely after question period, to get our defence policy plan approved.

Why do the Americans get to have the first look at this policy?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the thousands of Canadians, our allies and partners around the world, and members of this House and the Senate who contributed to the defence policy review.

I look forward to announcing this on June 7 to all Canadians on behalf of the Government of Canada.

Indigenous Affairs

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, two Labrador chiefs are calling out their Liberal member of Parliament for a very misleading housing announcement. She went there and promised 40 new units, but it turns out they will only get half of what was promised. This is either an example of misleading or incompetence.

Will the member stand and apologize to the 20 families that will be severely disappointed by the parliamentary secretary?

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I did apologize on the weekend to Chief Hart and to Chief Nui . There was a misinterpretation of the numbers that were profiled in the budget.

We have been happy to work with both communities to invest millions of dollars over the last year in infrastructure, housing, roads, water systems, shelters and all the other infrastructure that had been required. We will continue to work with them to help them meet the demands in their communities.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals consistently misinterpret, do not calculate things properly, and they do not know how to explain things. They are leaving confusion in their midst. Whether it is unable to explain what a nation-to-nation is, a missing and murdered inquiry going off the tracks, the file is a mess.

What will the Liberals do to get things back on track and give indigenous communities the clarity they deserve instead of misleading information?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of the record in our ability to implement all the investments in budget 2016, in improving the relationship from adversary to a true partner in the way we deal with first nations, Inuit, and Métis partners as we go forward. We are proud to look forward to this new relationship based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership. I am proud to stand in the House with our record.

Softwood Lumber

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, while Liberals claim softwood lumber is a top priority, they have failed to secure a new deal and they have neglected to make a real plan to support forestry workers and communities.

This week, hundreds of Quebec forestry workers will have their hours cut and their paycheques slashed. Instead of more empty words from the government, workers deserve action. Where are the loan guarantees? Where is the direct support? When will the Liberals stop watching from the sidelines and finally do something about this jobs crisis?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, for months we have been working across the Government of Canada and during those months with our counterparts right across the country to talk about the punitive duties that have been imposed by the Department of Commerce in the United States. We are determined, with our provincial partners, to look at both the short term to ease the burden that inevitably will fall upon workers who will be affected, by communities and by producers that will go through some hardship, and also the long term to diversify markets internationally and to help the industry in its transition. We are working hard for the workers, the communities, and the businesses.

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today, the softwood lumber crisis is having a very real impact on workers.

As we speak, across Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, plants have stopped operating at capacity in Kénogami, Dolbeau-Mistassini, Saint-Félicien, Girardville, Saint-Thomas, and in Normandin. This means that 1,285 workers are going to lose hours and the pay that goes with it, not to mention the stress this will put families under. Why? This is all because of the Liberal government's inaction.

When will the government make firm and immediate decisions and adopt a loan guarantee program to protect our forestry jobs?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, forestry jobs are vital to communities and Canadian workers across the country. We are taking immediate action to help companies, workers, and local communities affected by these unfair and punitive duties.

We will vigorously defend our industry and our workers from the impacts of this decision by the U.S. commerce department.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, in opposing Wynn's law, the Liberals have argued that presenting the criminal history of bail applicants will make bail hearings less efficient. The bail hearing of Constable Wynn's killer was very efficient, but it had fatal consequences.

Why would the Liberals put so-called efficiency over ensuring all evidence about the criminal history of bail applicants is before the courts so what happened to Constable Wynn never happens again?

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

Mr. Speaker, what happened to Constable Wynn is a tragedy. We support the objectives behind this legislation, with the principle that all relevant information needs to be presented at bail hearings.

We have the utmost respect for the work of committees. The committee heard from a myriad of witnesses and they presented evidence that in fact the bill could potentially decrease public safety.

We will ensure that we work in a constructive and collaborative manner with the provinces and territories to look at bail reform within the guise of comprehensive criminal justice reform.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. Most members in all parties are able to sit through question period and hear things they do not like without reacting. I would ask others who have difficulty doing that to try a little harder.

The hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton.