Debates of Nov. 19th, 2018

Privacy

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite continues to mislead Canadians. This is not a partisan initiative. It is Statistics Canada. It is an independent agency that has the respect and admiration of Canadians. It has put forward a pilot project to deal with this issue and it has made it very clear that it wants to deal with issues around privacy and data protection.

According to subsection 17(1) of the Statistics Act, no government, no opposition member and no prime minister can compel Statistics Canada for this personal information. It never has and never will compromise on personal information.

Canada Post Corporation

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

Mr. Speaker, while Canada Post refuses to acknowledge the needs of those who deliver the mail, CUPW is literally fighting for workers' lives. Postal transformation is taking its toll on workers' bodies, mental health and families. Despite the Harper Conservatives' imposed legislation in 2011 being deemed unconstitutional, this Prime Minister is threatening to do the same, all in the interest of greasing the wheels of commerce.

Well, the cost is too high. Why are Black Friday profits more important than workers' lives?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, our government has clearly taken a different approach to labour relations from the previous government. We strongly believe in and respect the collective bargaining process. We know that a deal is the strongest when both parties can work out that deal together. For nearly a year, we have been supporting the parties with services and support to reach a negotiated agreement. We also know that Canadians and businesses rely on Canada Post and its workers during the holiday season. This ongoing work stoppage has had negative impacts on Canadians, our economy, international commerce and, of course, Canada Post and its workers. We strongly encourage both parties to work hard and get a deal.

Agriculture and Agrifood

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I marched with my NDP colleagues and more than 5,000 people in Montreal in support of local food and to speak out against the fact that agriculture is being used as a bargaining chip in trade agreements. Farmers have been clear: the lack of reciprocity in standards and the concessions that have been made in trade agreements are a direct attack on our food sovereignty.

Can the government tell us today what it intends to do to stop abusing our food producers in Quebec?

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

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is well aware that the American government indicated quite clearly that it was going to destroy the supply-management system. We made sure as a government that it would not happen, and it did not happen. We do understand there is an impact on our farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly helping them to continue to succeed. We have and will continue to support our agriculture sector in this country.

National Defence

[Richard Martel, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that the current government cannot provide our military with the equipment it needs, as demonstrated by the fact that the government is going to buy used F-18s from Australia.

According to defence experts, this interim procurement strategy is risky, expensive and, above all, pointless. A capability gap is cited as the reason for this procurement, but there is no documentation to back that up.

Why has the Minister of National Defence misled Canadians about the capability gap?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to providing the Royal Canadian Air Force with the critical equipment it needs to be fully operational, now and in the future. Our government believes it is unacceptable to take risks with respect to Canada's ability to simultaneously meet its commitments to NORAD and NATO.

We are convinced that the Australian aircraft can meet interim needs while the CF-18 permanent replacement is being carried out.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals actually have a credibility gap problem. The defence minister has misled Canadians. For months he has justified buying old, used Australian fighter jets that were destined for the scrap heap by claiming there was a capability gap in our current fleet. Now detailed government documents reveal that the minister's statements were patently false. The Liberals manufactured a fake capability gap to give political cover for the Prime Minister's naive election campaign promise.

Why are the Liberals betraying our air force and misleading Canadians?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been clear that a modern fighter jet fleet is essential to defending Canada and Canadian sovereignty. That is why we are acquiring 88 fighter jets to replace the aging CF-18 fleet. We welcome the Auditor General's advice in this matter, and look forward to his report. When? Tomorrow.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I remind the hon. members for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman and Edmonton West to not speak when it is not their turn.

Finance

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government promised small deficits of $10 billion for the first two years and a balanced budget in 2019. However, we have since found out that we will end up with a deficit of close to $80 billion over a four-year period, thanks to this government.

My question for the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance is very simple: how can they promise a return to a balanced budget when it will not actually happen until 2045? When will the budget be balanced? This is a very simple question.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we know that in 2015, we were in a very difficult situation. The growth rate was very low. The unemployment rate was 7.1%. Things were very difficult for middle-class families across the country.

We made investments. Now, the situation is very different. We have one of the highest growth rates in the G7, and our unemployment rate is at its lowest in 40 years. That is great. We are going to continue investing so we can have a future full of opportunities.

International Development

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is especially troubling because this is the largest outbreak since the virus was discovered in that country in 1976.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development update the House on what the government is doing to address this issue?

[Kamal Khera, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from London North Centre for his commitment to international issues.

Controlling outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases, such as ebola, is extremely important to ensure the health and safety of Canadians and citizens around the world. This year we provided $2.5 million in humanitarian assistance for tackling the recent ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We just approved an additional allocation of $750,000 to support infection prevention and provide emergency assistance.

Public Services and Procurement

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there has been no shortage of promises, lip service and fake news stories, but Canada's biggest shipyard, the Davie shipyard, has gotten nothing but peanuts. The shipbuilding strategy is not working. There have been cost overruns, and ships are not being delivered. The Davie shipyard is ready.

What is stopping the government from ordering the Obelix now? This is a national security issue. What are the Liberals afraid of? Who are they protecting?

[Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has determined that we do not need a second Asterix or Obelix while Seaspan is building the joint support ships. We appreciate Davie's excellent work on the Asterix, but we do not need a second ship.

Air Transportation

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, despite concerted opposition from economic and political stakeholders in Abitibi—Témiscamingue, protests from air carriers, and the devastating impact it will have on economic development and tourism in the region, Nav Canada continues to defend its recommendations to shut down overnight services provided by the Rouyn-Noranda flight service station. Even Nav Canada admits that this closure is penny-wise and pound foolish.

Does the Minister of Transport plan to act on Nav Canada's recommendations, despite the unanimous opposition?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, at the request of Transport Canada, Nav Canada is taking a second look at the specific situation in Rouyn-Noranda. That study is currently under way, and we will have the results soon.

Public Safety

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, constituents in my riding of Brampton North have identified gun and gang violence as a significant public safety issue that must be addressed. However, it apparently is not an issue of concern for the Leader of the Opposition, who has not yet proposed a practical solution to deal with the increase in these violent acts. He recently visited my city of Brampton and, unfortunately, proposed redundant, unconstitutional and, ultimately, ineffective measures.

Can the Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. minister.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Brampton North for her strong advocacy on this issue.

Protecting the safety of Canadians is a top priority for our government, and that is why we were proud to announce $86 million for front-line law enforcement to keep our communities safe. What the Conservatives have proposed is not a real plan. Experts have noted that they demonstrate either little knowledge of the criminal justice system or they are deliberately trying to mislead Canadians. The Conservative plan typically offers no new supports for law enforcement and it is hard to imagine how they are going to deal with guns and gangs when they appear afraid to utter the word “guns”.

Agriculture and Agrifood

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

Mr. Speaker, about 5,000 people gathered in Montreal yesterday. I was there along with dairy, chicken, beef, pork, poultry and organic farmers, who all came together to showcase our local produce. There were 5,000 people there, but not one representative of the Liberal government. Not one of the 40 Liberal MPs from Quebec was there to stand up for our local produce. Why are they hiding? Because they know they have to save face for the minister, who did a bad job of negotiating the USMCA.

How can the Prime Minister justify this lack of respect for Quebec's farmers?

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

Mr. Speaker, everybody on the government side supports the supply-management system. It is unfortunate that not all among the Conservative opposition do.

We understand what took place. The U.S. government indicated quite clearly that it wanted to dismantle the supply-management system. We made sure as a government that it did not happen.

We also understand that our farmers are impacted by the new deal and we will fully and fairly make sure that they are—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Rivière-du-Nord.

Health

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health has decided go after Quebec's health care system. The threat is clear: either Quebec bans private clinics or Ottawa will cut transfers.

Can the minister explain the twisted logic that led her to believe that cutting transfers would be a good way to meet the needs of Quebeckers who need health care right now?