Debates of May 24th, 2018

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, our objective in these negotiations is to ensure that the Columbia River Treaty continues to be mutually beneficial for both Canada and the United States. We have been working very closely with the British Columbian authorities, the first nations up and down its length, and the stakeholders, to ensure that all interests are heard, represented, and addressed in these negotiations.

We will also address environmental considerations and the interests of first nations, and aim to renew this agreement for the 21st century.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the rights of first nations are protected by our Constitution and by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. When the Columbia River Treaty was signed in 1964, these very nations were excluded from the negotiations. Now that the treaty is to be renegotiated, they are being told that they will again be ignored and excluded from the process. Why is that?

Is it because the most important relationship that this government has is with indigenous peoples?

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

Mr. Speaker, our objective is to ensure that the treaty continues to be mutually beneficial for both Canada and the United States. We have been working very closely with British Columbia, first nations and stakeholders to ensure that all interests are heard, represented, and addressed in these negotiations. We will also address environmental considerations and the interests of first nations.

International Development

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the serious crisis in Myanmar is a tragedy that requires an urgent response. The humanitarian situation is precarious, with camps and settlements vulnerable to flooding and landslides during the monsoon season. Congested living conditions continue to increase the risk of disease outbreaks, and more Rohingya are crossing the border into Bangladesh every day.

Could the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie update the House on Canada's latest initiatives to respond to this terrible situation.

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from London North Centre for his support to vulnerable populations.

Yesterday, I was pleased to join my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to unveil our plan to address the Rohingya crisis.

Our strategy includes $300 million over three years to address humanitarian, development, peace, and stabilization needs in Myanmar and Bangladesh, as well as support to host communities in Bangladesh to mitigate the impact of the crisis, and to build self-reliance and resilience, with a central emphasis on the needs of women and girls.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, problems may not exist in the magical land of Care Bears and unicorns where the Prime Minister lives, but he created a great big one with his thoughtless “Welcome to Canada” tweet.

As we speak, Plattsburgh is being flooded with free flyers explaining how to enter Canada illegally. The flyers even explain how to circumvent our border. What a mess.

There is no need to send ministers all the way to Nigeria. All we have to do is cross the border at Lacolle and dot the i's and cross the t's. With the Liberals in charge, the border is starting to look like a sieve.

When are they going to plug the gaps?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we are aware that a great deal of misinformation is circulating in migrant communities. That is why we continue to reach out to these communities to raise awareness.

Reaching Canada is no guarantee of being granted refugee status. It is vital that we communicate all the important information. That is why our government has asked the organization Plattsburgh Cares to spread the word about the very firmly established criteria that need to be met in order to claim asylum.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are pouring more money down a bottomless pit because they are not turning off the tap: more refugee camps, more money for border services, but nothing to stop illegal border crossings.

While taxpayers are kept waiting at the airport and immigrants face endless wait times, what is the Prime Minister doing to stop this flood of illegal immigrants at the border?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we have contacted the organization to allow them to learn the comprehensive nature of our immigration and asylum systems. The consul general in New York will also provide them with more information on all the issues surrounding regular migration to Canada.

We have an aggressive outreach campaign that has been ongoing since last year, which has been appreciated by organizations and diaspora communities in the United States. It is having an impact. We will continue that outreach campaign, and we are seeing a lot of results with respect to that campaign.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister just said that his plan to deal with his choice to functionally erase the Canadian border is to divert illegal border crossers from Toronto. Last week the plan was to divert them from Quebec to Toronto.

Why is the minister playing a shell game with human beings instead of closing the loophole in the safe third country agreement and restoring compassion and order to Canada's immigration system?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, our record speaks for itself. If we look at the record of the Harper Conservatives, they kept families apart for years. They kept live-in caregivers away from reuniting with their families for five to seven years. They kept refugee numbers very low. They cut refugee health care, which our federal courts called cruel and unusual punishment.

The irony is lost on the Conservative Party.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the City of Toronto announced that it would be opening two emergency services to deal with the arrival of illegal migrants in the city. Mayor John Tory has made it clear that he will have to take extreme measures if more is not done to stop the redirected Quebec migrants. We have a city in a state of crisis.

When will the minister finally close the loophole in the safe third country agreement?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the Harper Conservatives kept families apart for years. They kept live-in caregivers apart from their families for years. They have recently discovered their compassion for refugees by lecturing us, even though they cut health care for refugees. They have recently discovered the importance of immigration processing, when they kept families apart for years. They have no idea that investment follows talent. Under their watch, talent used to take seven months to get to Canada. Under our watch, it takes two weeks to get to Canada. We are proud of our record.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I have heard quite a bit from the hon. member for Abbotsford today, but he has not had the floor. I would ask him to not interrupt when someone else is speaking.

The hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot.

Employment Insurance

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the minister personally witnessed the Liberals on the committee once again refuse to vote on a motion to hear from experts and ill individuals to improve EI sickness benefits.

In 2016, the Prime Minister and the minister said that they were going to fix it by year's end. Two years later, too many ill people still face financial problems.

What is the problem?

Will the minister keep his word, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I did indeed have the chance to attend the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. I thanked them for their important work, which among other things has resulted in very compassionate advice for bringing in the Canadian government’s first poverty reduction strategy.

I also spoke about the substantial investments in parental benefits and the new family caregiver benefit, the loosening of the rules for sickness benefits, and improvements to the employment insurance system, which benefits tens of thousands of Canadians.

It is on this basis that we will continue to work very hard to improve living conditions and support the EI system.

Rail Transportation

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, one year has now passed since Churchill lost its rail line and became a fly-in only community. The closure of the rail line and the port has hurt the entire north. The fact is, Churchill residents do not have time for a years-long legal battle with Omnitrax to end. They need a deal to get the line back up and running now. In fact, they needed it a long time ago.

After a year, the Liberal government has failed to broker a deal that will restore the line. Therefore, on behalf of northern Manitobans and all those concerned to see them succeed, I would like to ask when exactly they can expect a deal to get the line back on track.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, our government continues to be committed to the people of Churchill and northern Manitoba. As members know, our chief negotiator has been working with potential buyers of the line and we are also working with indigenous communities and other stakeholders. We are optimistic that we will find an operator to take care of this very important line, and as soon as we are in a position to finalize that, we will let everyone know.

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

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that until this week, a company called iChurchill Inc. was in the process of finalizing an agreement to buy, rebuild, and reopen the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill. This agreement included a majority ownership stake for Manitoba first nations. However, for some reason, the Liberals decided to intervene and block this agreement. Why?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat that we are 100% committed to the people of northern Manitoba and Churchill, and we are going to make sure that this line is rebuilt. At the moment, our chief negotiator is working with all interested parties. We are optimistic that we will find a solution, and as soon as we have one we will let everyone know.

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

Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals announced their intention to support new ownership, they laid out three criteria: first, a reasonable price for the sale; second, support from first nations; and third, a viable business plan. iChurchill Inc. believes it met all three of these criteria, but the Liberals rejected this deal with no explanation given. Instead, the Liberals are only willing to deal with one specific company, a Toronto-based financial firm. Why?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to go into the details of negotiations, but I can assure members that our chief negotiator is working with all serious partners in this venture, and when we have a decision, we will let everyone know about it.

Foreign Investment

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the government took our advice and declined to allow the sale of Aecon to a Chinese state-owned enterprise. However, in spite of numerous other requests, the Liberals have arrogantly refused to do the same due diligence with Anbang and our senior care facilities. As we now know, Anbang has collapsed, the chairman was arrested, and our seniors' homes are owned by communist China. Will the minister now commit to fixing the Anbang mess?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, our government is open to investment from other countries. We encourage this because it creates good, middle-class jobs. We do it, though, with careful consideration, depending on the kind of process and the kind of investment. As the decision yesterday proved, we will never compromise our national security. With respect to Cedar Tree and Retirement Concepts, there are guarantees that were put into place. Those guarantees are being followed and monitored, in particular by the provincial government in British Columbia, and we will continue to monitor that situation to make sure that engagements are kept.

Justice

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was very proud in April 2017 when our government introduced Bill C-46, legislation with the ultimate goal of reducing the significant number of deaths and injuries caused by impaired driving, a crime that continues to claim innocent lives and wreak havoc and devastation on Canadian families. This legislation includes mandatory alcohol screening, which I understand would significantly deter those individuals who continue to put others at risk by driving while impaired by alcohol. Can the minister please provide the House with an update on the legislation?