House of Commons Hansard #379 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was kingshants.

Topics

Criminal CodePrivate Members' Business

7:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

Criminal CodePrivate Members' Business

7:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Criminal CodePrivate Members' Business

7:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Justice.

(Motion agreed to, bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodAdjournment Proceedings

7:10 p.m.

NDP

Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to have this opportunity to stand in the House during Adjournment Proceedings to follow up on a question I posed to the government last year, on October 16. Some members of the House will recognize this was World Food Day.

It is four months later and there is still no clear answer from the government side to my original question, which was with respect to the development of a national food policy for Canada. As recently as last week, when I had the deputy minister, Mr. Tom Rosser, before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, he was a little vague, but told me that maybe we would see something in the next three to four months.

There were a lot of extensive consultations with Canadians from coast to coast to coast in the development of this food policy. In fact, I can remember that it was one of my more popular town halls in my riding of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford. I had a lot of people come out. Not only consumers of food, but many local farmers came to participate in the panel discussions as well as in the individual round tables. From their deliberations, I was able to formulate a report, which I handed to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food with a lot of pride for participating in a process that would eventually lead to the development of this policy.

I fundamentally believe that the food policy is not going to be a very simple undertaking. It will certainly take some time, but I would like, by the end of this evening, to have some kind of clear indication from the parliamentary secretary as to where the government is at, what more needs to be done and whether we can reasonably expect something in this 42nd Parliament.

The New Democrats have had a plan for the development of a national food policy for quite some time now. As the agriculture critic, I have to recognize the work of dignitaries in this party, like Malcolm Allen and Alex Atamanenko, who were previous agriculture critics and led to the development of our plan, “Everybody Eats”. It was our vision for a pan-Canadian food strategy.

We recognize that in a food strategy we need to have a holistic plan. We need to make Canada a leader in the environmentally sustainable production of food. We need to work with industry to make it a part of the conversation, to have farmers at the centre of this conversation. We want something that protects critical watersheds, that promotes best practices and reduces food waste from farm to fork.

We want to promote the welfare of animals, because as farmers know, the welfare of their animals allows their business to succeed and thrive. Farmers who engage in animal husbandry will tell us that the welfare of their animals is always their top concern.

There are a lot of good ideas out there. They have all been collected by the government. It has now had almost two years to go through that vast amount of information, which was the product of a lot of work by Canadians from all around the country.

Therefore, I would like to pose a question for the parliamentary secretary: When can we, as Canadians, as parliamentarians, expect to see the national food policy? Could he inform the House as to a concrete timeline for the development of that?

Agriculture and Agri-FoodAdjournment Proceedings

7:15 p.m.

La Prairie Québec

Liberal

Jean-Claude Poissant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford for raising this important issue. Canadians' food choices have an impact on food security, health and food safety, our environment and our economy.

The government is working with Canadians to develop a long-term vision for food in our country. This vision is entitled “A Food Policy for Canada”, the first policy of its kind in Canada. We plan to introduce a food policy for Canada by the end of our mandate.

This policy will address food issues and pursue opportunities in areas related to increasing access to affordable food, improving health and food safety, conserving our soil, water, and air, as well as growing more high-quality food.

A food policy will improve how we work together. It will also support the hard work done by our farmers to feed families. The Government of Canada held extensive consultations, and more than 45,000 Canadians shared their thoughts online. We also heard from hundreds of stakeholders through our national and regional engagement sessions and community events. I took part in many of them myself.

People from Charlottetown to Vancouver to Yellowknife and everywhere in between have spoken. We released a report entitled, “What We Heard”, which sums up the consultations. These are some of the key messages we frequently heard during the consultations.

First, there is the urgent need to combat hunger. In Canada, access to nutritious and culturally appropriate foods is especially hard for certain groups, including for those who live in poverty, as well as in indigenous and northern communities.

The consultations also showed significant support for conserving air, soil, and water quality. Food waste was raised as a major problem that needs to be addressed. An estimated one-third of food in Canada is lost or wasted and Canadian households spend roughly $10.4 billion a year on food that ends up in the trash, resulting in increased landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions, and missed opportunities to help combat food insecurity.

We are exploring how we can build stronger food security for Canadians and help Canada continue being a leader in growing healthy, high-quality food. Our farmers work long, hard hours to feed Canadian families.

With a food policy, the Government of Canada, industry and other organizations will be able to work better together towards the health, environmental, social and economic goals related to food.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

NDP

Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the parliamentary secretary's comments with respect to this question on the development of a national food policy. I am glad to hear we will see it by the end of the current government's term.

He knows as well as I do from recent testimony before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, especially with our current study on indigenous participation in agriculture, where we have seen the statistics, that even in a country as wealthy as ours and even with the amount of food we are capable of producing, there are still many food-insecure areas and populations that do not have access to safe, nutritious and wholesome food. It is my sincere hope that this national food policy, while putting the needs of our farmers first and foremost, will also address those critical areas, because I think that in a country as wealthy as ours, this is still a national stain and shame. For the welfare of those populations that do not have the means, I certainly hope we address that, because I believe it is our duty as parliamentarians to look after those who are less fortunate.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Claude Poissant Liberal La Prairie, QC

Mr. Speaker, by bringing everyone together, with a wide range of experiences and viewpoints, we will build a food policy for Canada. This policy needs to reflect the priorities and opinions of Canadians, indigenous peoples and stakeholders.

We held broad consultations, and now we are rolling up our sleeves and carefully considering all of the feedback we received. The feedback is about the mandates of various federal agencies, some of which are currently developing complementary initiatives.

We are taking the time to get it right. A food policy will ensure that we are all moving in the same direction, with the same goals in mind, on the vital issues surrounding food.

Veterans AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise in this place on behalf of the women and men who serve in uniform in the Canadian Armed Forces to participate in this adjournment debate.

The great riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, which in its wisdom has elected me to be its democratic representative in the six consecutive previous elections, is home to Garrison Petawawa, Canada's largest army base, training ground of the warriors. I appreciate the trust I have earned from our women and men in the forces and I have their backs.

During question period, I asked the government a question regarding the health and safety of our troops. While I may have expected a lack of response from the since renewed Minister of Veterans Affairs who is now the Minister of Indigenous Services, Canadians expect more for their soldiers and veterans.

I implore the former justice minister, now Minister of Veterans Affairs, to become the advocate for veterans, the one they have been lacking in the Liberal government.

My question referred to the decision by the Liberal Party to play politics with military procurement. The policy decision to play partisan politics relates to the fact that the budget has not been increased as was promised to soldiers and veterans. In fact, it was cut by $8 billion.

Promises to restore the funding after the federal budget is balanced do not count for anything because we all know there is no plan to balance the federal budget. What does that mean for the average soldier when military procurement budgets are cut?

The public is only made aware of high-profile cuts such as the unfortunate parody that is being played out with the Vice-Admiral Mark Norman show trial over naval ship procurement. There is also the decision to purchase second-hand junk from the Australians by acquiring their fighter jet cast-offs.

Rather than proceeding with the second-hand fighter jet cast-offs, we should be holding a fair and open competition immediately. Defence budget cutbacks mean the health and safety of soldiers are compromised. For example, it has been brought to my attention that the health of soldiers has been shortchanged by the use of unqualified individuals to perform basic medical procedures.

In this case, the procedure is a routine eye examination. Eye examinations are required as part of the universality of service standard all soldiers must maintain, but rather than employing a licensed ophthalmologist to conduct these eye examinations, a medical technician has done the testing for a year. The bare minimum in eye care has been given.

As an unqualified technician, the referral to a physician specialist, in this case an ophthalmologist, would not be made because a technician is not trained in eye health. For the most part, service members are not made aware that the regular eye exams being provided by the Canadian Armed Forces are not being provided at the civilian standard level of care that would identify health concerns.

Until a crisis occurs for a soldier, no one knows anything. In this real life example, service members, after experiencing vision difficulties, only discover the nature of their vision loss after being diagnosed by off-base civilian medical professionals. The tragedy of one case in particular is that the vision loss was preventable and would have been diagnosed in a timely fashion had a proper medical person been—

Veterans AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Chair Liberal Anthony Rota

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence.

Veterans AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:25 p.m.

Serge Cormier Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Lib.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that she asked for answers about our men and women in uniform who are part of a peacekeeping mission in Mali. She also said that there was no debate or vote in the House on that mission. My colleague knows the rules of the House better than I do, but I am going to stick to the questions she raised.

I am very pleased that we are bringing Canadian leadership back to the world stage by working with the United Nations to strengthen international peace and security. After decades of setbacks and cuts by the Harper Conservatives, Canada is recommitting to peacekeeping by supporting the United Nations mission in Mali. That responds specifically to the question my colleague raised.

Today, our air task force provides medical evacuations and tactical airlift services to UN forces. We support the peace process in Mali, and we are taking a comprehensive approach that includes diplomatic, development and military resources. Our efforts are focused on protecting civilians.

During operations, the safety and well-being of our women and men in the armed forces is paramount. While we cannot eliminate all risk, we will always work to reduce the risk our Canadian Armed Forces members face during operations. Our government ensures that our troops have the equipment and training they need for their missions. In the case of Mali, that includes modified rules of engagement to reduce risks to their safety. We are proud of the role the Canadian Armed Forces is playing in Mali and the positive influence they have around the world.

Through Operation Presence, the Canadian Armed Forces is contributing vital resources to the UN's stabilization mission. For example, we have deployed a task force of about 250 people. Two Chinook helicopters and four Griffon helicopters are ready at all times to conduct life-saving medical evacuations and provide tactical airlift to UN forces in Mali.

As of February 1, our air task force had flown over 127 sorties, including six medical evacuations. It had transported over 4,600 passengers and more than 340,000 kilograms of freight.

The mission in Mali is an opportunity for Canada to stand out on the world stage through the Elsie Initiative. Our government understands that diversity is our strength, and it is essential to the success of any mission. We are very proud of the fact that women now represent 15% of Canada's forces deployed in Mali, which is more than the UN average of just 4%. Canada is a global leader in this area, and while we are proud of the progress we made, we know there is much more to do to increase the representation of women in the Canadian Armed Forces.

As the member opposite well knows, we have been very open and transparent. We have made a one-year commitment to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, or MINUSMA. The mission will end at the end of July 2019. We are very pleased that Romania will assume this important role in Mali after us, especially since this confirms the relevance of the commitment we made to the United Nations. This will ensure a judicious rotation of deployments in partnership with our allies, while still supporting peacekeeping efforts.

Veterans AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, the tragedy of one case in particular is that the vision loss was preventable had it been diagnosed in a timely fashion. Now a soldier faces being assessed as medically unfit for duty and being involuntarily released from service, and will have to prove the condition is due to his time in the military in order to get any pension.

That is one soldier. How many other soldiers' health and well-being are affected by these types of cuts that are invisible to the public until there is a problem?

The health and safety of our women and men in uniform should be a number one priority for the government. There is an opportunity for the new Minister of Veterans Affairs to make things right. She can either repeat the mistakes of the last minister of veterans affairs or do the right thing and give veterans what was promised in the last election. She should drop the empty PMO talking points and do the right thing. Lives depend on her.

Veterans AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Lib.

Serge Cormier

Mr. Speaker, once again, the member is not talking about the question she raised for this adjournment debate. I will therefore refer to what I said in my speech.

We are very pleased to be involved in peacekeeping operations where the Conservatives refused to get involved. Our air task force and our people on the ground are making a difference and are appreciated by our international partners.

Furthermore, I want to reiterate that the safety of our men and women in uniform is our priority. I want to clarify for my colleague that our government believes that the House of Commons should also have the opportunity to debate international deployments, which is why we held a take-note debate on March 20, 2018. That offer still stands, and I encourage my colleague to consider it.

Intergovernmental AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise this evening to talk about a file that has taken up a lot of our time over the past few days, namely the single tax return, which was unanimously requested by the National Assembly.

The Quebec National Assembly has called for Quebeckers to be able to file just one tax return. The Premier of Quebec is calling for the same.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to discuss this file at length during a supply day where the opposition moved a simple motion. We were calling for the government and all parliamentarians to work together and adopt the following motion:

That, given:

(a) the House has great respect for provincial jurisdiction and trust in provincial institutions;

(b) the people of Quebec are burdened with completing and submitting two tax returns, one federal and one provincial; and

(c) the House believes in cutting red tape and reducing unnecessary paperwork to improve the everyday lives of families; therefore,

the House call on the government to work with the Government of Quebec to implement a single tax return in Quebec, as adopted unanimously in the motion of the National Assembly of Quebec on May 15, 2018.

That was yesterday. Earlier today, we voted on this opposition motion. Unfortunately, and despite his fine words, the Prime Minister once again demonstrated that he has no intention of respecting the will of the provinces. Every Liberal member voted against our motion.

Had the motion been adopted, talks could have gotten under way with Quebec to address the request by the members of the Quebec National Assembly, which, I would remind members, was unanimous. The Premier of Quebec himself called for this several times, and it would have made life easier for Quebeckers. The ultimate goal of the call to create a single tax return for Quebeckers is to make their lives easier by reducing red tape.

Contrary to what the Liberals suggested over the last few days, there is no need to fearmonger about job losses. There is no way a single job would be cut simply because we dropped one of two tax forms. The people currently working for the Canada Revenue Agency will all keep their jobs because there are still major challenges to be addressed, especially tax evasion. Furthermore, CRA staff will still have many audits to do.

Consequently, the debate should not suggest that allowing Quebeckers to file a single tax return necessarily and automatically means that employees in Quebec will lose their jobs. That is false, yet the Liberals have been raising the spectre of job losses for the past few days to justify their refusal to let Quebeckers file a single tax return in accordance with their wishes and best interests.

I must remind the House that Quebec is the only province where people have to file two tax returns, one provincial and one federal. We are trying to make life easier for Quebeckers and get rid of one of those tax returns. We want to streamline the process and reduce the paperwork burden created by the need to file two tax returns in Quebec.

Intergovernmental AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:35 p.m.

La Prairie Québec

Liberal

Jean-Claude Poissant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable for his question.

For the past few days, he has been accusing our government of fearmongering about the single tax return. What we are saying is that we are always in favour of working with the Government of Quebec to make life easier for Quebeckers, but we will not be foolish or do so at any cost. My first thought is the CRA employees. My colleague must consider the potential impact this would have on the more than 5,500 employees working in 14 offices in Quebec.

There would be job losses. As the Minister of National Revenue said, “chop, chop, chop”. Premier Legault himself admitted it. What do the Conservatives have to say to these 5,500 employees? Yesterday, the Conservatives revealed their true colours. They do not have a plan, and on top of that, the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord told us that the more than 5,500 CRA employees in Quebec were a mere detail.

In Quebec, the CRA is more than just a detail. We are talking about real people. We are talking about 5,500 high-quality jobs that support middle-class families. Those 5,500 families contribute to their community and the vitality of rural regions.

Our position is clear. We will not jeopardize those jobs. The federal government, nine provinces and the three territories have harmonized their definitions of income. Quebec has a different definition, different rules and different exemptions. For Quebec to have a single tax return, the nine other provinces and the three territories would have to amend their framework or else Quebec would have to amend its own.

Which option do the Conservatives prefer? When will they tell us who they are going to ask to change their approach? If the Conservatives were serious about their intention to simplify the tax return process for Quebeckers, they would not have made cuts to the services offered by the CRA.

Rather than making empty promises, we, on this side of the House, will continue to invest in services that make a real difference in the lives of Quebeckers. It is with that objective in mind that the Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec have been working together for nearly 30 years. That collaboration has paid off. Many of the new services are designed to improve access for the 86% of taxpayers in Quebec who file their tax returns electronically.

Many services such as auto-fill my return, file my return, express NOA and ReFILE have already been put in place to make it easier for Canadians to file their returns. Other benefits for Quebec residents include updates to the tax preparation software to make it easier to complete both forms. The basic information that is the same for each form can be automatically generated using the new features. That is what co-operation with Quebec looks like.

Intergovernmental AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:40 p.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Mr. Speaker, my colleague's speech sounds familiar, because we have been hearing it over and over for the past week.

Unfortunately, the government is once again refusing to listen to the Premier of Quebec and Quebec's National Assembly, which unanimously asked to begin the process of implementing a single tax return for all Quebeckers. Little wonder that the Liberals refuse to work with Quebec, given that they still see it as a threat, like in the old days. The government is unwilling to give up any of its power to Quebec.

As to the matter of the different definitions of the word “income”, it is utter nonsense. When Quebeckers get paid, they get one cheque, not two. They only get one paycheque. These are just technicalities, and the Liberals are using trivialities just to get out of letting Quebec have its way and to avoid trusting Quebeckers. Hardly surprising, given that the member for Gatineau said that the idea of a single tax return was the dumbest idea ever. That is the message he sent to Quebec's National Assembly.

Intergovernmental AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:40 p.m.

Liberal

Jean-Claude Poissant Liberal La Prairie, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are trying to win over Quebeckers with some magical thinking, but they do not have a real plan.

As far as a single tax return is concerned, they have no plan. As far as tax evasion is concerned, they have no plan. As far as dealing with climate change is concerned, they have no plan. Should I keep going down the list? The Conservatives not only do not have a plan, but they are totally wrong when they say that a single tax return can be implemented with a simple administrative agreement.

In Quebec, the Canada Revenue Agency employs real people. We are talking about 5,500 good jobs that support middle-class families, 5,500 income earners who spend money at small businesses in Shawinigan, Jonquière, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Rouyn-Noranda and Rimouski.

On this side of the House, we are going to do what it takes to protect these jobs that support so many communities in Quebec.

Intergovernmental AffairsAdjournment Proceedings

7:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted.

Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:44 p.m.)