Debates of Dec. 7th, 2018

News Media Industry

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, within the next year there will be a national election. One of the first things corrupt regimes around the world do to hold power is to undermine, bribe or pay off the media. Canadians have never expected that to happen here.

However, 10 days after Torstar Corporation, one of Canada's largest media conglomerates, appealed for federal subsidies, a $355,000 sole-source contract was awarded to pay Toronto Star reporters to attend and report on public meetings of the Commons finance committee and the Senate banking committee. The Liberals did this, despite the fact that committee meetings are monitored by 43 other media organizations on Parliament Hill.

Really, did those Liberals not see a conflict in gifting an inflated contract to the largest newspaper chain in the country in an election year? Then again, it is the same government that is handing out $595 million in taxpayer money to media outlets. How far will the Prime Minister go to buy the next election?

Marie-Ève Dicaire

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Madam Speaker, on December 1, an athlete from my riding won a world boxing championship. Marie-Ève Dicaire, a 32-year-old native of Saint-Eustache, took on a Uruguayan boxer in a fight at the Montreal casino.

Her coaches said the fight was one of her best ever, and she took home her first world boxing championship title. She is actually the first Quebec woman to win such a title.

Before she took up boxing, her first athletic pursuit was karate, which she started learning at the age of six. She is now a 5th dan black belt and a world champion in that discipline.

Marie-Ève is an inspiration to girls and young women in our region and across Canada. The energy she puts into promoting her sport is admirable. I am proud to have an athlete like her and a rising star in the world of boxing in my riding.

Congratulations, Marie-Ève, and happy holidays to my colleagues.

Congenital Heart Defects

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Madam Speaker, on November 10, I had the honour of attending the fourth annual Gala de Talia.

Talia Nahabedian is an inspiring girl and so full of life. Diagnosed with a severe form of tetralogy of Fallot, doctors expected her to live just a few years. She has definitely exceeded that expectation: we celebrated her 16th birthday at the gala.

Since 2012, $240,000 were raised for the Clinique d'investigation neuro-cardiaque at the CHU Sainte-Justine. This clinic assists children born with complex congenital heart disease who require surgery during their early years.

Congratulations to bright and bubbly Talia and to her family for their boundless love and support.

Congratulations to the people at the clinic for the work they do and the support they provide to families.

Congratulations to all those little hearts that keep on beating every day.

Sagamité Restaurant

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, on Sunday, the indigenous community of Wendake awoke to shocking news.

The Sagamité restaurant had been seriously damaged in a terrible fire. Sagamité is more than just a restaurant. It is a symbol of the strength of the Huron-Wendat business community, an example of openness between nations, and a positive and pleasant way of discovering indigenous culture.

I held many meetings there. Whenever I was hosting elected officials, diplomats or journalists, I took them to Sagamité.

About forty people work in that restaurant, which was established 20 years ago by an experienced businessman and loving father, Steeve Gros-Louis.

Steeve is very proud of his Wendat nation and culture. He also directs the Sandokwa dance troupe.

In a voice choked with emotion, Steeve said that, while it was possible to save the indigenous artifacts from the fire, he lost something very dear to him, the antlers of the first moose he hunted with his son.

The Grand Chief of Wendake, Konrad Sioui, was on the scene Sunday and said, “The nation is in mourning, but we will recover. We are strong and we are able.”

I know the Wendat people very well, and I know they will succeed.

Good luck, my friends.

Violence Against Women

[Pam Goldsmith-Jones, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, I thank the Howe Sound Women's Centre and community partners, the Sea to Sky Community Services, the Sea to Sky RCMP and the Stl'atl'imx Tribal Police Service. Together, they have announced that they will provide the third party reporting option to all adult survivors of sexual assault.

This means that survivors can remain anonymous, while having the circumstances of their sexual assault reported to the police, assisted by trained third party reporters. This will ensure that disclosures of violence are heard, reported and that perpetrators are caught and held responsible. Above all, third party reporting protects the person who has been sexually assaulted.

Yesterday we recognized the 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique Montréal who were brutally murdered 29 years ago, simply because they were women.

In the spirit of taking action on violence against women, it is fitting to recognize the Howe Sound Women's Centre for helping to protect women and seek justice.

Kanata—Carleton

[Karen McCrimmon, Liberal, Kanata—Carleton, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is with tremendous pride that I rise today to celebrate the people and communities in my riding and right across our great country.

From Canada's largest high-tech park in Kanata to the tremendous farming communities throughout West Carleton, Kanata—Carleton is truly home to some wonderful people of compassion and generosity.

I want to thank our first responders for their expertise and professionalism and the many other people for the outpouring of support for tornado victims in Dunrobin. All came together when each other needed it the most.

It does not matter if we say “Joyeux Noel” or “Merry Christmas”, it does not matter which special holiday we choose to celebrate, but what does matter is that we do it together. Together we can give thanks for the gift of this beautiful country.

May everyone's celebrations be filled with love, joy, laughter and togetherness.

Canada Summer Jobs Initiative

[Alex Nuttall, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Madam Speaker, last year the Liberals implemented their values test for Canada summer jobs. They tried to make their values Canadian values by forcing charitable organizations to sign their values attestation.

ln January, we met with faith leaders from the Muslim community, the Hindu community, the Sikh community. We met with Baptists, Pentecostals, Catholics and many more. Their unified voice is what the Liberal government has failed to listen to.

Every organization I met with said the same thing. They had to cut summer camp for underprivileged Canadian youth. There were fewer people available at soup kitchens and homeless shelters across the country. There was less health care support for seniors below the poverty line.

The socio-economic impact the Liberal values test had on Canada's most vulnerable citizens has been catastrophic. Now, with an election looming, they have no choice but to reverse course. One thing is clear: The Liberals cannot be trusted to protect Canadians' fundamental freedoms. A last minute change in time for the election will not repeal the damage done to Canada's faith communities.

Mohawk Code Talker

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Madam Speaker, on Tuesday the House rightly honoured the last living Mohawk code talker and hero, 96-year-old Levi Oakes, Bear Clan, of Snye, Akwesasne.

Technician Fourth Grade Oakes enlisted at the age of 18 in the United States army and served with honour and distinction for six years with B Company, 442nd Signal Battalion, active in the South Pacific, New Guinea and Philippines theatres.

For his service, he was awarded the Silver Star, the third highest military combat decoration of the United States. For his services as code talker, he was awarded a United States Congressional service medal.

Indigenous code talkers are known the world over as having the only unbroken code in history. In respect of his service, Levi kept utter silence until a couple of years ago and only upon receiving written confirmation that he would be allowed to discuss it.

Indigenous languages served our country and our allies at a time when we needed it most. For this, we are eternally grateful. As Mr. Oakes repeated to me when I visited him in his house in May, “Tsi nika'shatste ne onkwawenna”, “The language is strong”.

Niawen'ko:wa Levi.

Child Poverty

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is the time of year when the shorter days and colder weather bring our friends, our families and our communities closer together. The Christmas season is also a particularly wonderful and magical time for children, at least it is supposed to be.

Unfortunately, in a country as wealthy as Canada, far too many children will not be enjoying this holiday season. In recent years, UNICEF has rated Canada 17th out of 29 wealthy countries due to child poverty and 26th out of 35 for overall child inequality. These are shameful statistics.

In 1989, the House voted unanimously to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000. As former NDP leader Ed Broadbent has said, “For too long we have ignored the appalling poverty in the midst of affluence.” Our children are this country's most valuable resource. When they grow up in poverty, they have their futures robbed from them.

We can do better. We must do better.

Infrastructure

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, in April, three kilometres of the West Fraser Road in my riding was washed out. It has been eight months and nothing has been done.

I am shocked at the inaction of our provincial government, in particular the minister of transportation and infrastructure, and I am disappointed in the Minister of Infrastructure. Their inaction on this file has stranded 250 families and placed both indigenous and non-indigenous families in economic hardship and forced them to commute on what is essentially a logging road, at times in near perilous conditions.

If emergency services were needed, it is very likely access to these families would not be possible. Further disappointing, the Buckridge community has been told that it may be up until 2021 before any action is taken.

Children going to school in Quesnel are forced to be on the bus for a minimum of four hours every day. In fact, the first child, who is 5 years of age, is picked up at 6 a.m. This places her, at 5 years of age, on a bus for five hours per day. How is this acceptable for any government?

Indigenous Affairs

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Madam Speaker, we know negotiation over litigation is the best way to right historical wrongs and settle past grievances. The mistreatment of indigenous children is a tragic and shameful part of Canada's history.

Yesterday, it was announced that an agreement in principle had been reached in the McLean class action, bringing us one step closer to finding lasting and meaningful resolution to the legacy of Indian day schools.

As we know, in addition to compensation for past wrongs, negotiated settlements are able to achieve forward-looking investments in healing, commemoration, wellness and culture. I am pleased to say that this agreement will be investing $200 million into such initiatives.

Our government is committed to reconciliation and we will continue to work with survivors toward righting historical wrongs and laying the foundation for multi-generational healing.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Madam Speaker, it was reported this morning that Quebec is demanding that the federal government pay it back nearly $300 million for providing care for illegal migrants. In case the Prime Minister has not realized it yet, his government urgently needs to take action once and for all to resolve all the problems he himself created at our border. If he fails to act, the bills will just keep piling up.

When is he going to take action, and what is he going to tell the Quebec government, which should not have to pay for his mistakes?

[Matt DeCourcey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.]

Madam Speaker, we committed an initial $36 million to help Quebec address immediate housing needs, and we are also fast-tracking work permits so that asylum seekers can support themselves while waiting for their case to be decided.

Canadians expect all orders of government to work together to meet our legal obligations and maintain order and security, and that is exactly what we are going to keep doing.

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

Madam Speaker, it is very clear that the provinces must be respected. It was the Prime Minister who decided to do nothing. He is the one who created the problem in January 2017 and he is the one who is currently doing nothing to fix it. Quebec has a $295-million bill for 2017-18. Quebec should not have to pay for the Prime Minister's mistakes and failures.

Will the government immediately reimburse the Government of Quebec?

[Matt DeCourcey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.]

Madam Speaker, it is imperative that people claiming asylum here can go through a regular process in accordance with the law. Claiming that the global migration of tens of millions of people was caused by a single tweet is nonsense.

The Minister of Border Security recently met with Quebec's justice minister and we recently had a productive meeting with Quebec's minister of immigration, diversity, and inclusion to discuss this further and reiterate that we already committed an initial sum of $36 million to help Quebec carry out—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer pegged the cost of the Prime Minister's illegal border crossing crisis at a staggering $1.1 billion. Today, Quebec confirmed that the crisis has cost its taxpayers $300 million since last year. This is in addition to the $200 million that Ontario is demanding to cover its costs—cost estimates that the PBO concluded are completely reasonable.

Why has the Prime Minister failed to take concrete action to end this crisis by not closing the loophole of the safe third country agreement?

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

Madam Speaker, as the member ought to know, the safe third country agreement is a bilateral agreement between ourselves and the United States. There have been ongoing discussions between our two governments with respect to improving and enhancing the existing agreement. While those discussions take place, we can maintain our commitment to ensure that the Canadian law is upheld, the security of the country is maintained and that we are working closely with the provinces that are impacted by this influx.

I also want to acknowledge the excellent work done by officials of the City of Montreal and the City of Toronto.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, what the minister ought to know is that this is a problem that his government created. It is not fair that taxpayers in Ontario and Quebec must foot the bill for a crisis their governments did not create and do not have the power to fix. It is not fair that this crisis is causing years' long processing delays at the Immigration and Refugee Board for the world's most vulnerable, who are fleeing violence and persecution but who choose to enter Canada legally.

When will the Prime Minister take action to restore fairness and order to Canada's asylum system that he has broken?

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

Madam Speaker, I would simply point out that there is a global migration of literally tens of millions of people, who are fleeing war and persecution around the world, and every country is being impacted by this.

In addition, the suggestion that a tweet has impacted an international phenomenon is, quite frankly, absurd. I would encourage the member to perhaps become better informed of this issue around the world.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, the last time we checked, there was no war going on in upstate New York. This is a failure of epic proportions, a social and financial debacle that is damaging Canada's reputation as a safe refuge for the world's most vulnerable, with a fair, compassionate and orderly immigration and refugee system. The Prime Minister needs to fix this mess he has created, but in the meantime, he cannot keep downloading the costs of illegal border crossers onto the provinces.

When will the Prime Minister take some responsibility? Why should the taxpayers of Ontario and Quebec pay for his crisis?

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

Madam Speaker, I will tell the member what we will not do.

We will not do what the Conservatives did during their tenure when 230,000 people came to this country seeking asylum. What did they do? They cut the budget of the CBSA and the budgets of those agencies and departments responsible for managing this migration. Then they went a step further. They cut health care for those same individuals, for those families and their children. It was a move that our courts described as cruel and unusual.

Indigenous Affairs

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, today the UN Committee Against Torture released a report confirming what we have known all along. Indigenous women continue to be coerced into sterilization in Canada. This is sickening.

While the Liberal government continues to speak its empty talking points, indigenous women in this country are still subjected to the harm of ongoing colonialism and systemic discrimination. This is simply wrong.

When will the Liberal government put a stop to the savage act of robbing indigenous women of their dignity, health and humanity.

[Dan Vandal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, Lib.]

Madam Speaker, the coerced sterilization of indigenous women is clearly a violation of human rights. Our Minister of Indigenous Services met with one of the senators yesterday to further discuss this issue.

To date, our government is ensuring that every mother knows that she is entitled to an escort during childbirth. We are investing in services, such as the maternal child health program, to support healthy pregnancies and healthy births. We are investing for the first time in midwifery and we are implementing all of the TRC's calls to action.

We will continue ongoing work with all of our partners to improve access to culturally safe health care services and support—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The member for North Island—Powell River.