Debates of Nov. 20th, 2018

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister famously promised that the budget would balance itself. He said that would happen just next year. We only have about 40 more sleeps until next year comes, and only one more sleep until the fall economic update, in which we are supposed to find out about the finances of the nation.

I have a very simple question. If the budget will balance itself, then when will the budget balance itself?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the member for Carleton that in the 2015 election, Canadians were debating whether Canada was in a recession or heading into a recession. We had slow growth and slow job creation. Canadians decided to take the approach of investing in infrastructure, giving more money to the middle class to help grow the economy. We had the fastest growth in the G7 in 2017. We have seen over half a million full-time jobs created in the last three years. We see, at the same time, our debt-to-GDP ratio steadily going down. This is fiscally responsible, and this is growing our economy.

Child Care

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today, over a hundred advocates are here calling for universal affordable child care. Costs here are among the highest in the world. Some families pay more for child care than they do for rent, and our system barely serves one in four kids. Canada is investing a fraction of what is needed to solve the child care crisis.

After voting down every progressive fix to pay equity in committee this morning, when will the government take some real action on gender equality and invest in affordable universal child care?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member opposite that the government has invested in child care, some $7.5 billion over the next 10 years of direct investment. We have partnered not only with the provinces and territories, but we also have the first distinction-based indigenous child care policy in the history of the country. We did not stop there though. We also provided the Canada child benefit, which as my colleague has said is now being indexed. In addition to that, there is a $40-billion national housing strategy.

We are heavily focused on reducing child poverty, supporting families and making sure we build the most resilient generation of Canadian children in the country's history.

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

Mr. Speaker, today is Universal Children's Day, but it is impossible to celebrate when 1.4 million of our children, 200,000 more than before, are living in poverty in Canada. It is not enough to write a cheque and claim that the problem has been fixed. We need affordable day care across the country, a universal pharmacare program that includes dental benefits, and programs to help the 38% of indigenous children living in poverty.

My question for the government is this: when will it implement ambitious measures that will truly lift all children out of poverty?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, the party opposite now seems to want ambition. In their campaign platform, those members promised not to spend any money on anything unless they balanced the budget first. That is not an ambitious program, nor is it ambitious to spend provincial and territorial money and not stand up as a federal government.

This government has invested $7.5 billion in child care. We have invested in a national housing strategy. EI reforms have supported families as well. This government is committed to lifting children out of poverty: 300,000 so far, 600,000 Canadians.

Our work is not done, and our investments are not finished either.

Privacy

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for Statistics Canada admitted yesterday that he found out about the project to collect personal financial data from the media. However, the law states that the minister must be notified before the chief statistician begins any new projects.

What is the minister doing to protect Canadians' privacy? Will the chief statistician face any sanctions for breaking the law? When will the minister finally put an end to this project?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes Canadians' privacy very seriously and understands the concerns that have been raised. The head of Statistics Canada has made it very clear that this project will not go ahead until the privacy concerns have been addressed.

It is also important to understand that no information has been shared or collected by Statistics Canada as part of this project and that we will always protect Canadians' privacy.

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

Mr. Speaker, people want to know that the minister cares about privacy. Yesterday we learned that he learned about this plan to collect personal financial data from over one million Canadians only after it was reported in the media.

The law clearly says that the minister must be informed before the chief statistician can move forward with any mandatory data collection. Can the minister clearly state to the House if he or his office was informed about this project to harvest the personal and financial information of millions of Canadians after it was reported, yes or no?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, one of the key issues members opposite have raised is the issue around privacy and data protection. We understand those concerns. The chief statistician, in committee, both in the House of Commons and the Senate, said he will only proceed when those issues around privacy and data protection are dealt with.

With regard to personal information, no personal information will be shared with any private entity. No government agency, the CRA, the RCMP, or even the Prime Minister can compel Statistics Canada for this information. Privacy and data protection are absolutely essential, and our government supports that position.

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

Mr. Speaker, notice that he did not answer the question.

The minister stated yesterday at committee that he learned about the plan to collect personal financial data from over one million Canadians when it was reported in the media. The law says that he must be told before any request can be made. The government has already told the banks that they must provide this information.

Is the minister suggesting that Statistics Canada violated the law by not notifying him?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, this is a pilot project with regard to the next steps. The chief statistician has been very clear. He will only proceed if issues around privacy and data are dealt with in a meaningful way. The member opposite knows that no information has been obtained. No information has been shared.

With respect to privacy, we have been very clear. No government, no agency, no authority can compel any personal information from Statistics Canada. We have been very clear that we also share the concerns around privacy and data protection. We welcome the work the Privacy Commissioner is doing.

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

Mr. Speaker, I see that the minister is getting ready for skating weather, because he is skating around this issue and will not address it.

The law says that he must be notified, but the minister says he was not. The minister is either incapable of managing his own department or officials were hiding things from him.

We know that Statistics Canada makes over $100 million a year selling data to corporations. Did Statistics Canada choose not to tell the minister its plans because it wants to sell this data to large international businesses?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, again, the member opposite is making up his own facts. He does not believe in good-quality, reliable data. He does not understand the fact that no personal data is ever shared by Statistics Canada. That is what he is implying when he asks that question.

Let us be very clear. This was a pilot project. No information was obtained. Statistics Canada is working with the Privacy Commissioner to deal with issues around privacy and data protection.

The fundamental problem here is that the members opposite do not support Statistics Canada. They do not support good-quality, reliable data, and that is the real issue here.

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, the plan to build a French-language university in Canada's largest city is a symbol of pride for Ontario and francophone communities across Canada. Mr. Ford's decision to attack Franco-Ontarian communities to please his Conservative base has all kinds of implications for the whole country.

Is the Prime Minister ready to work with Franco-Ontarian communities to make this institution a reality?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his excellent question.

Five days have passed since that dark Thursday when the Conservative Government of Ontario and Conservatives in general decided to attack Franco-Ontarians. Not once in those five days has the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada spoken out against what is going on in Ontario.

We hope to work with all parties in the House to put pressure on the Conservative Party to stand up for the rights of linguistic communities and Franco-Ontarians.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Doug Ford is not the only one abandoning French-language universities. This government has turned its back on Campus Saint-Jean, the French-language university in Edmonton, even though Alberta's francophone population is on the rise and the number of students there has doubled. Funding needs are not being met, and the Liberals refuse to provide funding. At least the Alberta NDP has stepped up.

Why do the Liberals not support Campus Saint-Jean?

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

Mr. Speaker, Campus Saint-Jean is very important. I have had a chance to visit it many times, particularly with my former parliamentary secretary, the member for Edmonton Centre. It really is an amazing institution, which is why we decided to provide more funding for minority language groups. We increased budgets for all language communities by 20%, and we will continue to support them. We have invested $2.7 billion in official languages, the largest investment in official languages in Canadian history. Francophones outside Quebec and anglophones in Quebec know they can—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Vimy.

Status of Women

[Eva Nassif, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week is Gender-based Analysis Plus Awareness Week. This is an opportunity for us as parliamentarians to learn more about GBA+ and its contribution to gender equality.

Recognizing and addressing the different ways government decision-making affects various groups of people is key to achieving gender equality. Can the Minister of Status of Women tell this House what the government is doing to enhance the implementation of GBA+ across federal departments?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows, as we all do, that the impact of government decisions is felt differently by Canadians, depending on a variety of factors, including where they live, how they identify and/or their official language of choice. Our government relies on GBA+ to assess and mitigate for any differential impact, and our approach is working. The economy is growing, and we are advancing equality.

This week, at the GBA+ Forum, our government will be sharing our successes and looking for ways to further collaborate with leaders from across sectors so that together we can grow the middle class and support those working hard to join it.

Natural Resources

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's oil is being liquidated at $17 a barrel while our international competitors are getting $54. This discount is costing the Canadian economy $80 million each and every day and is a direct result of the Liberals' cancellation of the northern gateway, the Trans Mountain and the west-to-east pipeline projects. Now the Liberals have proposed something new. It is called a no-new-pipelines bill, Bill C-69. This is going to make this discount permanent.

Will the government kill Bill C-69 and allow pipelines to be built, or is it prepared to allow this discount to continue?

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

Mr. Speaker, the challenges experienced by the energy sector are real, and we are working with the sector, as well as the province of Alberta, to deal with them.

Let us look at the facts. What we are seeing today happening in Alberta is the result of a decade of inaction by the previous government to build a single pipeline to take our resources to non-U.S. markets. Ninety-nine per cent of Alberta's oil is sold to only one single customer, which is the United States. We are focused on reducing that dependence by moving forward on pipelines in the right way.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Stephen Harper never cancelled one pipeline. The minister has cancelled three.

Today Canada Action has initiated a campaign to inform Canadians of what the Liberals' failures are costing the Canadian economy. Tens of billions of dollars are lost as discounted Canadian oil flows to the United States, and the Prime Minister is making it worse with Bill C-69.

The question is simple. Will he kill his no-new-pipelines bill, Bill C-69, or is he going to continue to allow the energy sector to fail and everyone who works in it to fail as well?

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

Mr. Speaker, Stephen Harper's government failed to build a single pipeline to take our resources to non-U.S. markets. That is the result we are seeing today. We are also seeing increased investment in the energy sector. Despite the opposition beating down on the energy sector, close to half a trillion dollars of new investment is being planned for Alberta's energy sector, including the $40-billion LNG project investment, the single largest private sector investment in Canada's history.