Debates of Feb. 12th, 2018

Natural Resources

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of jobs are at stake right now because our Prime Minister and his Liberal government are failing to show leadership. The $7.4-billion Trans Mountain project, which has already been approved, is on the line. The Prime Minister does not seem to recognize the urgency of the situation. His failure to take action and his silence on the matter are jeopardizing the Canadian economy, provincial economies, and the jobs of Canadian families that depend on the expansion.

Will the Prime Minister tell Canadians what he is going to do to resolve the difficulties British Columbia and Alberta are having?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the government approved the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline because it was in the natural interest; because of the many thousands of jobs that would be created; because of the expansion of export markets so we would not have to rely on 99% of those exports going to one country, the United States; because of the $1.5 billion we invested in the ocean protection plan, which is world-leading; and because of the consultation with indigenous communities, which are the three pillars of responsible development.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the official opposition requested an emergency debate in the interest of workers in British Columbia, Alberta, and the rest of the country. That request was refused even though natural resources are a pillar of our economy and thousands of families depend on those jobs.

My question is a simple one: when will the Prime Minister step up, get to work, and show the kind of leadership that will help our natural resources sector?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said unequivocally many times that this pipeline will be built, and that no province has the authority to impinge on federal jurisdiction in the national interest. There is only one government in Canada that speaks on behalf of Canada, and that is the Government of Canada, which it has done and will continue to do.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has completely failed to ensure that Trans Mountain will even get started. As per usual, he and the Liberals are full of empty words and very empty on action. The Prime Minister has done absolutely nothing to guarantee that Trans Mountain gets built, and the lack of leadership from the government has threatened jobs and interprovincial relationships.

What is the Prime Minister going to do to ensure that construction on this pipeline begins this spring?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that the Government of Canada has already intervened in a motion in front of the National Energy Board and agreed with Kinder Morgan that there ought to be at standing panel established to ensure there are no unnecessary delays in a project that, and I know the opposition agrees with us, is in the national interest. We have been unequivocal in our support. We have taken steps supporting interventions at the National Energy Board, and will be very alert to any other attempts to unnecessarily delay this project in Canada's interests.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been 440 days since Trans Mountain was approved and 440 days later not even a shovel in the ground. A trade war is starting between Alberta and B.C., and each day that goes by that tension is escalating. While all this is happening, where is the Prime Minister? He is missing in action. His own personal gain and vanity tour seems to trump the work he should be doing here at home.

Once again, what is the Prime Minister's plan to get Trans Mountain started this spring?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the government has no interest in inflaming emotions between regions of our countries, between sectors, or from one province to another. The job of the Government of Canada is to speak on behalf of all Canadians. If the member opposite and members of the Conservative Party expect that we are going to play a game of trying to enrage and inflame regional tensions, we will not do it.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is not a game. They just have to do their jobs. With the Prime Minister finally back from his vanity tour in the U.S., he should finally lead on Trans Mountain and outline his plan for action, but he is still keeping Canadians in the dark. There is not even a glimmer of a plan, and without one, the interprovincial trade war gets worse. Every day, Canadians and small businesses are caught in the crossfire. It is the same empty rhetoric that someday, somehow this pipeline will magically get built.

Will the Prime Minister take this opportunity and finally announce the date when Trans Mountain construction will start?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, was the town hall in Edmonton in the dark? I think there were cameras there. There were microphones there. People were taking pictures of it. They were recording what the Prime Minister said, which was that this pipeline will be built. This has been unequivocal. We have intervened at the National Energy Board when there have been attempts made to slow the process down. We understand that this is a project that is going to create jobs, expand export markets, and invest heavily in ocean protection with the partnership of indigenous people. This is responsible national policy.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is still sitting down and will not step in to ensure this pipeline gets built. Without a real concrete plan, his words and the minister's words are meaningless. Clearly, the government's approval even for a pipeline that is obviously in the national interest, which it has said over and over, means absolutely nothing. He cannot just wish the pipeline into existence. The Prime Minister has to actually get involved and tell Canadians what he is going to do. Wishful thinking and sunny ways do not build pipelines.

Why does the Prime Minister refuse to make it clear to Canadians when Trans Mountain is going to get built?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, why does the hon. member refuse to hear what the Prime Minister has said over and over again.

He has said, and we have said, continuously, that we will not allow any province to impinge on the federal government's jurisdiction over the national interest. It is not profitable for us to deal in hypotheticals of what a government might do. We will act when the government acts, and we will act for all Canadians, not one region, not one sector, not one province.

Justice

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by paying my respects to the Boushie family who are here in Ottawa today.

They are here because they recognize that our system is broken. In order for the system to work, jury members must be reflective of all communities. In far too many instances, like the trial that followed the tragic death of Colten Boushie in my home province, that is not the case.

What is the government doing to address the under-representation of indigenous peoples on Canadian juries?

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I would echo my hon. colleague's sentiments to the Boushie family in their time of grief, and recognize that we, as a country, have to do more in terms of the criminal justice system and the overrepresentation of indigenous peoples, black Canadians, and other marginalized individuals within the system.

In terms of the under-representation of indigenous peoples on juries, this is something that I have had conversations about with my colleagues across the way. We will continue to have these conversations, benefiting from former Supreme Court of Canada justices who have weighed in on this issue.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for the system to be fair, jury members need to reflect the community where the alleged crime occurred. However, in far too many instances, that is just not the case. The use of peremptory challenges means lawyers can reject jurors for no reason at all: maybe they do not like the way they look, or maybe it is the colour of their skin.

As a first step to ensure real community representation, especially following the tragic death of Colten Boushie, will the minister review and possibly revoke the use of peremptory challenges under the Criminal Code?

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, first, we are undertaking a broad-based review of the criminal justice system. I look forward to bringing forward reform, in the near future. We have worked very diligently with members throughout the House.

To the member's specific question, we are looking at peremptory challenges. We are going to consider how we can utilize the expertise that exists in this room and across the country on how we can substantively improve the criminal justice system and the jury selection process. I know that the member is an active participant on the committee, and we will be engaging with the committee on this.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Environment introduced a bill on the environment and sustainable development. The Liberals made all kinds of promises to environmental groups to get elected, and now, after 28 months in power, this Liberal government has given birth to a mouse. This bill is nothing but window dressing. It sets deadlines and requests scientific studies, but at the end of the day the minister has all the decision-making power.

Can we balance sustainable development with economic development? Why this charade? Can we put effective measures in place to protect our resources and develop them intelligently?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member across the way that we have protections. We know that in the 21st century we must do better. While the previous government attacked environmental programs and protections for our fish and navigable waters, we rebuilt them. We are off to a much better start because we are restoring Canadians' trust in our system.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' proposed changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act will saddle job-creating resource development projects with unnecessary red tape, bureaucratic hurdles, political interference, and complex processes before these projects can proceed. In fact, the proof is in the pudding. There was a headline last week, “Suncor to shun major new projects amid Canada's 'difficult' regulatory environment”.

The Liberals fail to understand that energy projects in Canada are designed with the best environmental standards. Why is the Liberal government continuing to jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of Canadians and hundreds of communities that rely on our natural resources?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the reason that we have brought forward new legislation is to rebuild trust in our environmental assessment process. If we do not have the trust of Canadians, if we are not making decisions based on science, if we are not listening to indigenous peoples, then we are not going to get good projects built.

The proof is in the pudding with the party opposite. It could not get projects built. We have a system that rebuilds trust, that has tighter timelines, and is going to make sure that we protect our environment while ensuring good projects go ahead.

Natural Resources

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Canadian Environmental Law Association, who are the minister's friends, the new process “will not restore public trust or ensure credible, participatory and science-based decision-making”. That comes from her friends. The minister has the power to kill a project without any scientific review. The bill is riddled with red tape, delays, and new criteria that signal the death knell of resource development in Canada.

Why is the minister so disrespectful of our natural resource industry?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we spent 14 months listening to energy companies, environmentalists, indigenous peoples, the provinces, and scientists. Why? Because the trust of Canadians was lost by the previous government. They destroyed the trust in the environmental assessment system. They did not make decisions based on science. They politicized everything.

We are rebuilding trust. I am extremely proud that we are delivering on a promise we made to Canadians.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is patently false. The minister claims the new environmental assessment process will be a more efficient, transparent, and predictable environmental review process. Nothing could be further from the truth. The bill is riddled with powers for the minister to halt, delay, and terminate projects on a political whim. The real intent of the bill is to give the minister a veto over resource development in Canada.

Why is the minister so intent on suffocating our natural resource industry?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased by the response of so many businesses. They recognize that our system is actually more efficient. Unfortunately, maybe the member opposite has not read the legislation. The proposed legislation ensures that there is a more timely process, that timelines are shorter, that the transparency that was lost by the previous government is reinstated, and that we will be making decisions based on science.

I could go on and on, but good news, we are going to do a lot better.

Veterans Affairs

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this Thursday, veterans will gather in Ottawa for the “left in the cold” protest to raise awareness about growing levels of homelessness among Canada's veterans. Down the street, Trevor Sanderson and Dick Groot, who drove all the way from Winnipeg, are protesting by sleeping outside in the freezing cold.

In testimony at committee, the co-founder of VETS Canada said that the number of homeless veterans is 5,000. Our veterans risked everything for this country, and the Liberals promised that they would honour their sacred obligation. When will they and when will they tackle the issue of rising homelessness among our veterans?