Debates of Dec. 9th, 2019

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply

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

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with the member on the climate change emergency, because it is an emergency. In my riding, both the communities of Oakville and Burlington have declared a climate emergency. I think young people are pushing governments at all levels to take action on this, because we do not have a lot of time left. Our government will be planting two billion trees, because we know that planting trees is an important component of reducing the emissions in the air. It is so critical. I look at my son and think about what kind of world I want all of us to leave for him. Certainly, action on climate change is important.

I look forward to working with the hon. member and members of his party in the House to make sure we are taking the action we need on climate change.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to share my time with the member for North Okanagan—Shuswap.

Though I rose briefly during Routine Proceedings last Friday, this is my first speech in the 43rd Parliament and I would like to take this occasion to give some additional words of thanks. As a temporary custodian of this seat in Parliament, I am deeply honoured to have the enormous responsibility of representing some 140,000 residents as part of a centuries-old tradition of protecting citizens by checking the otherwise unlimited power of the Crown. Parliaments exist in order to ensure that the Crown and its agent, the government, cannot impose itself on citizens without their consent. That consent is granted through votes in this incredible institution.

Once again, I thank the voters of Calgary Rocky Ridge for electing me to be their servant in the House. I also wish to thank the 270-odd volunteers who assisted my election campaign. I thank them for their support, for their commitment to their community and for their love of their country. I could not have done it without them. I would like to thank the other candidates who contested the election in Calgary Rocky Ridge for giving the voters choice, without which there is no democracy.

Finally, I wish to thank my family. My three daughters, it seems I began the last Parliament with three young girls who are now three young women. My loving wife, Kimberley, I thank for her love, her understanding, her patience, her unwavering support and for always keeping it real in the Kelly house. To my parents, Marnie and Duane Kelly, I thank them for their constant love and encouragement.

Today we are debating last Thursday's Speech from the Throne. My response to the Speech from the Throne is coloured by the recent experience of having knocked on a little under 30,000 doors with my re-election team. What I heard on the doorsteps is what informs my remarks and my impressions of the Speech from the Throne.

To be blunt, the government has virtually no support in my riding. That is simply a fact and it is supported by the election results. I knocked on doors in the communities of Calgary Rocky Ridge in every provincial and federal election over the last 30 years as an activist and in 2015 and 2019 as a candidate, and I have never experienced anything quite like it.

It was never easier. People have never been more forthright in coming forward and identifying themselves as Conservative supporters. However, at the same time, I have never had more difficult conversations on doorsteps than I did in this election with people who suggested that they intended to support me, my party and my leader.

For most candidates in most elections, conversations with our own supporters are the easy ones, but not in 2019 in Calgary Rocky Ridge. Some of the conversations I had with supporters were downright heartbreaking. I spoke with people who had not worked in years. I heard from people who told me that they were on the verge of losing their homes. I talked with people whose spouses were working in Texas and coming home for a couple of weekends a month or were working in the Middle East or other parts of the world and only coming home a few times over the course of a year.

I talked with a man who has lived in his neighbourhood for 20 years and he said that since 2015, seven previously stable families on his block had come apart in divorce. Economic stress and anxiety from unemployment and failing businesses have taken their toll on families, tearing apart the very fabric of our communities.

I spoke with people who openly and candidly expressed their despair, anger and incredulity over what they see as a failure of their country to respect their province. For decades, Alberta has welcomed Canadians from across Canada and indeed people from around the world to be a part of Alberta's economic opportunities. It has transferred much of that wealth back to other provinces and continues to do so despite a recession that has been going on for five years.

My constituents are demanding action. They cannot wait. They made it abundantly clear to me that regardless of which party was to form a government after the election, they would expect me to speak clearly and without ambiguity about just how devastating these past four years have been.

They expect me to be candid about just how upset they are with their federal government. They told me that they wanted the no-more-pipelines bill reversed. They told me they were stunned that a tanker ban on Alberta exports was brought in while tankers continued to bring in oil to eastern refineries from Saudi Arabia.

They told me that they could not understand why a government was running such large deficits at a time of economic expansion. They told me that they were appalled by the constant parade of ministers to the Ethics Commissioner, by a Prime Minister prepared to bully his own cabinet and break the law just to get his own way, and by the way the Prime Minister's personal conduct never matches his moral preening.

They told me, at door after door, that the Prime Minister is a constant source of embarrassment on the world stage, and that they do not believe that he is up to the diplomatic challenges of our times, because they believe that he is fundamentally an unserious person.

With the campaign behind us, with the country's divisions laid bare in a minority Parliament, last week the Prime Minister had an opportunity to acknowledge the failings of the last Parliament, which cost him seats and votes in every region of the country.

He had an opportunity to chart a new course to address the concerns of Canadians who rejected his government's track record. Instead, he delivered a speech full of the same flowery language and grand aspirations that we heard throughout the last Parliament with only a few inadequate words for my constituents in a partial sentence, kind of as an afterthought, where he claimed that the government would “also work just as hard to get Canadian resources to new markets and offer unwavering support to the hard-working men and women in Canada's natural resources sectors, many of whom have faced tough times recently”.

Really? “Unwavering support” and “have faced tough times recently”, is that it? Since 2015, hundreds of thousands of energy workers have lost their jobs. Over 100,000 of them are out of work in Alberta right now. There is $100 billion in energy investment that has left Canada since the Liberal government took office.

Encana, which was once Canada's largest company, and TransCanada PipeLines are changing their names to remove “Canada” from their business names and relocating to the United States because that is where the work is. However, all the Prime Minister had to say in his Speech from the Throne was “unwavering support” and “tough times recently”?

The Prime Minister has been unwavering in his stated desire to phase out the natural resources sector, and he is succeeding. One incredibly insulting sentence that contained a flagrant untruth was all the Prime Minister had to say about this in his entire speech.

If the Prime Minister meant what he said about getting Canadian resources to market, it would require him to undo much of the work of the last Parliament. It would require him to repeal Bill C-69 or implement every single one of the Senate amendments that were rejected last spring.

It would require him to repeal Bill C-48. It would require him to champion Canada as a reliable source of ethically extracted resources and to disown his own prior anti-Canadian-energy rhetoric. It would require him to actually take concrete steps to ensure Trans Mountain could be completed. It would require him to apologize for chasing its private sector proponent out of Canada and for having to send $4.5 billion to Texas so they could compete with us by building pipelines elsewhere.

The Liberals think they deserve some kind of credit for buying a pipeline that should never have been for sale in the first place. I can assure them that not one single person I met in my riding, where pipelines are a huge issue, thought that buying it was anything other than a last-ditch solution to a problem 100% of the Liberals' own making.

To sum up, the throne speech contains nothing for my constituents. I received a strong mandate from the people of Calgary Rocky Ridge, and I expect them to hold me to a high standard. My constituents expect nothing less.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I would love to sit with the member and contrast the response I got from the constituents I represent versus the response from the constituents he represents.

However, I do know that Canadians want to see opposition parties and the government working together more than they did in the previous four years. That means looking for policies that will further advance Canadians as a whole. For example, today we talked about the TMX, which is actually moving forward. Would the member not agree that is a positive thing? It is something, I must remind the member opposite, that the Conservatives were not able to do.

Even though the member has been very critical, and often the Conservatives like to make personal attacks on the Prime Minister, let me assure Canadians and those following the debate that this government will continue to focus on strengthening Canada's middle class and has a strong willingness to work with all members of this chamber to make a positive difference for all Canadians in all regions.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Winnipeg North on his re-election.

He talked about his constituents, and I have no doubt he has support in his riding. I note that he lost some colleagues whereas we gained some. I would be surprised if there was widespread support for his government at the doors in both cities.

On the member's point about co-operation in this Parliament, if the government proposes measures that will be helpful to my constituents and to Canadians more broadly, I will be more than happy to offer my co-operation and support. We are here to support Canadians and to represent our ridings. I will co-operate fully with any measures the government proposes that will help my constituents. I saw none in the Speech from the Throne.

I invite the member to knock on doors in my riding of Calgary Rocky Ridge and see what kind of response he gets to that Speech from the Throne.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the people of Laurentides—Labelle and thank them for placing their trust in me.

We have been hearing about prosperity for the last little while, but let us not forget those who are vulnerable. Earlier, members talked about community organizations and the labour shortage. In Laurentides—Labelle, one in six people lives below the low income threshold. That is alarming. These people have a hard time finding work. Members have also talked about social housing. These people even have a hard time finding a place to live.

How are we going to help all the people who are suffering and who are unable to contribute to the prosperity we all seek? What are my colleague's thoughts on that?

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member to the chamber.

I have some simple and concrete steps that would benefit the well-being of all Canadians, and that is for the government to become a champion of our resource sector. It supplies jobs to Canadians all across the country. Thousands of workers in Quebec used to work in Alberta. They had good, high-paying jobs that contributed to the prosperity of the province of Quebec, not only from the income they earned in Alberta but also through the enormous transfers that have taken place over the years.

The economic opportunities that have been lost under the Liberal government represent billions of dollars that could have been used for all manner of social programs. Investment has left Canada and gone to the United States. We are literally exporting hospitals, schools and social services to the United States. The lost tax revenue and income revenue has been appalling under the government.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time I have risen in this 43rd Parliament, so I would like to take a short moment to thank the voters of North Okanagan—Shuswap for placing me in their seat in the House to serve as their representative. I am scheduled to have an opportunity to speak later today and will wait until then to expand on how grateful I am for the opportunity to be here.

At this time, I am rising to speak to the Speech from the Throne, so I will use this valuable time to do so. We are expected to use this time to respond to the Speech from the Throne and express our position with respect to the mandate given to us by the voters in our ridings and in relation to the portfolios to which we have been assigned.

I honour that opportunity and intend to capture what I heard on the doorsteps of constituents of North Okanagan—Shuswap, at 15 all-candidates forums and at countless meetings across the riding over the past four years.

I also plan to address issues relating to the ministry of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, for which I am honoured to be shadow minister.

One of the key issues I heard regarding North Okanagan—Shuswap was about affordability, that life had become less affordable under the previous Liberal government. I heard continuously that people were concerned about the debt load that was being passed on to future generations, children and grandchildren, who would be forced to pay for the short-sightedness of a tax-and-spend government.

Unfortunately, little has changed. The suggestion to cut taxes for the middle class, a class that has never been defined, with no plan to equivalently reduce government spending is once again a reckless one. It is even more reckless when there is no real mention in the speech of how the Prime Minister plans to rebuild the confidence in Canada's business sector for Canadian and foreign investors, whose confidence is needed to build our economy, an area that should be foremost if we are truly concerned about keeping life affordable for Canadians.

Business owners in the North Okanagan—Shuswap have told me they are not willing to invest in expansion or capital projects under the current government's direction, sectors like the forest industry. In March of 2016, we were told that within 100 days there would be a framework for a softwood lumber agreement. Three and a half years later, there is still no deal and no mention of forestry in the throne speech. Sectors like agriculture have suffered from strained international relationships and lacklustre trade negotiations. Agriculture is another economic driver that is not mentioned in the Speech from the Throne.

If the government is truly responsive to the message the electors gave at the polls, it should recognize these sectors. They are an important and large component of life in the regions of the country where the Liberals lost seats. They should recognize that actions are needed, more than words of platitude, to bring a sense of Canadian unity back to those regions, regions that have been a source of relative wealth for all of Canada.

I also want to take part of my time today to address issues related to fisheries, which is my portfolio in the official opposition shadow cabinet. Fishermen and indigenous and non-indigenous groups across the country have grave concerns about Canada's fish stocks, their livelihood and the future of their communities. The fishers, processors and communities that rely on stability of access and markets to make investments in their boats, plants and infrastructure are all looking for certainty. Unfortunately, what we are seeing are more signs of uncertainty, signals of closures of access to the fishing grounds, conflict over who has access and when access may be granted and whether they will be consulted before decisions are made that will affect their work, their business, their communities and their future.

Canada already has some of the strongest protection measures for its waterways and marine areas through fishing and operational regulation and legislation. These factors must be taken into account when negotiating with global forces set upon locking up Canada as the world's park.

The commitment to protect 25% of our oceans by 2025 cannot be done without abandoning meaningful consultation processes with affected communities and current operators.

I often refer to the difference I see between conservation and preservation, with conservation being the wise and conservative use of resources so there is a benefit or revenue attained from that use, allowing for a portion of those benefits to be turned back into the health and growth of that resource, whether it be forestry, land use, fish and wildlife or other natural resources. On the other hand, to me preservation means locking up those resources so there is no benefit or revenue coming back in to use or divide up and put back into maintaining that resource, requiring funding from other resources to be tapped into so it can be used to support that resource that is now locked up.

I will always defend the value of conservation over preservation.

There must also be action on the ground and in the streams if Canada is to rebuild its salmon stocks to the abundance that is possible. We have seen little in the past four years that made a difference in any place other than meeting rooms. Limited resources have actually hit the ground, and now we have seen nothing in the throne speech to even recognize Canada's fisheries and the people who rely on them.

It is a pleasant dream to live in a world where nothing is taken and nothing is used, but it is not sustainable in a world where everyone wants more than we had yesterday.

In speaking today, I respect the viewpoint that criticism should not be given directly without offering an alternative or solution, so I offer that instead of implementing legislation and policies that will only make life more difficult and expensive for Canadians and make them more dependent on government, let us look for ways to promote our Canadian ingenuity and technology in Canada and abroad to tackle things like climate change and ocean pollution in areas of the world where it is the worst. Let us consult with resource users and developers on how we can do things better and continue to grow and prosper. Let us work with our remote and coastal communities, listen to them and their willingness to protect our lands and oceans, while still deriving a living from the resources available to us.

In the spirit of working together and co-operation, I offer these alternatives to the way things have been laid out. While holding the government to account during the coming term, I also offer to work together toward solutions that are best for all Canadians.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I think of Bill C-55, which is the oceans protection act. There is legislation, but there have also been budgetary measures, close to hundreds of millions of dollars, put in over the last number of years. I think there is common ground we can both agree on with regard to just how important these issues are.

The member talked about other areas of the world. If we take a look at Canada's population overall and contrast it to other populations around the world, we will find that the amount of political clout that Canada has is fairly significant given its population base. Does the member agree that taking progressive measures allows Canada to have a greater influence on the things that take place around the world and that is why it is important we bring forward legislation like Bill C-55 and others to ensure we continue to have that clout?

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the hon. member for Winnipeg North brought up Bill C-55, because that is exactly what I was alluding to in my speech this morning.

I was heavily involved in the debate in the committee study of Bill C-55. In fact, before that bill even came to the committee for study, I had put forward a motion at the fisheries committee that we study how marine protected areas are implemented in Canada and the consultation process that was there previous to Bill C-55. Now we see areas of interest being closed to access without consultation; those local fishing communities have been ignored. The fishermen have been ignored.

Even though this member says the government has put funding and resources in place, it has cut out consultation process that I see as so important.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the voters in the riding of Montcalm who have once again placed their trust in me. I will do everything I can to meet their expectations.

While the old parties are stuck in a revolving door—sometimes in government, sometimes in opposition—there is one thing that remains constant when it comes to the climate emergency: both parties are all talk and no action. The day after the Marrakech climate change conference, COP22, the Parliamentary Budget Officer told the Liberal government that Canada would need to change course dramatically in order to meet the targets set by the previous Harper government for the environment. What did the Liberals do? They purchased an old pipeline that nobody wanted and invested $19 billion in the oil industry. Still, that was not enough for the Conservatives.

Since the Conservatives claim they have a plan for the environment, could my colleague tell us how they would drastically change course to address the climate emergency?

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is what we talked about in our election platform. We recognize that Canada can make a difference in our emissions, but we have to work on a global scale. When China emits over 25% of global emissions, why should we punish Canadians with a carbon tax, when we could use Canadian technology and ingenuity, market that worldwide and make a bigger difference in places where the pollution is the worst?

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a quick question to my colleague with regard to single-event sports betting, as we start to reach areas of common interest.

I have tabled my private member's legislation that would allow each province to allow single-event sports betting. Currently in Canada about $10 billion goes to organized crime or to offshore betting. That money could be redirected to priorities and accountable sports betting could take place. The United States is moving toward this, and the rest of the world has.

Does the member for North Okanagan—Shuswap support this legislation as a unifying thing among parties and ourselves? It would make sure we move this money from organized crime and the black market in basements and back rooms to accountable, taxable and, more importantly, safe single-event sports betting, and modernize our act.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is an interesting question. I look forward to seeing the member's private member's bill coming forward. I am certainly not going to say how I am going to vote on a bill that I have not even seen yet, but I do agree with him that we need to deal with corruption. We need to deal with organized crime. We need to deal with criminals who are preying on the most vulnerable here in Canada. That is what we have not seen from the previous Liberal government, and I do not expect we are going to see it from this one, unless it can understand what this side of the House sees as making a larger difference.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be back in this chamber and I want to start by thanking my constituents in Parkdale—High Park for returning me for the second time to this chamber. It is an honour and a privilege to serve them, one I do not take lightly.

I also thank the most important people in my life in terms of getting me to where I am today, the people who gave me guidance as a young child and then as a young man: my parents, Lou and Sul Virani. My dad just celebrated his 78th birthday this past Saturday. I thank my sister Shakufe. My immediate family has been a rock of support through all of this.

I will confess that it has been a little more troubling and difficult for my youngest son this go-round. In 2015, he was one year old and did not have much conscious memory of what transpired then. This go-round, he was five and missed his dad a great deal during the election, as did my eight-year-old son. However, it is for them that I do this work and for children around the country that we all do this work. It is important to keep them in mind. I love Zakir and Nitin very much. I am not wearing a shirt with cufflinks today, but I have the cufflinks with their initials on them in my pocket, as I always do on important occasions.

The most important person is obviously my significant other, my wife Suchita, who has been a rock of support. We do not come from a political family, but she has, nevertheless, been steadfast and by my side constantly throughout this entire endeavour, even to the point of pulling the vote on election day this past year, which was a first for her. I thank my wife Suchita. I love her dearly. I thank her for allowing me to do what I do, serving this country and my riding.

We have just had the Speech from the Throne, which contains a series of initiatives the government is pursuing. I want to highlight six of them. Members will recollect from the previous Parliament that I remain a litigator who likes to stay organized in his prepared comments.

My first point is climate action. We know that climate action is urgent. The country heard about it during the course of the campaign and prior to it. We know we need to take bold action, and we have taken the steps toward that bold action. However, I am going to highlight one important thing because it dovetails with the message sent to us by constituents right around the country: what they are looking for in returning a minority Parliament is more co-operation, and there is no monopoly on a good idea. We need to take best practices from across the aisle, across the country and around the world and implement them as best practices here in Canada.

I will point to one. We have taken some very bold action with our carbon price in our plan to phase out coal and our initiatives in the just transition. One thing we need to do was not contained in our platform but the platform of a party opposite, the NDP. It talked about a climate accountability mechanism that government would report to. That is exactly the kind of mechanism that is worth studying. I was at COP24 last year in Katowice, and that is the model that is used in Britain that was championed at COP24. I brought that idea back to Parliament and immediately started talking about it. I am glad to see it in the platforms of other parties. It is the kind of idea that we need to take up, because there is nothing more pressing than addressing climate change as an initiative.

My second point from the throne speech is that affordability rang true throughout the country. This is not only germane to my riding, or the city of Toronto or urban centres; this rings true regardless of where one is, from region to region, rural to urban. I would point to a very important commitment in the throne speech that was reiterated when the throne speech was read, which is that the very first act we will be taking as a government is to reduce the taxation burden on low- and middle-income Canadians. How are we doing that? We are increasing the basic personal exemption.

Again, it is not a partisan issue, but I will point out a subtle difference that lays bare the difference between the two major parties in this chamber. Conservatives presented the same idea and would have had it universally applicable. Liberals said it is a great idea, but we are going to make it applicable to everyone, except for the top 1%. Why? It is because we fundamentally believe in targeting our measures toward those who need it the most.

We were criticized in the past, perhaps fairly, for having a middle-class tax cut that applied to people earning between $42,000 and $85,000 roughly, if I remember correctly from the last Parliament. People said, rightfully, that low-income people need taxation relief as much as anyone else. We are delivering that in this campaign platform and with this first initiative. That subtle difference, by ensuring that the benefit goes to those who need it the most and not those who do not need it, is what definitely identifies us as a centrist Liberal Party attempting to address the needs of the most vulnerable.

The third point I want to touch on is housing. Housing is critical. The issue I heard time and time again when I knocked on doors during the last campaign was housing. Whether it was support for housing, affordable rental housing or the ability for people to buy their first homes, people are feeling the pinch. They are feeling squeezed out of the housing market.

It is incumbent upon all of us to address that pinch clearly and vigorously. We are doing just that with a $55-billion plan that is 12 years deep to address housing.

The campaign is over. It is time to implement those policies, starting with the Canada housing benefit, which will be a portable benefit so that a person is not attached to a particular apartment or unit. People take that benefit with them wherever they move in a riding, in a city or around the country.

The fourth important theme is critical. It is gun control. I want to talk about this a little bit, because when we speak about gun control, we are speaking about the needs of all Canadians. This need not be a rural/urban issue.

I was so excited to get going on the throne speech that I neglected to mention that I would be splitting my time with the hon. member for Vaughan—Woodbridge. I congratulate him on his return to the House.

With respect to gun control, this past Friday was a noted anniversary. It was the 30th anniversary of the Montreal massacre.

I remember that time 30 years ago very clearly, because my sister was a young student at McGill University. Since she was in Montreal at the time, many people called to make sure Shakufe was okay, that she was safe. We knew she was okay, because she had let us know. We were lucky; our family was lucky.

There are 14 families who were changed forever that evening. What troubles me is that sometimes people think that while Jacinda Ardern has done really well on gun control, hot on the heels of a brutal massacre in New Zealand, we do not need to wait for another massacre to act. We have had our share of troubles. We continue to have our share of troubles, such as 30 years ago in Montreal and on January 29, 2017, in Quebec City.

We have had incidents of people being slaughtered through guns that are used only for the purposes of mass killing. Those are not hunting rifles; those are not legitimately pursued weapons; those are weapons that have no place in Canadian society. We made a bold commitment to get rid of military-style assault weapons. That was reiterated in the throne speech and I am determined to ensure that we see that through its course, and see it through quickly.

However, it does not just stop there. As a Toronto member of Parliament, I believe firmly in the need for gun control. Yes, there are many facets that contribute to the gun problem and to violence in cities like mine. There are gang problems and there are border control problems, but part of the problem is also the availability of readily accessible handguns that serve no place in a city like Toronto, or in many of our urban centres and centres otherwise.

This issue impacts our communities, including our racialized communities. It affects mental health and those who pass on by suicide. It dovetails with domestic violence, particularly violence perpetrated against women. We will address all of those issues by addressing the nub of the issue, which is gun control.

The fifth theme that I want to touch on is indigenous reconciliation. I was very proud to see that reiterated again in the speech, as it needs to be. This will take seven generations to resolve. We made gigantic progress in the last Parliament, in terms of addressing monetary needs, boil water advisories, child welfare legislation and the Indigenous Languages Act, which I was very privileged to work on as the parliamentary secretary to the then minister of heritage. What I learned on that file is that, notwithstanding my own background on equity issues and on fighting discrimination, we will get nowhere in this country in rectifying all sorts of other issues that deal with inequality unless we address the core and foundational issue, which is 400 years of colonialism and racism fomented against indigenous people.

The sixth theme I wanted to talk about is pharmacare. In an effort to reach across the aisle, we have heard about this from many different parties in this House. The time is now to address the lacuna in our current situation of policy. In the entire OECD, we stand alone as the only country that supports medical care and not medicine with publicly financed support. That is a minority of one that I personally do not want to be in and I know the colleagues opposite share that view.

Exploring dental care is another fine suggestion that was brought forward in the NDP campaign platform. It was mentioned in the throne speech and I believe it is worth exploring.

Mr. Speaker, you know that I came to this chamber as a human rights and constitutional lawyer. You know, because we served together, that I came here as a refugee from Uganda and that I have taken advantage of the opportunities that were provided to me in this fine country and I have worked to make it better. We have made great strides over the last four years, but there is so much more work to be done.

I just want to finish on this note and say four things that I thought about after getting re-elected, which I would commit to myself, my constituents and this chamber.

The first is to continue to speak out about what I have always believed in: fighting discrimination, promoting equality and making Canada more inclusive for all.

The second is to continue to champion human rights, both here and abroad, at every opportunity that presents itself.

The third is to ensure that housing is not a fanciful ideal, but is something that manifests for people in my community.

Finally, the fourth is to ensure that we will always work harder, faster and more ambitiously on climate change because climate change is the most pressing issue of our time.

In a spirit of co-operation and collegiality, I offer congratulations to all the new members and returning members to this House. I hope to work with all members collaboratively to better this nation and this Parliament.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member on the opposite side. We do share one thing in common and that is we are the only two members in the House of Commons who participated in the Canadian parliamentary internship program.

My question is straightforward. In his remarks today, the member mentioned targeting measures for those who need it the most. Does he believe it is appropriate for the Government of Canada to provide incentives or to subsidize the purchase of electric cars for those he has termed the wealthiest 1%?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a tremendous honour to receive my first question in the chamber in this new Parliament from a former parliamentary intern. I congratulate the member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon. We are now a group of three. Judy Wasylycia-Leis, whose name I can mention in this chamber as she is no longer here, was the first intern to be elected.

In terms of the member's question, it is a delicate one. We provided a universal incentive for people to purchase zero-emission vehicles, but the member should note that we have targeted it to lower-priced zero-emission vehicles, so $50,000 or less.

There are Tesla vehicles and other types of vehicles out there that are in the $80,000 and $90,000 range. We specifically excluded them because those vehicles are in the reach of a certain part of the population but are not in the reach of low-income and middle-income individuals. It is low-income and middle-income individuals we are targeting, which is why the ZEV tax credit was targeted at that price threshold and not beyond it.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to speak once again in the House of Commons as the representative of St. John's East.

I want to reflect on the member's comments about co-operation. That is what Canadians want and they have spoken in that regard.

I do not like to be cynical when we are talking about co-operation, but with respect to the issue of pharmacare, our party called for a universal comprehensive system and the throne speech talks about taking certain steps along the way. On dental care, we talked about a specific, practical, doable program that could be implemented immediately and the throne speech merely talked about a universal program being studied. To me, that seems to be a cynical approach to these two important issues.

I would ask the member to comment on that and try to reconcile that with co-operation.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for St. John's East on his return to the House. He is an experienced member who had a brief involuntary interregnum and I welcome him back to the chamber.

On both of those points, it is in absolute good faith that we are engaging with pharmacare and starting a dialogue on dental care.

I will address them in reverse order. With respect to dental care, I heard about this a great deal from people in my riding during the campaign. Specifically, and I am not sure if this is germane only to Ontario, but there is a lacuna that exists for people who are on what is called the Ontario disabilities support program. They receive dental coverage but as soon as an individual hits 65 years of age and access to CPPD, all of a sudden, dental coverage stops. That is a problem. That is a problem for people who live to be about 80 or 90 years old. We need to address that. We need to study it.

On the issue about timing, these are massive structural changes of the same scope of what we did in the sixties with medicare or in the fifties with pensions, if I remember correctly.

We need to to do it methodically and make sure we get it right. That is the reason for the study and the Hoskins report and that is how we will be proceeding.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking the people of Lac-Saint-Jean for choosing to put their trust in me. This is very special opportunity for me, since my father sat here for 20 years. I am very pleased about that.

Everyone is talking about climate change. Obviously, it is very important. However, in 2015, the Liberals promised to end oil subsidies. I question the wisdom of subsidizing the oil industry if we want to move towards the other end of the spectrum and transition to a green economy.

Do my hon. Liberal colleagues believe that they should not break this promise again and that they should stop subsidizing the oil industry?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question and I congratulate him on his election and his family history. I want to note two things.

First, the oil subsidies are not as simple as they appear. The oil subsidies also include subsidies to indigenous communities, specifically those in Canada's north. They are the ones who told us during the last Parliament that if we eliminated those subsidies, we would be eliminating the connection that gives them access to an economical source of energy.

Second, we promised to get rid of the oil subsides by 2025, and we will meet that target.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, through you, I wish to congratulate the member for Nipissing—Timiskaming on his election as Speaker. I am very happy for the member and I know he will do a wonderful job for everyone in the House.

I am pleased to speak during the opening days of the 43rd Parliament to respond to the government's Speech from the Throne.

I would like to begin this speech with a big thank you.

I thank the residents of Vaughan—Woodbridge for placing their faith and trust in me for a second term. The citizens in my riding humbled me with a strong vote of confidence in my ability to represent them, tripling the margin of victory and achieving over 50% of the votes cast that evening. It is a wonderful vote of confidence and I wish to thank them.

The results speak to a lot of hard work and an unwavering commitment to my constituents that I always will represent them to the best of my capability and will always be their strong voice in Ottawa. Whether it is through visiting residents in their homes and listening to their concerns and issues, or always being available to our wonderful seniors, whom I love dearly, or listening to the opinions of the dynamic, entrepreneurial and very successful business community, which over the last five years has created over 60,000 new full-time jobs in the city of Vaughan, I will ensure their voices are always heard.

My team of volunteers, those individuals who canvassed, put up signs, sent positive vibes and made the phone calls that count are an inspiration to me. I say a gracious thanks, merci beaucoup, grazie mille.

My wife, Rose, and my children, Natalia and Eliana, are watching today. I love them so much and thank them every day for much patience and love while I do this remarkable job here in Ottawa.

The Speech from the Throne, in my view, is analogous to a blueprint, a blueprint for a more prosperous and inclusive Canada for all Canadians, a blueprint to move the country forward and ensure that we are facing not only the challenges today, but as important, preparing for the ones that may come tomorrow to this beautiful country we call home.

As MPs we have many duties and fiscal responsibilities to fulfill. I believe the most important responsibility we have as members of Parliament is to advocate for policies to provide Canadians with what I call equality of opportunity. Let me elaborate.

It is the utmost responsibility for every single MP to ensure that every Canadian, every citizen, has the opportunity to fulfill their capacity as individuals. That can only be achieved through one thing and one thing only. We ourselves need to demonstrate leadership, but leadership only comes from when we serve. Every single member of Parliament is a servant. As noted by Martin Luther King, Jr., life's most important question is: What are we doing for others? Writer and businessman Max De Pree said:

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor.

It is time for all 338 MPs in this wonderful House in the 43rd session of Parliament to be servants, to listen, to act with humility and to ensure that we build a stronger, more inclusive country for all Canadians from coast to coast to coast, one that leaves a healthy environment as well as a prosperous and optimistic future for our children and all the children across this wonderful country.

The throne speech laid out a number of themes that our government will focus on together working with all parties. These include fighting climate change, reconciliation, making life more affordable while we continue to strengthen the middle class, all much important work. I would like to focus my remaining time on the last theme, about the middle class and strengthening our economy.

Capitalism in the 20th and 21st centuries created enormous wealth across this world. It lifted billions of people out of poverty across this globe and allowed innovation, an exponential increase in agricultural yields, advances in technology, medicine and social innovation to occur. The world is more connected than we ever knew it and who knows what will happen in the years to come, but it is a very exciting future.

We as a government will continue to ensure that our policies are based on the values that we fundamentally believe in and care about in this country and are in place to grow the Canadian economy and create good jobs and an optimistic future for Canadians.

Continuing from our first mandate, we will encourage competition, encourage risk-taking and investment by entrepreneurs. We will give Canadians the skills to respond and adapt to an ever-changing global marketplace. We will provide for tax fairness to put more money in the pockets of Canadian families with that goal that we as a government continue to strengthen the middle class, create a more optimistic future and remain the envy of the world.

We saw the results over the first four years with over one million jobs created, primarily full time in where I like to see them, the private sector. Over 800,000 Canadians were lifted out of poverty including over 200,000 to 300,000 children. Those are real stories across Canada. We can pick a province or pick a city and we will see there are Canadians who benefited directly from the policies that we put in place in our first session.

As we did in 2015, our government will again provide tax relief for millions of Canadians. We did it once and we are going to do it again. A promise made will be a promise kept, with a tax cut aimed at those Canadians who need it the most. All Canadians who earn income, whether it is income earned at work, pension income or even investment income, will see a rise in the basic personal exemption amount. This is something that I argued be put in our platform and it is great to see it there. The amount we earn before paying federal taxes will be increased quicker than would happen naturally, from $12,000 to $15,000, while remaining to be indexed. For taxpayers in Canada who earn approximately $15,000, that will mean $300 more in their pockets to spend on the things they deem to be important. Whether they are saving for their kids' future or paying for everyday necessities, it is their money and we are going to give it back to them. This tax cut will provide over $5 billion annually in tax relief to Canadians.

I am proud to be part of a government that is focused on lowering taxes for middle-class Canadians. I am proud to be part of a government that will provide tax relief to Canadians from coast to coast to coast. The first time, nine million Canadians benefited from our tax reduction of approximately $20 billion over five years. Over the next two to three years, we will see $15 billion to $20 billion of tax relief dedicated to those families who need it the most, not the wealthiest 1%, not those earning over $200,000 or $300,000. Average middle-class families in Canada earning $70,000 or $75,000 will see over $600 more in their pockets. That to me is great news.

I am blessed to represent a riding that is defined by dynamic entrepreneurial spirit and a can-do attitude. It is an attitude I see every day in the nearly 12,000 small businesses that are located in the city of Vaughan and the approximately 4,000 that are located in my riding. It is a spirit of asking what they can do for this country rather than the opposite. It is a spirit of hiring and growing our economy, a spirit of getting to work and making things happen. These business owners and entrepreneurs have my utmost respect. Their success is not due to luck but due to hard work and perseverance.

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs and private enterprises in this country are in my riding. I know first-hand that we must focus on policies that encourage investment, but also provide for what I call inclusive growth, which is when growth occurs, all Canadians benefit.

That has been the focus of our government from the beginning. It is a focus on returning money to Canadians through our middle-class tax cuts, a focus on the Canada child benefit, where eight or nine out of 10 families in Canada were made better off. In my riding, every month, $5 million arrives tax-free to the families in my riding, helping almost 18,000 children and over 10,000 families. That is real change. That is the change that Canadians elected us on in our first mandate.

In this session, I am glad to see in our platform further adjustments to the Canada child benefit that will help families not just in my riding but, more importantly, from coast to coast to coast. We will continue lifting children out of poverty. We will continue creating those good, full-time jobs in the private sector that we saw in our first four years. In fact, for the last 12 months, starting in November 2018 to today, almost 300,000 new full-time jobs have been created in Canada. We still have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, depending on how we want to use the measurements. However, if we compare apples to apples, we are among the lowest.

I spent over two decades working in global financial markets. I grew up in a small town and worked at a pulp mill, a grain elevator and McDonald's, which was one of my first jobs, I know the value of hard work. Hard work is what defines this country. It is what defines the constituents in my riding. That is why we as a government will continue to listen to the hard-working Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We will continue to put in place policies that grow our economy.

I see some of my colleagues from the opposition parties who reside in the beautiful province of Alberta. We will make sure the TMX pipeline gets built. It is being built. This will bring our resources to new markets and make sure we are capturing that full price and lower that differential between oil prices which has hampered the economy of Alberta for the last several years. We need to make sure we get full price for our products and our resources.

I look forward to working with all my colleagues from all parties, in the 43rd Parliament.

One of my hallmarks of the 42nd Parliament was to reach out to individuals from other parties, to say hi, to become friends with them and get to know them. If many of us in this House do that, we will see a much more congenial place and a nicer attitude. I see some smiles across the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, through you, I would like to say good morning and bonjour à tous. I would also like to say a special good morning to my kids, and tell them to stay strong, that daddy loves them and he will see them soon.

With that, I look forward to questions and comments.

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

Mr. Speaker, as always, the words of the member opposite are good, as is his intent. I am concerned though that the rosy picture he has painted of the situation in our country does not reflect what we are hearing. We know that 71,000 jobs were lost this month. We know that $80 billion of investment has left Canada and that foreign investment has been reduced 50%. We know that the economy is supposed to be flat and not growing over the next one to two-year term.

If we really are to help the middle class, we need to admit where we are at and that this is the result of disastrous policies in the Liberal government. We have seen a lack of action most recently with the CN strike and propane backlogs that impacted farmers. Again, three slaughterhouses shut down and 60,000 cows are in the backlog. Therefore, there was a total lack of action there.

What specific actions will the government take to cure the state of the nation?

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as an economist and someone who follows the numbers in Canada quite closely, what is behind those numbers are stories of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We have seen net full-time employment rise in the country by over 1.1 million, if not more, in the last five years. We have seen our government take action with the accelerated investment incentive put in place in the prior budget to encourage manufacturers to invest, which is what they are doing. We have seen a resilient economy, and that is backed by resilient Canadians investing in our country.

I would love to sit with the member for Sarnia—Lambton to explain some of the nuances with our foreign direct investment numbers. We are actually seeing an increase in our FDI numbers, especially in the province of Ontario, which has become a leader in financial technology and innovation. Montreal and Waterloo have become leaders in artificial intelligence. Canada has a lot of good things happening.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for his comments.

What stood out for me in particular was what he said about connecting Canadians to the Internet, the issue of connectivity and digital development more broadly.

The throne speech mentions that “regional needs and differences really matter. Today’s regional economic concerns are both justified and important.” I am from a rural area and these are very important elements.

My concern is that we must not end up with two categories of Canadians: Canadians who are connected and live an “urban” lifestyle and have not just reliable cell service, but also broadband access to the Internet, and those living in rural areas who have no such access. I believe that the prosperity of our villages depends on it.

How can we hope to attract young families to Abitibi-Témiscamingue if parents are unable to help their children do their homework or stream television series, for example? How can we attract SMEs and economic development if we cannot make our towns appealing to investors?

My question is the following: Can the government ensure that all Canadians are connected, no matter where they live?

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I am in full agreement with the member from Quebec. In my comments on the throne speech, I said that I fundamentally believed in equality of opportunity for all Canadians to succeed. We need to ensure that Canadians living in rural Canada, in the beautiful parts of our country, are connected to the Internet. The Internet is very equivalent to the telephone of 20 or 30 years ago. Every person in Canada needs to be connected to the Internet to undertake the actions he or she needs to succeed. We need to ensure that. In the prior session, the government invested hundreds of millions of dollars into this and formed partnerships with telecom companies across Canada. We need to ensure that rural Canada is as connected as urban Canada. There cannot be two standards; there has to be just one.