House of Commons Hansard #320 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was cptpp.
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about international markets. That is very important. That is why we considered the Trans Mountain situation. We know that it is important to consider the concerns of first nations. We are deeply committed to doing this right. Of course, it is also very important to consider the environment, and that is what we are going to do.
It is important to have an approach and a plan. We have a plan for improving the situation and continuing with the pipeline project.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister described his failure on the Trans Mountain expansion as “almost a really good thing”. Only Liberal logic would say it is a good thing that their failure cost thousands of workers their jobs.
Two thousand families have lost good-paying jobs and now are stressed about their uncertain futures. This is not “almost a really good thing”. It has been three weeks. A really good thing would be to tell these families what the plan is to get their jobs back.
Where is the plan for the Trans Mountain expansion?
Natural ResourcesOral Questions
Amarjeet Sohi Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, the decision to ignore the impact of marine traffic on the environment was done by the Harper government. The decision to ignore the protection of endangered species was made under the Harper government.
The court has acknowledged that we put a framework together that was acceptable. We need to engage with indigenous peoples in a way that is meaningful. There is a two-way dialogue that allows us to find mitigation where it is possible to do so. That is exactly the plan we are putting forward.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Mr. Speaker, whenever he fails, he just blames others. However, former Toronto Liberal MP and two-time Liberal leadership candidate Martha Hall-Findlay agrees the Liberals are failing. She said that Bill C-69 was “deeply flawed” and “Now is not the time to pass legislation that could make our investment climate even worse.”
The Liberals killed three private sector pipelines. Their failure stole Trans Mountain. One hundred thousand energy workers lost their jobs and hundreds of thousands more are at risk. Billions in investment is leaving Canada.
Will the Prime Minister scrap his no new pipeline Bill C-69 before he completely obliterates the Canadian energy sector?
Natural ResourcesOral Questions
Amarjeet Sohi Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, if the Harper Conservatives were in power today, there would be no TMX, because they are against the purchase we made for workers and getting our resources to global markets, and making sure that jobs are created for the workers and for British Columbians. We are going to move forward on this project in the right way, respecting the rights of indigenous peoples to be meaningfully consulted and at the same time protecting the environment. That is the path forward we are developing.
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Mr. Speaker, the government's Trans Mountain failure has real consequences for indigenous peoples. Chief Ernie Crey of Cheam First Nation had this to say:
What we've negotiated will be lasting training and lasting jobs...Every day our young people come to me and say they want to get trained, they want a job, and they want to say goodbye to welfare....To us, it means millions of dollars to my band alone...
These are more casualties from the Prime Minister's summer of failure. When will the Liberals present a plan to get Trans Mountain built?
Natural ResourcesOral Questions
Amarjeet Sohi Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, one thing that is absolutely clear from this ruling is that in order to build large energy infrastructure projects, we cannot ignore our constitutional obligation to properly consult with indigenous peoples. We also cannot ignore our obligation to protect the environment.
We will be coming back with a plan that will allow us to protect the environment, respect indigenous peoples' rights to be included and at the same time grow the economy and create middle-class jobs.
Jamie Schmale Conservative Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
Mr. Speaker, a strong Alberta energy sector creates jobs right across Canada. For example, when the Prime Minister killed Energy East, 300 jobs were lost at a GE plant in Peterborough.
After a summer of failure, the government's bungling of Trans Mountain jeopardizes many more Ontario manufacturing jobs. The government is failing Canadians as investment flees Canada. The government is failing Canadians as families lose the means to keep food on their table.
When will the Prime Minister finally present a plan to Canadians to get Trans Mountain built?
Navdeep Bains LiberalMinister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, let me share some numbers: 3,600 jobs created by Amazon; 295 new jobs created by Burloak Technologies; 675 new jobs created by Stem Cell Technologies; 300 new jobs created by Bell Helicopter; 1,250 jobs created by Sanofi; 4,000 jobs created by ENCQOR; 2,200 jobs created by Nova Chemicals in Alberta.
That is getting the job done.
Sheila Malcolmson NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister came to Nanaimo the air was choked with smoke. He heard “climate change worsens wildfires”. He heard coastal people warn of increased oil tanker spill risk. Some called it “a national disaster”. He did not listen. Just a week later the Liberals bought the pipeline just as the courts were shutting its expansion down.
When will the government finally listen to coastal communities, shelve the climate change hypocrisy and cancel the Kinder Morgan expansion?
Natural ResourcesOral Questions
Sean Fraser Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, our government has an ambitious plan to protect the environment and grow the economy at the same time. Our emissions are dropping and Canadians have created over half a million jobs in the past few years.
We are moving forward with putting a price on pollution and investing in the green economy. If the NDP cannot get on board with growing our economy while we put forward aggressive measures to protect our environment, then they are going to find themselves in opposition for a very long time.
Fin Donnelly NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, last week Canadians were devastated when Scarlet, a three-and-a-half-year-old orca, was declared dead.
Coastal communities and people right across the country continue to voice their concerns on the effect of increased tanker traffic on our coast but the Liberals are not listening. Instead of acting to protect this endangered species now, the Liberals are in court defending their inaction and continue to push for the expansion of Trans Mountain.
Canadians do not want to see another orca die. Will the minister issue an emergency order now and protect these whales?
Fisheries and OceansOral Questions
Sean Casey Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, ensuring the protection of Canada's oceans and the sustainability of marine life are key priorities for our government. Our government is committed to the protection of Canada's resident killer whales and the recovery of these populations.
Our government is working in partnership with indigenous peoples, key stakeholders, international partners and the province of British Columbia on immediate actions to reduce the impact of marine shipping and assist in the recovery of southern resident killer whales.
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Mr. Speaker, students in my riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook and across the country have been back in school for a few weeks now. Parents proudly chose to have their children educated in French, either through the immersion program or through the provincial Acadian school board's French first-language program. They made this choice because they want their children to be bilingual. They want their children to be able to speak both of this country's languages. They are proud of our history, and they see the opportunities.
Could the Minister of Official Languages tell us how the action plan will help these programs?
Official LanguagesOral Questions
Mélanie Joly Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, we have developed an excellent action plan for official languages. We have invested $2.7 billion in official languages, which is the largest investment in official languages in our history. We want to protect and promote the rights of language minority communities, and we will achieve this by investing in our children, in early childhood, and in education to ensure the survival of our official language communities.
Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK
Mr. Speaker, last week the Liberals' summer of failure included a stop in Saskatchewan. One failure top of mind for Saskatchewanians is the Liberals' carbon tax grab. The Liberals are continuing their attack on hard-working families and struggling seniors with their unaffordable carbon tax.
Will the Prime Minister stop punishing Saskatchewan by imposing a federal carbon tax and recognize the authority of the province?
Carbon PricingOral Questions
Sean Fraser Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, the environment is a priority for this government. We will not apologize for putting a price on pollution. The fact is the cost of inaction is too great to ignore. By 2020, Canadians are going to be bearing almost $5 billion as a result of extreme weather events such as forest fires and floods. We need to move forward with a plan to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time.
Under the Harper Conservatives, they failed to put a plan in action. They still have no plan today. I am shocked and I am sure my colleagues will join me in my disappointment if their plan is to make pollution free.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's summer of failure continues at Canadians' expense.
Yesterday, in an interview with Maclean's magazine, the Prime Minister was very clear. He said that regardless of what happens, he is going to impose the Liberal carbon tax. He is going to impose it on the provinces, even though none of them agree with it. Worse still, he is going to impose it on Canadian families without giving them all the information.
Could the Prime Minister tell Canadians the truth for once? He has the document in hand. Will he tell us how much the Liberal carbon tax is going to cost Canadian families?
Carbon PricingOral Questions
Sean Fraser Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, in environment it is our preference to work with the provinces and territories, but when the provinces will not take the responsibility to protect the environment, then we will put forward a plan that ensures every Canadian takes part in a framework that puts a price on pollution.
If there is anything that is being hidden here it is the Conservatives' plan. I would invite all the Canadians who would like to see what their plan is to check out the Conservative leader's platform he ran on during their convention if he had not deleted it from his website after he had won. They have no plan.
We will grow the economy. We will protect the environment at the same time. It is what Canadians expect. It is what they deserve and it is what we will deliver to them.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, in fact, the government does believe that pollution should be absolutely free if one has a powerful lobbyist. One of the fine-print details in their carbon tax plan is that large corporate industrial polluters will not have to pay it on 80% to 90% of their emissions, even though single moms and seniors will pay it on 100% of their home heating and gas bills that they pay just for the luxury of going to work in the morning.
Why is it that this party of privilege, whenever it proposes new taxes, always exempts its wealthy friends?
Carbon PricingOral Questions
Sean Fraser Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.
Mr. Speaker, it seems the Conservatives have no plan for the environment and the NDP members have no plan for the economy. We are moving forward with a plan that is going to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time. We are putting in measures that put a price on pollution so it is not free for emitters, but we are also recognizing that certain trade-exposed industries need to remain competitive in the global marketplace.
We are moving forward with a plan that will make life more affordable for Canadians and more expensive for polluters.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Order. I will remind the hon. member for Edmonton Manning that we each get our turn here eventually and one waits until they have their turn before speaking.
The hon. member for Carleton.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, this has been a summer of tax fairness failure for this particular government. We all know that middle-class families are paying $800 more in income taxes under the government, but we learned that the wealthiest taxpayers, the 1%, are paying $4.5 billion less, according to CRA data. Would it not then just be predictable that they would hit working-class families with higher carbon taxes while giving an exemption to those well-lobbied-for industrial polluters?
Why is it that wealthy Liberal insiders always get the breaks?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, I know that the member for Carleton would not knowingly mislead this House. Perhaps what he is trying to refer to, though, is the fact that we raised taxes on the top 1%. Maybe that is what he is referring to. If he actually looks carefully at what we have done, we lowered taxes on middle-class Canadians so they are in better shape. If he takes into account the Canada child benefit, what one can see is that Canadian families, average middle-class families in 2019, will be $2,000 better off than they were in 2015. These are the facts. We would be happy to give him a briefing if he would like to understand them better.