Debates of Jan. 31st, 2018

Pensions

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

Mr. Speaker, across Canada too many seniors are being left behind, and single women are particularly vulnerable. For women over the age of 75, poverty is almost double what it is for men. Canadian seniors should not have to struggle to make the most basic of ends meet. When will the government commit to a national seniors strategy that actually benefits the many senior women living in poverty today?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted and very grateful for this occasion to signal two things. The first is how much we have worked for seniors over the last two years, with an increase in the guaranteed income supplement of up to almost $1,000 for 900,000 vulnerable seniors across Canada, taking 13,000 of them out of poverty, 90% of whom are single female seniors, the very vulnerable ones. The second thing we have done in the last few weeks is to make sure that we have the mechanisms in place to ensure that all seniors and all Canadians have access to the benefits on which they depend, and which they deserve.

National Defence

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last year I had the privilege to travel with the Standing Committee on National Defence to Latvia to witness the important work our women and men in uniform accomplish overseas as part of Operation Reassurance. I understand that new Canadian personnel have recently left for Latvia. Also, HMCS St. John's was just dispatched to the Baltic Sea for a six-month deployment. Can the Minister of National Defence update this House on our contribution to security in Europe?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Kingston and the Islands for his hard work.

Canada is actively contributing to NATO's efforts to support global stability and deter Russian aggression. In July 2016, the Prime Minister announced that Canada would lead a robust multinational NATO battle group in Latvia. In addition, through Operation Unifier, we are also assisting Ukraine's armed forces with military training. These efforts represent Canada's largest sustained military presence in Europe in more than a decade.

Today, I am very proud and honoured to welcome to Ottawa the Latvian Minister of Defence.

Marijuana

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

Mr. Speaker, of the 86 federally licensed cannabis producers, 35 receive considerable amounts of funding from unknown investors in tax havens. No one invests that many millions of dollars, not Liberal Party elites or unknown investors, without being sure that they will benefit greatly.

Can the minister confirm today that the unknown investors are not members of organized crime groups?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians' health and safety is our top priority. We are proposing mandatory security checks for people who hold key positions in all of those organizations. We are also proposing background checks for major investors who own over 25% of a cannabis company. The Minister of Health has also signed an agreement with her provincial and territorial counterparts to find out who owns these companies and to crack down on tax evasion, money laundering, and other criminal activities.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat the question. We know that of the 86 cannabis producers in Canada, 35 of them get funding from tax havens. That means some of that funding is coming from organized crime.

Before implementing Bill C-45, can the minister confirm that the government will sort out that mess so that Canadians can be sure that organized crime has not infiltrated supposedly legal businesses?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat my answer. Canadians' health and safety is our top priority. We are proposing mandatory security checks for people who hold key positions in all of those organizations. We are also proposing background checks for major investors who own more than 25% of a cannabis company. The Minister of Health has also signed an agreement with her provincial and territorial counterparts to find out who owns these companies and crack down on tax evasion, money laundering, and other criminal activity.

Veterans Affairs

[Phil McColeman, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today injured veterans announced that they are taking their case to the Supreme Court. The Prime Minister promised these veterans lifelong pensions and that they would not need to fight him in court. He has broken those promises to our vets.

Under this Prime Minister's watch, the number of veterans waiting for disability benefits has ballooned to a backlog of more than 29,000. Rhyming off a list of benefits that veterans cannot access will not cut it. When will the Prime Minister stop fighting veterans?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we value the contributions that veterans have made in protecting the peace and security of Canadians at home and around the world.

Our government took immediate action to address many of the issues raised in this case. We increased pain and suffering compensation for all injured veterans. We created an additional pain and suffering compensation award. We increased income replacement. We invested in education and career transition services for veterans and their families. We enhanced mental health benefits. Veterans asked for a pension for life option. We delivered. Our newly announced plan is monthly and tax-free.

We will continue to do everything we can—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, veterans have made the solemn decision to turn to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In 2015, the Prime Minister promised them, hand on his heart, the return to a real pension for life. He also promised them that they would never ever have to take the government to court to fight for their own rights and their pensions. That is another broken promise. This time it affects our valiant veterans.

Will the Prime Minister honour the solemn promise he made in 2015 to our veterans or will he once again turn his back on our valiant soldiers?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's veterans bravely defend the peace and security we enjoy. When they come home broken, it is our duty to see them mend. However, under the previous government, veterans came home to cut services, to closed offices, and to their voices ignored.

With our recent announcement of a pension for life, this government's total investment in veterans in two and a half years is $10 billion. Veterans asked for a monthly pension for life, for enhanced supports, for a simpler system. We delivered, and we will continue to deliver.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister really likes to talk about feminist foreign policy, but in the meantime his government is not shy about selling arms to Saudi Arabia, a country with an atrocious human rights record, especially when it comes to women's rights.

How does the Prime Minister feel about making Canada a nation of feminist arms dealers?

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we condemn all violations of human rights and call for their protection, both at home and abroad.

Canada expects the end-user of all exports to abide by the end-use terms of the export permits. Canada has directly engaged Saudi Arabia to underline the importance of ensuring that its security operations respect international human rights law. We have engaged repeatedly with Saudi leaders and authorities on the protection of human rights, and we will continue to do so.

National Defence

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is not just the RCMP that is failing to address complaints about sexual assault in its ranks. It has been 10 long months since the Canadian Armed Forces promised to review a large number of sexual assault complaints they had previously dismissed as unfounded. These women were brave enough to come forward, and the Liberals are using the protection of their privacy as an excuse to do nothing.

Will the government commit today to stop stalling, show women the respect they deserve, and immediately take action?

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

Mr. Speaker, we remain fully committed to ensuring that the military's culture reflects respect and dignity for all.

A sexual assault review program is being created to implement an open and transparent review mechanism of all sexual assault cases labelled as “unfounded”. The program intends to include participation of external stakeholders to ensure that the review process of unfounded cases is more effective.

In order to protect the privacy of individuals, the military police are working with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to ensure that the review process is made in accordance with the laws and regulations.

Natural Resources

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we all know pipelines are the safest and most environmentally friendly way to transport energy. While the Prime Minister waffles, the British Columbian government adds another roadblock on the Trans Mountain pipeline, putting the project on life support. Canadian jobs are at risk. To make matters worse, a growing number of Canadian drilling companies are moving south of the border for brighter prospects. Many admit they may never come back.

When will the Prime Minister step up and protect Canadian energy jobs?

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we stand by our decision to approve the Trans Mountain expansion, just as we stand by our commitment to all Canadians to implement world-leading measures to protect the environment and our coast.

The decision we took on the Trans Mountain expansion remains in the national interest and that has not changed. The project is subject to 157 legally binding conditions to protect the environment and ensure it moves forward in the safest, most environmentally sound manner.

Our historic investment of $1.5 billion in the oceans protection plan builds on that.

[Ron Liepert, Conservative, Calgary Signal Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today the price of western Canadian oil is some $20 less than the market price and shamefully our colleagues in the NDP applaud that. Put another way, this financial loss is the equivalent to one hospital being built in the United States every week instead of here in Canada or one school every day being built in the United States and not here in Canada.

When is the Prime Minister going to stand up to the B.C. government, stand up on behalf of Canadians, and western Canadians, and have hospitals and schools being built in Canada and not in the United States?

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we have done more to support our country's energy sector and get our resources to market in two years than the Harper Conservatives did in 10.

We have approved infrastructure projects that will create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs across the country: expanded export capacity for the Alberta Clipper project, the NOVA Gas pipeline, the Line 3 replacement project, and the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline. We support the Keystone XL pipeline. I could go on and on.

These projects and others represent tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and billions for the Canadian economy.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the B.C. NDP government is adding new hurdles to the building of the Trans Mountain project, as we just heard. The decision not only threatens important jobs in western Canada, like in my riding, but also investor confidence in Canada's economy.

Will the Prime Minister defend his government's decision to approve this project, or will it become yet another failed project by the Liberal government?

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I said a moment ago, we stand behind our decision to approve the Trans Mountain expansion just as we stand by our commitment to Canadians to implement world-leading measures to protect the environment and our coasts. Through multiple consultations and discussions with Canadians, the decision we took on the Trans Mountain expansion remains in the national interest and this has not changed.

As I mentioned before, the project is subject to 157 legally binding conditions and our investment of $1.5 billion in the oceans protection plan is another example of our leadership to safeguard our—

[Ron Liepert, Conservative, Calgary Signal Hill, AB]

Tell that to the NDP.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Calgary Signal Hill has a fine voice but we should only hear it when he has the floor. He knows that.

The hon. member for Willowdale.