Debates of Sept. 20th, 2018

Natural Resources

[Paul Lefebvre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government firmly supports the energy sector because it creates good middle-class jobs. TransCanada made an operational decision, and now it is up to its representatives to decide on next steps. The government's decision-making process has not changed. Our government would have used the same assessment process for the energy east pipeline as it did for other major projects that were approved.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Marwan Tabbara, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, family reunification is a priority for this Liberal government. Under the Conservatives' mismanagement, we saw Canadians wait years in ballooning backlogs to reunite with their wives, husbands, parents and grandparents. In my riding of Kitchener South—Hespeler, I have seen over the past years great progress in reducing these Conservative backlogs.

Can the minister inform this House of our recent changes to the parents and grandparents program?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Kitchener South—Hespeler for his work on this issue.

Our government is making real progress in cutting backlogs and reducing wait times for Canadians who wish to reunite with their family members. We have quadrupled the number of spaces available for Canadians to sponsor their parents and grandparents, we have cut the backlog that we inherited from the Harper Conservatives by 80% and we have introduced a more fair application process. The Liberal government continues to deliver an immigration system that works for all Canadians, including families and employers.

Veterans Affairs

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will not answer and the Minister of Veterans Affairs just told this House that he has asked his officials for answers, but the minister already promised veterans answers three weeks ago. To be clear, that murderer killed her, put her body in a compost bin and dumped her under a bridge.

Does the Prime Minister really believe that this cop killer deserves benefits from Veterans Affairs?

[Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I will say that there are many of us who are uncomfortable with the decision that was made. One thing I will not back down on, though, and I do believe firmly in, is that we will look after not just the veteran but the family members of the veteran.

In this case, I have asked that the department go back and review the decision for me to look at.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to answer the question and the minister needs to stop covering for him.

Garnier never served a day of his life in Canada's military, but is receiving benefits from Veterans Affairs. Yesterday and today, the Prime Minister justified those payments. Does the Prime Minister actually believe that murderer should be receiving benefits from Veterans Affairs? They are the decision-makers.

[Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, my answer stands, but let me take advantage of this opportunity because there was something that came out in this story about PTSD, that this was depriving people with PTSD of their right to get treatment.

Let me assure the House that is never the case. If people raise their hand and need treatment for PTSD, they will receive that treatment in 96% of cases. In fact, we do not even wait for approval. We will make sure they receive mental health care right away. If people need help, they should put their hand up and we will be there for them.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Christopher Garnier claims he got PTSD because he killed a police officer. That is the issue here. Again, the Prime Minister continues to dodge the question. Veterans Affairs gave benefits to that convicted cop killer. Garnier never served a day in the Canadian Armed Forces in his life, yet he is collecting benefits while he serves time in prison.

Does the Prime Minister actually believe that Chris Garnier should be receiving benefits from Veterans Affairs Canada?

[Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, there are privacy issues around this case and I am not going to take it any further.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Christopher Garnier brutally killed police officer Catherine Campbell of Truro, Nova Scotia. He was found guilty of murder. He never served a day of his life in Canada's military, yet the Prime Minister, the leader of our country, keeps justifying the fact that Veterans Affairs is paying for Garnier's benefits. This is sickening.

Does the Prime Minister actually believe that Chris Garnier should be receiving benefits from Veterans Affairs? I urge him to please do what is right.

[Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I have asked my officials to go back to review the judgment and to come back to me with that review.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says that his government will always defend Canadian values and human rights around the world. According to a recent Ipsos poll, more than four in five Canadians do not want their government to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, specifically because of the human rights issue. Those Canadians want to know how the government can keep saying it respects human rights while selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.

[Andrew Leslie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)]

Mr. Speaker, our government is fully committed to creating a stronger and more rigorous arms export control system through Bill C-47. As the member opposite knows, the contract for those vehicles was signed in 2014, and all the major parties, including the NDP, agreed to respect that contract during the last election campaign. Canadian businesses and workers and our international partners need to know that an agreement with Canada still means something after an election.

Public Services and Procurement

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for last June's G7 meeting, the RCMP reserved 420 room nights at the Cepal Inn in Jonquière. For nearly 100 days, the manager, Edith, has been trying to recover the $57,000 the federal government owes her, but to no avail. That is a huge amount to a small business. The government seems to have mismanaged its G7 so badly that it cannot even pay its suppliers.

How many other SMEs are in the same situation? Will the minister commit to fixing this, respecting the contract, and paying the Cepal Inn?

[Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sure to look into this problem and get back to the House with an answer.

Small Business

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, small businesses are being hit hard by the trade war with the United States, but the Liberals have left them out of the tariff relief fund. The conditions for businesses to qualify are ridiculous. Companies applying have to have over 200 employees and sales of over $10 million.

The Liberals are leaving virtually all small business owners behind. Why do the Liberals only care about the companies that can afford high-priced lobbyists? When will this attack on small businesses end?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we have put in place measures with our neighbour to the south during these challenging times, to aid small businesses in a variety of different industries. Those measures are tailored to help businesses to innovate and move forward. We will continue to work in that direction, to aid our small businesses and our major industries at the same time.

Veterans Affairs

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today the Prime Minister refused to answer a question. He is always saying he is going to stand up to violence against women. A female cop has been viciously murdered, and the person who murdered her is now receiving benefits from Veterans Affairs.

Does the Prime Minister really think that is standing up to violence against women?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, I believe the Minister of Veterans Affairs has answered the questions specific to the case that my colleagues have brought up.

As far as violence against women goes, after 150 years of Confederation, we introduced the first strategy to address and prevent gender-based violence. Close to $200 million has been invested. We are working to support survivors and their families, prevent this from happening and ensure that our justice and legal systems are more responsive.

It is wonderful to see that colleagues from the opposite side are on board with our plan.

[Phil McColeman, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, here is what we know in this House today. The Prime Minister will not stand up and answer the question about the murderer who is collecting benefits that are targeted for veterans, not for someone who has not served in the military. This was a 30-year-old healthy individual who decided to murder an innocent woman and throw her under a bridge. The minister promised three and a half weeks ago to dig into this matter and find out what is going on. How long does it take to get an answer?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I stood in this House and answered the first time the question was asked. However, as the level of debate sank, and as the level of political gains got torqued up by the Conservatives around a terrible, tragic, reprehensible incident, I chose not to encourage them. At one point, Canadians are going to help the Conservatives understand that they should not play these disgusting political games the way they do.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, children and adults who share a name with someone on the no-fly list can be stigmatized and delayed by secondary screenings while trying to travel. The Conservatives failed to do anything to help Canadians from being falsely flagged as security risks while travelling. Can the Minister of Public Safety tell us what he is doing to replace the system put in place by the previous Conservative government?

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

Mr. Speaker, we understand the frustration of families with no-fly kids. By definition, no children are on Canada's secure air travel list. However, worrisome adults with similar names are, and that creates the false positives.

When the system was first implemented, the previous government should have recognized this problem and provided unique identification numbers for automatic redress. However, it did not. The Conservative design failed. We now have $81 million to fix it. First and foremost, we need the legal authority to do so. That is in Bill C-59 and Bill C-21. Both bills need to be passed as quickly as possible.

Veterans Affairs

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister started off question period by saying he would not answer a question, and the answer he just gave my colleague was disgusting.

A woman was murdered by a man who did not serve a day in Canada's military, and he is receiving benefits from Veterans Affairs. The Prime Minister needs to stand up and be accountable for his values. Does he honestly believe that a murderer who has never served a day in Canada's military should be receiving PTSD benefits from Veterans Affairs?