Debates of Dec. 9th, 2019

Supplementary Estimates (A), 2019-20

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Madam Chair, I believe that the situation has evolved with respect to the contract to Irving. I believe the Heiltsuk first nation, which was involved in this particular case, has taken action that has changed the situation and that it is before the courts at this time.

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Madam Chair, I appreciate this opportunity to talk about an issue of great importance to all MPs and to all Canadians: the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence. I would like to thank the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces for the excellent work they do every day for this country.

Today I would like to talk about how our government is taking care of Canadian Armed Forces members and their families. As I said before, the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families are a priority for our government. Our people in uniform are the forces' most valuable asset. Our troops keep Canada safe and contribute to multilateral efforts to make the world safer, more prosperous and more sustainable.

We can have the most modern equipment in the world, work in the greenest facilities, offer the best possible services and have the best possible policies, but none of that matters as much as taking good care of our women and men in uniform. That is why our government and the Minister of National Defence built Canada's defence policy around our people, our troops, our civilian employees and our military families.

Our “Strong, Secure, Engaged” defence policy guarantees that the Canadian Armed Forces will employ more people, that they will be properly prepared to tackle the task at hand and to encourage them to stay on once they have enlisted. In addition, giving our military personnel our full support guarantees that they will have the tools needed to answer the call of duty anytime and anywhere to the best of their ability, so that they may continue to properly defend our country and preserve our values, helping keep Canadians safe. That is why our government promptly introduced initiatives to improve the care provided to our military personnel and their families.

I would like to outline some of those initiatives. Let me begin with those intended for military family members, since they are the strength behind the uniform. Military family members provide ongoing support and step up when their loved ones have be elsewhere. We recognize the immense contribution they make and we are extremely grateful to them for that. That is why the defence team updated the military family services program. We are providing an additional $6 million a year to military family resource centres.

Through the seamless Canada initiative, we are working with the provinces and territories to facilitate relocation. We also put in place virtual mental health consultation services for the families and deployed support staff abroad to support soldiers anywhere, at any time. We also launched the military spousal employment network to give military spouses access to jobs offered by employers across the country in the public or private sectors.

Another aspect is transition support. Sometimes, as we know, military families continue to deal with some unique challenges when they leave the forces. That is why our commitment to their well-being goes beyond their years of active service. A year ago, we officially established the Canadian Armed Forces transition group. This group, as promised in our policy, provides support to sick and injured members of the Canadian Forces and facilitates the transition for all members, veterans and their families. This is an important first step in improving the care provided to our troops when they transition to a new post or life outside the forces.

A third very important aspect is compensation and benefits. To ensure that members of the Canadian Armed Forces feel supported throughout their career, the government is also ensuring that they receive adequate compensation. We have launched several initiatives to ensure that our military members are well compensated. For example, we have enhanced tax breaks for members who participate in international missions. We have also altered the compensation structure for the reserves so that reservists are paid the same as members of the regular forces for equal work.

A very important issue that we are also tackling is changing the culture of the defence team. We are doing nothing less than changing the way in which we support our troops and their families. Just as important is the fact that we are focusing on changing the culture within the Canadian Armed Forces. That is why we are striving to implement the recommendations concerning the equal treatment of the sexes in all of our programs and policies.

According to “Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada's Defence Policy”, diversity and inclusion must be prioritized for effective operations and decision-making in the Canadian Armed Forces. We know that diverse and inclusive armed forces are more agile and more effective. This is why we are committed to increasing the proportion of women in the Canadian Armed Forces to 25% by 2026.

We know that the Canadian Armed Forces have not always been welcoming to members from all backgrounds, in particular to LGBTQ2 and visible minority members. We are committed to correcting these mistakes.

In November 2017, the Prime Minister formally apologized to Canadians who had endured discrimination based on their sexual orientation. It never should have happened, and we are committed to eradicating intolerance within the Canadian Armed Forces.

We are currently working with other government partners to follow through on the results of the class action lawsuit over the LGBT purge. Up to $110 million will be set aside to compensate all those who were subjected to these discriminatory practices, including federal public servants, members of the Canadian Armed Forces and members of the RCMP.

We have also implemented reconciliation and commemoration measures. There is the Canada pride citation, which will be awarded to eligible applicants in recognition of their service to Canada and the hardships they endured.

We have learned from the past. Our government will continue to make every effort to ensure that the workplace is welcoming and free from harassment and discrimination. Hateful behaviour, in any form, will not be tolerated. Furthermore, tougher sentences for crimes motivated by prejudice or hate were proposed in our Bill C-77, which received Royal Assent this summer.

This was a defining moment for the military justice system, giving more rights to victims of service offences.

We will also continue to move forward with Operation Honour, the mission of which is to eliminate sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Two weeks ago, the Federal Court approved a $900-million settlement agreement in the class action lawsuit over sexual misconduct in the CAF and DND. We hope this settlement will serve as recognition of the harm done to victims of sexual misconduct and enable them to turn the page and begin the healing process.

We are proud of the care we provide to members of our Canadian Armed Forces. From the time they first don the uniform to the day they hang it up for good and beyond, we will be there for them and their families. They deserve to be taken care of, and they deserve to be respected. Our government will make sure it does both.

Once again, I commend the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces for the work they do for us every day.

In my speech I talked about the services we are offering to families. The minister and I had an opportunity to visit the base in Gagetown when I was the parliamentary secretary. I would like to ask him a question about family resource centres and the transition that some men and women have to make when moving from one base to another.

How can those programs make the journey or transition within the Canadian Armed Forces a little easier for members?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Madam Chair, I thank the hon. member for his tremendous support of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Families are the backbone of our members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Supporting them is extremely important. We have made investments into military family resource centres that provide that direct support. When families get posted province to province, sometimes base to base, they will get the appropriate support.

I have had the privilege of also going to Gagetown on a number of occasions to see the great work that is being done, especially when it comes to day care and providing direct support when it comes to mental health. We want to allow for the military family resource centres to cater to the various regions and bases they serve. We will ensure our support to them evolves as things change.

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Madam Chair, earlier I heard the minister talk about an additional investment of $250 million for our reserve units.

One such unit is the North Shore Regiment, which is in my riding. It has an incredible history, including service during the Second World War. I want to ask the minister how the additional $250 million will help our reserve units across the country.

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for his advocacy for reserve members and regiments.

Reserve units have a tremendous history that stems from World War I and World War II. The infrastructure that they use did not get the appropriate investments in the past. One of the things our government is doing is reversing that. A $250-million investment into reserve infrastructure over the next five years allows us to provide the direct support when it comes to immediate maintenance work that needs to be done. We are taking a long-term approach as well. In our defence policy, reserves are going to be needed more in domestic operations. Therefore, as we do the analysis, we are going to make sure that we take a long-term approach and make the appropriate investments in the various regions where it is needed most.

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Madam Chair, something else members of the Canadian Armed Forces have been telling me about is post-traumatic stress disorder, which is becoming more common in the Canadian Armed Forces. I know that our government has made it a priority in Canada's defence policy and the various programs it offers.

I would like to ask the minister about these programs. What are we doing to help members of the Canadian Armed Forces obtain help or appropriate care when they feel they are affected by this condition?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Madam Chair, supporting our members when it comes to dealing with the challenge of PTSD is to be immediate. In budget 2017, our government invested $17.5 million over four years into a centre of excellence focused on the prevention, assessment and treatment of PTSD to make sure we provide the right support.

What we are also doing with our defence policy in looking after people is building resiliency from the time that somebody joins, making sure that people get the right support, making sure their families are looked after, looking after them all the way through, especially to when the time comes for them to retire. That transition piece is going to be very important, and then we have to make sure that the services are also available afterward.

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Madam Chair, in my speech on Canada's defence policy, I spoke about another aspect, the equipment for our men and women.

I would like the minister to provide a little more information or an update on the procurement of new Arctic and offshore patrol ships. We have committed to providing the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces with the equipment they need to do their job. I would like the minister to tell us about the status of these ships. Is their construction well under way?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Madam Chair, our AOPS are going to provide us tremendous capability. The Harry DeWolf currently is under sea trials. I was able to visit that ship before it went off on sea trials. A second ship is currently in the water and a third and fourth are already being built.

What is really important is that we are taking the lessons from the first ship and making sure they are applied. This is providing significant improvements as they move forward. These ships are going to be extremely important for the support they provide and, more importantly, how this is going to connect with some of the other procurements we are putting in, making sure they support the communities in the north. The Nanisivik refuelling station is also going to be critically important in supporting our ships.

[The Acting Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

There are 38 seconds remaining. Does the member for Acadie—Bathurst have a quick question?

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Madam Chair, I have one last question. This one is about changing the culture within the Canadian Armed Forces.

Can the minister tell us what he is doing to change the culture and to make the Canadian Armed Forces more diverse? What are we doing to ensure we no longer tolerate hate against different groups?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Madam Chair, we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to any type of inappropriate behaviour. We are going to strive extremely hard to make sure that we create an inclusive environment inside the Canadian Armed Forces for all Canadians to succeed.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Chair, since this is the first time I have had the opportunity to rise in the House since the October 21 federal election, I would like to take a moment to thank the people of Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères for once again placing their trust in me.

Before I talk in-depth about the issues, I first want to speak more generally about the supplementary estimates. There are things missing there that should normally be included. First, there is the compensation for our supply managed farmers. We have been talking about it for several months. A few days before a byelection, the Prime Minister went to Lac-Saint-Jean to tell our farmers that he would not open breaches in supply management. A few weeks after the election, we learned that more concessions would be made.

In fact, every international trade agreement, whether we are talking about the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, TPP, or the new NAFTA, included breaches in supply management. For a government that claims to protect supply management, this is not a strong showing. Compensation has always been promised, but it is still difficult to obtain. We were told it was in the budget, but there was no funding. Now, we are being told that the money will be here by the end of the year, but when we look at the votes, we see that there is still no money for supply-managed producers.

Could the minister explain why there is no money in the supplementary estimates to compensate farmers?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Madam Chair, I congratulate the member on his re-election. We are very happy to see him back here. We are also very happy he agrees that it is important to invest in our farms and farmers so they can continue to do the vital work we need them to do. They provide an invaluable service.

As the member knows, since I answered this question earlier, we have already started making compensation payments, and in some cases the payments have already been received. I would be happy to give him specifics later on how the government is processing these payments.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Chair, I would be interested in hearing the specifics, since technically, the government is not allowed to take money from one budget and use it for another purpose without going through the House. I would like to know what mechanism the Liberals are using to compensate our farmers. I do not understand what the government is doing.

I have another question. This one is about health transfers. We want to see new money. The budget includes about $100 million in additional funding for Health Canada. That extra money could go to the provinces. We actually need billions, but that would be a start.

This government is always trying to come up with new federal programs. Today, it is health care, but we could be talking about any other federal program or initiative. These initiatives always sound great, but the problem is that they do not mesh well with the programs we have in Quebec. Quebec has exclusive jurisdiction over health.

The problem is that federal transfers do not keep up with inflation. The Government of Quebec's costs go up by 5% or 6% every year, but the federal government refuses to boost transfers by more than 1% or 2% per year. Sometimes it goes as high as 3%, but there is always a deficit. The upshot is that we are losing money. Health care is costing us more each year because the federal government is not paying its share.

Why not transfer more money to the provinces?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Madam Chair, I am pleased to answer my colleague's question.

As the member may know, starting in 2015, the Canadian government committed to substantially increasing health transfers over the baseline set by the previous government. This meant an additional $11 billion for home care and mental health.

Furthermore, during the election campaign, we promised to invest an additional $6 billion in health transfers to help all of the provinces, including Quebec, invest in the crucial health care services needed by everyone, especially seniors in Quebec and across the country.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Chair, I am a bit disappointed by the minister's answer because, although we recognize that there has been an increase—we are talking about big numbers, billions of dollars—in reality, if we take into account increased costs and real percentages, we see that this increase is not enough to meet the needs.

There is a reason why the great federalist minister Gaétan Barrette, who was a member of the Quebec government not too long ago, called this predatory federalism. It was not a separatist who said that but a federalist so that is not very impressive.

Next, still on the subject of new spending, of the $4.9 billion requested, approximately $427 million were requested by the Department of National Defence and just over $355 million by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. That is close to a billion dollars in new money for those two departments. It just so happens that the same departments in Quebec had major demands. We have a shipyard, the Davie shipyard, that needs more contracts. I would like to know how much of that $800 million is expected to go to the Davie shipyard.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Madam Chair, those are excellent questions, and I thank my colleague for the opportunity to respond.

With respect to the Davie shipyard, when we came to power in 2015, things were extremely difficult. The Canadian government had essentially severed ties with the Davie shipyard. We invested in a supply ship, two ferries that are soon to be built, and three icebreakers, the first ones the Canadian government has acquired since 1993. We also invested in rehabilitating, renovating and updating 12 frigates. The Davie shipyard will be doing some of that work over the next 20 years. This is the biggest contract the Canadian government has ever awarded to the Davie shipyard.

There is still a lot to do, but we are very proud of the Davie shipyard workers. We will keep working very hard with them to make sure they have the opportunity to meet the Canadian government's substantial shipbuilding and investment needs.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Chair, I am disappointed to hear a minister from Quebec's national capital region—since our national capital is in Quebec—which is not very far from the Davie shipyard, say that everything is fine at Davie and that his government is doing everything necessary to help the shipyard, when we know very well that the Davie shipyard has not been given its fair share.

We are talking about the shipyard with the largest capacity in North America. Still, the government will not even give it 2%, 3% or 4% of its contracts. That is unacceptable. The government is lagging behind when it comes to its shipyards and their needs. It cannot do the work needed to be done. Yet the shipyard builds ships at a lower price than other shipyards and delivers ahead of schedule.

We are waiting for news of the Obelix supply ship and the Diefenbaker icebreaker. When will that come?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Madam Chair, I am indeed very proud of the Davie shipyard and especially its workers. I can see Davie from my riding in Quebec, in the middle of the national capital, and I admire and respect the shipyard, which is just across the river.

Not only are we proud of what those workers are doing now, but we are very proud of what they will continue to do in the years to come. There is still other work to be assigned, so they may continue to showcase the quality of their work and the importance of the Canadian government's needs that they will want to meet.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Chair, I am not sure if the minister is aware, but the contracts at the Davie shipyard are wrapping up. Several hundred employees could be laid off in a few months.

Will the minister do something before these employees lose their job or will he instead watch these Quebeckers of whom he is so proud, but for whom he does next to nothing, from his office in the national capital?

Will he watch them lose their job without lifting a finger, while hundreds of millions of dollars are spent at Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Department of National Defence?

Our workers from Quebec need that money. I would like some assurances as to the government's intentions.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Madam Chair, I wish to clarify something. Some people watching us may get the impression that we are doing the Davie shipyard a favour by awarding it such important contracts. We are not doing it a favour. We are awarding these contracts based on the quality of work done by its workers, but also because of the quality of the suppliers. In Quebec alone, there are 900 suppliers who help Davie meet the Canadian government's shipbuilding and renovation needs, which are very real and quite significant.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Chair, I could not have said it better myself, and I certainly agree with the President of the Treasury Board. The government did not do Davie any favours. Quite the opposite. If the government did any favours, it was for Irving, which had no shortage of contracts. Meanwhile, Quebec's shipyards continue to starve.

The document indicates that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development also needs new money. Interestingly, I noted that $296 million of this new money will be used to fight climate change. During this government's previous term, I happened to discover that $50 million from the sustainable development technology fund set aside for clean technologies had not been invested in sustainable development technology, but rather in the oil industry. Surprise, surprise.

Can the minister assure us that this $296 million will not go to oil companies again?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his question.

In 2015, when we attended the Paris climate change conference, the Prime Minister promised that Canada would allocate $2.65 billion to help certain developing countries address the challenges of climate change. The $296 million that the member just mentioned is earmarked for this very program and will be used to help developing countries make progress.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Madam Chair, what I want to know is whether this money will go to the oil industry. I want to know whether the money will be invested in the oil sands. The government claims to be fighting climate change, but investing more money in oil does not fix the problem, it only makes it worse. Unfortunately, this is nothing new in Canada.

Would the Minister of Transport give me a clear answer?