Debates of Sept. 17th, 2018

Government Policies

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I travelled around my riding of Barrie—Innisfil and the country this summer, I spoke to thousands of Canadians. Let us just say that if the Liberal government was hoping to avoid negative interactions this summer, all Canadians got was a summer of failures.

The Liberals failed this summer on issues that matter to Canadians, like ethics. Pipelines have been reduced to pipe dreams. NAFTA has gone south, along with Canadian jobs and investment. The talk among Canada's veterans and the many veterans who call central Ontario home is how the Liberals, some who themselves also served, have failed them or, worse yet, lied to them.

Conservatives heard loud and clear this summer what matters to Canadians and not what matters to the Prime Minister or his insiders.

This session, Conservatives will expose the summer of failure and continue our work ahead of 2019 that puts Canadians first, puts people before government, and makes sure that our leader becomes the next prime minister of Canada.

Terry Fox Run

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Terry Fox, a Canadian hero, after losing his leg to osteogenic sarcoma, embarked on a cross-country marathon of hope to raise money for cancer research. When Terry could no longer run, Canadians took up the mantle. Yesterday, my friend and colleague from Scarborough—Agincourt joined me in Oakville as Canadians participated in the 38th annual Terry Fox Run to honour and remember loved ones.

The run would not be possible without the enthusiasm, compassion and commitment of our volunteers. Carol Dalby, whose son David at eight years old survived the same cancer as Terry Fox, has volunteered with the Oakville run for over 30 years. For three decades, three-time cancer survivor Ralph Robinson has devoted countless hours volunteering for the Oakville run.

As chair of Oakville's Terry Fox Run, I would like to thank all those who carry on Terry's legacy across Canada and around the world.

New Member

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I have the honour to inform the House that the Clerk of the House has received from the Chief Electoral Officer a certificate of the election and return of Mr. Martel, member for the electoral district of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord.

Mr. Richard Martel (Chicoutimi—Le Fjord)

Mr. Richard Martel, member for the electoral district of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, introduced by the Hon. Andrew Scheer and Mr. Alain Rayes.

Natural Resources

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians watched for the last two years and thought to themselves that there was no way the Prime Minister could possibly fail any more this summer than he had in the past. What did the Prime Minister say? “Hold my beer.”

His carbon tax coalition is in shambles. The U.S. went ahead and negotiated a new deal with Mexico, while Canada was on the sidelines. There is still no plan to deal with illegal border crossers.

The Prime Minister's biggest failure was the Trans Mountain pipeline. The courts ruled that he failed to execute the process, and he has no plan to restart it.

Does the Prime Minister understand that his failures are hurting Canadians all over the country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to take a moment, first, as we return to this place, to welcome an entirely new cohort of pages to the House. We thank these young people for their service.

Over the past three years, we have seen the lowest unemployment in 40 years. We have seen the creation of over half a million new, full-time jobs and the fastest growth in the G7 last year. On top of that, by the end of next year, the average middle-class family will be receiving $2,000 more in their bank accounts because of this government than they did under the previous Conservative government.

We are continuing with our plan for the middle class.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has chased away billions of dollars of investment in our energy sector. He used a variety of ways to do it.

He cancelled energy east, which would have seen western Canadian oil brought to eastern markets, displacing foreign oil. He has brought in a ban on pipelines in Bill C-69. His carbon tax is chasing away investment from all around the world.

When it comes to Trans Mountain, the court was very clear. The judge ruled that the government's “efforts fell well short of the mark” and that he did not adequately discharge his duties.

How could the Prime Minister fail so badly on this?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years, the Conservative government under Stephen Harper had a single focus: to support the oil sands by getting our resources to new markets other than the United States. It failed.

The Conservatives could not get any of our resources to new markets because they refused to accept that the only way to move forward on energy projects was to respect indigenous peoples and to defend the environment at the same time.

That is exactly what we have been working on for three years. That is what we are going to continue to work on. The Trans Mountain project is in the national interest and we are going to get it built in the right way.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts.

Before the Prime Minister took office we did not need an act of Parliament to get a pipeline built. Americans were trying to put their money into Canada. Now the Prime Minister is writing a cheque to buy them out of the energy sectors.

The facts are also clear. Under the previous Conservative government, four major pipelines were built: the Enbridge Alberta Clipper, the TransCanada Keystone, Kinder Morgan Anchor Loop, and Enbridge Line 9 reversal, all approved and built under a Conservative government.

It is the Prime Minister's policies that have failed. The judge was very clear that he failed to get this job done.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Alberta oil industry and, indeed, Canadians know well that our priority is getting our resources to new markets other than the United States.

We get a discount of about $15 billion every year because we are trapped to the American market. We need to get our resources to new markets, safety and securely. That is where the previous government failed.

We are moving forward in respect and in partnership with indigenous peoples, moving forward and being serious about environmental science and sustainability, because we know that getting these pipelines built the right way is what matters to all Canadians.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's summer of failure was not just about pipelines, it also included his lack of a plan to deal with the illegal border crosser crisis.

For months the Prime Minister has been attacking as un-Canadian anyone who criticizes his lack of action. He also claimed that the flood of illegal border crossers would have no impact on the processing times of lawful applicants.

We now know that was not true. In fact, the Immigration and Refugee Board says, “projected wait times are not expected to decrease from the current 20 months.”

Does the Prime Minister think that his own officials are un-Canadian?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, over the past year and a half we have seen people crossing from the American side in greater numbers, which represents a challenge. That is why we have invested in the necessary measures to process and evaluate anyone crossing the border irregularly to ensure that we continue to apply the entirety of our immigration rules, our refugee rules, and our security rules to them. This is something we will continue to do. We have lots more work to do. However, we are on the right track with this and Canadians can be reassured that our immigration system remains secure and strong.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister also failed to put an end to the problem of illegal border crossers this summer, and this is having real consequences.

In August, the number of illegal border crossings went up again, and more than 95% of migrants entered through Quebec. Now the numbers show that those going through the regular immigration process have to wait even longer because of the growing number of illegal migrants.

Quebeckers and all Canadians want to know why the Prime Minister failed to protect our border.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are trying to scare Canadians, but we can assure everyone that our immigration system continues to be applied in its entirety. We are carefully conducting background checks on all newcomers and examining all security matters. We are following Canada's immigration laws to the letter. Canadians can rest assured that we have a good system that continues to serve us well. We are investing even more resources in this system.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, even though the dairy producers I met with this summer work extremely long days, they are now having trouble making ends meet because of what they have had to give up under trade agreements like the one with Europe.

They are worried because, even though the Liberals say they will protect supply management, the government is already talking about how there will have to be concessions. They heard those same promises from the Conservatives right before concessions were made.

I want a clear answer: Will the Liberals fully protect supply management in the NAFTA negotiations?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, we are working to renegotiate NAFTA, and we have been very clear. We will protect supply management, and we will make sure that the people we represent, our workers, and our economy benefit from a good agreement. We will not sign just any agreement. We will not sign a new NAFTA unless it is a good deal for Canadians. That is what people are expecting.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was in Burnaby South this weekend talking with people who could not find affordable quality housing. One of these people, a senior named Edward, has not been able to find a place and will be homeless by the end of this month.

The Liberals acknowledge we have a housing crisis. However, instead of acting to fix this crisis, they are following the Conservative example and holding back funding for housing until after the next election.

Will the Liberal government stop telling Canadians like Edward to wait and invest in housing now, not in two years?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, our investments in infrastructure and housing across the country are making a real difference for Canadians. We are indeed moving forward on something the Conservatives never did. We see a federal role for housing. That is why we have put together a $40 billion plan to invest in housing, a national housing strategy that is going to deliver for Canadians right across the country.

We understand the pressures faced by Canadians in our large cities, in small communities right across the country, and this government is stepping up to help them.

Indigenous Affairs

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, no child in Canada should ever have to beg for the right to quality education in a safe and comfy school. The children of Kashechewan are here today to tell the Prime Minister that they are done with the begging. They are tired of the positive words and the broken promises. They are tired of the squalor, the flooding and the children being medevaced out when they are sick.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Let us cut to the chase. What is the financial commitment he will make today to ensure we get those children off that flood plain and into a safe and comfy school that they deserve?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important than that with indigenous peoples. That is why from the very beginning we invested $8.6 billion over the coming years in making sure we moved toward parity in education.

In working with the community of Kashechewan an interim solution has been found to allow classes to start this week, while a longer-term solution is identified. We are supporting the community's request for a long-term modular school solution, and we will be working with it to expedite the project.

Kashechewan students remain our priority as we determine next steps, with further updates on the solutions expected later this week.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, an interim solution. The past week the Prime Minister berated first nation leaders for wasting his time. He said that it was not reconciliation. If he talks to the children of Kashechewan, they will tell him that positive words are not going to build them a school; it takes political will. In their short life they have seen endless broken promises from government. Now we have the promise of another Band-Aid.

Let us cut to the chase. If he will not cost out the price of those Band-Aid solutions, give us the timeline. When he is going to get those children off that flood plain and into a safe and comfy school? Give us that answer now and stop wasting our time.

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

I remind the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay to direct his comments to the Chair.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the road to reconciliation is a long one, but there are immediate steps we can and must be taking, which we are taking. We recognize the need to invest right now in emerging mental health crises, in housing needs and education needs to help indigenous students and people right across the country, while at the same time we move forward toward greater rights and recognition, toward greater partnership and toward greater autonomy for indigenous peoples in this country. That is something we are on together as a journey. It is one in which we are partners, in which we work with respect and openness.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, the number of illegal border crossings is still a concern. The Liberals claim the situation is under control, but data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada tell a different story. Over the past two months of July and August, the number of illegal crossings increased, jumping by 95% in Quebec alone. This is yet another failure on the part of the Liberal government and the Prime Minister. The Liberals need to take concrete action to prevent illegal border crossings into Canada, since we have had this problem for two years.

When are we going to see a plan? When will the Prime Minister's failures come to an end?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction]

Mr. Speaker, our government has a clear plan to address border crossers. We have invested over $173 million to improve border security and to speed up processing claims.

Contrary to the remarks of my colleague across the way, in the last few months we have seen a decrease in the number of asylum seekers who are crossing the border irregularly, including a drop for the month of August of 70% over what we witnessed last year.