Debates of Oct. 25th, 2018

Ethics

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis is an experienced member. He knows full well that he is to address his comments to the Chair. When he says the word “you”, he is talking to the Chair. I hope that was not his intention.

The hon. Minister of Public Safety.

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

Mr. Speaker, not only did former Minister Van Loan cite that particular rule on the occasion I referred to, on May 11, 2015, but in fact the sub judice principle was raised in the House by the former Conservative government, not once, not twice but over 300 times, when it was serving as the Government of Canada, and it was probably viewed rather favourably by the Speaker of the day.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I am told that the hon. member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis was quoting someone else when he said “you”. If that is the case, then I apologize.

The hon. member for Essex.

Canadian Heritage

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Unifor journalists and media workers are in Ottawa this week with a clear message. The Liberals' inaction is why newspapers and media outlets are closing and why journalists are losing their jobs.

What do Canadian media workers want? Stop giving tax deductions for ad buys on Facebook and Google; end the free rides for Netflix, Apple and Spotify and make them support Canadian content; force those who profit from the system to contribute to the system. We have been saying this to the Liberals for three years. We cannot wait any longer.

What will it take for the government to act now?

[Andy Fillmore, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, on the issue of taxation, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have been entirely clear, but we also know that the Broadcasting Act has not been reviewed since before the Internet was in our homes.

The Conservatives did nothing for 10 long years, so we took action. We have appointed a panel of experts to help us modernize this act. Our starting point is clear. All players that participate in a system must contribute to the system, and there will be no free rides.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there will be no free rides in five years.

Fourteen past presidents of the ADISQ sent a very clear message this week. Our music industry is in crisis. Our Quebec artists continue to create, but the problem is that the platforms are not covered by our laws.

We have been asking for the same thing for three years now. Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, Google and whatever other services are out there need to respect our culture and contribute to it in order to keep it strong. As the ADISQ has said, that takes political courage. The Liberals have been trying to muster up their courage for three years now.

Will the minister give us something other than the tired speaking points we heard from his predecessor, please? Come on.

[Andy Fillmore, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, we will always support our culture, our artists and our creators, and that is why we doubled funding to the Canada Council for the Arts, increased Telefilm funding by $22 million and $13.5 million for the National Film Board. We restored and increased funding to CBC/Radio-Canada, with a $675-million investment. We also launched a new $125-million creative industries export fund.

After the Harper Conservatives gutted support to cultural industries during their lost decade, we have taken action to support this sector.

The Economy

[René Arseneault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, in September, the government released a report, saying that Canada's economy was strong and growing and that by this time next year, the typical middle-class Canadian family would be $2,000 better off as a result of our plan.

Nevertheless, there is still work to be done to stay on the path toward growth for our families and workers.

Could the Minister of Finance give us a brief update on the Canadian economy and tell us what the government plans to do next?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, since 2015, we have kept our promise to Canadians to invest in the middle class and grow our economy.

As a result, where are we today? Our economy is among the strongest in the G7. Our unemployment rates are at near 40-year lows. Canadians have created more than half a million new jobs in the last three years.

I am pleased to say that on November 21 we will introduce our fall economic statement so we can update Canadians on further actions we will take to keep our economy growing, to keep people investing in our country and creating jobs.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is refusing to turn over the evidence for the court case of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. The Liberals are refusing to answer the simple questions on who are they trying to protect and what are they hiding.

Why are the Liberals refusing to turn over the documents? Have they already destroyed all the evidence?

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

Mr. Speaker, such an assertion is absolutely absurd. The fact is that there are legal procedures and processes that we have established in this country under our court system to pursue prosecutions and the defence of prosecutions. That is the forum in which these matters are dealt with. In the House of Commons, while the debate can get hot and furious at times, the fact is that matters that are sub judice must be left to the courts to deal with.

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the minister could hear my question over all the noise of the paper shredding machines up in the Prime Minister's Office right now.

If the government has nothing to hide, why is it refusing to answer the questions? We are not asking the Liberals to comment on the court case; we are asking them to turn over the evidence that serving vice-admiral can use to defend himself. Why the cover-up? Have they already destroyed the evidence? Are they trying to protect someone?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. gentleman has an allegation of wrongdoing or of criminal behaviour, he should provide that information to the RCMP. He should also have the courage to make the allegation outside the House.

[Richard Martel, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC]

Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Norman is a man of honour and integrity. He always did his best for the Royal Canadian Navy. He needs evidence to defend himself. Obviously, the government is covering up an extremely embarrassing situation.

Could the government not have taken other measures to keep James Cudmore quiet?

Can the government assure us that no evidence has been destroyed in an attempt to cover up its real political motives?

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

Mr. Speaker, again, I advise the hon. gentleman that his allegation is absurd.

Border Security

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

Mr. Speaker, the number of illegal border crossings continues to rise. Our border services officers estimate that there will be a wave of up to 200,000 Salvadoran asylum seekers who are currently in the United States and whose special status will be revoked. What is worse, the system is already broken and the minister has no plan. The Prime Minister has to make a decision. Will he let the whole world continue to make a mockery of our borders or will he have the courage to enforce and strengthen Canadian laws?

Will he deal with the safe third country agreement?

[Bill Blair, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by simply saying that the member opposite's assertion that the numbers are going up is simply wrong. We have seen a significant reduction of those numbers just over the past few weeks. In the past several months, we have seen as much as a 70% reduction over what we experienced last year.

There is a firm plan in place to deal with this issue and we are monitoring the situation in other countries, including the United States, very carefully. Our senior officials are working hard. They are prepared and they are managing the situation quite ably.

Justice

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast support my bill to expunge criminal records for now-legal cannabis possession, and editorials in magazines and newspapers across the country prove it. Everyone knows that the government's pardon proposal just will not fix the problem. A pardon for a pot conviction will not help when someone fills out a rental form or a job application, but an expungement means that someone may truthfully say, “I have never been convicted of a criminal offence.” A pardon will not do that.

Will the government work with me to erase these records and let these thousands of Canadians get on with their lives?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are always very happy to work with members of the opposition in constructive legislative endeavours, but I would also invite the hon. gentleman to look at the other side of the question as well, and he will find that a pardon can be a very effective tool. It is cheaper, it is faster, there is no fee, there is no wait time, the record is sealed and segregated. It can be reopened only in extraordinary circumstances, such as the person reoffending and committing another offence, and the effect of a pardon is protected by the Canadian Human Right Act.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Champlain Bridge cannot be paved in the winter, but taxpayers have been waiting for years and they will have to wait even longer.

The minister said that these were excusable delays, but this just shows us that P3s are not actually more effective.

Speaking of the private sector, I have to wonder whether the Liberals will make sure they recover every single cent we are owed in late penalties.

How much will these excusable delays cost us?

[Marco Mendicino, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to see to it that the new toll-free Champlain Bridge is completed. Our priority remains the health and safety of those working on the new bridge and of the users of the current bridge.

I would like to reassure the people in the Montreal area that the Champlain Bridge is safe and that we are taking all necessary measures to ensure that it continues to be safe. We look forward to opening the new bridge by June 2019 at the latest.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has told Canadians more than once that he plans to phase out the energy sector, and Bill C-69 is exactly how he will do it. The no-more-pipelines bill means more regulations and longer application times. It means reduced transparency and less investment. It means increased uncertainty and further job losses. Hundreds of thousands of Canadian families and the workers in the energy sector depend on the resource sector. They are calling it the final nail in the coffin.

When will the government kill the no-more-pipelines bill and save the Canadian resource sector?

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

Mr. Speaker, we understand the importance of the resource sector to Canada's economy. We also understand that to get resources to market, Canadians need to have trust in the system.

We have worked very hard to develop a bill with businesses. We have been listening to the resource sector, listening to environmentalists, and listening to indigenous peoples to bring people together around a bill that would not only reduce timelines and ensure that we are making decisions on good science, but also that good projects go ahead. However, we need to make sure that we are rebuilding trust, we need to make sure we are listening to indigenous peoples and we need to ensure that we are making decisions—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Calgary Midnapore.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in Calgary, Alberta, there is no trust in the current government.

Bill C-69 is the greatest threat to Canada's energy industry since the NEP. The energy industry is responsible for more than 500,000 jobs across Canada. However, thanks to the Prime Minister's no-more-pipelines bill, there will be no more major energy infrastructure projects built in Canada. Companies say that if the bill passes, they will stop investing in Canada.

When will the Prime Minister stop driving energy investment away and killing Canadian jobs?