Debates of Oct. 19th, 2018

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Norman is in the battle of his life and the person who is fighting him is the Prime Minister. I am not standing here asking for court records or a report from a courtroom. The Prime Minister has been asked to provide evidence in the case involving Vice-Admiral Norman, yet he is refusing. There is precedence. Former prime minister Paul Martin turned over evidence, when requested, during the Gomery Inquiry.

It is time for the Prime Minister to stop hiding the truth. Who is he protecting and what is he hiding?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman's question indicates clearly, unequivocally and beyond all doubt that what he is referring to is a matter that is in fact sub judice. The rules that are pronounced by the table and the rules as articulated in the House by Mr. Van Loan are very clear. Whether the opposition wishes to persist in the line of questioning or not, that line of questioning is inappropriate and ministers are prevented from responding to those questions for fear of prejudicing the matter before the courts.

Natural Resources

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claim to be champions of the environment, but everyone knows that it is all just smoke and mirrors. They will not even be able to meet the weak greenhouse gas targets set by Stephen Harper. They are buying Trans Mountain with our money and they will not even rule out a return of energy east when the Conservatives ask.

Will the Liberals commit to listening to Quebeckers and to never bring back the terrible energy east pipeline?

[Paul Lefebvre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to talk about Canada's economy and the importance of pipelines.

The answer on energy east is a simple one. At the time, TransCanada made a business decision over whether to continue with the project.

I would like to take this opportunity to talk to the NDP about our platform on renewable energy and our investments in green energy. We have invested more than $27 billion, while the NDP's 2015 platform called for less than $3 billion. How do those figures compare? We believe that we can improve the environment and grow the economy at the same time.

Asbestos

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, just one day after announcing regulations that they described as a complete and comprehensive ban on asbestos, the government is announcing a stream of exemptions and funding for a project it should have banned.

Quebec health authorities have asked the federal government not to exempt mining waste, expressing deep concern about the lack of proper occupational health and safety standards. Instead, the government listened to the asbestos lobby.

Why is the government ignoring health and science experts and continuing to put Canadian workers at risk through exposure to asbestos?

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

Mr. Speaker, I was thrilled yesterday to announce that we have a comprehensive ban on asbestos. That is the sale, manufacture, import, export and use of asbestos.

I stood with Hassan Yussuff. He is the head of the Canadian Labour Congress. Does the member know what he said? He said that this was very good for Canadian workers. Hassan Yussuff is actually someone who was exposed to asbestos. He understands how damaging it can be for health, how it kills people.

In very exceptional circumstances, there are exceptions. Those exceptions are time-limited. There is a reporting requirement, and there is no impact on human health.

Indigenous Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that the five major Inuit organizations pulled out of the government's working group on food security.

It was clear from the start that the Liberals had no intention of listening. The consultations were “just tokenism and optics...so they can justify the changes that they want to make”.

The government's failure has real consequences. Tokenism does not feed children. When will the Liberals get back to the table and take this issue seriously?

[Yvonne Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that our government is committed to ensuring that northerners have access to affordable food throughout the north. We want to work meaningfully with all parties, including Inuit, first nations, Métis and northerners, on food security.

Inuit organizations have an important and unique perspective to offer on nutrition north Canada. That is why we have engaged with them. We value their expertise. We value their knowledge in this process. Their engagement has really been vital for us in developing our new initiative and providing thoughtful solutions in how we move forward with food security for northerners.

We are going to continue to work with Inuit right across the north, as we will with all indigenous groups and all northerners to ensure that the revisions to nutrition north are what people are asking for.

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

Mr. Speaker, three years ago, this was a key election promise by the government. We know that food costs in the north are absolutely staggering. After going through the process and withdrawing from the consultations, an Inuit leader told CBC that she had lost all hope. Listen to this. She was told by a government employee that if they do not want to be at the table, it is just going to move forward anyway.

This is a government that said that no relationship is more important than that with indigenous peoples in Canada. Is this how it treats this most important relationship? When is the government going to stop being so disrespectful and move forward in terms of this important initiative?

[Yvonne Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, this has been a priority for us, and we want to make sure that we are going to get it right. This is why we have been engaging with northerners, Inuit, Métis and first nations on how we move forward with this project. The minister himself visited all three territories. In the last few weeks, he met with premiers and leaders of government and organizations about this extremely important imitative and the changes we are about to implement.

We understand how important nutrition is to people in the north, and we know how important it is that the Government of Canada get it right so that it helps northerners—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.

Telecommunications

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the CRTC announced that a 50-megabyte download speed Internet is a basic service all Canadians should have access to. The government claimed it would make that a reality. However, now the details are out, and we can see that the Liberals have failed again. They have slashed their target in half.

Why does the minister think Canadians do not deserve the Internet service that he gets in his own office?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we have understood the importance of broadband across Canada. That is the reason we have invested, through connect to innovate, over $500 million across Canada. The program has a variety of different projects in every region of the country to increase the access Canadians have to good-quality high-speed Internet access.

We are going to continue moving forward in that direction. We will take no lessons from the previous government on Internet connectivity.

Public Safety

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Liberals talk big and then fail to deliver.

On giving Communist-China-controlled Huawei access to our mobile network, the public safety minister has said that we will check their equipment, do not worry, but the reality is that equipment will often break down and need to be quickly replaced and may not be perfectly inspected and documented.

When will the Liberals see that this big talk about checking every piece of technology is not practical and, like our allies in Australia and the United States, simply ban Huawei from accessing our 5G network?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, as we have stated a number of times in this House, our government, yes, is open to foreign investment in Canada, because it benefits Canadians, but we will never, ever compromise our national security.

As a government, unlike the previous government, we are investing in 5G. We are investing in it seriously, because we appreciate that it is what Canadian consumers want and need to participate in the future economy, and we will rely on the opinions of our public security experts. We will rely on our experts when we look at who gets to participate in those 5G networks.

Health

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in March, the Minister of Health promised Alain Gervais that the government would do something about sweetened alcoholic beverages, which of course caused the death of Athena Gervais. The answer provided by the minister on Monday is quite different. She is still holding consultations. It is shocking. The committee's 15 recommendations were quite clear. The government has to take action immediately to protect our children.

When will the government finally put its money where its mouth is and protect our children?

[John Oliver, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, protecting the health and safety of Canadians is a top priority for our government, and we continue to work to identify actions that can be taken to address the harms associated with problematic alcohol use. Following the tragic death of Athena Gervais, we immediately took action to begin work to restrict the amount of alcohol in highly sweetened alcohol beverages.

We thank the health committee for its work. We have tabled a response to its recommendations and will be introducing regulations in the near future to ensure that tragedies such as this never occur again.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Wayne Stetski, NDP, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Anita lives in a small town in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia. She was recently ordered to attend a meeting at the regional immigration office in Vancouver, a 1,700-kilometre round trip. Taking a week off work for travel was impossible for her, so she asked if she could go to a closer IRCC office in Calgary. She was told no, meetings must take place in the province of residence.

This is a big country with big provinces, and sometimes it makes sense to use a regional office that is closer. Canadians understand that. Why does the department of immigration not?

[Matt DeCourcey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government understands full well that our economic success as a country is dependent on welcoming newcomers into our communities and providing them avenues to contribute to their local economies. We know equally well that the diversity of newcomers adds to the richness of Canada. We are reinvesting in economic immigration streams and in welcoming refugees.

I remind the member opposite that under this government, we saw a historic effort to resettle 56,000 Syrian refugees in this country. We are equally reinvesting in our department and our officials so that they can provide the type of immigration services that newcomers to our country expect and that Canadians expect as well.

Animal Welfare

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Lac-Saint-Louis, many constituents have shared with me through emails, phone calls, visits to my office, and discussions in the community their concerns about the need to address the serious and unfortunate problem of animal cruelty, including with respect to gaps in the Criminal Code as regards bestiality and animal fighting.

Could the Minister of Justice please update this House on what our government is doing to address animal cruelty?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Louis for his advocacy, in fact all parliamentarians' advocacy, on this important issue.

Yesterday I was proud to introduce Bill C-84, which delivers on our government's commitment to protect children and animals from abuse. We are toughening the laws against bestiality and animal fighting, conduct that is completely unacceptable. I look forward to the support of all members in this House.

Natural Resources

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Indian Resource Council represents hundreds of first nations and advocates for first nations oil and gas producers. Its president and CEO, Stephen Buffalo, says, “Bill C-69 will harm Indigenous economic development, create barriers to decision-making, and make Canada unattractive for resource investment. This legislation must be stopped”. Premiers, economists and the private sector all say the same.

When will the Prime Minister kill his no-more-pipelines bill, Bill C-69?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to stand up and talk about how we are going to rebuild the trust of Canadians and how we approve major projects.

I worked very hard with indigenous people. In fact, we had a working group that included representatives from indigenous organizations throughout the whole process. It is interesting, because the party opposite actually jammed through legislation that killed the trust of Canadians in how we did environmental assessments. We know we can do better. We know that we can protect the environment. We can grow the economy, and this is part of our strategy to do exactly that.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should actually listen to what first nations are saying instead of countering with the exact opposite. The majority of first nations do support responsible resource development for the benefit of all Canadians, and it is key to poverty reduction and Canada's high standard of living.

The reality is that investment is fleeing Canada under these Liberals. Here is what Stephen Buffalo also said:

Indigenous communities are on the verge of a major economic breakthrough, one that finally allows Indigenous people to share in Canada's economic prosperity...Bill C-69 will stop this progress in its tracks.

When will the Liberals kill their no-more-pipelines Bill C-69?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is always heartening to hear that those in the party opposite care about indigenous peoples and indigenous rights after they did nothing for a decade.

We are pleased that we have been working with indigenous peoples. I will explain to the party opposite how we are working with indigenous peoples.

There will be early engagement with indigenous peoples. We will actually be sitting down with indigenous peoples and not dumping big documents about projects on their desks. We are going to have a consultation plan so that we can listen to them and figure out how we move forward together.

I agree, there are huge economic opportunities for indigenous peoples. We need to make sure they benefit. They did not under the previous—