Debates of April 17th, 2018

Status of Women

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

Mr. Speaker, today, on Equality Day, I gave Liberals a failing grade in our NDP report card on women's equality in budget 2018. While the Prime Minister claims he is a feminist, he has failed to act on the most pressing challenges facing women in Canada. The budget provides zero dollars for pay equity, no money for universal affordable child care, and does not reform EI requirements that discriminate against women.

When will the Prime Minister put his money where his mouth is and stop making women wait?

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's commitment to gender equality, but I have to point out the inaccuracies and omissions in the NDP report card. The women's groups across the country, and indeed around the world, are applauding our Prime Minister and our government's efforts to advance gender equality. The first budget to have an intersectional gender lens applied to it was budget 2018, but it will not be the last. We will be legislating this process so that future governments can see this work. Pay equity is going to be introduced in this House in the fall, and I am sure it will have her support.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, because the Liberals are so soft on border security, Quebec's temporary shelters are stretched to the limit, and a further wave of illegal migrants is expected this summer. Will Quebec have to open the Olympic stadium?

The Liberals are not taking the situation seriously. The Prime Minister thinks he can fix everything with a selfie and some sweet talk, but it does not work that way.

When will the Prime Minister and the Liberals face up to their responsibilities and tackle a problem of their own creation by supporting the Quebec government?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, our country is an open and welcoming place for people seeking protection. However, our government is committed to ensuring an orderly immigration process.

We work very closely with Quebec, and collaborate closely on issues affecting Quebec and other provinces through the intergovernmental task force on irregular migration. We have listened carefully to concerns raised by Quebec. Part of budget 2018 contains a $173-million investment in faster processing of asylum claims, as well as border security operations. We will continue to work closely with Quebec to address any—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his Liberals are asleep at the wheel. We are talking about 300 to 400 illegal migrants entering per day through Lacolle. It is going to be a chaotic mess. Meanwhile, they are slamming the door in the Quebec government's face. Four exasperated ministers are demanding action and support.

You break it, you buy it.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I am sure he knows this, but I would like to remind the hon. member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis that he must direct his comments through the Chair.

The hon. Minister of Immigration.

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, reducing processing times for work permits from three months to three weeks is not doing nothing. It is doing something. Issuing 12,000 work permits for asylum seekers so that we minimize pressure on Quebec social services is doing something. Increasing settlement and integration services money by $112 million is doing something. Increasing the Canada social transfer envelope by almost $80 million is doing something.

We are here taking action and working with Quebec, collaborating closely. They are the party that left us with a broken immigration system.

Government Expenditures

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

Mr. Speaker, middle-class Canadians are paying more under these Liberals. One woman told me that she lost her home because of the government. What about diabetics who are unreasonably being denied the disability tax credit? Instead of actually helping Canadians, we see the Minister of Natural Resources buying 3,600 Facebook likes for $5,000.

Does the Minister of Natural Resources believe that $5,000 is better spent purchasing Facebook likes than on helping vulnerable Canadians?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the House what we have been focused on. We have been focused on the economy. In this last budget, we increased funding for regional development agencies to particularly help rural and remote communities. Does the House know what the members opposite did? They opposed that time and time again. For 21 hours, they opposed our budget measures to help Canadians. I can tell the House right now that our plan is working. It has helped to create 600,000 jobs. We have a low and historic unemployment rate. We will continue to focus on the economy and continue to focus on Canadians.

Housing

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government recently launched the federal community housing initiative, a program that will protect housing affordability and provide greater stability for residents of over 55,000 federally administered community housing units across the country.

Could the minister responsible for housing tell the House how this new initiative aligns with the goals of Canada's first-ever national housing strategy?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the member for Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle for her commendable work in support of community housing and all her constituents.

On November 22, we announced and launched this country's first-ever national housing strategy, which will provide $40 billion over 10 years to get 530,000 Canadian families out of unaffordable or unacceptable housing. On April 4, we launched the federal community housing initiative, which will protect 555,000 Canadian families at risk of losing their community housing and ending up on the street. We will keep working very hard to ensure that all Canadians—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, farmers and manufacturers employ millions of Canadians and contribute billions of dollars to our economy. Due to the Liberal government's weak response to the current rail transportation crisis and the many flaws in Bill C-49, our farmers and shippers will continue to suffer. This morning I met with a manufacturer who has already lost $40 million this year due to shipping issues.

When will the Minister of Transport stop ignoring the plight of our farmers, shippers, and manufacturers, and do his job?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, our government presented last fall a very balanced bill to address the issue of the transportation of grain, which is so important to our farmers, and of other commodities. I cannot believe that still today, the Harper Conservatives voted against that bill. They say they are the friends of farmers, but they voted against that bill.

I will take no lessons from a party that does not even support our farmers.

Foreign Affairs

[Cheryl Hardcastle, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard nothing since the final report by Bob Rae, Canada's special envoy to Myanmar. He argued that Canada should take a leadership role in responding to the Rohingya crisis by leading an international effort to investigate and collect evidence of crimes against humanity, ramping up humanitarian aid, and welcoming more Rohingya refugees. We have heard nothing.

Will the government respond to these calls to action, and will there be more targeted sanctions?

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we welcome the release of Mr. Rae's report and the recommendations contained within.

We have certainly remained seized by the unacceptable persecution of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people. These are clear crimes against humanity, which is why we have sanctioned a key military leader responsible for these crimes.

In addition, Canada has been one of the top donors to this crisis. Since the beginning of 2017, we have allocated nearly $46 million of humanitarian aid.

We will be assessing the recommendations in this report and will have a reply in the coming weeks with further measures that Canada will take.

National Defence

[Dan Ruimy, Liberal, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Mr. Speaker, problem solving and technical expertise are crucial if we want to develop our defence industry and combat emerging threats. Through innovation, we are developing the capabilities we need to overcome modern security challenges.

With our new defence policy, “Strong, Secure, Engaged”, our government announced that it would invest $1.6 billion into Canada's innovation community over the next 20 years.

Could the minister inform the House on how our government is fulfilling its commitments to reaching out to Canada's most innovative and creative minds?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge for the important work that he does for his constituents.

Last week, I was proud to announce a $313-million investment in the new innovation for defence excellence and security program, IDEaS, for short.

Our government believes that investing in science and innovation will help the Canadian Armed Forces remain at the cutting edge of technology. Through IDEaS, we are calling on Canada's most creative and innovative minds to help develop solutions to today's and tomorrow's defence challenges.

Justice

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today in Calgary, first degree murder charges involving notorious gang leader Nick Chan were thrown out of court due to delay.

A year and a half ago, 10 new judicial spots were established to deal with the backlog in Alberta's courts. A year and a half later, the Minister of Justice has managed to fill just one of these vacancies. Clearly, the minister is not doing her job.

Will she take responsibility for the release of this dangerous criminal?

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

Mr. Speaker, I take full responsibility for continuing to appoint the most meritorious candidates to the superior court benches across this country. To date, I have appointed 167 judges to the benches. We will continue to follow a thorough review process, going through the independent judicial advisory boards, to continue to apply and appoint judges in all provinces, including in the province of Alberta.

Foreign Affairs

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Raif Badawi has been in prison for six years as of today. His wife, Ensaf Haidar, has come to Ottawa to ask that the Canadian government do everything in its power to secure his release. Quebec passed a unanimous motion on this last week. To protect her husband, Ms. Haidar is calling on Canada to grant him honorary citizenship.

Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship take action on this humanitarian case and meet with Ms. Haidar?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate our commitment to continuing to raise the case of Mr. Badawi at the highest level. We have done that in the past and we will continue to do so. The minister and I have been in touch with the wife of Mr. Badawi on her courageous work. We support her in her endeavour and we will not stop until this family is reunited.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will they meet with her?

The National Assembly has unanimously passed a motion in support of Raif Badawi. Canadian citizenship could be a crucial factor in his release and his safety. The Prime Minister promised to help him in 2015, but he has been completely ignoring the case since then. Out of sight, out of mind. His wife is in Ottawa today. Even after six years of imprisonment, she has never given up.

Does this government, specifically the Minister of Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, believe in freedom of expression?

Do they believe in protecting Canadian families? If so, they must meet with her.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, this is an important case to the Government of Canada. We are on it. We have raised this case repeatedly and we will continue to do so.