Debates of Sept. 27th, 2018

Veterans Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, ensuring that veterans and their families are aware of the benefits and programs available to them is an important part of my work as Minister of Veterans Affairs. That is why it is so important to explain what that entails. That is why I hosted more than 40 town halls with veterans and why we are working so hard to explain the pension for life as clearly as possible.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Veterans Affairs attacked and humiliated veteran Sean Bruyea. He attacked him despite his own officials confirming that Captain Bruyea's assessment of the pension for life program was largely correct. When Captain Bruyea dared to stand up for himself, the minister slapped him down in court, sending high-priced lawyers after him.

Why is the minister continuing his shameless attack on this veteran?

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

Mr. Speaker, ensuring that veterans and their families know about the benefits and programs they are entitled to is essential to my job as Minister of Veterans Affairs. That is why it is so important to explain what is involved. It is why I have hosted over 40 town halls across the country. It is why I am working so hard to explain the pension for life as clearly as I can.

When I see an article that has misleading rhetoric, saying that we are trying to make people swallow our programs or that the $10 billion we are investing is flim-flam, it is my responsibility to say no, it is not.

Indigenous Affairs

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want everyone here to understand that I do not appreciate having my rights explained to me in this place by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and the government have made it every clear to me that they do not understand our rights.

Let me ask again. Will the Prime Minister commit today to having his full cabinet sit with indigenous knowledge keepers and learn what free, prior and informed consent really means?

[Marc Miller, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that indigenous peoples have inherent and treaty rights, and we are committed to removing colonial barriers that impede the exercise of those rights. That is why we work so hard in partnership with first nations, Inuit and Métis people to create a new recognition and implementation of indigenous rights framework. The framework will ensure that Canada moves from a denial of rights approach to one that recognizes and affirms those rights, and we will be glad to work further with the member opposite in perfecting those rights.

Natural Resources

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we all have a lot to learn.

People in coastal communities tell me that they are appalled that the Prime Minister is still recklessly pushing the expansion of Trans Mountain. The court ruled that the assessment process was deeply flawed. It did not even consider the sevenfold oil tanker traffic increase and the risk it put on orca whales and our coast, yet Liberals still have taxpayers on the hook for billions, buying TMX instead of investing now in the housing people desperately need.

What will the Prime Minister do? Will he finally listen to coastal communities and cancel this pipeline expansion before—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. Minister of Fisheries.

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, in the context of this project, the government took the position that environmental sustainability and economic progress needed to go hand in hand. We followed with that mantra all the way through. Even though the scoping of marine shipping was scoped out by the previous government, we focused very much on marine shipping. We focused on the plight of the killer whales. We have worked very hard on those issues, and we will be taking some of that information and providing it to the National Energy Board as it moves through the process that has now been established.

Forestry Industry

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's forests are important in a number of ways. They help mitigate the impacts of climate change and support innovation, economic growth and biodiversity, all the while creating good middle-class jobs.

Can the Minister of Natural Resources update this House on what the government has been doing to promote Canada's forest industry and to protect the health of our forests for future generations of Canadians?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Calgary Centre for his question. I look forward to working with him in his new role on the Standing Committee on Natural Resources.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of tabling the 20th edition of the The State of Canada's Forests report. The report reinforces our commitment to grow the economy, create jobs and protect the environment as we highlight the innovative ways people work and study in our forests. I encourage all members of this House to review the report.

Veterans

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

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, in response to pressure by the opposition, the Minister of Veterans Affairs announced that a civilian could no longer receive benefits from the program for veterans and their families if that civilian is in prison. However, the government refused to say whether Christopher Garnier, the cop killer, is still receiving benefits under that program.

Can the Prime Minister tell us definitively whether the government has stopped paying for this criminal?

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

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the family of Constable Campbell.

As I said, I asked the department to review the decision and the findings. I directed them to, first of all, ensure that the services received by a family member of a veteran are related to the veteran's service, and where they are not, that the case be reviewed by a senior official, and as well, to address its policy in relation to providing treatment to family members under extenuating circumstances, such as conviction for a serious crime.

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

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, we moved a motion calling on the government to immediately stop paying for treatments provided to criminal Christopher Garnier, who savagely murdered a police officer, under a program for veterans and their families.

Everyone—the Conservatives, the NDP, the Green Party and the Bloc—voted in favour of the motion except for, yes, the Liberals. That is unacceptable.

The Prime Minister has the power to reverse this decision. What is he waiting for to immediately stop these payments for this criminal?

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

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the family of Constable Campbell, as I said. For privacy reasons, we cannot comment on the specifics of this case.

Let me say this. Unlike the Harper Conservatives, we understand that when a veteran serves, the family serves with him. We take mental health seriously. That is why we opened a new centre of excellence on PTSD and mental illness. We launched a joint suicide prevention strategy.

I will say once again that if veterans are in need of mental health supports, we will give them the resources they need when they need them.

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

Mr. Speaker, while our veterans have faced the most unimaginable of horrors, our Prime Minister cannot stomach the truth of those horrors. For veterans, PTSD is a burden they carry from serving a grateful nation.

Chris Garnier developed PTSD strangling officer Catherine Campbell, putting her body in a compost bin and dumping her under a bridge. Chris Garnier is not a veteran, so why is he getting veterans benefits?

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

Mr. Speaker, our hearts do indeed go out to the family of Constable Campbell. For privacy reasons, we cannot comment on the specifics of this case, but I will say that unlike the Harper Conservatives, we understand that when a veteran serves, his family serves with him. We take mental health seriously. That is why we reopened nine offices across the country, which had been shuttered, closed, by the previous government.

Once again, if veterans are in need of mental health supports, we will give them the resources they need when they need them.

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

Mr. Speaker, when veteran Sean Bruyea questioned the rhetoric of this government, the first thing the Minister of Veterans Affairs did was have his staff fact-check his claims, but when they confirmed the numbers, the minister sent in high-priced lawyers to shut Mr. Bruyea up.

Why does the minister protect the rights of convicted murderer Chris Garnier and attack the rights of veterans like Sean Bruyea?

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

Mr. Speaker, ensuring that veterans and their families know about the benefits and programs they deserve and are entitled to is essential to my job as Minister of Veterans Affairs. That is why it is so important to explain what is involved. That is why I have hosted over 40 veterans town halls across the country. It is why we are working so hard to explain the pension for life as clearly as we can.

More effective programming will help veterans transition to civilian life with dignity. More effective benefits will help in supporting families, and more effective supports will help get ill and injured veterans well again.

International Trade

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the shop floors of Rio Tinto, Résolu and SMEs in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, there are hundreds of men and women wondering what will happen to their jobs. For them, the NAFTA negotiations are not about numbers, a war of egos or the U.S. President's comments; it is their future that is on the line.

If NAFTA is terminated, can the Prime Minister tell us what he will do to help workers in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean and across the country?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government understands that the U.S. 232 measures have created real challenges for Canadian workers and their businesses. That is why we have made up to $2 billion available to defend and protect their interests. These measures include extending work sharing agreements, increased funding for skills training, funding to bolster the competitiveness of Canadian manufacturers and support for companies that diversify their exports. Other measures since July 2018 include 130 loans, already authorized by BDC, for a total of $100 million.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Yesterday, U.S. president Donald Trump signalled that the NAFTA renegotiations are not going well, and he threatened once again to tax Canadian cars. Ericka and Jason are auto workers who live in Belle River, in my riding. Like tens of thousands of other auto workers, they are very concerned about these repeated attacks. They are worried that their jobs will be lost if Canada fails to secure a better NAFTA.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Is NAFTA dead in the water, and what is his plan to defend Canadian jobs if the U.S. moves ahead with auto tariffs?

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

Mr. Speaker, an important truism of trade negotiations is that nothing is done until it is actually done. We continue to work in a constructive atmosphere with good faith on all sides. However, we have always been clear that no deal is better than a bad deal. We are going to remain firm on that principle, because Canadians expect us to stand up for them. That is exactly what this government is going to do, especially for the auto industry.

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

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear: for three years, the Liberals have constantly attacked our small businesses, job creators and wealth creators. What will they attack us with next? The Liberal carbon tax. That is unacceptable.

These three years of Liberal inaction have resulted in a 5% reduction in domestic investment, a 35% reduction in foreign investment in Canada and, good for them, a 66% increase in Canadian investment in the U.S.

Why is the Prime Minister giving Donald Trump so much help?

[Sean Fraser, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, we are moving forward with a plan that is going to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time. In particular, I note the support we are giving to small businesses by lowering the small-business tax to 9%, the lowest in the G7. We are investing in the clean economy that is adding jobs in communities in every province in Canada and in the territories as well.

If we are moving forward with a plan, I expect all parties to get on board. We are going to protect the environment and grow the economy, as we have been for the past three years, with half a million jobs added to the Canadian economy.

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

Those are fantastic lyrics, Mr. Speaker, but let us look at the result, the real facts. Since the government has been in power, what we have seen is 5% less investment in Canada and 35% less foreign investment in Canada, but growing investment of 66% by Canadians in the U.S.A. Why are the Liberals helping so much the President of the United States, Donald Trump?