Debates of April 29th, 2019

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is in the midst of the deepest diplomatic crisis we have ever experienced with China, and we have had no ambassador on the ground since the Prime Minister's hand-picked Liberal insider had to resign three months ago due to his own incompetence. The crisis gets worse each week. Canadian citizens are in prison and are being mistreated. Exporters, including canola producers, are suffering.

When will the Prime Minister step up and nominate a new ambassador to start turning this crisis around?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure every member of this House, and above all the detained Canadians, that their well-being is our government's paramount priority and my paramount concern. We have rallied an unprecedented number of countries around the world to publicly speak out about these detained Canadians and to call for their release, and I will give you the full list, Mr. Speaker, when I answer the next question.

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

It is reassuring that she has already predicted what her answer will be to my question, Mr. Speaker.

I will remind her that the Prime Minister famously said that “Canada is back”. I am sure that hollow Liberal slogan is warm comfort to our two prisoners in China who have the lights on 24/7.

I am not concerned about the other countries the minister is calling. I would like her to speak to her Prime Minister. Will she answer this simple question. Will she appoint a new ambassador for China to stop or turn around this dispute by the end of the month, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I am able to predict my answers, because the questions are so easily predictable and repetitive.

Canada absolutely is back, which is why we have rallied an unprecedented—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. Members might not like questions or the answers, but we still have to hear them.

The hon. member for Carleton.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister shattered his promise that the budget would balance itself this year. He has added three times as much debt as he said he would. The cost of government is up 25% in just over three years. Among the wasteful spending is the quarter billion dollars for the Asian Infrastructure Bank to build pipelines and roads in China.

Will the Prime Minister show even a modicum of respect for Canadian taxpayers and cancel that quarter-billion-dollar waste of money?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we were pleased to make an investment into the Asian Infrastructure Bank. We know it makes an important difference. There is in fact one project that the bank has taken on in China. It is a project to reduce the use of coal so we can reduce pollution. The other projects, of course, are in less developed countries.

We think it is important to fund infrastructure around the world. It helps Canadians companies and helps our world be a more prosperous place.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

There is far too much noise. This must not continue or there will be fewer questions.

The hon. member for Carleton.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister famously said that his favourite model of government was the basic Chinese dictatorship. In response, the foreign minister tells us that the Chinese government gave him a nickname: little potato. To thank them for that, he gave a quarter billion tax dollars to the Asian Infrastructure Bank to build pipelines and roads in that country that we cannot even build in our own.

Will the Prime Minister finally show some respect for Canadian tax dollars and cancel this quarter-billion-dollar hand-out to the Chinese government?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I continue to live in a world where facts matter.

Again, there has been one investment by the Asian Infrastructure Bank in China to help it get off coal to reduce pollution. We know this is important. We also know that the other investments the bank is making around less developed countries in Asia so they can actually improve their situation are critically important for our world. They are helpful for Canadian companies that are making those investments as well.

We continue to support this infrastructure bank and we will continue to work with those countries to improve their situation.

The Environment

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was back home talking with people about job and pension insecurity, talking with Kashechewan evacuees facing another year of devastating floods and broken promises. Everyone asked me to explain why the Prime Minister gave $12 million to Galen Weston to fix his fridges. This is a guy who lives in a gated community in Florida and fought against a living wage for his employees. It is the disconnect of the government that offends people.

Why is the Prime Minister preferring to act like a head butler for the uber-rich and the lobbyists rather than stand up for the interests of working-class Canadians?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has misconstrued our government's agenda, which is to ensure we create an economy that works for everyone.

I have sat on panels with members of the NDP who have said that they support investments in energy efficiency. Now that we are actually doing it, they seem to oppose it.

The fact is that under the low-carbon economy fund, officials from Environment and Climate Change Canada nominated 54 projects for funding through this fund based on what would achieve the greatest amount of emission reductions at the lowest cost to Canadians. This investment will help reduce emissions and create jobs in places like Mississauga and 370 communities across our entire country.

Pensions

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that this announcement had all the hallmarks of a government that was shopping around to participate in an announcement that was happening anyway, because Loblaws was moving ahead to renovate their fridges, and it wanted to be at the podium. That is the issue.

The problem is that it is part of a theme of the government, caving to corporate interests, as it did when it passed special legislation for SNC-Lavalin, while at the same time saying it needed a long, drawn-out consultation to see if it was worthwhile protecting the pensions of Sears workers and Stelco workers.

Why is that Canadian workers cannot get the same protection for their pensions that SNC-Lavalin is getting from criminal charges?

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, we know that workplace pension security is a decades old problem. It is our government that committed the resources, the time and the energy to get this right.

We are taking an evidence-based approach. We had consultations. As a result of those consultations, budget 2019 has introduced measures that will help our pensioners. We have created a process that is more fair, open and transparent. We heard a great deal about executive bonuses. We have given the courts the power to set aside those executive bonuses when pensioners are compromised.

This is a very important file, and we will continue to work hard to protect our pensioners.

Natural Resources

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, three years of Liberal fumbles, failures and delays on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion have cost Canadians jobs and prosperity as investment flees the country.

The Prime Minister moves heaven and earth to help his billionaire friends, but for struggling middle-class families dependent on the energy sector, they can just wait and wait.

On what day will construction begin on the Trans Mountain pipeline?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to remind Canadians that it was the Conservative opposition members who voted to de-fund and kill the process that we had put in place for meaningful consultation with indigenous communities.

If Conservatives are really serious about expanding our energy sector and getting our resources to global markets, they should have supported that process so we could move forward in consultation with indigenous peoples, and move forward on the project in the right way.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, construction season is upon us, but the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion lays dormant.

As of today, there are no shovels in the ground, no jobs have been created and no community benefits. Gas prices are soaring sky-high and people are hurting. The government spent $4.5 billion to buy a pipeline and now it cannot even guarantee that it will be approved. This is insulting and the constituents do not like to be played for fools.

On what date will construction begin?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are following a path that was given to us by the Federal Court of Appeal, which means a process for meaningful consultation with indigenous communities to get this project right, to listen to their concerns and to offer them accommodation on their concerns.

It was surprising to see the members of the opposition actually vote in favour of de-funding and killing that process that we were following to get this project right.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the finance minister said that they spent $4.5 billion tax dollars to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline to start building the expansion “immediately”. It is now over 11 months since the Liberals told Canadians construction would begin “right away“.

On what date will construction of the Trans Mountain expansion start?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, it is surprising that the Conservatives would like us to follow a failed process they followed for 10 years that did not get a single pipeline built to get our resources to non-U.S. markets.

Ninety-nine per cent of the oil that we sell to the outside world is going to one country, the United States. We need to expand our global market. In order to do that, we need to ensure we follow the right process to move forward on projects, such as the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, four major pipelines were built, with more access to new markets.

The reality is that the Liberals already killed two pipelines. Three companies that wanted to build pipelines in Canada are gone. Not a single new inch of pipeline is in service right now. The Liberals said that they spent $4.5 billion tax dollars to build the Trans Mountain expansion immediately.

All the minister has to do is answer the question. When will the Trans Mountain expansion be built?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member well knows that one of the projects she is talking about was actually the reversal of the existing pipeline. If that is considered a new pipeline, then I am surprised by what the Conservatives' definition of a new pipeline is.

We are moving forward in the right way on this process to ensure that we are consulting with indigenous communities in a meaningful way. We have extended the time over three weeks to give them enough time to ensure they are included in this process.

Steel Industry

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the current government has abandoned steelworkers once again. After steel safeguards expired last week, the Liberals failed to extend them for five crucial Canadian steel products. Now thousands of steelworkers are left exposed to even more uncertainty, thanks to a government that removed protections and has now allowed foreign dumping to flood our Canadian markets.

The European Union has already put in place permanent safeguards. Instead of spending its time protecting the interests of its rich friends, why will the government not get to work and protect the jobs of Canadian steelworkers?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is critically important that we do protect steelworkers and the steel industry. We have said that we are moving forward with two safeguards, as recommended by the CITT. We are clearly focused on how we can eliminate these unjust tariffs that have been imposed on us by the United States. We have said that over the next 30 days we will work intensively with the industry to make sure we can protect the industry and steelworkers so we can ensure we have a long-term capacity in this sector.