House of Commons Hansard #368 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was treatment.
Carolyn Bennett LiberalMinister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ending the ongoing national tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. The independent commission's mandate was clear, that the families had to be at the centre of its work. We are working—
Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON
After-care was very much part of the plan of the commission and of its budget. After the interim report, we increased the money for healing. We will continue to do whatever it is to support those families.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I remind the hon. member for Vancouver East that her opportunity to speak is when she has the floor, not when someone else is speaking.
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Speaker, 17-year-old Braiden Jacob came to Thunder Bay for grief counselling and now he is dead. He joins 14-year old Josiah Begg, 17-year-old Tammy Keeash, 15-year-old Jordan Wabasse, and so many other indigenous youth who have died violently in Thunder Bay. They were victimized after being forced to leave their communities because the government refuses to provide adequate schools or provide services.
Will the Minister of Public Safety commit an RCMP team to work with indigenous leaders to find out why so many young indigenous youth are dying in Thunder Bay?
No more fallen feathers.
Jane Philpott LiberalMinister of Indigenous Services
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for raising this solemn issue.
Our hearts go out to the family of Braiden. We are grieving with that community. I reached out to the chief today. I also spoke to the grand chief of the region to express our condolences.
The community where Braiden is from, the community of Webequie, is an area where we have made significant investments in mental wellness care. We will continue to make those investments. This is for all Canadians to work together to bring justice and ensure the safety of indigenous youth.
Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Mr. Speaker, news is breaking right now that Michael Rafferty, the other cold-blooded killer of Tori Stafford, was moved to a facility with a lower level of security back in March. That was after Terri-Lynne McClintic was moved to a healing lodge, a decision which the Liberals had to reverse because of widespread outrage from Canadians.
Can the minister tell us if this is true? Is Michael Rafferty behind bars where he belongs or is he in a cushy healing lodge somewhere in the woods?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, I would remind the opposition that the decisions taken with respect to McClintic were in fact taken by the previous government when the classification was moved from maximum security to medium security.
I will examine the facts of this case to ensure that all the proper rules and procedures have been followed and that Canadians are safe.
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Mr. Speaker, it seems that the only Canadians not concerned about the threat Huawei poses to our mobile network are sitting in the Liberal benches. This is a major security threat and the government refuses to do anything about it. A former security adviser to the Prime Minister has said, “Once Huawei is in, we will never get them out.”
The time has come to make a decision. We either stand with our western democratic allies or with Communist China. Which one will it be?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we will never compromise our national security. We remain open to global investment. We understand that 5G is an emerging technology that has the potential to meet the explosion in consumer and industrial demand, and we want to make sure that Canadians have access to this latest technology in terms of quality and coverage.
Our Communications Security Establishment provided us with guidance on the 4G network and it will continue to do so with 5G. As is always the case, we will follow the advice of our public security officials and never compromise security in Canada.
David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have a long history of attacking rural communities in Alberta. First they moved jobs from Vegreville and now they are taking aim at Cold Lake. Last week, we learned the Liberals are planning to move the aerospace engineering test establishment from Cold Lake to Ottawa. Will the minister cancel this plan to kill jobs at CFB Cold Lake?
Harjit S. Sajjan LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for meeting with me last week to discuss this very important issue, when we discussed that the Canadian Armed Forces plays a very important role in NORAD missions and will continue to play a very important role. In fact, we are actually increasing our investments in Cold Lake, including making important upgrades to infrastructure.
Both CFB Bagotville and CFB Cold Lake will benefit from decisions to acquire the fighter jets to replace our CF-18s, both through the interim and the future fighter missions. I am happy to carry on the discussion. In fact, I spoke with the mayor this afternoon and will—
Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, by failing to ensure economic equality for women, we are missing out not only as a society but as an economy. A McKinsey Global Institute report estimates that women's economic equality could add $150 billion to Canada's GDP by 2026 but women face barriers to full labour market participation, such as gender-based discrimination, patriarchal attitudes and lack of training.
Could the minister please explain how this government is actually helping women and how the women's entrepreneurship strategy is working to help women overcome these challenges?
Status of WomenOral Questions
Mary Ng Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, small businesses make up 99% of all businesses in Canada, yet only 16% are women-owned or women-led and they face unique barriers. This is why we recently invested $85 million in a women ecosystem fund to help support those women entrepreneurs and another $20 million to help those women grow their businesses. By advancing women's economic participation, we could add up to $150 billion in GDP to the Canadian economy by 2026.
Women's success is everyone's business.
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lévis—Lotbinière, QC
Mr. Speaker, this past Friday, Quebec's National Assembly unanimously called for the Davie shipyard to get a contract to build the supply ship Obelix. The Prime Minister's failure to understand that our women and men in uniform need a second interim supply ship is unacceptable.
The Davie shipyard in Lévis knows how to build these ships on time and on budget.
The Liberal government's handling of this file has been a complete and utter failure. Will the Prime Minister make the only logical decision and award the Obelix contract to Davie as soon as possible?
Public Services and ProcurementOral Questions
Carla Qualtrough Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, our government is getting results for Canadians by providing the navy and the Coast Guard with the ships they need to serve the Canadian public. Through the national shipbuilding strategy, our government is creating good jobs for the middle class. We have awarded 17% of the strategy contracts, valued at more than $1.3 billion, to Quebec companies. We are getting results for Quebeckers and for Canadians.
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Mr. Speaker, incidents of cyclist deaths are increasing in Canada. Just last week, a man was killed here in Ottawa while cycling on the street. Other tragic deaths in Vancouver, Toronto, Port Alberni and elsewhere show the urgent need for cycling safety and better infrastructure in our municipalities. The FCM recently voted 95% in favour of a national active transportation strategy. It has been two years since the Liberals created a cycling committee, which produced a single report but no action.
Will the Liberal government immediately introduce a national cycling strategy, or continue to do nothing?
Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I fully recognize the issue of vulnerable road users, whether they are cyclists or people on foot, and that is why I have been working with the provinces. We came out with a report last September, after extensive consultations across the country. I will be speaking to my fellow transport ministers in January on this very important matter.
Denis Paradis Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Mr. Speaker, tourism is an important economic driver for our communities from coast to coast to coast, and especially for Brome—Missisquoi, where our landscapes, our environment and our lakes serve as a standing invitation for people to come and visit.
The tourism sector employs more than 1.8 million Canadians and is booming around the world, generating over $8,000 billion in economic benefits and growing by 4% every year.
Can the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie inform the House of the measures our government is taking to ensure that Canada is reaping its fair share of this growing global market?
Tourism IndustryOral Questions
Mélanie Joly Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Brome—Missisquoi for his excellent question. We are proud to give a strong voice to over 1.8 million Canadians who work in this sector. In fact, not only are we proud, but it is time that that sector got the recognition it deserves.
If we combine the right economic conditions with smart policy decisions and ensure that the business community gets involved, the potential for development is huge: $25 billion more annually and 180,000 jobs.
We are going to come up with a good strategy to develop tourism around the country.
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised that his policies would attract the jobs of the future. Oshawa's auto workers want those jobs. Auto manufacturers have announced that they will be building the electric and autonomous cars of the future, somewhere. Oshawa workers are ready, willing and able. They just want a chance to be competitive, a chance to bid on those jobs.
Will the Prime Minister announce his plan for Oshawa workers by Christmas, yes or no?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, we obviously feel for the workers in Oshawa, and their families. We have invested a great deal in the auto sector in Ontario. Almost $400 million in investments on our part has generated over $1 billion in investments in the auto sector in the car of the future. We are confident moving forward that Ontario will play a great role in the auto of the future, and we will continue to support the workers in Oshawa in the meantime.
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Premier of Quebec made it very clear that we want nothing to do with Alberta's dirty energy. There is no social licence. We do not want pipelines crossing our rivers, and we do not want tank cars rolling through our towns. Will the Prime Minister get the message that if they want to sell their tar sands oil to other countries, it will not be going through Quebec either by pipeline or by train?
Natural ResourcesOral Questions
Sean Fraser Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, in the last federal election campaign, we made a commitment to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time, and that is what we are doing. In particular, we are moving forward with a piece of legislation that is going to overhaul the environmental assessment project to ensure that we are able to get our resources to new markets, while at the same time mitigating the negative environmental consequences that can come when development happens in an irresponsible way. We are moving forward with a plan that is going to allow major projects to go forward, get our resources to new markets and protect our environment, all while incorporating the feedback of our indigenous people.
