Debates of April 27th, 2018

Fisheries and Oceans

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries]

Madam Speaker, since I just gave two answers about the lobster decision, I think we should talk about the Arctic surf clam.

The member opposite knows full well that if we go back in time to three years ago, the previous government went through a process that was exactly the same as what is going on now, except for the fact that the Conservatives forgot to include indigenous people. We are proud that our robust process included indigenous people and that we selected the best proposal to benefit the most Atlantic Canadians, including indigenous people from five provinces.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Order. The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George was afforded the opportunity to provide his question without interruption, and I would recommend that he do the same when he gets his answer when someone else has the floor.

The hon. member for Mississauga—Lakeshore.

National Defence

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the children of military families that make that most unique of sacrifices. Indeed, April is the month of the military child.

According to the Vanier Institute of the Family, 75% of military couples have children. There are currently 500,000 children of military members or veterans in Canada.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence tell the House how the government is fulfilling its responsibilities to these military families, who make a tremendous contribution to the Canadian Armed Forces?

[Jean Rioux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

I thank the member for Mississauga—Lakeshore for his question, Madam Speaker, and for his work on the Standing Committee on National Defence.

The Canadian Armed Forces' most valuable resources are their staff and families. Our government is committed to improving support for military families, for example through new investments of $6 million a year in military family resource centres.

In so doing, we acknowledge how important it is to make services available to military children across the country so that we can contribute to their present and future success.

Justice

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Madam Speaker, hard drugs like heroin, cocaine, crack, and crystal meth tear families apart, lead to criminal behaviour, and destroy lives. Will the justice minister commit that the Liberal government will not decriminalize hard drugs?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, our government recognizes that we are in a national public health crisis, and our government is deeply concerned about the tragic events happening across the country as a result of opioid deaths. We have taken very significant steps, including significant investments and additional measures, to help address the opioid crisis.

We have been equally clear that our government is in the process of legalizing and strictly regulating cannabis to do a better job of protecting our children and to fight organized crime, but we are not decriminalizing or legalizing any other drug.

Social Development

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Madam Speaker, by any measure, Canada is one of the world's most charitable countries. In 2016, we ranked fourth in the World Giving Index, and last year, more than 80% of Canadians aged 15 or older donated their time or money to a charitable or non-profit organization. Could the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development please tell the House how this government is recognizing our country's giving spirit?

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

Madam Speaker, Canadians are truly a giving people, and I would like to thank the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour for making that very clear. Canada's volunteer awards are there to recognize the important contributions volunteers make from coast to coast to coast. I am very pleased to announce that nominations for these awards are now open. I would therefore like to invite all members in this House to share that good news and to keep encouraging our hard-working volunteers, who make it possible for this country to be the best country on earth to live in.

Justice

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary just said that the government will not legalize hard drugs. I hope this is true. However, if they will never legalize these drugs, does the Liberal Party's Minister of Justice have a specific plan to prove that it will not legalize crack, heroin, or any type of hard drugs?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and to the Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, let me be very clear here. We recognize that while decriminalization would not ensure quality control of drugs, we have taken very significant steps to make it easier for health professionals to provide access to opioid substitution therapy, and we have made significant investments to continue to develop innovative approaches.

As I have stated, this government has no plans to legalize or decriminalize any other drug, but we are not afraid to look at evidence and to continue to examine and conduct research on these issues to address the national public health crisis that currently confronts our country. We will continue to work for the—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Repentigny.

The Environment

[Monique Pauzé, Québec debout, Repentigny, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Montreal metropolitan area represents 4 million people and has unanimously condemned the Chalk River nuclear waste dump plan. The community is rightly concerned about potential contamination of the Ottawa River. Supporters of the waste dump and the government defend the plan by hiding behind technical rhetoric, but they are forgetting about the most important thing.

Why does the government not step up and argue that it clearly makes no sense to have a nuclear waste dump along the largest river in Quebec?

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Madam Speaker, our government is dedicated to ensuring that safe solutions are in place for managing radioactive waste. Under the federal policy framework, waste owners are responsible, in accordance with the polluter pays principle, for the funding, organization, management, and operation of disposal and other facilities required for their waste. Environmental assessments include several opportunities for the public, indigenous peoples, and interested parties to provide input and to submit comments, up to and including a public hearing.

Public Services and Procurement

[Michel Boudrias, Québec debout, Terrebonne, QC]

Madam Speaker, in January, the government started negotiations with Davie on a contract for four icebreakers. This was the absolute minimum to make up for the job losses caused by this Liberal government, as I have said.

Three months later, the only thing that has happened is that more jobs have been lost. So far, 900 jobs have been lost, and hundreds of these employees are currently losing their unemployment benefits.

What is the government waiting for? Is it waiting for Quebec to lose all its skilled workers in this leader of industry in the province?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague opposite that Davie is a major shipyard. We recognize that Davie workers are highly skilled.

We are indeed negotiating with representatives of this company. We are determined to ensure there will be icebreaking services for our country, the St. Lawrence River, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These negotiations will not happen in public, but I assure the member that they are happening.

International Trade

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Québec debout, Joliette, QC]

Madam Speaker, the negotiations are not progressing very quickly.

Donald Trump's tariffs on our aluminum are harming Quebec's industry and the 10,000 jobs in the province. However, when I met with elected representatives from Congress and leading industry representatives in Washington, they all seemed to be against these tariffs. Even the U.S. Department of Commerce is saying that free access to our aluminum is of strategic importance. Nevertheless, we may be hit with these tariffs as of Tuesday.

Can the government assure us that our aluminum will be permanently exempt from tariffs before May 1?

[Andrew Leslie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)]

Madam Speaker, workers and industries in Quebec and Canada deserve fair rules and stakes. Yesterday, we announced new measures to prevent the transshipment and dumping of unfairly cheap foreign steel and aluminum in North America. That includes over $30 million more in funding for enforcing trade law and new powers for the Canada Border Services Agency. We will always stand up for Canadian steel and aluminum workers.

Food Security

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased today to be presenting a petition that was started by one of my constituents, Kit Moore. He has done incredible work raising awareness about the need for greater food security, particularly for youth, and a need for a food policy to address this. In particular, he flags that in a 2017 UNICEF report card, Canada ranked 37th out of 41 wealthy countries on the issue of food security.

I really would like to commend him on his hard work, and I look forward to the government response.

Veterans

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions today. The first is from a number of Canadians who wish to draw the attention of this House to the fact that there used to be a Canadian Volunteer Service Medal. It was presented to Canadians who served voluntarily in the Canadian Forces. This honourable and noteworthy acknowledgement of volunteerism by our veterans and troops stopped abruptly in March of 1947.

Veterans Affairs Canada considers any former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who releases with an honourable discharge a veteran. Therefore, the petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to recognize, by means of the creation and issuance of a new Canadian military volunteer service medal, to be designated the Canadian Military Volunteer Service Medal, those who have volunteered for service in the regular forces, reserve forces, and the cadet corps, as a way of showing our appreciation to those who have served.

Banking Services

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Speaker, the second petition is in regard to postal banking. Nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday loan lenders. These are people who are crippling the poor and marginalized with usurious interest rates.

There are 3,800 Canada Post outlets that already exist in rural and remote areas where there are no banks or credit unions. Canada Post already has the infrastructure and the ability to bring forward postal banking. These petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to enact my motion, Motion No. 166, to create a committee to study and propose a plan so we can indeed have postal banking for Canadians in all communities.

Gatineau Park

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I rise today to table a second petition regarding Gatineau Park. The petition was organized by CPAWS, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and was signed by many local residents. I am pleased to table this petition, and I look forward to the government's response.

The Environment

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

Madam Speaker, I rise again to table a petition on behalf of constituents of Courtenay—Alberni from Ahousaht, Port Alberni, Tofino, and Courtenay. They are calling on the government to work with the provinces, municipalities, and indigenous communities to finally develop a national strategy to combat plastic pollution, which is an urgent issue in our region around aquatic environments. It would include the following measures: regulations aimed at reducing plastic debris discharged from stormwater outfalls; industrial use of microplastics, including and not limited to microbeads, nurdles, fibrous microplastics, and fragments; consumer and industrial use of single-use plastics, including but not limited to plastic bags, bottles, straws, tableware, polystyrene, which is a huge issue, cigarette filters, and beverage containers; and a permanent, dedicated annual fund for community-led projects to clean up plastics and debris on our shores, banks, beaches, and other aquatic peripheries, education and outreach campaigns on the root causes and negative environmental effects of plastic pollution in and around all bodies of water, and cleaning up derelict fishing gear.

Furthermore, they are calling on the Government of Canada to adopt my motion, Motion No. 151, to establish a national strategy to combat plastic pollution.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.