Debates of May 23rd, 2018

Government Spending

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

Mr. Speaker, everyone wants the G7 in Charlevoix to succeed. However, some 100 kilometres away in Quebec City, there is talk of demonstrations and we know that tends to spell trouble at G7 summits. That is why there is legitimate concern among Quebec City store owners, who fear that these demonstrations will turn sour.

Last week, on FM93, the Minister of Families was rather vague when the mayor of Quebec City was very clear, and I quote, “I understand the store owners' concern and I want them to rest assured and feel safe.... If there are any damages, I want them to be compensated.”

Will the Prime Minister give a clear response? If, by some misfortune, there is trouble, will Quebec City store owners be compensated?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, obviously we are working with the mayor of Quebec City and the authorities to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

We acknowledge that it is important for citizens to be able to express themselves, whether they agree or disagree with the events, but we must ensure that this is done in accordance with the law and in an orderly fashion. That is why we are working with the local police, with the Sûreté du Québec, and with the RCMP to ensure that the public, the store owners, and everyone else are safe during this magnificent G7 meeting being held in Charlevoix and during other events being held in Quebec City.

Marijuana

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government deliberately chose to tax medical marijuana in its Bill C-74.

Canadians who have a prescription to purchase medical cannabis are already required to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month to buy enough for their own needs. The liberals had a chance to address that yesterday in committee, but they outright rejected the NDP's amendments.

How does the Prime Minister explain to the 270,000 patients in Canada who use medical cannabis that his bill will make their cannabis even more expensive?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are legalizing cannabis to better protect young people and our communities from the effects of cannabis and the black market. Right now, the medical-marijuana system actually purveys a lot of recreational cannabis to users. We know that this will all change once we have a regulated system in place, and we will work with stakeholders in the medical industry to ensure that medical marijuana is still—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, many Canadians rely on medical cannabis as a key part of their health care treatment. However, unlike prescription drugs, patients have to pay sales tax on medical cannabis and it is not eligible for reimbursement under most health insurance plans. Now, the Liberals are imposing an additional excise tax that will further impair access to the medicine people need. This is unfair to patients and it is damaging to public health. Will the Liberals do the right thing and withdraw this ill-advised tax on medicine?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are legalizing and regulating cannabis sales because we know that we need to better protect our kids and protect our communities from the impact of organized crime. That is why we are doing this. We recognize that under the current prohibition the medical-marijuana system actually purveys an awful lot of recreational cannabis to users. This situation will shift significantly once we have a legalized regime in place, and we are going to be working with the medical marijuana community to ensure that those who use marijuana as medications do not suffer undue extra penalties. That is something we have committed to doing. We are going to work responsibly toward that.

Natural Resources

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in eight days Kinder Morgan will be making a decision on the Trans Mountain expansion project. So far, this Prime Minister's only solution is to make taxpayers pay for the project that was privately funded. For two and a half years, the Prime Minister has completely failed to defend Canadian resources. Will he finally show some leadership and tell Canadians what his plan is for the next eight days?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our plan is to get that pipeline built because it is in the national interest, because it is part of both growing the economy and protecting the environment together. As the members know, we are working right now in financial discussions with the proponent. We are ensuring that we will be able to move forward in a responsible way. That is exactly what we are going to do. We are going to do what is in the national interest. The national interest is to build that pipeline so we can get our resources responsibly and sustainably to new markets across the Pacific.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's botched handling of the Trans Mountain project has landed us in a constitutional crisis. Who is going to pay for this? It is Canadian families, natural resource workers, and our economy across Canada, which is having a rough time thanks to his decisions. The Prime Minister's inability to handle this situation has left the provinces gearing up for a constitutional battle in the courts. The Prime Minister has failed utterly.

When is he going to show some leadership on this file and get our natural resources sector working again?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I find it funny that Stephen Harper's Conservatives are still talking about leadership on natural resources. For 10 years, they talked up Alberta's oil economy every chance they got, but they never got anything done. They were not able to get a single kilometre of pipeline toward new markets built. They could not make it happen because they did not know, did not understand, and still refuse to understand that growing the economy goes hand in hand with protecting the environment. Because they were unable to protect the environment, they could not grow the economy the way it needed to be done. We are going to do things differently.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that nobody believes this Prime Minister's empty words, and there are only eight days left until the deadline for the Trans Mountain expansion. The Prime Minister caused this crisis. He is damaging confidence in Canada. The president of ATCO said, “The delay of those projects is almost as good as a cancellation”. The Prime Minister has already killed four major energy projects in Canada worth $84 billion, and investment is leaving Canada at historic rates. What is the Prime Minister actually doing to stop energy investment from leaving Canada, along with the hundreds of thousands of jobs that go with it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of failure by Stephen Harper to get even one kilometre of new pipeline built to new markets, we are getting it done. We have approved the Kinder Morgan TMX pipeline expansion under a strengthened process that brings in indigenous communities, that respects science, that gets the social licence that so completely evaded the previous government because Canadians did not trust them. Canadians did not believe they had the best interests of Canada and Canadians at heart.

What that means is that we are growing the economy and protecting the environment as well.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last month, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Natural Resources all promised a law to provide certainty for Trans Mountain, but there is still no law and still no plan. The Prime Minister's failure harms Canada's reputation in the world and risks future energy development. The CEO of Goodreid Investment Counsel says, “This is going to make other companies, other projects, all pause and say what if”.

We need strong political leadership here, and I do not think we are getting it. Where is the legislation the Prime Minister promised Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, if one actually listens to the Conservative members, one realizes they are actually hinging an awful lot of their political survival on our not getting the pipeline built. We are going to get that pipeline built, and I look forward to seeing what the Conservatives have to say once construction season starts, once shovels are in the ground, and once we deliver on this pipeline to new markets, which they were unable to do. Would they be happy then, or would they be miserable that it was our government that got it done—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would ask the hon. member for Chilliwack—Hope and others to come to order and not to speak or call out when someone else has the floor, as much as I like the voice of the hon. member for Chilliwack—Hope.

The hon. member for Berthier—Maskinongé.

Democratic Reform

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Liberals said that they were open to working with the opposition parties. Today, they are threatening to curtail debate on the election bill. They are doing exactly the same thing as Stephen Harper did in 2014. Is this real change? I do not think so.

If the Liberals really want to pass this bill before the summer recess, there are other alternatives.

Will the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party commit to working with us to find a solution and agree not to limit debate on the election bill?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we look forward to debating this bill in committee. We know that there are many witnesses and members who want to make suggestions regarding this bill in committee. That is an important step in the process.

We look forward to sending this bill to committee so that the NDP, the Conservative Party, and others can share their opinions on this important bill. That is why we are very happy to soon send it to committee so that we can all do the work together.

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

No, Mr. Speaker, that is not true. The Prime Minister had a deadline to fix the damage done by the previous Conservative government to our election laws, and for 18 months they did nothing. Now they are panicking and actually threatening to shut down debate in Parliament just hours after it started. New Democrats have made a proposal to properly study the bill, get out on the road to talk to Canadians, and still allow the passage of the bill to get Elections Canada doing its job for us.

Let us find out which path the Prime Minister is going to choose. Is he willing to work with us, or is he going to follow the dangerous one set by Stephen Harper?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is in fact the fourth day of debate on the elections bill, and we are looking forward to sending it to committee so that the member opposite and all members will be able to weigh in and make their concrete recommendations to improve this piece of legislation. Yes, we know that Elections Canada rules need to be improved after the Conservatives broke them. That is why we look forward to having robust discussions at committee, so the work can actually get done and delivered in time for Canadians in the next election.

Rail Transportation

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, no community should ever have to experience what Lac-Mégantic went through on July 6, 2013. All Canadians remember the 47 people who died, and we stand with all those whose lives were irreparably changed.

On May 11, the Right Honourable Prime Minister was in Lac-Mégantic to make an important announcement. Would he share that announcement with us?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Alfred-Pellan for his question.

It is one that has been on the minds of all Quebeckers and all Canadians. For nearly five years now, the people of Lac-Mégantic have worked very hard to recover, rebuild their town, and create a better future for their community.

On May 11, the Minister of Finance and I announced that we have signed an agreement in principle with the Government of Quebec to jointly fund the rail bypass project.

We know that some wounds will never heal, but we sincerely hope this bypass will mark a new beginning for the people of Lac-Mégantic.

Ethics

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the current investigation of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard indicates that there were blatant ethical breaches, and there is more to come.

A company that did not meet the bid criteria was awarded a lucrative quota by this minister. The contract was awarded to a corporation owned by the brother of a Liberal MP. A former Liberal MP also stands to profit, not to mention the minister's own family.

When did the Prime Minister learn that all the Liberal supporters and family of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard would profit from this lucrative contract?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our decision to introduce indigenous participation is consistent with our desire to establish a renewed relationship with indigenous peoples. Expanding access to the Arctic surf clam fishery is a major step towards reconciliation.

When the Conservatives launched a similar process, they chose to exclude indigenous peoples. The minister will continue to work with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and to follow his advice.