Debates of March 19th, 2018

2018 Winter Paralympic Games

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the slogan of the Canadian Paralympic committee for the winter games in Pyeongchang this year was “Greatness is Rare”. It is true, because with only 55 athletes from a population of over 35 million, it is only 0.00000157% of the population of Canadians who make the cut and represent us with Team Canada.

However, it is also false, because greatness was far from rare with Team Canada this year. Our team earned a record 28 medals this year, our best performance ever, and Canadians just missed the podium several times, with nine fourth-place results and five more in the top five.

We can also believe greatness will be even rarer next time with 20 athletes winning their first-ever Paralympic medals in Pyeongchang. We can say without a doubt that paralympians represent greatness better than anyone.

They are an inspiration. We are all very proud of our athletes who took part in the Paralympic Games.

Go Canada, go.

National Defence

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government has announced that Canadian soldiers will be taking part in a mission to Mali. In his own words, the Prime Minister has acknowledged that this is putting soldiers in harm's way.

Mali is the UN's most dangerous peacekeeping mission it has currently, and the UN is experiencing the worst spate of UN peacekeeping fatalities in the organization's history. The Prime Minister would have been advised by his people as to the nature of the risk to soldiers, as well as the likelihood of casualties in this mission.

Could the Prime Minister inform the House as to what the risk is to soldiers of a fatality?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, two years ago, during the election campaign, we committed to re-engage Canadian soldiers in UN peacekeeping missions. We know that it is something that is important to Canadians, and is important to the world, that we be helping out in the best ways we can. That is why we are happy to respond to a direct request from the UN and from our allies to provide logistical and support helicopters to their mission in Mali.

We will continue to work with the members opposite to determine the best way to move forward on debate in the House. We look forward to talking about that more in the coming days.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we all want to see stability brought to conflict-ridden regions of this world. However, the reality is that there are 162 fatalities of UN peacekeepers in Mali alone.

Less than two months ago, the UN Security Council was advised by the under-secretary general for peacekeeping operations that the objectives in the Mali mission were in question and it was urged to reassess this mission.

I know the Prime Minister is happy that we are going to Mali, but there is a real and serious threat to our Canadian soldiers. Will those being deployed in this war zone be allowed to actively engage targets?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to contributing in ways that bring the most value to the UN mission in Mali. We believe it is important for Canada to play a role in peace operations around the world.

However, the safety of our men and women in uniform remains paramount during all operations. We always act to mitigate, as best as possible, the level of risk that Canadian Armed Forces personnel face while on operations. The personnel we will deploy on peace operations will be equipped with the appropriate equipment and will receive the necessary training for their assigned missions, although of course we cannot altogether eliminate the risks.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

I understand that we cannot mitigate the risk, Mr. Speaker. The question I am asking is this. What is the risk associated with our Canadian soldiers? They deserve to know this. This is the most dangerous mission in the world right now. This is something we are sending Canadian soldiers into without any information at all from the government. It is absolutely deplorable. Canadians deserve to have the answer.

How many soldiers are projected to be lost in this mission?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, we have committed to open information and discussions with the members opposite, with all members in the House, on the nature and the moving forward of missions like this.

The previous government chose to wrap itself in the flag and use special forces as photo ops, while not informing the House about anything. What we are going to be doing is remaining open and responsible with all members in the House as we move forward and re-engage in UN peacekeeping missions to support our allies to move forward on peace in the world. That is what Canadians expect and that is what we are going to deliver.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to talk about the previous government, but the previous government always held a debate on sending troops on missions around the world.

The Prime Minister has decided to send our troops on a peacekeeping mission in Mali where there currently is no peace to be had. Mali is a war zone. The Prime Minister seems to be unaware of that fact. He has demonstrated to Canada that safety is not really important to him. He is getting ready to send our troops to Mali, a country at war.

Can the Prime Minister tell us what the chain of command will be for our troops in this war zone?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the safety of our men and women in uniform remains our top priority in every operation. We always take all necessary steps to mitigate as much as possible the operational risks that members of the Canadian Armed Forces might face.

The personnel being deployed in peacekeeping operations will have the equipment and training they need to see their mission through. We have tremendous confidence in the ability of our armed forces and the positive influence that Canada can have on the world.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think the Prime Minister needs his notes because he has no understanding of what we are doing. That is why the decisions he makes behind closed doors should be put to parliamentarians here in the House of Commons so we can ask the right questions.

Right now, we have no doubt that Canadian Armed Forces personnel are capable of carrying out any mission anywhere in the world. That is not the issue. The issue is that, right now, our people are in Mali on a so-called peacekeeping mission even though it is a war zone.

Can the Prime Minister tell us what the rules of engagement are?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, we are being completely transparent and are keen to have a good debate here in the House of Commons. We have already approached the opposition to talk about how to hold that debate, and we are pleased that plans will be finalized in the coming weeks.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has finally made an announcement about peacekeeping. After two and a half years in power, after repeated calls by the United Nations and our international allies, and after the government's failure to deploy troops to Colombia when that country needed them, we still lack important information such as the start date of the mission and the number of women that will be deployed.

Should two and a half years not have been enough to start putting together the answers to some of these questions? Why this lack of clarity?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as we said during the campaign, we want to contribute to international peacekeeping and stabilization missions. We announced our commitment to send an air task force to Mali that will include Chinook and Griffon helicopters. Canadian Armed Forces members will also help with medical evacuations of soldiers and provide logistical support for the mission. We know that Canada's presence is important to maintaining peace and security around the world. We have already approached the opposition about how to proceed with a debate. We look forward to having these conversations.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we still have no details.

The government made, and repeated, grand promises that Canada would return to UN peacekeeping, but we would not know it from our current contributions. At the end of last month, Canada had just under 40 troops and police officers on UN missions, a record low in the history of Canadian peacekeeping.

Today's announcement likely falls short of meeting the peacekeeping commitments the government made. When will the government reveal exactly how it intends to fulfill the promises it made over two and a half years ago?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

We have to admit, Mr. Speaker, it is a bit of an interesting turn of events when the Conservatives think we are doing too much with our military and the New Democrats do not think we are doing enough.

As I have said, we are pleased that we are moving forward on peace operations with the UN, re-engaging with the UN the way Canadians expect us to, the way we committed to two years ago during the election campaign. I very much look forward to working with opposition members to figure out a way to move forward on debate regarding this mission so that all Canadians can be apprised of what we are doing and how we are doing it.

International Trade

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, while Canada is exempt for now from the U.S. President's global tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, the President stated very clearly that he will use the threat of future tariffs to get what he wants in NAFTA renegotiations. Our steel and aluminum industries, forestry, aerospace, paper: what is next? Sixty-four billion dollars could be lost and half a million Canadian jobs are at risk, yet all the Prime Minister has done is pay lip service.

Canadians need to know how many more tariffs or threats of tariffs the government will allow before it takes action.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that allows me to once again say what a pleasure it was for me to be able to spend time with steelworkers and aluminum workers last week across the country. The hard-working steelworkers at Stelco and aluminum workers at Alma have been working hard to continue to deliver. I was very pleased to be able to meet with them to listen to their concerns directly and to reassure them about the path forward we are taking. We have continued to defend the industry in this country and we will continue to do so. Whether it is moving forward on pipelines, whether it is moving forward on protecting our steel, we will continue—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Essex.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when will the Prime Minister get his head out of the sand? Just last week, President Trump bragged that he made up figures while talking to the Prime Minister about the supposed trade deficit the U.S. has with Canada, and the Prime Minister said that he has full confidence in the President's being straight with him.

Our Prime Minister is not being taken seriously by our largest trading partner and Canadians are worried. Does the Prime Minister still believe that the President is being straight with him? When will the Prime Minister be straight with Canadians and tell them exactly how he plans to protect their jobs?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it was a real pleasure to speak with steelworkers in Hamilton about exactly how we were standing up for their jobs.

We have been working with the American administration over the past year to ensure that we are standing up for Canadian jobs, that we are standing up for Canadian interests. We are moving forward in a responsible way to renegotiate NAFTA in ways that will improve it for Canadians, for Canadian workers, and for our partners. We are going to continue to take this approach that is working with the American government, regardless of what the NDP proposes.

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House have asked the government hundreds of times over the past two years when it will balance the budget.

We have never even come close to getting an answer. We are not the only ones who are fed up. In a scathing report published last week, the parliamentary budget officer indicated that the government has completely lost control of the public purse and has no plan to balance the budget.

Will the Prime Minister reassure Canadians, do as the parliamentary budget officer is asking, and tell us when his government will balance the budget?

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

Mr. Speaker, two years ago, Canadians had a choice between the Liberal Party's plan and the austerity measures being proposed by the Conservatives with results that we are all familiar with. They include the lowest growth since World War II, the worst growth in exports, and the worst job creation record. The Liberal Party's plan involved investing in infrastructure and communities, giving more to those who need it most in order to stimulate and bolster our economy, and investing in science, and that is what we did in the last budget. That is what we are doing. The results speak for themselves. Over the past two years, 600,000 jobs have been created, most of which are full time.

That is a record we can be proud of.

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

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts: two years and a few months ago, the Prime Minister published his mandate letter to his Minister of Finance. On page 4 of this letter, penned by the Prime Minister himself, he refers to “balancing the budget in 2019/20”. These are not my words, they are the words of the Prime Minister himself.

Could the Prime Minister stand up and tell Canadians that he is going to keep the promise he made to them in this letter he wrote himself?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my previous answer, our plan is working. We are moving forward with this plan to promote growth for Canada. We are doing this responsibly by keeping the ratio of the size of our debt to the size of our economy on a downward track. Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio is the best in the G7, and it is projected to reach its lowest level since the late 1970s by the end of this term.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, by the end of this term, that is an election promise.

That is a promise. The Liberals also promised they would eliminate $3 billion in spending after they did a comprehensive review to find waste. Having done that review over the last two years, the Liberals have come to the conclusion that there is not a single penny in waste that they can cancel. In fact, it gave them ideas on how they could spend even more.

Will the Liberals keep their promise to eliminate $3 billion in annual spending waste by the end of this term, yes or no?