Debates of June 5th, 2018

Foreign Affairs

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, Canada is a steadfast ally of Israel and friend to the Palestinian people. As always, we are determined to support a process that will lead to a just, comprehensive, and durable peace in the Middle East. Our government is committed to the UN and we respect resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. For many years, under successive governments, Canada has stated that settlements constitute a serious obstacle to that comprehensive, just, and lasting peace. We have a long-standing commitment toward that, and we will continue to work to build the conditions that will lead to that lasting and durable peace.

International Trade

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have been calling for a quick implementation of the trans-Pacific partnership. Now more than ever we need the opportunity for duty-free exports of aluminum and steel to Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Canada should be taking a leadership role in ratifying this agreement. Will the Liberals move quickly forward with this new trade opportunity at a time when it is desperately needed?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I guess we would all agree there has never been a better time to diversify. That is why I was so proud to sign the CPTPP on behalf of Canada, an agreement that colleagues will know opened a market of 500 million consumers, 40% of the world economy.

Yes, we will proceed expeditiously to ratify the agreement, and yes, we will introduce legislation before the House rises this summer to make sure that our workers, our SMEs across this country, have access to one of the most promising markets in the world.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's own officials have stated that the text of the current CPTPP is virtually identical to the 2015 version that the Conservatives negotiated. The legislation should be ready to go. If the minister could get this bill tabled, is he willing to work with the Conservatives to ratify this deal before the House rises for summer?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we will always work with the Conservatives when they want to work to create jobs for Canadians. That is what we have been asking for: to work to make sure that workers and SMEs in this country would have opportunities.

Let me remind the Conservatives that we have 22 suspensions that this government negotiated to get a better deal for Canadians with respect to culture, with respect to the auto sector, and with respect to IP. Canadians deserve that. We will always fight for them at every table.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in December the minister received a memorandum from his department assessing the nine surf clam proposals. This morning his deputy minister confirmed that the winning bid had the lowest level of first nations participation. Of course, we know the application did have the highest level of Liberal participation.

The minister has stood repeatedly in this House and said that his decision was all about reconciliation. Can the minister explain how choosing an application with the lowest level of first nations participation has anything to do with reconciliation?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times in this House and as our deputy minister repeated at committee this morning, one of the most important things about this process was to bring indigenous communities into an offshore fishery to bring a new entrant into the Arctic surf clam fishery, something the previous Conservative government had a process to achieve, but it forgot to include indigenous people.

Our process was designed to consult industry and find the proposal that brought the best economic benefits in terms of job creation to indigenous communities in five provinces. That is why this proposal was selected for next steps.

[Pat Finnigan, Liberal, Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB]

Mr. Speaker, today the United Nations marks the first International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.

This practice is a major contributor to declining fish stocks and marine habitat destruction. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing takes many forms within nationally controlled waters and on the high seas and accounts for about 30% of fishing activity worldwide.

Can the Minister of Fisheries tell us what our government is doing about this?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Miramichi—Grand Lake for his question.

Canada is a proud contributor to major multinational initiatives to protect fish stocks in the high seas and combat illegal and criminal fishing activities. Our government has taken a very strong stance against illegal fishing.

Operation DRIFTNET is an excellent example of international co-operation on this front. Thanks to these committed international partnerships, including the G7, we will be able to make even more progress this week in Quebec City with our G7 partners.

Marijuana

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

Mr. Speaker, on the marijuana file, the Liberals are putting the cart before the horse. They want to legalize cannabis before their improvised drug-impaired driving bill passes.

The members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving are very worried and understandably so. Quebec police say they are not ready, that there are no evaluation officers, and to top it off, Ottawa does not care what Quebec wants.

How can the Prime Minister and his Liberals jeopardize the safety of all Canadians by ramming through pot legalization?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, both bills, Bill C-45 and Bill C-46, are extremely important. Bill C-46 includes the toughest measures in the world to deal with impaired driving.

We have worked very carefully with all members of Parliament, with the Senate, with provinces, and with law enforcement agencies to get this strengthened law in place. I look forward to the Conservative Party actually supporting Bill C-46, because some of the elements in that bill were originally proposed by the hon. member.

Pensions

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in September thousands of workers employed in Canada's nuclear industry stand to lose the right to have their pensions protected under the Public Service Superannuation Act.

There is no justification for these workers to be denied a secure and long-standing right. These workers have had their pensions ripped away from them.

Will the government stand up for these workers and reverse this backwards decision before it is too late?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the Harper Conservatives' decision to sell off Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's nuclear laboratories has had lasting effects on employees.

We recognize the situation that CNL employees now find themselves in, thanks to the Conservatives, and we are doing everything possible to offer pension protection for employees who have been impacted by the divestiture.

Infrastructure

[Doug Eyolfson, Liberal, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, our government was proud to contribute more than $35 million towards the new Diversity Gardens at Assiniboine Park in my riding. Construction is under way, and a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the site and see the progress for myself.

Once complete, the gardens will help connect Winnipeg to its roots, increase tourism, and create good local jobs. This is just one example of more than 145 projects in the province that have received federal funding since our government was elected.

Can the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities provide an update on our government's continued investment in Manitoba communities?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to inform the House, particularly as I am surrounded by hard-working Manitoba MPs, that yesterday the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities signed an agreement with the Government of Manitoba that will see the federal government invest more than $1.1 billion in infrastructure over the next 10 years.

This funding will mean better public transit, more recreation and community centres, and better roads and bridges across the country. These investments will help create jobs and economic growth, build inclusive communities, and support a low-carbon green economy—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier.

Public Safety

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, an event is being held in Charlevoix, not far from the greater Quebec City area. We are proud that the world will be watching la belle province. However, in the past, there has been vandalism and destruction at these large gatherings, and local businesses and populations always pay the price. I know that there is a compensation program, but considering the many reversals by the Liberal government, can the Prime Minister promise citizens and businesses that he will show them respect and provide them with suitable financial assistance for any damages by the end of the summer?

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are certainly proud to have the opportunity to welcome world leaders to the beautiful region of Charlevoix for the G7 meeting. As I had the opportunity to explain to my colleague across the way yesterday, the compensation policies for local businesses affected are the same as they were under the Conservatives during the G7 in 2010. We know that the residents of Charlevoix are also proud to welcome this fine meeting and we are all proud as Canadians to be hosting it.

The Economy

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Québec debout, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, aluminium is not just about producers. There are almost 1,400 businesses, mostly SMEs, in the processing sector throughout Quebec that may not be able to absorb a 10% American tariff in the medium term. The government said that it would be there for workers. If that is the case, it needs to act now and not wait until workers have lost their jobs.

What does the government intend to do? What is its plan for aluminium processors?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, these U.S. tariffs are unacceptable. That is why we will keep defending our steel and aluminium workers.

I met with the producers association yesterday, and all the options are on the table.

[Louis Plamondon, Québec debout, Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday on NBC, the Prime Minister said that he was ready to show some flexibility on supply management.

With last week's news that he had hired an adviser who is in favour of abolishing supply management, dairy producers are extremely worried. I have two questions for the minister.

What does showing flexibility on supply management mean, exactly?

Can the government confirm that an adviser who is in favour of abolishing supply management was hired?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is fully committed to defending supply management. It was introduced by a Liberal government, and we will continue to defend it.

The Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Agriculture and our entire caucus believe in supply management. We will keep working for our rural communities.

Natural Resources

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are outraged that the government is taking $1 billion from them in order to disingenuously finance Trans Mountain, a pipeline project that British Columbians and first nations are opposed to.

The ploy certainly paid off: some Liberals are already contemplating using the same trick to force Quebeckers and First Nations to accept the energy east pipeline against their will with their own money.

From one nation to another, can the government guarantee that the energy east project is dead for good?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we know that having a pipeline to bring our resources to international markets is important. That is our approach.

We believe that the Trans Mountain expansion project is crucial to our economy and will create jobs across the country. Our priority is making sure that the project gets built. It will be good for our economy and for Canadians.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I wish to draw the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of Ms. Sonia L'Heureux, parliamentary librarian since 2012, who will be retiring at the end of June. Ms. L'Heureux has been working at the library since 2008 and started her career in the public service in 1987.

On behalf of all hon. members, I want to thank Ms. L'Heureux for her years of service and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.