Debates of Feb. 1st, 2019

The Environment

[Rémi Massé, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government understands the importance of an effective environmental protection regime as well as a sustainable and prosperous energy resource sector. Our insolvency laws are designed to balance environmental obligations, the ability of Canadian companies to restructure and preserve jobs and the fair treatment of creditors.

We are now reviewing the Supreme Court of Canada's decision to assess the potential impact and implications for our marketplace framework, laws and the Canadian economy.

Transport

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians saw the disruption of travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers at London Gatwick Airport in December because of a drone incident. We remember an accident in Quebec City between a drone and a plane. Travellers in Toronto are concerned about possible disruptions and incidents involving drones and planes.

Can the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Transport please advise as to what new regulations will do to improve safety related to drones around airports.

[Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, starting June 1, our new rules will require drone pilots of drones over 250 grams to take an online course in safety and proper handling. Drone pilots will also be required to keep their drones away from airports and to register them.

To all travelling Canadians, we will continue to take concrete measures to keep air travel in Canada safe.

Intergovernmental Relations

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

Mr. Speaker, what is the problem with having a single tax return for Quebeckers? They are the only Canadians who are required to file two returns. This Liberal government has Canada Revenue Agency employees worried that they will lose their jobs. Our leader said that no job will be lost. Unlike the Liberals, we keep our word.

What do the Liberals have against Quebeckers? Why is the Liberal government saying no to a single tax return in Quebec?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, again, we see that the Conservatives are playing petty politics making empty promises they have no intention of keeping.

The CRA employs more than 5,500 employees throughout Quebec and is a major economic driver in towns like Shawinigan and Jonquière. Unlike the Conservatives, we will not put these jobs in jeopardy. That said, we are always prepared to work with Revenu Québec to make it easier to file tax returns in Quebec.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue is stubbornly refusing to grant a legitimate request from Quebeckers. In my humble opinion, the National Assembly's request to let Quebeckers file a single tax return sounds reasonable. However, letting Quebeckers save time and money just does not seem to be a Liberal value.

Quebeckers will remember the Minister of National Revenue's simplistic arguments come October 21.

Why is the Minister of National Revenue making herself the spokesperson for a centralist government instead of opening her eyes to what is best for all Quebeckers?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, what Quebeckers will remember when the next election rolls around is the “chop, chop, chop” of the Conservatives' axe falling during the 10 years they were in power.

Here is what we have done over the past three years. We have invested in the Canada Revenue Agency and its call centres, simplified tax returns, invested in community volunteer programs, and encouraged low-income non-filers to file a return. We are working for Canadians and Quebeckers.

Agriculture and Agri-food

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the severe drought of 2018 was even worse than the drought of 2017. Quite a few farmers in my riding and many other regions of Quebec experienced major losses. Unfortunately, some of them are on the verge of giving up farming because agristability payments amount to little or practically nothing.

Quebec's ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food, the Financière agricole du Québec and the Union des producteurs agricoles have all asked the Liberal government to revise how it calculates losses.

When will the government take action on this?

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, our government has always stood up for farmers and farm families.

We invested $100 million in agricultural science and innovation. In contrast, the Conservatives cut $700 million from Agriculture Canada's budget.

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership will strengthen the agriculture sector and provide tools to ensure the success of Canadian farmers.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since farmers signed on to the crop insurance program several years ago, they expect fair compensation for the losses they have suffered.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has even acknowledged an error in its method for evaluating losses and said it is prepared to go ahead with adjustments for 2019. However, we have learned that it refuses to do anything about 2018, at the expense of farmers who suffered from last year's extreme drought.

Why are the Liberals turning their backs on the farmers in my riding and across eastern Quebec?

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, let me remind the House that while the Conservatives were in power, they slashed $700 million from the Department of Agriculture budget.

We have invested $350 million to support dairy producers and processors. We will continue creating growth and opportunities for Canadian farmers.

International Trade

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the government really wanted to help Canadian workers and small businesses, it would have stood up to Trump and refused to sign a trade deal that would compromise Canada's future. Canadian workers are tired of paying the heavy price of losing jobs because the Liberals failed to do everything in their power to lift the devastating tariffs on steel and aluminum. These tariffs have caused layoffs, and some companies are being forced to close shop across the country.

Why are the Liberals refusing to stand up for Canadian steelworkers and small businesses?

[Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the illegal and unjustified U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum must be lifted. That is a message we are delivering to the United States, and it is working. Last month, U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle told U.S. trade representatives to lift the tariffs. Just this week, Kevin Brady, a top level Republican, said that they must be lifted before Congress considers the new NAFTA deal.

We will never stop fighting for our workers and against these tariffs.

Housing

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard about unaffordable housing in big cities, but Courtenay has now joined the ranks of the world's least affordable housing markets.

Marcie, a single woman from the Comox Valley, was living in her van and finally found a camper to live in, but it is not on properly zoned land. There is nowhere to live in the community, and she has been living in fear that she will be evicted. Sure enough, this week she was told that she has to move.

The Liberals might pat themselves on the back, but the reality is that people still have nowhere to live. How can they spin their talking points, when people like Marcie have nowhere to go?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, from day one, we have made it very clear that every Canadian has the right to have access to a safe and affordable place to live and to live in dignity. That is why we have invested, since 2016, $5.7 billion to help one million families and therefore well over a million Canadians. That is why we are going to keep investing in housing for Canadians because of the neglect of previous governments in Canada.

We are entering a new era in housing. We have a lot of work to do and we look forward to doing it.

Ethics

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Norman case proves that this Liberal government is not as open and transparent as it promised it would be. Justice department lawyers are obstructing the transfer of documents to Vice-Admiral Norman's defence team. The Minister of Defence seems to want to subvert the access to information system.

Why is the Prime Minister hiding the truth? Who is he protecting?

[David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the case in question is being prosecuted by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which operates independently from the Department of Justice and my office. Lawyers with the Attorney General of Canada are meeting all their obligations to the court regarding the lawyers' request for publication of third-party files.

This file is currently before the courts so it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the chief of staff to the Minister of National Defence was on the stand at the Norman trial yesterday. Ms. Astravas was questioned about efforts in the Prime Minister's Office to delay the documents in the Norman trial.

Could the Prime Minister assure the House that there was no coordinated effort to delay this court case until after the election?

[David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said in French, the prosecution in question is being handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which operates independently from the Department of Justice and my office.

Counsel to the Attorney General of Canada is fulfilling all of its obligations before the court with respect to third party records applications. It is improper for me to comment further, this matter being before the courts.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what is improper is that the Prime Minister moved the Dalton McGuinty-Kathleen Wynne team to Ottawa to help run his office, including Ms. Astravas. She was part of the Liberal team in Ontario that used code words like apple, fruit salad and vapour to delay and prevent the release of documents in the gas plant scandal.

I see a pattern. It is clear the same thing is happening now in the case of Kraken, the code word for Vice-Admiral Norman. When will the Prime Minister stop doing things from the Kathleen Wynne cover-up playbook?

[David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member well knows, according to the sub judice principle, best articulated by former member of Parliament, Peter Van Loan, members are expected to refrain from discussing matters before the courts or under judicial consideration in order to protect those involved, in order to give them the ability to have a fair trial and to be heard in court.

The matter will be tried in court and, according to Mr. Van Loan, it is not only improper for me to answer, it is improper for the hon. member to ask the question.

Passport Canada

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as the winter vacation period approaches, many Canadians are looking into trips to warmer climates.

Could the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development tell the House how this government is making it easier for Canadians to access passport services regardless of where in Canada they live?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for London North Centre for his question and congratulate him on his excellent French and his hard work.

We were elected to help the middle class and to help more Canadians join it. To that end, we need to provide quality services to Canadians. For this reason, I am very pleased to announce that Canadians now have access to 300 passport service centres across the country. This is twice as many passport service centres as there were under the Harper government just a few years ago. We are very proud of this, because serving Canadians should be the Canadian government's primary objective.

International Trade

[Richard Martel, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC]

Mr. Speaker, businesses are being hit hard by the 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum and the situation keeps getting worse. The Liberals promised $2 billion in compensation to support the steel and aluminum industry. Business are still waiting, even though the government has collected $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs.

Why do steel and aluminum companies in Saguenay and Canada have to keep paying for the Prime Minister's negotiation mistakes?

[Rémi Massé, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord mentioned, we provided a $2-billion support program, which is very important for the companies affected by these unjustifiable duties.

To give my colleague examples of the type of investment we have made over the past year, we invested $90 million in Algoma Steel, which will create 50 jobs and protect 3,000. Also—for something closer to home for him, as he must surely be aware of, given the great announcements we made—we invested $60 million in Rio Tinto and Alcoa to support jobs and invest in new technology.

We are committed to supporting the aluminum industry.