Debates of Feb. 1st, 2019

The House resumed consideration of the motion in relation to the amendments made by the Senate to Bill C-64, An Act respecting wrecks, abandoned, dilapidated or hazardous vessels and salvage operations.

Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me state that the NDP will be supporting the Senate amendments, which call on the government to protect ocean graves of heritage value. There is really no opposition to this, unless it poses a threat to the environment or to navigation.

It is important for me to rise in the House to correct a few things about Bill C-64 because abandoned vessels are a nuisance all across the country. The problem has been around for many years and is costing Canadian taxpayers millions of dollars.

The NDP and civil society, especially British Columbia's coastal communities, have been pressuring the government for years now to introduce such a bill. I would like to thank my former colleagues Jean Crowder and Sheila Malcolmson, who was recently elected to her provincial legislature, for their tireless work. Since the last election in 2015, NDP members have delivered more than 80 speeches on Bill C-352.

Bill C-64 does not go far enough. It includes no measures to reduce the accumulation of abandoned ships, create a vessel registration system for accountability purposes, or implement a turn-in program for recycling vessels. All these measures were proposed in Bill C-352 by my former colleague Sheila Malcolmson.

Unfortunately, the Liberals were quick to prevent debate from happening. They called for a secret ballot to determine whether the House could debate that bill. I am not sure how many times that has happened, but it happened again this week. The Liberals get to decide when democracy suits them. In 2017—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

One moment, please.

I just want to remind hon. members that sound travels really well in this new chamber. It really works well. The engineers did a great job. Unfortunately, even when we whisper, it carries over and it is rather loud, so I want to remind everyone in continuing to talk among yourselves to remember to whisper rather than talk loudly or even talk across the floor.

The hon. member for Salaberry—Suroît.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I was saying that my former colleague, Sheila Malcolmson, introduced Bill C-352, which proposed several solutions to the problem of wrecks in coastal areas. That bill never saw the light of day and could not be debated in the House of Commons because the Minister of Transport did not want the bill to be debated. My colleague was nevertheless very humble and wanted to work with the government and the Minister of Transport to make amendments to Bill C-64. The Liberals rejected 12 of the 13 amendments she proposed. When it comes to democracy, the Liberals say they want to do what is in the interest of the public and all Canadians, but we can see that they are not true to their word.

Several hundred vessels are rotting in Canadian waters, from British Columbia to Beauharnois-Salaberry to Newfoundland. In light of the melting of glaciers and the opening up of the Northwest Passage, a bill that protects our coastal communities and manages the dismantling of abandoned vessels is long overdue.

As members know, my riding has not been immune to this scourge. I am pleased to speak in the House, for what I hope is the last time, about the Kathryn Spirit, which, after seven years of hard work, has finally been dismantled. It risked compromising the drinking water supply for the people of Beauharnois and also for the people of the greater Montreal area, which is what galvanized everyone.

The Senate amended the bill, but it unfortunately did not talk about the amendments the NDP wanted to propose. The Senate essentially did the same thing as the government did with our amendments. It ignored the amendments that the Liberals had rejected.

However, Bill C-64 also contains some good measures. Any corporation that breaks the law can be prosecuted and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 to $6 million. Those responsible could face additional fines or a maximum prison sentence of three years. Any vessels of 300 gross tonnage and above must have wreck insurance , which should seriously reduce the chances of another situation like that of the Kathryn Spirit from happening again.

I would like to remind members of what happened in the case of the Kathryn Spirit, an old bulk carrier that was 153 metres long and of 9,261 gross tonnage acquired by Groupe St-Pierre. That vessel was 30 times bigger than the limit set out in this bill. The bulk carrier contained thousands of litres of crude oil and hundreds of kilograms of asbestos, PCBs and other hazardous products.

Over the past seven years, I have spoken to the House on this subject more than 30 times. I have also sent letters and suggested solutions to the Ministers of Transport, Fisheries and Oceans, and Environment. I started while the Conservatives were in power and kept going when the Liberals took office. It took us seven years of hard work, but we finally won, thanks to the collaboration of local residents, the media, successive mayors and my team, which I am very proud of. We never gave up.

If the fines prove to be an effective deterrent, I hope the regulations will ensure that certain problems can be avoided. There was a lot of buck passing between Transport Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. No one was sure who was responsible for this file. I hope the regulations will enable us to avoid taking action at the last minute and instead take action before disaster strikes. For instance, some work had to be done when the wreck started listing dangerously in 2016, leaning so heavily to one side that government officials thought it might fall all the way over. Four steel cables had to be installed. One even started to fray, causing sparks. There were fears that the ship could go up in flames in 2016.

It is important to ensure that all of the liquids have been pumped out and do not refill the hold. For example, halfway through the summer of 2016, it was discovered that thousands of litres of contaminated water had been left in the holds.

The last thing I want to mention, though not the least because the consequences are serious, is that we need to act according to the polluter pays principle. The Liberal government proclaims that it believes in this principle and hammers that point home when it talks about carbon pricing.

When it came time to choose companies to dismantle the ship, the government chose to give two contracts to the very company that abandoned the ship on the banks of Lake Saint-Louis, in Beauharnois. Groupe St-Pierre, the company that moored the ship, was granted two contracts worth a total of $20 million. What is wrong with this picture?

Would it be acceptable for the government to pay me to remove my own trash that I leave behind on my own property and in my neighbour's yard? I do not think so.

That is what the government did for Groupe St-Pierre. Jean-René Dufort did a fine job reporting on this on the show Infoman.

The irony of Bill C-64 is that the transport minister's program to dismantle abandoned ships will cost $1.5 million a year over five years. What a joke.

As I just said, the Kathryn Spirit alone cost Canadian taxpayers more than $24 million. The budget set out in Bill C-64 for all abandoned vessels in Canada was blown out of the water by a single ship. That is ridiculous. It is also completely irresponsible of the Liberal government when it knows that there are thousands of wrecks across Canada that must be removed and are waiting to be dismantled. This budget is a drop in the ocean.

It is too bad that the minister rejected almost all of the proposed amendments made by my former colleague Sheila Malcolmson in committee.

I can describe them after question period. I see that my time is up for now.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Salaberry—Suroît will have 11 minutes remaining when we resume debate.

Family Literacy Day

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, literacy is very important to me. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Boys and Girls Club Family Literacy Day in Dartmouth North, where they gave out free books to youth in the community. It is important that we show kids how incredible reading can be, that books can take us away on magical journeys, provide us with knowledge and sometimes make us laugh.

I apologize in advance because I picked up The Funniest & Grossest Joke Book Ever! Here goes: “What do you get when you cross a goat with a squid? Billy the Squid. What do you call a pirate droid? Arrr2-D2.” Finally, “What do you call a pig who knows karate? A pork chop.”

As I said, books help us learn and they make us laugh. We can show kids from an early age that reading can be incredible and fun. The adventures and opportunities are endless.

Foreign Interference in Elections

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to take foreign interference in our elections more seriously. We know that it is a major threat and the Canadian security establishment has already recognized that it took place in the 2015 election. They also confirm it is expected to increase in the 2019 election, yet the Liberals refuse to take steps to ensure that our 2019 election will be free from foreign interference and influence.

As the shadow minister for democratic institutions, I am concerned not only by the lack of detail in the government's most recent proposal, but by its historic refusal to take the steps necessary to protect Canadians, as demonstrated in Bill C-76. On this side of the House, we believe that every vote cast by a Canadian citizen matters. We will continue to fight against any attempt by foreign groups to undermine democracy in this country.

Sydney Call Centre

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a resilient community in Cape Breton. Through recent tough times they persisted and kept their spirits high. That community is made up of the employees of the Sydney Call Centre. On December 6, just before Christmas, nearly 600 employees were blindsided when they found out they would lose their jobs. Countless volunteers and organizations in Cape Breton quickly came together to fundraise and support these workers at such a tough time, including the Salvation Army, which handed out care baskets, fully equipped with Christmas turkeys, and also helped with bill payments and groceries.

Shortly after Christmas, the new Sydney Call Centre opened and has been hiring the employees back. My thanks to those workers for keeping their heads high and showing how resilient Cape Breton is. Even in the toughest of times, we can come together as a community to have each other's backs.

I would like to commend the work that all levels of government did, together with the manager of the centre, Todd Riley.

Along with the member for Cape Breton—Canso, we would like to thank the new owner, Anthony Marlowe, for seeing the strong work ethic and the great potential that Cape Breton has to offer.

Official Languages

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the official languages situation in this country is taking a worrisome turn. New Brunswick just cancelled plans to host the Jeux de la Francophonie. Uncertainty about the future of New Brunswick's linguistic duality is just one of many threats facing Canada's official languages.

Other examples, such as the Doug Ford Conservatives' decision to abolish the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and scrap plans for a Franco-Ontarian university, and uncertainty around the possible abolition of school boards in Quebec, point to an urgent need to take action.

That is why, in honour of the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act, the NDP is calling on the Prime Minister to hold a pan-Canadian summit on official languages. I will be presenting a request to the Standing Committee on Official Languages to organize a first ministers' summit to celebrate Canadian bilingualism.

Small Business

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our entrepreneurs and small business owners are the backbone of our economy. Small businesses create good jobs and growth, and they help build our communities.

On January 22, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion and I had the pleasure of attending a lunch with more than 80 of these exceptional men and women. It was a chance for us to tell them more about how our government is helping SMEs grow. This includes lowering their taxes from 11% to 9%, creating the Canada summer jobs program and investing $2 billion to support women entrepreneurs.

I want to extend sincere thanks to the Île-Perrot Business Association and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vaudreuil-Soulanges for making this event possible. I also want to thank the small business owners for participating in the meeting and sharing their ideas with us, so we can do even more to support those who are helping to build our communities of tomorrow.

Mary Gouchie

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, hadih or hello. I rise today to pay tribute to Lheidli T'enneh elder Mary Gouchie.

Mary passed away last Friday at the age of 97. She was at every community event and always had a smile for everyone. She prided herself on being able to figure things out and would tease that she was a scientist, a finance minister, an engineer and a professor, but most of all, Mary understood that our words connect us to our past. Our words and our music are two of the foundations of the human experience. Without them, we have no past. Without them, we have no future, and without them, we have no awareness of who we might be.

Mary was a keeper of the Dakelh language. She was one of the last fluent speakers of the Lheidli dialect and she did everything she could to help preserve the language. Mary had 10 children, 21 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren, but all of Prince George were her family and she will be missed.

[Member spoke in Dakelh and provided the following translation:]

“God be with you.”

High School Coach of the Year

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

Mr. Speaker, as we enter the Super Bowl weekend with the New England Patriots versus the Los Angeles Rams, I rise to recognize and congratulate Greg White, a teacher at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School and head coach of the Hespeler Hawks senior football team.

Mr. White is the recipient of this year's Riddell High School Coach of the Year Award. He was nominated by football parents, Jana Papke, Dennis Flaming and Daphne Nuys-Hall. Thanks to local reporter Mark Bryson, an article about Greg White's award appeared in the Waterloo Region Record this past Monday.

Mr. White was involved in starting up Hespeler's football program in 1992. He led the Hawks to their first all-Ontario championship in November, following an undefeated record of 12-0 this past season.

I congratulate Greg White and the Hespeler Hawks.

Canada Winter Games

[Churence Rogers, Liberal, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate the athletes from my riding, many from very small communities, who will be competing in the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta, from February 15 to March 3: from Bonavista, Sara Diamond; from Clarenville, Deidre Patey, Jillian Coates, Rachel Dean, Tyler Green and Susan Dean; from Glovertown, Heidi Simpson; from Musgrave Harbour, Roger Head; from New Harbour, Jennifer Pollett; from Northern Bay, Nancy Oliver; from Port Union, Garry Blackmore; and from Red Harbour, Kathy Senior.

They will be competing, coaching and managing our athletes in hockey, cross-country skiing, figure skating, table tennis, badminton, wheelchair basketball and biathlon. I want to express the immense pride of all of our communities. We cannot wait for them to bring home the gold.

On behalf of all of the residents of Bonavista—Burin—Trinity and my entire province, I offer best wishes to Team Newfoundland and Labrador in Red Deer, Alberta.

The Economy

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I toured every part of my riding over the winter break and what I discovered was that people are increasingly paying more because of the mistakes of the Prime Minister.

After record investment to create the rapid bus transit system, as we have no rail in the Okanagan, the Prime Minister killed the public transit tax credit. That costs people more to ride the bus. In rural communities like Keremeos, they get hit hard with an ever-increasing carbon tax and they have lost Greyhound service. Merritt has lost one lumber mill and the other is facing pressures, and the Prime Minister could not get a softwood lumber deal done.

Small family wineries are worried because the Prime Minister capitulated and now U.S.A. wines are to be sold in licensed B.C. grocery stores. Local governments that have community benefit agreements with the Trans Mountain pipeline have had to shelve important projects because the Prime Minister has made no progress.

There is a pattern here that all points to people paying more for the ongoing failures of the government and the Prime Minister.

Winterlude

[Karen McCrimmon, Liberal, Kanata—Carleton, ON]

It is February 1, Mr. Speaker, and we all know what that means: Winterlude starts here in Ottawa.

The opening ceremonies will feature skating on the canal, the pancake breakfast, Ottawa's famous beaver tails, ice sculptures and amazing family-friendly adventures. Many indoor and outdoor activities await, all highlighting Canada's cultural, artistic and culinary diversity.

While other parts of the country may complain about the cold weather, the tough Canadians in Ottawa celebrate snow and ice. I encourage all of my colleagues, indeed everyone, to make their way to Winterlude and have some family fun.

This year, Winterlude will run until February 18 and will end with amazing family day activities. I invite you, Mr. Speaker, to join all my intrepid constituents of Kanata—Carleton and come have some fun on the ice.

Small Business Week

[Richard Hébert, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week was Small Business Week, and I had the opportunity to visit a number of ridings in Quebec to meet with innovative and creative entrepreneurs. I also had the opportunity to welcome the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, Mélanie Joly, to my region of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean.

Tourism operators are SMEs that contribute to the economic development of our regions. The tourism industry accounts for 8,000 jobs in the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region.

My region is known as a place where people can get in touch with nature in both winter and summer. Take, for example, the indigenous tourism in the community of Mashteuiatsh, the Zoo sauvage de Saint-Félicien, the Val-Jalbert historic site and the Parc régional des Grandes-Rivières de Maria-Chapdelaine.

I am proud to represent a riding and a region that are well known for their welcoming people and natural beauty. Welcome to blueberry country.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before we continue, I would like to remind members that they are not to refer to other members of the House by name, only by title or by the name of the member's riding. It is just a little reminder for those who may have forgotten over the Christmas break.

The hon. member for Markham—Unionville.

Taxation

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hard-working families in my riding of Markham—Unionville are worried about Justin Trudeau's out-of-control spending that—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I would remind everyone about what I just said. I will say it in English this time. When we are referring to someone in the House, we refer to them by their title, not by their name.

I will let the hon. member continue.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hard-working families in my riding of Markham—Unionville are worried. They are worried about the Prime Minister's, out-of-control spending, the tax hikes and failure to get things done on the issues that matter most to them.

When people are working to support their families, the last they need is someone adding more tax burdens. The last thing they need is a prime minister who does not understand the struggle that regular hard-working Canadians face every day.

The Prime Minister has no problem raising taxes and making everyday life more expensive and more difficult. Make no mistake, he will continue to raise taxes to pay for his mistakes.

Canadians deserve better. They deserve a government that will lower taxes, put people first and make Canadians proud on the world stage once again, a Conservative government.

Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada

[Kate Young, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, February is Heart Month. Heart disease affects approximately 2.4 million Canadian adults and is the second leading cause of death in Canada. That is why organizations such as the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada, of CANet, are so important.

CANet is based in London and brings together health care professionals, academia, industry, not-for-profit and patient input to support new ideas and groundbreaking research on arrhythmia and related heart conditions.

I recently had the opportunity to visit CANet and see first-hand the work it is doing. Its research and first-of-its-kind technology will have significant impact, not only on Canadians suffering from arrhythmia but also on caregivers and for Canada's health care system at large.

I applaud CANet for its important work and encourage all members in the House to join me in raising awareness on cardiovascular health this month.

Dene High School

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

[Member spoke in Dene, interpreted as follows:]

Mr. Speaker, on January 22, 2016, two teachers and two young men lost their lives and others were injured when a shooter entered the Dene High School in La Loche. In the three years since that date, both levels of government have honoured their lives, the first responders and worked to move forward from the tragedy in my home town.

Today, I want to recognize the teachers, support staff and community members who saved so many lives. Many teachers have told me privately the things they did to make sure the kids were safe, even when it meant putting themselves in harm's way. I thank them for their quick thinking and commitment to their students. Though many of these teachers have left to take care of their mental well-being, they insisted on staying on to complete the year and help the kids they saved that day.

Their actions have been forgotten by the Saskatchewan and federal governments in the past several years. Therefore, let us now take a moment to thank them for what they did.

Prime Minister of Canada

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, now that the Liberal government is at the end of its term, I thought I would share a story.

Once upon a time there was a Prime Minister who said he was a leader and a champion of the environment, indigenous peoples and veterans. He talked about budgets balancing themselves and how his government would help those who work hard and the middle class. He even said that Canada was back on the international stage. Let us not forget his very colourful trip to India, his relationship with Saudi Arabia, China, and our biggest economic ally, the United States. What a story. What a disaster he created. The sad reality is that after three years, this Prime Minister has done nothing in the interest of Canadians. He cannot be trusted. He broke his promises. After only three years, he is leaving us with an out-of-control, astronomical deficit. Lucky thing we are in a period of economic prosperity.

Speaking of luck, Canadians are indeed lucky. On October 21, they will have the opportunity to choose a real government, a Conservative government with a real responsible Prime Minister, who will give us, Canadians—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Hull—Aylmer.