Debates of May 1st, 2018

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, our system of immigration puts priority on the safety and security of Canadians while continuing to meet our international obligations.

Let us talk about the Conservatives' record. They had an abysmal record when it came to refugees, privately sponsored or government-sponsored. They cut refugee health care. They pit one group of immigrants against another. That is the politics of fear and division that Canadians resoundingly rejected in 2015. With rhetoric like that, the Conservatives will spend another decade in opposition.

Democratic Reform

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we all know the story. It is Monday morning and a student realizes that he did not do his homework for that day. He jumps on the school bus, grabs a piece of paper, and tries to hammer something out at the last minute. This usually does not result in the best work. That is exactly what is going on with the Liberals and their electoral reform. They introduced a bill in November 2016. They then fell asleep at the switch and just woke up at the last minute.

After breaking their main election promise, why are the Liberals introducing legislation now that will probably not be in effect in time for the next election?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-76 would strengthen Canada's electoral system and increase the participation of Canadians in our electoral process. Yesterday, I spoke to the acting Chief Electoral Officer about the legislation. The potential to increase the transparency of our electoral process, and to make elections more accessible and the electoral process more secure, is important. That is why it is important that we pass the bill through Parliament and the Senate, and make sure it is in place for the next election. I have every confidence that it will be.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it was so important to the Liberals that they sat on the bill for a year and a half. They just introduced a 250-page omnibus voting bill, which is kind of ironic. Coincidentally, yesterday was also Elections Canada's deadline to pass legislation so it can run our elections fairly.

After hitting the snooze button for more than a year and a half, the Liberals are now reaching for the panic button. One would think that, after betraying his promise that 2015 would be the last election under first past the post, the Prime Minister would have at least gotten his homework in on time.

The voting system does not belong to the Liberals; it belongs to all Canadians. My question is simple. Will the Liberals commit to cross-country hearings so that all Canadians can have their voices heard?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the New Democrats for what they said yesterday, that they actually agree with some of the provisions in Bill C-76. In fact, they agreed broadly with the principle that Bill C-76 could actually strengthen our democratic process.

Eighty-five per cent of the recommendations of Elections Canada are in fact proposals in Bill C-76,, so we have every confidence that Elections Canada can make this work before the next election.

Housing

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last November, this government announced Canada's first-ever national housing strategy, a 10-year, $40-billion plan to give more Canadians a place to call home.

Yesterday, the minister responsible for housing joined his Ontario counterpart to sign the first bilateral housing agreement under the national housing strategy. Could the minister tell the House how this agreement would provide housing relief for all Ontario residents?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for his tremendous work in support of the housing needs of his constituents.

Yesterday's agreement provides for new investments of $4 billion to support the housing needs of Ontario families.

Yesterday's new partnership is going to build and repair more homes. It is going to protect 130,000 Ontario families from the risk of losing their community home, and help deliver the new Canada housing benefit.

We are back in supporting the housing needs of Canadians, and we are here to stay.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, this morning, Quebec City newspaper Le Soleil published a letter from the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, in which he complains that the solutions proposed by the Conservatives to stop illegal migrants from entering the country would not solve anything. At the same time, we learned that the Liberals are negotiating changes to the safe third country agreement with the Americans.

Can the minister tell us what sort of arrangements he is negotiating?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said numerous times, we believe in a refugee system and we are a welcoming country, as long as people follow the rules. That is why we are working closely with the provinces, particularly Quebec and Ontario, and we are in constant communication with our American neighbours. There are many issues related to this situation that affect them. Yes, we are talking to them and we will continue to communicate with them so that we can manage this situation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would have liked to get an answer from the Minister of Immigration. I think he is big enough to handle himself.

Is the minister saying that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is lying when it says it is in talks with the Government of Canada?

Is the minister prepared to continue on that track just to play politics because he refuses to admit that the solution proposed by the Conservatives is the best one?

How can we trust this government?

Who is telling the truth?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to chair the task force currently working on this matter. I am just as qualified to answer the question. I certainly did not appreciate the comments my colleague made at the beginning of his question.

We are working on this file. We are working with Quebec, Ontario, the other provinces, and the United States, of course, to manage this situation and we will continue to do so.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today the American Department of Homeland Security told Canadian media that it is considering Canadian proposals to amend the safe third country agreement. After a full year of Conservatives demanding closing the loophole that incents people to illegally enter Canada while hundreds of thousands of others wait years to legally enter the country, we found out from the Americans that, in spite of the minister stating otherwise on the record, there are “proposals” on the table. What are those proposals?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as stated a number of times, we continuously work with our American counterparts on all issues related to our common border, including discussions related to the safe third country agreement. What I have also stated on the record, numerous times, is that there are no formal negotiations with respect to the safe third country agreement. What I find very rich is the party opposite talking about the border and immigration processing, when its record on both of those issues is abysmal.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let me tell the member what that is code for. Our #WelcomeToCanada Prime Minister does not want to walk his tweet back and alienate NDP voters, so he is happy to negotiate in secret with the Americans, hoping he can blame their delay for his lack of political will. In the meantime, tens of thousands of people have been streaming, and continue to stream, illegally across our borders. How will the Americans, or anyone, take the Prime Minister seriously when he is pandering for votes instead of managing our borders?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the party opposite, we view immigration as something that matters to each and every individual who comes to Canada. That is why we improved processing times. That is why we welcomed over 51,000 Syrian refugees. That is why, under our leadership, we have been able to provide a home to 1,300 survivors of Daesh atrocities. What was the record on the Conservatives' watch? They brought a grand total of three Yazidi refugees to Canada. What was their record in terms of treatment of refugees? They cut refugee health care to the most vulnerable: pregnant women, victims of torture. That is their record.

Indigenous Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, first nations leaders are discussing federal legislation and whether the government is committed to the free, prior, and informed consent of first nations people. The government has said that its most important relationship is with indigenous peoples, but when it comes to implementing indigenous languages and protecting first nations' land and water, little has been done. When can first nations expect progress, and how has the government implemented the principles of free, prior, and informed consent into its agenda?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her ongoing advocacy on all issues related to indigenous people in this country. The Government of Canada does believe that the relationship with indigenous people is the most important one. As stated in the mandate letter of every minister, this new relationship must be based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership, and that is being fed into the new legal framework for rights recognition, as well as into the very important legislation being brought forward by the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the work of reconciliation is far from done, but today is a good day, a historic day, as the Parliament of Canada reaches out directly to Pope Francis to ask him to work with us and to issue a formal apology for the Catholic Church's role in establishing, running, and covering up the crimes of the residential schools.

What formal steps will the Prime Minister take to express the will of Parliament to Pope Francis and to call on the Catholic bishops to pay the proper compensation for the crimes? It is about moral leadership.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member also for his ongoing advocacy, particularly with respect to this issue. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action provide a road map for the journey of reconciliation, and our government, as he knows, is committed to working with partners, all partners, to ensure that all calls to action are implemented.

Call to action 58 calls on the Pope to issue an apology to residential school survivors, their families, and communities. I have written to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to request a meeting to move this important step forward and hope that they will meet directly with survivors. I look forward to—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George.

Fisheries and Oceans

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

Mr. Speaker, we are hearing news that surf clam workers in Grand Bank are already having their hours cut. The minister says he has a plan. The minister says he stands with the people of Grand Bank. Will he stand with them in the unemployment line when they are struggling to find jobs? Will he stand with them when they are struggling to feed their families, or pay their mortgages, or send their kids to summer camp?

If the minister is truly committed to standing with the people of Grand Bank, will he reverse his corrupt surf clam decision, recuse himself, and restart the process?

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I would ask members to be careful in terms of the kind of wording they use in the House. We do not call each other corrupt on either side around here.

The hon. Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, as I have explained in this House a number of times, our government made a decision to include a new entrant in this important fishery. We thought it was also important to have significant indigenous benefits from this decision. We are proud that a partnership was formed between a company with experience in offshore fisheries and indigenous communities from five provinces, four Atlantic Canadian provinces and Quebec. We also understand the importance of the facility in Grand Bank, and we think the member should be careful not to raise fears unreasonably in that community, as he has done from the beginning.

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

Mr. Speaker, today we learned that his Liberal friends who have all this experience now admit that they will not be fishing the surf clam this season, and maybe not even next season. Why? Because they do not have a boat. They gave the lucrative quota to his Liberal buddies, knowing full well that their application did not meet critical bid criteria. If the Liberal MPs from the Rock will not say it, looking after his Liberal buddies is shameful.

Given this new information, will the minister finally do the right thing and reverse this questionable decision?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, as I have had a chance to explain in this House before, the previous Conservative government, in fact, had a plan in 2014 and 2015 to bring a new entrant into this fishery. If they were going to include a new entrant in this fishery, it is obvious that at that time their concern for the people of Grand Bank had somehow been forgotten, because that decision would have had exactly the same consequences they are now exaggerating for the people of Grand Bank. What they forgot to do in that process was include indigenous communities, and we are proud to have done so. That is why we are proud of this decision.