Debates of Feb. 5th, 2019

Public Safety

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the U.S. State Department urged its allies to bring home and prosecute its citizens currently held in Syria who committed terrorist acts for ISIS. Although ISIS has been reduced and destabilized in the region, our allies remain concerned that it could re-emerge. The Liberals have been deafening in their silence on how they plan to deal with Canadians who have committed terrorist acts for ISIS.

What is the government's plan to bring these terrorists to justice?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, we condemn the horrific and cowardly acts of Daesh and take with the utmost seriousness the threats posed by travelling extremists and returnees. Those who leave Canada to fight for terrorism are utterly reprehensible and our goal is to arrest, charge, prosecute and convict.

All Five Eyes and G7 allies are working together to help collect and preserve the necessary evidence.

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is not a plan to take our national security seriously. Last year, the House adopted a Conservative motion calling for a comprehensive strategy to bring Canadians who have committed acts of terrorism for ISIS to justice, but the Liberal response was a total failure.

The Liberals continue to ignore our allies in the face of this global security threat, making Canadians pay for their mistakes. Why will the government not take this seriously and bring these terrorists to justice?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, wherever the evidence exists, charges are laid and prosecutions are pursued. I would note that of the very small number of returnees who have come back to Canada from the Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish theatres, four have already been charged and at least three have been convicted. None were charged or convicted under the previous government.

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order.

My apologies to the hon. member for Saskatoon West for perhaps calling upon her before the House was quite ready. I trust it is now ready.

The hon. member for Saskatoon West.

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, today 9,000 people are homeless in Toronto and many more are at risk. There are 180,000 people on lists who are waiting for affordable housing. Prominent activists, artists and business people are calling this a state of emergency, urging all governments to get to work.

The Prime Minister said housing rights are human rights, and I agree, but year after year, the story is the same. Why will the Liberal government not step up, get this right and give all Canadians a safe, warm place to call home?

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

Mr. Speaker, although stories of that sort are very sad, it is always very important for members of the House to hear them. That is why from day one we made it very clear that every Canadian has a right to a safe and affordable home. That is why we have invested more than $5.7 billion since 2016 in helping a million families across Canada. That is why November 22, 2017, was a historic date. At that time we announced the first-ever national housing strategy, which is going to decrease chronic homelessness by at least 50% and give hundreds of thousands of Canadians a safe and affordable place to call home.

Pyrrhotite

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the trend of announcements continues, after four years of governing, the Liberal government may end up having completely overlooked the needs of the people of Mauricie.

Here are some examples. There was an announcement about a pyrrhotite study, but the results will not be available until 2024. As for the construction of a new taxation data centre in Shawinigan, work will begin, at best, in 2022.

The government seems unable to meet the needs of the people of Trois-Rivières right now.

How much longer will we still have to wait before work on the high-frequency train begins? Can we expect an achievement out of this government or an announcement for a hypothetical mandate?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for allowing me to remind all my colleagues of all the things we have done for the people of Mauricie.

One of the first things we did, together with the Prime Minister, was to hear the plea for help from pyrrhotite victims in Trois-Rivières. Thanks to the Minister of Finance, we invested $30 million in the first budget to help pyrrhotite victims.

I think it takes some nerve for a colleague to question today what we have done for the people of Mauricie. We are there for them. Our voice is strong. We will continue to invest in the regions of Quebec because we have a vision for these regions.

Science and Technology

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the University of Guelph is a leader in research.

On Monday, our government announced $22.7 million in funding to support 37 research projects across the country through Genome Canada.

Could the Minister of Science and Sport tell the House how our support for research will help improve the lives of Canadians?

[Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and for everything he does for Guelph.

Investments like these help Canada remain a world leader in research, including in genomics research, which has enormous potential to improve Canadians' health, create jobs of the future and solve some of the challenges faced by our agriculture, energy and resource sectors.

After a decade of funding cuts by the previous government, we are returning science and research to their rightful place.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, for two years now, the Prime Minister has been scoffing at our questions about the safety and security of Canadians.

He always accuses us of fearmongering, but he does not realize that these questions come from our constituents. The media is reporting that asylum seekers account for 41% of the security backlog, and these people are already here in Canada.

Can the Prime Minister confirm whether this is true, or is the media also guilty of fearmongering?

[Bill Blair, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government will never compromise the safety and security of Canadians and we will not engage in the politics of resentment and fear.

Regardless of how they arrive in Canada, all claimants are thoroughly screened by the hard-working men and women of CBSA, and they do this in partnership with the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and the RCMP. Unlike the Harper Conservatives, whose deeds rarely match their rhetoric, we are taking concrete measures to allow our border officers to do their jobs and to ensure they have the resources necessary to protect Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said, this was reported by the Toronto Star today, not the Conservatives. Is the minister saying that the Toronto Star is instilling fear in Canadians? We will have to see.

We know that some of the asylum seekers have been identified as dangerous criminals. We also know that 11,000 people are awaiting proper security checks. In less than three years, our Prime Minister has managed to create a situation with our immigration system and our borders that is untenable for our officers.

Will the Prime Minister guarantee that the individuals who have not been screened do not represent a threat to Canadians?

[Bill Blair, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, let me correct the misconception that the member has shared with us.

First of all, let me assure everyone that the CBSA screens virtually everyone who seeks to enter Canada to determine their admissibility. This can happen to a foreign national being issued travel documents, and in the case of all people making asylum claims in Canada, additional screening takes place when they arrive.

I have gone to the border. I have watched CBSA, the RCMP and IRCC conduct these examinations. They take biometrics, photographs and fingerprints. They check the available databases. They screen these individuals to make sure there is no criminality—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, for the House, let me define what “screened virtually everybody” means: It means 11,745 people were not screened. Many of them illegally entered our country. This was reported today by the Toronto Star. Is this true?

[Bill Blair, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, let me assure the member and all members in the House that every individual who arrives at our border, regardless of whether they arrive at a port of entry or irregularly at our borders, is subject to rigorous background screening to ensure there is no criminality or threat to national security.

What the member may be referring to is part of the process of determining eligibility. There are further screening background checks conducted by CBSA on behalf of IRCC to ensure that anyone who is admitted as an eligible asylum claimant in this country has been thoroughly vetted.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is a fairly easy yes-or-no question, and one that Canadians should have an answer to.

Today the Toronto Star reported that 11,745 people have not had their screening completed. Is this true, yes or no?

[Bill Blair, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to share with the member what is true.

Last year CBSA processed over 90 million entries to Canada safely and securely, as it does each year. It constantly review its processes. Every person who has arrived at our border seeking asylum, irregularly or at a regular port of entry, is subject to a thorough screening before being allowed admission. There are additional screening measures and inquiries made as part of the immigration and refugee eligibility process. Those processes continue well after the person enters the country.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I remind colleagues that the idea here is to have one side talking and then the other, and not everybody at once. We need to be respectful of that process.

The hon. member for Essex.

Automotive Industry

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after being abandoned by GM, Oshawa's auto workers cannot help but feel abandoned by the Liberals too. Conservative and Liberal governments, like this one, have failed to protect Canadian jobs from corporate greed. Because of the Liberals' mistakes, thousands of workers are now fighting for their paycheques, fighting for the future of their families, fighting for their communities.

Where is the Prime Minister? It seems like he has given up. Why is the Liberal government letting GM get away with this betrayal?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we will never give up on the auto workers. We will never give up on the workers in Oshawa. We have been very clear that this is a priority for our government.

I went to Detroit to meet with Mary Barra, and I also spoke with Jerry Dias to talk about a solution. If there is a solution to be found, we will be at the table. We have been there before. We were part of the historic investments of $5.6 billion in the automotive sector, a trend that generated thousands of jobs and reversed the 30,000 job losses that occurred under Stephen Harper.

We got the job done and we will continue to fight for the auto workers.