Debates of Oct. 16th, 2018

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 4 million people are living with food insecurity and 850,000 people visit food banks every month.

In Canada, 31 billion dollars' worth of food ends up in landfills or composters. The Liberals keep telling us that they want to protect the environment and really help those in need.

Justin Kulik just gave the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food a petition signed by 167,000 Canadians who are calling on the government to implement measures to put an end to food waste in Canada.

Will the federal government commit to implementing a national strategy to reduce food waste, yes or no?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, reducing food insecurity and food waste were among the topics discussed during the consultations. We are considering how these issues can be put together in a policy.

We have indicated that we are going to put a food policy in place for Canadians right across this country that would put top-quality, safe food on the tables of Canadians. We have indicated quite clearly that we are going to do that, and we will do that.

Carbon Pricing

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has added its voice to the opposition of the Liberal carbon tax cash grab. Small businesses are struggling under this Prime Minister, and the carbon tax is only making things worse. More and more small businesses are facing a difficult decision on whether they can even continue to afford to operate with these added costs.

Do the Liberals really think that a tax that harms small businesses disproportionately is a fair tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, we just heard another member from the party opposite say that he believes there should be a price on pollution. I am confused.

We know we need to be working with small businesses, and that is exactly what we are doing. I have seen small businesses across the country take action on climate change. VeriForm is an aluminum manufacturer in Ontario that reduced its emissions by almost 80% and saved $2 million. It would have taken action even if it did not believe in climate change.

We have an opportunity to do right by the environment, to save money, to support small businesses and to create jobs in Canada, and that is exactly what we are going to continue to do.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government is doing horribly at all of those things. Small businesses continue to worry about being less competitive and about paying more. Maybe, eventually, the Liberals will realize that their carbon tax is killing our small businesses and will do what the CFIB and small business owners have been calling for: Stop the Liberal carbon tax.

On Small Business Week at least, will the Liberals finally stand and defend small businesses and stop introducing policies that hurt their ability to compete?

[Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, small businesses are the backbone of the Canadian economy, which is why our government lowered taxes on small businesses to 9%. We worked hard for small businesses, and we will keep working hard for small businesses.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, where I come from, small businesses drive job creation, and I thank them for their work.

Every month I organize and chair meetings of Beauport's business network. Last week, we held an economic round table, and it will come as no surprise to anyone that the main issues we discussed had to do with the labour shortage.

The labour shortage could have a serious impact on our GDP. Every MP has seen businesses in their riding scale back their activities. Some are even closing their doors. This is a very worrisome situation.

I would like to know if the Liberal government wants to make this issue its top priority. When will the government take action, and how will it address this situation?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is right. Since we formed government we have seen a growing economy, which means that small and medium-sized businesses have been hiring, that our unemployment rate has been dropping, and that now we have a new problem: We need more Canadian workers.

That is why I am working so closely with my provincial, territorial and educational colleagues to make sure Canadians have the skills they need to take those opportunities. We have to make sure that everyone has a fair opportunity to succeed in this labour market, and that is why we are investing heavily in indigenous people, in women, in newcomers and in people with disabilities. We will make sure employers have the labour they need.

Small Business

[Celina Caesar-Chavannes, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government was elected on the promise to fight for our small businesses, to reduce red tape and to help them scale up, grow and become export ready. Small businesses are the restaurants, stores, services and artists we love, as well as the high-growth companies that are innovating across sectors and creating good middle-class jobs.

Could the minister tell the House, Canadians and the businesses in Whitby what is being done to highlight the contributions of these hard-working Canadians to our country's economy?

[Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, this is small business week, which is a time to recognize the important contributions of small business owners to our community and our economy. Small businesses make up 98% of all Canadian businesses and employ over eight million people. They are truly the backbone of the Canadian economy.

Our commitment to our small business owners is that we will lower the small business tax rate to 9% in January, while providing access to help them start up, scale up and access new markets.

This week and every week, I invite members to join me in thanking Canada's small businesses.

International Development

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government prioritized pluralism and peaceful coexistence in educational programs we funded, but this government just gave $50 million in new money to UNRWA. UNRWA does not promote peaceful coexistence, with books denying the historic Jewish presence in the region and UNRWA-employed teachers posting violently anti-Semitic and even pro-Hitler content on social media.

I have personally visited an UNRWA school and seen the failure first-hand. Palestinian children deserve better, so why are Liberals sending taxpayer dollars somewhere where they know those funds will support the propagation of anti-Semitic hatred?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development]

Mr. Speaker, I, too, visited the West Bank this summer, and I observed the UNRWA at work in clinics and schools.

We have renewed the UNRWA's funding in full for the next two years. I can assure the House that we are monitoring teacher training and other activities closely to ensure they are neutral.

Pensions

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the finance minister went from arm's length to cheerleader when he stated the decision by the CPP Investment Board to invest in privatized American prisons was not just ethical but represented the highest of ethical standards. They may be making record profits, but they rightly received worldwide condemnation, particularly for the tactic of targeting migrant families where children are separated from their families and caged. This is a human rights abuse, not an opportunity to make bank.

Could the finance minister explain what it is about privatized American prison camps that he thinks represents any kind of ethical investment standard?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadian Crown corporations and all Canadian government institutions are expected to live up to the highest standards of ethical behaviour and corporate governance. That includes the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. This is important. We monitor it and we stay on top of it.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is also independent of government, so it can invest to ensure that Canadians can retire in dignity. We think it is important to maintain these standards and that independence.

Government Accountability

[Mike Bossio, Liberal, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government promised Canadians we would reform question period so that the prime minister is directly accountable through a prime minister's question period. Could the government House leader inform the House of the progress that has occurred to make this pledge a reality?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington is absolutely correct. This government committed to having a more open and transparent government, making sure that the Prime Minister was accountable to Canadians across this country.

Since taking office, this Prime Minister has had 27 prime minister's question periods, answering over 1,000 questions. He has answered questions not only from leaders of the official opposition but from private members from both sides, so that we can hear the challenges that constituents in their ridings are facing. I hope other members will also be following this practice.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, the problem is we asked a lot of questions but we did not get any answers at all.

On a comedic note, this weekend, in a theatrical gesture, the member for Shefford literally spit on the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement signed by his Prime Minister. He too believed in the Prime Minister's fine words, but it seems the results of the negotiations sickened him instead. His party cannot be trusted.

Why did the government fail so dismally at protecting dairy, egg and poultry farmers?

[Andrew Leslie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the aisle and Stephen Harper said over and over that Canada needed to drop its demands and agree to a bad deal. We refused to capitulate, and we secured a good deal for Canadians. The agreement is supported by leaders on all sides, including union leader Jerry Dias, provincial premiers, and former ministers from the Conservative Party and other parties.

Public Services and Procurement

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Nova Scotia's Irving Group has good connections in the federal government. When the Conservatives were in power, Irving received $65 billion in shipbuilding contracts, while Davie shipyard in Quebec had to settle for a single contract.

Now that the Liberals are in power, they have tried to derail the only contract awarded to Quebec, probably under the influence of the President of the Treasury Board, a minister from Nova Scotia.

Is this the real change that the Liberals had in mind for Davie's workers?

[Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the Irving shipyard, during the period in question a letter was sent to other ministers and copied to me. I did my job as Treasury Board president, which was to ensure due diligence in the contracting process to make sure we took our responsibility seriously to get the best possible equipment for our Canadian men and women in uniform and the best value for Canadian taxpayers. That is exactly what we did.

The Environment

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last night in this place, we had an extraordinary emergency debate on the subject of the IPCC report. That report tells us and all Canadians clearly that we are not doing enough; that the target we have adopted, which is sometimes loosely referred to as the Paris target, is inconsistent with holding the global average temperature increase to 1.5°; and that we need to do twice as much and do it faster. Our best opportunity is to move other governments by announcing a new target, one consistent with the IPCC, at COP24 in December.

Will the Prime Minister commit to doing so?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her long-time advocacy towards environmental causes in Canada, and I thank all members who participated in last night's extremely important debate.

As I said earlier, we are working hard to meet our 2030 targets. However, we know the job will not end there and that there will be more to do. We are finally putting a price on pollution. We are phasing out coal. We are investing in green infrastructure. We are reversing the Conservatives' reckless changes, which harmed the environment. We will continue to work with all our partners to meet our objectives.

Indigenous Affairs

[Hunter Tootoo, Independent, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.

In 1993, Canada signed the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Article 24.3.1 required Canada to develop and implement procurement policies to support Inuit-owned businesses. Not supporting these businesses is a barrier to building a sustainable economy for Nunavut.

A court settlement in May 2015 required Canada to have these policies in place by July 31, 2016, yet it has not. Why has the government not honoured its legal obligation, and when will it do so?

[Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, there is no relationship more important to this government than our relationship with indigenous peoples. We are working with Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated on the successful implementation of the Nunavut agreement. We are taking a whole-of-government approach to this, to developing a procurement policy directive that effectively supports economic development and jobs for the Inuit of Nunavut. We continue to make significant progress to address the concerns raised by the NTI, and we will continue to work in good faith.

The House resumed from October 5 consideration of the motion that Bill C-79, An Act to implement the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership between Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, be read the third time and passed.