Debates of May 22nd, 2018

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the question was how much the carbon tax would cost the average Canadian fishing family. There was no answer. The carbon tax cover-up continues.

The government admits that gas prices will go up at least 11¢ a litre, that it will cost on average about $200 more for Canadians to heat their homes. Other costs like higher grocery bills will also cascade throughout the economy according to a memo by Finance Canada.

Will the government end the carbon tax cover-up now and tell us how much this tax will cost the average Canadian family?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will try explaining again.

Right now, 80% of Canadians live in a province where there is a price on pollution. A price has been put on pollution by Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta. They are the ones responsible for the revenues. They can return the revenues directly, as some of them are doing, such as British Columbia, in tax cuts, or they can give rebates, as in the context of Alberta. They can also make investments in clean innovations. It is up to the provinces.

What we know about those provinces is that their economies are growing the fastest in the country.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, she keeps trying to blame the provinces for this carbon tax. In fact, it is right in the Minister of Finance's budget bill that is before the House of Commons right now. It proposes a new tax of $50 a tonne, which will increase the price of gas, groceries, home heating, electricity, and almost every consumer good that Canadians buy.

Prices are already rising. Inflation is above 2%. Canadians cannot afford to pay any more, so why do the Liberals not end the carbon tax cover-up and tell us how much this tax will cost the average Canadian family?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the record. I would like to applaud the provinces that have stepped up and put a price on pollution—a price on what we do not want, pollution—so that we can get what we do want: less GHGs and clean innovation.

However, what Canadians are really asking is, what is the Conservatives' plan?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our plan actually reduced greenhouse gases while reducing taxes at the same time.

The carbon tax cover-up continues. The government refuses to tell Canadians what the government knows. The Liberals have calculated how much the average family will pay. They have documents laying out these numbers, but when I obtained those documents, unfortunately all of the numbers were blacked out.

If this is anything more than a tax grab, why will the government not end the carbon tax cover-up and tell us what this tax will cost the average Canadian household?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that polluting is not free. It is having an impact right now. Canadians are paying billions of dollars in insurance costs, but there is also a huge economic opportunity. Since members of the party opposite like talking about jobs, maybe they should get on the bandwagon, because there is a $23-trillion opportunity in clean growth.

[Michael Cooper]

This is pathetic, absolutely pathetic.

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

I have seen companies across the country that have clean solutions. This is a great opportunity for us to tackle climate change while growing our economy, and that is exactly what we are going to do.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. As much as I like hearing the voice of the member for St. Albert—Edmonton, I prefer it when he has the floor, of course. I would ask him not to be yelling out when someone else has the floor.

The hon. member for Berthier—Maskinongé.

Democratic Reform

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after promising to make amendments to the Canada Elections Act, the Liberals waited until the last minute to table them.

Worse still, when they were in opposition, they criticized the Conservatives for limiting the number of debates on electoral reform in the House of Commons, yet they plan to do the exact same thing today.

The member for Winnipeg North said in 2014, “We need to recognize that the Canada Elections Act is like no other.... This legislation should be designated such that time allocation cannot be applied to it.”

What happened between 2014 and now? Do the Liberals no longer believe that the Canada Elections Act deserves to be properly debated?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my NDP colleague for her question. I am delighted to be back in the House of Commons.

I must admit I am a little puzzled, because we did not limit debate on this important electoral legislation. It is vital to remember that the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs has spent more than 30 hours studying this bill. I am thrilled to be here and to hear my colleagues from other parties—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

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

Mr. Speaker, our elections are the very foundation of our democracy. The laws that have governed them for generations were never forced through by any government without support and proper debate, up until Stephen Harper came in with his unfair elections act, going it alone and bullying Parliament. The Conservatives were lambasted and then thrown from office.

Canadians and even Liberals condemned the actions of that former government, yet now that they are in power, the Liberals are threatening to do the exact same thing. Lord knows that Canadians have learned to tolerate a lot from Liberals, but hypocrisy they will not stand for.

Why will the Liberals not work with us rather than bully us? Surely Stephen Harper is not the standard.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleague on this bill. I am glad he brought up the unfair elections act, because Bill C-76 does so much to reverse the changes that were put in place that limited democracy and limited people's rights to vote, and we are looking forward to working with our colleagues in the NDP to make sure that we can encourage more people to vote in Canada, get young people voting, encourage women to run for politics, and ensure that we are protecting the integrity of our electoral system.

Ethics

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the fisheries minister is now officially under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner over the awarding of a very lucrative clam harvesting licence to a group with both close Liberal and family ties. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing, remove the minister from the file, and restart the process?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, obviously I am happy to work with the commissioner and answer any questions he may have.

My hon. friend spoke about family ties. It is important that he understand that Mr. Thériault is one of my wife's 61st cousins. He is an employee of the largest Mi’kmaq first nation in New Brunswick and has been for over 15 years. Chief Sock has publicly said that Mr. Thériault was not involved in any way in preparing their submission, and he will not be benefiting in any way whatsoever.

This was about improving access for indigenous communities, and we are proud of that decision.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

And they got a contract, Mr. Speaker, without a boat.

The Liberal government is keeping the Ethics Commissioner hopping. We now know the Liberal member for Brampton East is officially under investigation for bringing his private employer on the Prime Minister's India trip. Why does the PM continue to allow this kind of unacceptable outside work by members of the Liberal caucus, which is, in this case, so clearly just another form of crony cash for access?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, the member has addressed this issue. He consulted with the commissioner's office and continues to work with it. We believe that members of Parliament from all sides should work with the commissioner in a co-operative manner, and that is exactly what the member is doing.

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

Mr. Speaker, after the Minister of Finance was found guilty of conflict of interest and the Prime Minister was found guilty four times of conflict of interest for his trip to the Aga Khan's private island, we now learn that it is the turn of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Coast Guard, who is favouring his friends and family in the allocation of fishing licences.

I have a simple question for the Prime Minister. What is he waiting for to do what any good manager would do, namely take this file out of the hands of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Coast Guard and start the process all over again?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I am obviously happy to work with the commissioner and answer any questions he may have.

My colleague was referring to a member of my spouse's family. I think it is important to point out that Mr. Thériault is one of my spouse's 60 first cousins. He has been employed by one of New Brunswick's largest Mi'kmaq first nations for 15 years. Chief Sock has publicly stated that he was not involved in the preparation of the five nations' proposal and that he did not personally benefit from this process.

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

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that this is not an isolated incident. Again, there is the Minister of Finance, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. It feels like the sponsorship scandal all over again.

Now we can add to the mix the hon. member for Brampton East, who is under investigation for a conflict of interest after inviting a business partner to official events during the Prime Minister's disastrous trip to India.

When will the Prime Minister ensure that his caucus obey the basic ethics and conflict of interest rules that all Canadians expect us to obey here in the House?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has commented on this, he consulted the commissioner's office, and he will continue to work with its representatives and take their advice.

We believe that all members across the way should respectfully work with the commissioner. On this side of the aisle, we will continue to respect the work of officers of Parliament.

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, Saudi Arabia arrested seven women's rights activists, some of whom visited Ottawa for the One Young World Summit in 2016. As Canada continues to ship arms to Saudi Arabia and as the government appears to be celebrating its Canada-Saudi Arabia relationship, who is defending human rights in Saudi Arabia? Is there anyone on the Liberal side who will speak up for the rights of Saudi women to live without fear of their government?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say to this House and to the hon. member, yes, there is. I am prepared to speak up for Saudi women, and I think our entire government is.

We are extremely disappointed by the arrests of civil society and women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia. These arrests are inconsistent with the Saudi government's stated commitment to create a more tolerant and open society.

I raised our human rights concerns directly with the Saudi foreign minister in Bangladesh earlier this month. We will always promote the rights of women and girls.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, after the Israeli army killed more than 60 Palestinians and injured thousands more, including a Canadian doctor, the Prime Minister finally called for an independent investigation into what happed in Gaza.

Then on Friday, his ambassador in Geneva opposed a UN resolution establishing an independent investigation.

Which is it? Does the Prime Minister support an independent investigation into the violence in Gaza or not?