Debates of Nov. 19th, 2018

Indigenous Affairs

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been very clear. We know that the coerced sterilization of women is indeed a gross violation of human rights. It is a violation of women's reproductive rights. We are actively working with partners in provinces. We are working with faculties of medical education and health professionals to ensure that culturally safe care is available across the country. This is not something that any one order of government can address alone. All Canadians have a responsibility to ensure that these practices never happen again.

News Industry

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned through media reports that the Liberals are considering a bailout package for Canada's struggling news industry in this week's fall economic statement. We hope this is merely a trial balloon because a healthy democracy relies on a free and independent press. It would be unacceptable for the Liberals to even appear to be trying to influence favour with the media.

Will the minister confirm that the Liberals will not attempt to buy off the media in an election year?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, journalism plays a fundamental role. It is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. That is why we invested $50 million in journalism in the last budget. We invested $14 million in minority communities. We helped strengthen CBC/Radio-Canada. I am currently touring the country and talking to the media and journalists. We are looking at other ways in which we can work together and collaborate. We will have more to say about this in the future.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Jerry Dias, the head of the union representing thousands of Canadian journalists, confirmed in a tweet last week that his union will campaign aggressively to help the Liberals in the next election. The very same day, he was quoted in the Toronto Star asking the Liberals for more money. Now Canadians learn the Liberals plan to cave in to this demand with a major cash infusion for media outlets.

Does the minister not see that this bailout could be easily perceived as an attempt to buy off the media in an election year?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I will let my colleague have some fun with his conspiracy theories. Practically speaking, we all know that professional journalism—high-quality, independent news—is one of the pillars of democracy. On this side of the House, we respect journalistic independence. That is why, in the last budget, we invested $50 million, including $14 million for minority communities and CBC/Radio-Canada. They do not like that. One thing is clear: journalism is important. We will respect journalistic independence and we will be there.

Natural Resources

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, business leaders say that the Liberals' anti-energy policies are “borderline treasonous”. Brett Wilson said that Bill C-69 is “lunacy”. NuVista's CEO said it “needs to be completely killed or radically changed”. Susan Johns, a British fund manager, said that Canadian oil and gas is “being strangled by regulation, carbon taxes and the inability of producers to get their product to world markets”.

Clearly the Liberals' anti-energy agenda is the problem, not the solution. When will the Liberals stop killing Canadian jobs and withdraw their “no more pipelines” Bill C-69?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, we understand the struggles in the energy sector and the price differential the industry is facing. We are working very diligently with provinces and are moving forward on expanding our global market to make sure that Alberta's oil sector resources are able to get to non-U.S. markets.

What we are seeing today is the result of a decade of failure and inaction on behalf of the former Harper government.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, four new pipelines were built under the Conservatives.

Darren Peers from Capital Group, a big investor in Canadian oil, points out the reality that “no major pipeline project is yet assured” under these Liberals, and that energy investors are “questioning the merits of investing” because of them.

What is certain is the Liberals are driving billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs out of Canada. Cenovus warns that Canada “ignores these red flags at its peril”. Provinces are against Bill C-69, too.

Will the minister cancel his job-killing, “no more pipelines” Bill C-69 before it is too late?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, we saw one of the largest private sector investments in the history of our country, a $40-billion investment in the oil and gas sector.

When the Harper government came into office in 2006, 99% of Alberta's oil was sold to the U.S. When the Conservatives left office in 2015, 99% of Alberta's oil was still sold to the U.S. That is the failed record of the Harper government.

We are expanding our non-U.S. markets. We are working hard to make sure it happens.

Official Languages

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, francophones and francophiles across the country are outraged by the Ontario government's unwarranted decision to eliminate the French Language Services Commissioner and scrap plans for a university in Toronto.

That lack of vision is a direct attack on the Franco-Ontarian community and official languages. The Prime Minister needs to go to the mat to convince Mr. Ford to reconsider his decision and stand up for official languages and francophones.

What are the Liberals going to do to protect minority francophone communities across the country?

[Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for that excellent question. The Ontario Conservatives' decision is a direct attack on Franco-Ontarians, and I will be happy to work with him to protect them.

The fact is, one party is not standing up to protect Franco-Ontarians, and that is the Conservative Party. We fully expect the Conservative leader to speak out against this situation and talk to Mr. Ford in the interest of protecting francophones in Ontario and across the country. We, as a government, will stand up for francophones.

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

Mr. Speaker, Doug Ford's decision to attack the language rights of Franco-Ontarians is unacceptable. Creating a French-language university is critical to the Franco-Ontarian community.

The Conservative Party needs to understand that we are no longer in the 1950s. Francophones are going to stand up for their rights.

What specific action does the government plan to take to protect official languages in Ontario?

[Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his excellent question.

Millions of francophones and francophiles are going to fight alongside our government and all parties who want to stand up for Franco-Ontarians. I would ask the Conservative leader to talk to his boss, Doug Ford, in Ontario and get the Conservative government to back down on that decision, which is—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, more than ever, I wear this pin with pride in Ontario. All citizens, including the 600,000 Franco-Ontarians, are concerned and shocked by the Ontario government's decision. It will have a devastating impact on the rights of the Franco-Ontarian community.

Canadians recognize the importance of protecting our rights and our official languages, and the government has a role to play in the matter.

Can the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie inform the House—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie.

[Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Glengarry—Prescott—Russell for his question. He is a strong advocate for official languages and an excellent representative of his Franco-Ontarian community.

We have invested $2.7 billion in official languages, including $500 million in new money. We are here to support the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario and the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne. We support organizations that are working across the country to oppose the Conservative government's decision. We stand with them.

Privacy

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal Liberals are in power, and look what is happening in Ontario. They did nothing to protect Franco-Ontarians.

The centralist Liberal government wants to control law-abiding citizens. It wants to meddle in bank accounts. Our purchases, withdrawals, payments and financial commitments are our business. Did the Liberals invent Big Brother?

Will the government govern for once, give clear instructions and cancel the plan to have Statistics Canada collect banking information?

When will the government stop—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes Canadians' privacy very seriously and understands their concerns. The head of Statistics Canada has clearly said that the pilot project is still in the design stage. He said that the project would move forward only once Canadians' concerns have been addressed. The Privacy Commissioner did his job. No information was shared or collected by Statistics Canada as part of this pilot project.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when Statistics Canada asks more than 500,000 households for information on their bank accounts, their investments, their mortgages, and their credit card statements, that starts to be a bit much. One million Canadians feel compelled to allow the government to intrude into their financial affairs. It is completely unacceptable.

When will the Liberal government cancel this project that is much too intrusive into Canadians' private lives?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the facts.

Personal information will be removed. Canadians can rest assured that their banking information remains protected and private. Statistics Canada can absolutely not share this information with anyone, not with any agency or government, and not with the Prime Minister. Canadians' privacy will be protected.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to express their absolute rejection of the Liberal plan to secretly force banks and other financial institutions to release their personal financial information of their clients without their consent. The Liberals justify this intrusion claiming it will help make better decisions.

If the Liberals believe that this surveillance is justifiable, will they explain why they refuse to at least ask Canadians for their consent?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, privacy and data protection are absolutely essential. The member opposite knows full well from the testimony given by the chief statistician before committee members in the Senate and in the House that he will only proceed once issues around privacy and data protection are dealt with. With respect to personal information, that will be removed. More importantly, this is a pilot project. No information has been obtained and no information has been provided.

Let us stick with the facts and not the over-the-top rhetoric by the members opposite.

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

Mr. Speaker, the only fact that the minister is overlooking is that the Liberals promised to be transparent, and they have been non-transparent on this particular file. It was only through media reports that we found out about this.

The type of information Liberals want to collect is highly personal. This information is also highly valued by large multinationals that want to sell more of their products. We know that Statistics Canada already sells access to some of its data, 115 million dollars' worth last year.

Will the government confirm today whether or not the results of this new scheme to harvest Canadians' most personal financial data will also be put on sale to the private sector?