Debates of June 13th, 2018

Foreign Affairs

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after months of pursuing a wrong-headed policy of appeasement towards Iran, the Liberals finally agreed with the Conservative Party to have a more forceful response to the Iranian regime.

It was just last month that Liberal senators defeated Conservative proposed legislation to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group. Now, I want to know clearly from the Prime Minister, because moments after the vote was held his own officials in the Department of Public Safety refused to acknowledge that this important step of naming the IRGC as a terrorist organization would be kept.

Will the Prime Minister confirm that he will actually follow the will of the House?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we deeply oppose Iran's support for terrorist organizations, its threat towards Israel, its ballistic missile program, and its support for the murderous Assad regime. We will always defend human rights and hold Iran to account for its actions.

We led a resolution at the UN in November calling on Iran to comply with its international human rights obligations. We continue to maintain sanctions on Iran, which include restrictions on sensitive goods and a list of individuals and entities subject to asset freezes with whom all transactions involving property are prohibited.

Public Services and Procurement

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he still cannot answer the simple question about following the will of the House as voted here just this week.

When the Auditor General's report was tabled, the report that was highly critical of the government's handling of many files, the Minister of Public Services thanked the Auditor General and proclaimed that “...We are accepting all of his recommendations”. However, yesterday, the Prime Minister's very own Clerk of the Privy Council dismissed the Auditor General's recent report, calling it “an opinion piece”.

Which is it? Does the Prime Minister share the views of his minister or his senior civil servant? In other words, does he accept the Auditor General's report that his own government—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The Right Hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are lucky to have a world-class public service, which just last year was recognized as the most effective in the world.

We are working to change the culture in the public service following 10 years of Conservative government that muzzled scientists, used tax dollars for partisan advertising, and made irresponsible and ideologically driven cuts.

We were given a mandate to restore a culture of respect for and within Canada's non-partisan public service, and to instill a culture of experimentation, evidence-based policy, and implementation.

We will continue to work towards achieving that objective, and as the head of the public service said, there is still more work to do.

Natural Resources

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, two days after the purchase of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, the company received a letter from the government stating that it had committed four offences. It had gone months without filing mandatory monitoring reports with the government and first nations, and it exceeded safe underwater noise limits during expansion, endangering marine wildlife.

Knowing about these violations and all the rest, why on earth would the government bail out Kinder Morgan with billions of Canadians' hard-earned money?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives failed to secure access to markets other than the United States for Canadian resources for over 10 years. This failure is costing $15 billion a year to Canadians. The NDP believes that this enormous cost should continue to apply to Canadians every single year.

It is critically important that we diversify our export markets all the while making historical investments to protect our environment. While the NDP's plan is to keep Canadian resources locked into a single market, we are working to protect and create Canadian jobs, while protecting the environment for future generations.

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

Mr. Speaker, giving away billions of dollars to a company that has zero respect for Canada's environmental regulations is the antithesis of leading the fight against climate change.

Using public money to buy a pipeline is not visionary. Exposing Canadians to the environmental and financial risks associated with the pipeline is totally unfair.

Instead of throwing money at energy sources of the past, the government must invest in energy sources of the future.

Why does the Prime Minister just not get it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would suggest it is the NDP that just does not get it because not having access to markets other than the United States for our oil resources is costing us $15 billion per year.

The Conservatives spent 10 years trying to diversify our energy resource markets, but they failed. We are succeeding because we know that creating jobs and economic growth while protecting our environment is the best way to build a strong future for all Canadians. That is exactly what we are doing.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, by law, is appointed by the Minister of Finance, and it is deliberately kept independent of political interference. There is a good reason. The board manages workers' money, and it has to make sure that there is no undue risk in its investments, because it has to make sure there is money available for our retirement.

I was very interested to see that the minister and the Prime Minister said that the private sector was not interested in the Trans Mountain pipeline because it was risky. Will the Prime Minister tell the Minister of Finance to back off the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and tell him that it is going to go to private sector investments?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to inform the member opposite that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board operates at arm's length, with a mandate to invest in the best interests of its members. Many investors have already expressed interest in the project, including indigenous groups, Canadian pension funds, and others.

The fact that we are moving forward and succeeding, where the Conservatives failed for 10 years to get our exports to markets other than the United States, is making them grasp at straws, and flailing for partisan approaches, when they should be pleased that for once we have actually delivered what they could not do for—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Milton.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, private sector investment fled this project, and the Minister of Finance indicated that he asked pension plans whether or not they would be interested. He asked the Canada pension plan board if it was interested, which is a clear conflict. When that did not work, he actually hired a U.S. bank to come in and lobby the Canada pension plan board, an arm's length organization.

Money from the federal reserve, money from the Canada pension plan, money from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, is all workers' money. Can he guarantee, as the Prime Minister, that not a single taxpayer dollar is going to be left on the hook because of their failure?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps we have just seen why the Conservatives were unable to get the pipeline built for 10 years. They do not have confidence in the workers, in the oil sector, or in the capacity of Canadians to get these resources to market profitably. That is what we are hearing from them. They do not believe this pipeline is going to work.

On this side of the House, we have Alberta's back. We have Canada's back. We are there to make sure that we get our resources to new markets, despite the worries and naysaying of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Cannabis

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

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec National Assembly passed its cannabis bill yesterday. It legislates a maximum of 150 grams per household, zero tolerance for driving under the influence, and a ban on home cultivation.

My question for the Prime Minister is simple. Is he finally going to respect provincial jurisdictions and let Quebec, and every Canadian province, as well as first nations, legislate in their own areas of jurisdiction?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to acknowledge that everyone across Canada and in every jurisdiction agrees that it is time to put an end to the present system, which fails to protect our children and puts billions of dollars every year into the hands of organized crime, and replace it with a better system that controls and regulates the sale of marijuana.

We consulted experts, we worked very hard, and we listened to what the experts had to say. Our decision has been made and we firmly believe that these measures are the best way to protect Canadians, our youth, and our communities, and that is what we are going to do.

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

Mr. Speaker, this government never listened to health experts, police forces, business leaders, municipalities, first nations, or the Senate, which spent many hours doing incredible work. Now, the provinces, who have asked for more time, are asking us to simply respect their jurisdictions.

Again, my question for the Prime Minister is very simple. Will he respect the jurisdictions of Canada's provinces as well as those of first nations, and allow them to prohibit home cultivation of cannabis?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to note that we always respect the provinces and indigenous peoples, as well as the work that they do. We are putting forward a bill that will protect our children and prevent organized crime from making huge profits from the sale of marijuana. The Conservatives keep playing politics with this issue.

I want to thank the senators and every expert who spoke to this issue. We are moving forward with measures that will protect Canadians.

International Trade

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP supports the government's decision to impose retaliatory tariffs in response to the Trump administration's tariffs on steel and aluminum.

However, last year, the White House imposed a surtax on our softwood lumber and despite months of pressure the government only hatched a timid plan of loan guarantees and employment insurance.

This time, will the government properly do its homework and announce a program of adequate support for workers and for SMEs in our steel and aluminum sector as Quebec did?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said several times, Canadian steel and aluminum workers have our unconditional support. These tariffs are completely unacceptable. Consequently, we intend to impose tariffs on steel, aluminum, and other goods from the United States. We will impose tariffs on the U.S. equivalent to those imposed on Canadian goods.

As I told steel and aluminum workers when I visited plants across the country, we will always be there to defend them.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is interesting, because I do not believe you have met with them since the tariffs came on.

We are talking about the livelihoods of at least 50,000—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The member is asking if I have met with someone. I know the member knows that she must direct her comments to the Chair, and I will ask her to do that.

The hon. member for Essex.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the workers know that the Liberals have not yet met with them since these tariffs went on. We are talking about the livelihoods of at least 50,000 workers employed directly by the steel and aluminum industries and all those who depend on them. Trump's tariffs have already started affecting the lives of workers and communities that simply cannot wait for support from their government.

The government says it was prepared for the worst-case scenario. If that is true, then why is the government not telling workers what its plan is to protect Canadian jobs? Where is the plan?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, within hours of the U.S. government imposing these new tariffs on steel and aluminum, we had a clear response worth $16.6 billion on steel, on aluminum, and on other products coming into Canada from the United States. We have been working on contingency plans, and I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, and all Canadians, that we will be there to support and stand with our aluminum and steel workers. That is what I told them across the country when I was visiting with them. That is what I continue to tell them as I speak to them across the country through their leadership and the media.