Debates of June 14th, 2018

Kidney Dialysis Treatment

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the efforts of Mr. Kenneth Sharp, a constituent of Port Hope in my riding of Northumberland—Peterborough South, who is considered to be the longest-living kidney dialysis patient in the world. Mr. Sharp has been working for several years to secure government funding for a bioartificial kidney implant whose technology requires no injection drugs.

This project was initially spearheaded by Mr. Sharp with former Peterborough member of Parliament Peter Adams, and now there is an ongoing effort to secure partnership with the University of California at San Francisco.

Mr. Sharp is indeed a force to be reckoned with. It is with great pleasure that the member for Peterborough—Kawartha and I honour and commend Mr. Sharp for his efforts in making this cutting-edge dialysis treatment available across North America. We know that the 60,000 Canadians currently receiving dialysis owe a debt of thanks to Mr. Sharp and former MP Adams for their tireless efforts on behalf of those who face the hardship of renal disease.

National Public Service Week

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has more than 260,000 remarkable public servants who work tirelessly to keep the federal government running, day and night, year-round. Our federal public service is diverse, talented, and passionate. This week, during National Public Service Week, we celebrate their hard work and dedication.

In the communities of Surrey and Langley, which I have the honour to represent, our public servants deliver front-line services, ensuring that Canadians are provided the highest quality of service.

Before being elected as a member of Parliament, I served in the federal public service for more than 30 years. I am proud to have served with amazing and talented colleagues who continue to preserve and protect the best of Canada's natural and cultural heritage in Parks Canada locations from coast to coast to coast, for Canadians and international visitors alike.

During National Public Service Week I would like to salute our federal public servants and thank them for the amazing work they do on behalf of and for Canadians.

Canada Summer Jobs Program

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister put a values test on the Canada summer jobs program, ending funding to groups who care for seniors, refugees, and at-risk youth, while killing jobs for students. This test attacks secular and faith-based non-profits alike.

Meanwhile, the Liberals approved Canada summer jobs funds for a position to “stop the Kinder Morgan pipeline and tanker project” and for Leadnow, which runs campaigns to both block the Trans Mountain expansion and defeat Conservatives in elections across Canada.

People in Lakeland oppose the values test. The Amblers emailed me, and they call on the Liberals to “remove this discriminatory requirement and allow Canadians to continue to exercise their freedom of religion and freedom of expression without facing institutionalized discrimination”.

As always, the Liberals' actions speak so much louder than their empty words. They are attacking fundamental rights and oil and gas jobs, using tax dollars for their own partisan gain, and dividing and failing Canadians. Their values test shows they do not actually believe in equality, diversity, tolerance, and inclusion at all, and they should remove it.

Blood Donation

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today, June 14, is World Blood Donor Day. I rise today to raise awareness of the existing demand for blood products like platelets, plasma, and red blood cells. Although half of all Canadians are eligible to donate, only 4% do. That means over 100,000 new donors are needed every year to meet the current demand.

Last year, nearly 406,000 people donated blood at Canadian Blood Services sites. We thank each and every one of them. Donating blood is a genuine act of altruism and represents a truly selfless gift.

The theme of this year's World Blood Donor Day is, “Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life.” It encourages donations as an act of solidarity with others, and it unites communities. In this spirit, I encourage the residents of Brampton North, and also my fellow members of Parliament, to donate blood and give the gift of life.

Estuary Restoration

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Kus-kus-sum project in my riding is a model of co-operation between residents in the Comox Valley, the K'ómoks people, the City of Courtenay, and the Comox Valley Regional District. They are working in partnership with the private sector and charitable foundations to restore the K'ómoks estuary after decades of industrial contamination at the former Field sawmill site.

The Project Watershed stewardship society has purchased the site, which has been given the name Kus-kus-sum by the K'ómoks elders. Co-operation in this project continues, even after the sale has been completed. Its ownership will be assumed jointly by the City of Courtenay and the K'ómoks people.

The restoration of Kus-kus-sum as a vibrant and productive fish habitat is critical for recreation, tourism, and the local economy. This is a big job with big deadlines, and a true example of reconciliation in action. For this project to succeed, all levels of government must pull together in co-operation. Now is the time for the federal government to fund this co-operative project.

International Trade

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have implemented major policy changes that have hurt Canadian competitiveness. Unbelievably, we learned the Liberals have made absolutely no room in their budget to support those affected by the trade war on Canadian steel and aluminum.

Uncertainty kills jobs. The Liberals said they had a plan. They promised they had consulted with Canadian industries. They promised to avoid unintended consequences and job losses, yet we could soon see the latest victims of the Liberal anti-competitive policies.

Oshawa families are worried. Automakers in Oshawa will be required to pay tariffs on speciality steel imported from the United States in order to build cars to North American standards. These tariffs will hurt everyone. We need to do everything we can to help.

The good news is some leaders get it. The premier designate of Ontario understands that American plants do not have to pay the Prime Minister's carbon tax, so he is immediately cancelling Ontario's carbon tax.

Will the Prime Minister follow Mr. Ford's lead and cancel his anti-competitive carbon tax so that manufacturers at least have a fighting chance to keep jobs in Oshawa?

Ramadan

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims in King—Vaughan and across Canada have been fasting from dusk to dawn, devoted to faith, reflection, and the service of the less fortunate. Eid al-Fitr will mark the end of this 30-day spiritual journey. It will be a day that brings together friends, families, and communities in special prayer, gratitude for blessings, and celebratory meals.

From iftars hosted by the Vaughan Islamic Community Centre, Masjid Vaughan, and the Jaffari Community Centre to the Fast with a Muslim Friend campaign and the iftar dinner on the Hill last night, hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, King Township and Vaughan are witness to the shared Canadian values of generosity and peace that this month of Ramadan demonstrates.

I wish peace and prosperity to all those celebrating.

[Member spoke in Arabic]

Marijuana

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government wants to implement marijuana legalization as quickly as possible, which is really not a good thing. Another one of the Liberals' rubbish ideas is to allow the cultivation of four pot plants in every household in Canada. Fortunately, the Liberal government's mad obsession is going to hit a wall, since two provinces, Quebec and Manitoba, are opposed.

Can this Liberal government respect jurisdictions and respect the provinces?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, protecting the health and safety of Canadians is a top priority for our government. Home cultivation will continue to displace the illegal market and will also create a legal source of cannabis for people who do not have easy access to it through a provincial or territorial store or an online platform. We are also following the advice of the task force on cannabis legalization and regulation and the approach taken by most of the jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis in the United States.

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

Mr. Speaker, what lack of respect. I am not the one who said that. It was the Quebec Liberal minister, Jean-Marc Fournier, who is proudly fighting tooth and nail for provincial governments.

Quebec and Manitoba do not want marijuana to be grown at home. It is sad to say, but the reality is that the government is doing what it wants and not listening to anyone. The government did not listen to first nations and it is not listening to Quebec and Manitoba.

Can the Prime Minister at least guarantee one thing, that no pot will be grown at 24 Sussex?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, our government is legalizing cannabis, strictly regulating it, and limiting access to prevent our youth from getting their hands on it. We also want to prevent organized crime from profiting. The current approach to cannabis is not working. It has allowed criminals to profit and, once again, makes it a lot easier for our young people to buy cannabis than cigarettes. That is why our government consulted experts, police chiefs, and many others. We are moving forward with a bill to protect our young people.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, right now, fishermen are assembling a blockade of lobster traps outside the office of the member of Parliament for Acadie—Bathurst. They are doing this because of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans' extreme decision to close the lobster fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Now, the minister knows that a decision like this is going to have a serious financial impact on the families there, especially after his rule change that happened at the end of April.

Why does it have to come to a blockade to get this minister's attention?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot imagine my Conservative colleague would suggest that we not take the most robust measures necessary to protect the North Atlantic right whale, because she will understand, as all Canadians do, that protecting the North Atlantic right whale is vital to ensuring continued access to international markets for over $6 billion of Canadian fish and seafood exports. We understand that this decision is difficult. We understand that fishers and plant workers will be concerned. That is why I have the privilege of meeting representatives tomorrow in New Brunswick, and will continue to work with them to ensure they are protected.

Carbon Pricing

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for weeks, the Liberals have refused to tell Canadians how much their carbon tax is going to cost them. To use the Prime Minister's own words, this is very “insulting” to Canadians. They have been completely straightforward with the fact that they intend to proceed with the carbon tax, but when it comes to telling us exactly how much it is going to cost, they are eerily silent. Voters in Ontario have spoken, and what they said at the ballot box was that they do not want to have a carbon tax.

The Liberals have a chance today. Will they at least tell us how much it is going to cost families?

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

Mr. Speaker, we published a report on April 30 doing exactly that. It talks about pricing pollution. It talks about the 80 million to 90 million tonnes, the equivalent of taking 25 million cars off the road, that pricing achieves. We believe provinces are best placed to decide what to do with revenues. We have been clear revenues will stay in the province. Eighty per cent of Canadians live in a province where they have a price on pollution. They have given back money in tax cuts, in rebates. They have invested in clean innovation. They should go ask those provinces what they are doing with their revenues.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what I am asking this minister is for her to tell us what her department officials told her is the cost to Canadian families for their carbon tax. She knows what the answer is.

Breaking news, today we understand why Ontarians actually voted for Doug Ford in the election in Ontario. They said that voters feel that costs are out of control, and they view carbon taxes as nothing more than a cash grab. Why will these MPs not at least tell voters in Canada how much of their cash they intend on grabbing?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know how much clearer I can be. All revenues from pricing go back to the provinces. It is up to provinces to decide what to do.

Let us talk about the economy. Let us talk about the 600,000 jobs that our government created with Canadians. Let us talk about the lowest unemployment rate in generations. Let us talk about how we can take serious action on climate change and we can grow our economy. The previous government could do neither.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

There is no need for so much noise. Hon. members know they are required to not interrupt in the House when someone else has the floor. The time to speak is when they have the floor. Each side gets its chance to take part in debate. We wait until we have our turn.

The hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques.

Natural Resources

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, David Dodge, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, said yesterday that people might die protesting the Trans Mountain expansion project and that we will basically just have to deal with that. I am really surprised I have to say this in the House, but the right to protest peacefully is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and is fundamental to our democracy.

Will the government condemn David Dodge's comments, or does it agree with him that the pipeline must go through at any cost, including the lives of peaceful protesters?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government believes in the right of peaceful protest.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

That is not very reassuring, Mr. Speaker. I would like a more comprehensive answer. I remember in this place, in December 2016, the Minister of Natural Resources said that peaceful pipeline protesters would be met by the Canadian Armed Forces. After hearing such comments from a cabinet member, I am worried to hear a senior official like David Dodge suggesting that peaceful protesters be killed.

I want the government not only to acknowledge that peaceful civil disobedience is a fundamental democratic tool, but also to denounce David Dodge's comments.

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

Mr. Speaker, we believe in Canadians' right to legal, peaceful protests.

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

Mr. Speaker, today, we learned in a study by Équiterre that pipeline management in this country is all over the map.

In 2017, there was a 41% increase in incidents, spills, leaks, and issues. The so-called automated detection systems do not detect even half of what happens. What happens when companies get caught? Nothing. The notices of violation and orders are systematically ignored, and no one loses their licence.

When will the government clean up its act and bring oil companies in line?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, all governments are responsible for getting resources to market, but they must also ensure that they follow safety rules and environmental protection regulations.

The Pipeline Safety Act strengthens Canada's safety system by enshrining the polluter pays principle in federal legislation. Operators will be held accountable and will have to respond to any incidents, regardless of who is at fault.