House of Commons Hansard #405 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was companies.

Topics

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

12:55 p.m.

Liberal

Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we actually deal in facts, science and evidence and not just throw things out there for the sake of trying to perpetuate a discussion to oppose meaningful action.

I find it extraordinarily frustrating when I see things like what we see going on in Ontario right now. I look at the Ford government's decision to cut programs to plant 50 million trees. I look at the Premier visiting flood plains and saying that something must be happening shortly after he has cut funding to prevent floods across the province of Ontario.

The reality is that the federal government has access to an incredible body of scientists. In Nova Scotia, one of the things that frustrated me and inspired me to get involved in politics in the first place was the decision of the previous government to eliminate the research that was already completed and on hand at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography.

The fact is that we have experts whose careers have been dedicated to providing us with the solutions. All we need to do is find the political will to implement them.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

12:55 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague, the parliamentary secretary for environment and climate change, knows how deeply I lament the weakness of the government's plan, just as much or more than I lament the fact that the Conservatives have no plan. The Liberal plan will take us nowhere near Stephen Harper's old target, which puts us on a path, as the hon. parliamentary secretary well knows, to catastrophic climate breakdown that could deprive our own children of a livable world.

We are in a climate emergency, yet in this place, as in many parliaments around the world, we continue to pretend that the incremental efforts to do something in the right direction should be applauded, even as we know, and this is a really enormous example of cognitive dissonance, that what we are doing now is not enough to protect our children.

The Conservatives may not know it. Some do. Certainly some hon. Conservative members know it. The NDP should know it, but its plans are also nowhere near achieving the kinds of reductions that actually are about phasing out fossil fuels, 100%, by 2050 and cutting Canada's use of fossil fuels by at least 50% within a decade.

I do not think it is solely corporate influence, but can the hon. parliamentary secretary deny that corporate influence is a big part of why a government tries to have its cake and eat it too? It brings in carbon taxes and then buys a pipeline.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

Liberal

Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS

Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate the hon. member on her recent nuptials. I have a few friends who attended, and they said it was an incredible time. I want to personally congratulate her, on the record.

When it comes to the member's question, she is absolutely right that we need to be doing more and more. We have to have a plan that is based on science that is going to protect us against the kind of catastrophic danger she warns of.

The fact is that we are trying to implement the solutions that will have the greatest impact. That is why we are accepting the advice of people like Professor William Nordhaus, who won the Nobel Prize in economics last year for his development of the kind of approach to pricing pollution we are now implementing. That is why we are making the largest investment in the history of public transit and embracing green technology and green infrastructure. I look forward to continuing to put forward more and more.

On the issue the member raised about corporate influence, it is important that when we are developing policy, we pay attention to how it is going to have an impact on Canadian industry and the Canadian economy as well. I believe that climate change is not just a great challenge for us but is an extraordinary opportunity. If we can work with companies to help them become more efficient and put people to work converting us towards a more effective and efficient future, then I think we are on the right track. I look forward to getting there one day alongside the member.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou.

It is a real honour to rise in this House. The parliamentary secretary's comments must have been hard to make when serving under a prime minister who has exhibited very stunning hypocrisy on the climate file. The Prime Minister spends more time flying to his vacations than most Canadians have spent on a vacation in the last five years, whether that is private flights by jet and helicopter to the Aga Khan's island; private trips to Florida, and then back to Ottawa, back to Florida and back to Ottawa again in the same week; or taking the jet to Tofino for the weekend to go flying again.

Therefore, I will take no lessons regarding my carbon footprint from the Liberals, when my carbon footprint comes from heating my home, as most Canadians do here in Canada, one of the world's harshest climates. That is not a luxury or a behaviour to be corrected. I drive my car to work, but I would love the opportunity to take public transit across the great riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes—

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

An hon. member

Is Ford building you a subway, too?

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

—but we are not going to be taking lessons from the Liberals.

The parliamentary secretary made some great comments about civil discourse in the House. I agree that all members come here with the best interests of their constituents and all Canadians in mind. However, to get a lesson on conduct in the House, when his peers around him have already heckled me during my speech, is pretty rich coming from these folks who are speaking against a motion, as they continue, in their shining example of conduct in the House, to speak over top of me. We talk about ethical conduct. The current government gets an F on the report card, for sure.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

An hon. member

Stop whining and speak.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

There is a member speaking over me right now who is actually so poorly engaged in the democratic process that he suggested that the Premier of Ontario be whacked or have a hit taken out on him. Again, it is very disappointing from these folks over here.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Regarding respect for this House, one cannot do indirectly what one cannot do directly. Therefore, if someone is making accusations that a member from the other side is threatening a premier, he should at least have the decency to name him or withdraw the comment.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

I thank the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay for his comment. Certainly, when it comes to this kind of speech, if it is directed to a person who is a member of the chamber, the rules on parliamentary language are fairly clear. That said, we encourage all hon. members to use styling and phrasing of their ideas and arguments that do not invoke a conclusion of that nature. Therefore, while I did not hear anything specifically unparliamentary in the comments by the hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, I encourage him to avoid that kind of speech.

The hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Mr. Speaker, I encourage the member opposite to be judicious in his choice of words when speaking about democratically elected provincial leaders in this country. That kind of language used by the member was not honourable or parliamentary. In fact, it was not said in this House; it was said on the public record. Therefore, I am not going to take the opportunity or any of my time to withdraw the comments. The member knows what he said, and he knows that is was absolutely inappropriate.

Since taking my seat in this chamber in December, I have had a front row seat to some of the most disturbing and troubling behaviour by a government in modern history. No one who is engaged in pop culture will be surprised that the government made it all the way to The Simpsons last night. I know my hon. colleagues were excited to have one of their co-workers portrayed on The Simpsons, but it was in a shameful way. We are talking about the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

Going back to 2015, lobbyists' influence started to take hold on the Liberal government. The sunny ways promised in the election are not what Canadians received. Instead, we see a company accused of bribery to the tune of $48 million, a company that had yachts and prostitutes on offer for Libyan government officials and that is alleged to have defrauded the Libyan people to the tune of $130 million. This has been the undertone of the SNC-Lavalin issue and why it will be facing a judge.

Had SNC-Lavalin gotten its wish, it would have received a deferred prosecution agreement. That remedy was not available in law at the time, so SNC-Lavalin began working on the government. It started working on ministers, backbenchers and the Prime Minister's Office. Because it had that access and was able to get access to the chief clerk of the Privy Council Office, in 2018 it was able to get the deferred prosecution agreement introduced through the budget, and now that tool is available.

However, what the government did not count on was that it had people in cabinet who would stand up against that type of unethical behaviour. There were horrendous actions by this company, which took advantage of the Libyan people trying to recover from a bloody civil war. It offered no contrition for its actions but said that it had hired new people, that it had changed and that it was a new company, so it should not be punished for the actions of people who had the job before. The Liberal government thought it would be a great idea to give it a DPA, so that it would not have its day in court and it would face some much more modest penalties.

Liberals will say that it is not a get out of jail free card. If it is not something sought after, then why did they work so hard and engage in so many meetings to do it? Why have we learned since then that the Prime Minister would fire his Attorney General for not following through on the actions that the lobbyists had the government insert in the budget bill? Liberals went on to see another cabinet minister resign. The Prime Minister's principal secretary resigned, as did the chief clerk of the Privy Council. This was all born out of those meetings, the meetings those lobbyists were able to effect over and over again.

Inserting the DPA in the 2018 budget, giving the possibility of that remedy to the courts, was another broken promise by the government. It took lobbyists to convince the government to do that. The broken promise was that there would be no more sweeping omnibus bills under the sunny ways of the Prime Minister. However, in the back of a 500-page omnibus financial document, the government sought to help out its friends in a powerful corporation. That powerful corporation is well known to the Liberals. It cut them donations to the tune of over $100,000, which they later had to return.

Liberals will deny this. They will deny that there has been unethical behaviour, which the Prime Minister has done several times. They will say there is nothing to see here. However, whether through providing DPAs for friends or providing $12 million for fridges for Canada's most wealthy, the government has not heard a good idea from a corporate lobbyist that it has not tried to get Canadians to pay for.

These decisions are made by a prime minister who is flying from coast to coast, north to south, on vacation getaways that most Canadians can only dream about. They can only dream about them because Canadians are just a couple of hundred bucks away from insolvency under the government. They only wish that they could get the kind of access the corporate elite gets from the government.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:10 p.m.

Spadina—Fort York Ontario

Liberal

Adam Vaughan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families

Mr. Speaker, I hope the member opposite can tell that I was listening intently to this debate and his speech, because it provoked many responses in me.

The SNC-Lavalin affair, the event the member is so concerned about, happened under the Harper government's watch. In fact, the very trip to Libya that is under investigation is a trip on which John Baird accompanied SNC-Lavalin. John Baird had to resign his post in government two weeks after he accompanied SNC-Lavalin to Libya. Conservatives may want to release cabinet details about that. A month after his resignation, charges were laid.

Is the member opposite prepared to release the cabinet documents, as well as the conversations between John Baird and Stephen Harper, that relate to what John Baird was doing in Libya with SNC-Lavalin, noting what relationship that might have with some of the allegations the member referenced regarding prostitution?

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:10 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see that the member for Spadina—Fort York knows that it is his turn to speak when he is recognized by the Speaker. He is, of course, the member I referenced who made the egregious comments about the Premier of Ontario. He should be ashamed.

There is smoke and mirrors from the Liberals when they say SNC-Lavalin committed a crime when the Conservatives were in government. We would like to see SNC prosecuted for those crimes. We do not want it to get a special deal. We do not want the elite Laurentian Liberals to decide judicial outcomes in this country. Just because they did not like the course that was charted by the former attorney general, that does not mean she should have been summarily fired.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:10 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, to my hon. colleague from Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, I am again going to point out that the differences are not so much differences but continuing evidence that companies like SNC-Lavalin, or the large corporate influencers in Canada, get through doors that other Canadians cannot get through, whether they are civil service doors or political election doors.

We heard the earlier example of the trip to Libya involving then Conservative foreign affairs minister John Baird. However, the elevation of the people associated with this scandal by former prime minister Stephen Harper includes Arthur Porter, who was implicated in a bribery scandal with SNC-Lavalin over the McGill hospital issue. He was given the highest security clearance in this country and was made the head of the Security Intelligence Review Committee by former prime minister Harper.

The man who was the chair of SNC-Lavalin through all of the dealings that are before the court at the moment, and who was also chair of the governance committee, was another one of Stephen Harper's most trusted and closest corporate friends. That was Gwyn Morgan. He has a career in the energy business, but Stephen Harper put him forward to be the head of the national public appointments commission.

My point here is not to attack any one individual, but to say that the pattern of government influence by corporations like SNC-Lavalin, regardless of who is in office, is a real problem. We should be getting at that. How do we root out what is essentially systemic levels of corruption, because our governments in general have become too beholden to corporate interests and influence?

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:15 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands will get that Senate appointment that she is looking for from the Liberals quite soon.

When it comes to this SNC-Lavalin scandal and the Liberals, we have never seen anything like it. When people were called on the carpet, it resulted in, as was predicted by the then attorney general, a Saturday night massacre. Everybody lost their jobs. We lost the attorney general, we lost the Treasury Board president, we lost the Clerk of the Privy Council and we lost the Prime Minister's BFF, Gerry Butts. Everybody was fired. Then we had a game of cabinet shuffles every week. This is unprecedented, and it is all born from corruption that is sourced and rooted at the highest levels of the Liberal government.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:15 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a question of personal privilege. There is no need whatsoever for the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes to suggest for one minute that I want anything other than to be the elected member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. I have no interest in personal advancement and I am not pandering to any political interest for personal advancement. I ask him to withdraw his unnecessary and absolutely unworthy comment.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

April 29th, 2019 / 1:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

I thank the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her comments. I do not think it constitutes a point of order. It is certainly something that could be found in the realm of debate. Perhaps there will be another occasion when she will be able to raise that matter.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:15 p.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to speak to the NDP motion. I would first like to say hello to the many people of Beauport—Limoilou who are watching us live or who will watch later on social media.

I just spent two weeks in my riding, where I met thousands of my constituents at events and activities organized by different organizations. Last Thursday, the Corporation de développement communautaire de Beauport, or CDCB, held a unique and innovative event. For the first time, all elected municipal, provincial and federal officials in the riding attended a breakfast meet and greet for constituents and representatives of organizations. It was a type of round table with elected members from all levels of government. It was an exemplary exercise in good democratic practices for our country. We had some great conversations. I would like to congratulate the CDCB for this very interesting event, which I hope will become an annual tradition.

I also want to mention that my beautiful Quebec is experiencing serious flooding across the province. When I left Quebec City this morning around 6 o'clock I could see damage all along the road between Trois-Rivières and Montreal and in the Maskinongé area. There is always a little water there in the spring, but there is a lot of water this year. When I got to the Gatineau-Ottawa area I saw houses flooded. Nearly 8,000 people, men, women and families, have been displaced. These are tough times, and I want them to know that my heart is with them. I wish them much strength. I am pleased to see that the Government of Quebec has announced assistance, as has the federal government, of course.

The NDP's motion is an interesting one. It addresses the fact that the current Prime Minister of Canada tried to influence the course of justice a couple of ways, in particular with the SNC-Lavalin matter, which has had a lot of media coverage in the past three months.

The NDP also raised the issue of drug prices. Conservatives know that, in NAFTA 2.0, which has not yet been ratified by any of the countries involved, the Liberals sadly gave in to pressure from President Trump to extend drug patents. If the agreement is ratified, Canadians will pay more for prescription drugs. People are also wondering when the Liberals will initiate serious talks about the steel and aluminum tariffs and when they will bring NAFTA ratification to the House for debate.

The NDP motion also mentions Loblaws' lobbying activities. People thought it was some kind of joke. They could not believe their eyes or their ears. The government gave Loblaws, a super-rich company, $12 million to replace its fridges. The mind boggles.

The NDP also talks about banking practices in Canada. Conservatives know that banks are important, but we think some of them, especially those run by the government, are unnecessary. As NDP members often point out, for good reason, the Canada Infrastructure Bank is designed to help big interest groups, but Canadians should not have to finance private infrastructure projects.

We could also talk about the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is totally ridiculous. Canada sends nearly $250 million offshore to finance infrastructure projects, when right here at home, the federal government's $187-billion infrastructure plan is barely functioning. Over the past three years, only $14 billion of that $187 billion has been spent. It is deplorable, considering how great the needs are in that area. The issue of banking practices mentioned in the NDP's motion is therefore interesting to me.

Another thing that really bothers me as a citizen is tax evasion. Combatting tax evasion should really begin with education in our schools. Unfortunately, that is more of a provincial responsibility. We need to put patriotism back on the agenda. Many wealthy Canadians shamelessly and unscrupulously evade taxes because they have no sense of patriotism. They have no love for their country.

Schools and people in positions of authority should have instilled this notion at a very young age by teaching them that patriotism includes making sure that Canadian money stays in Canada for Canadians, for our social programs, our companies, our roads and our communities.

In my opinion, a lack of love for one's country is one of the main causes of tax evasion. Young people must be taught that they should not be complaining about our democratic system, but rather participating in it. They should be taught to love Canada.

That is my opinion piece for today.

It is difficult for us to support the NDP's fine motion, however, because, as usual, it includes a direct attack against the Canadian oil industry and all oil-related jobs.

Canadian oil is the most ethical oil in the world. Of course, in the past, there were some concerns about how the oil sands were processed, but I think a lot of effort has been made in recent years to find amazing technologies to capture the carbon released in the oil sands production process.

Since the government's mandate is almost at an end, I would like to take this opportunity to mention that this motion reminded me of some of the rather troubling ethical problems that the Liberal government has had over the past few years.

First the Prime Minister and member for Papineau took a trip to a private island that belongs to our beloved and popular Aga Khan. The trip was not permissible under Canadian law, under our justice system. For the first time in Canadian history, a prime minister of Canada was found guilty of several charges under federal law because he took a private family vacation that had nothing to do with state interests and was largely paid by the Aga Khan. It was all very questionable, because at the very same time he was making this trip to the Aga Khan's private island, the Prime Minister was involved in dealings with the Aga Khan's office regarding certain investments.

Next we have the fascinating tale of the Minister of Finance, who brought forward a reform aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, a reform that was supposed to be robust and rigorous, when all the while he was hiding shares of his former family business, Morneau Shepell, in numbered companies in Alberta. On top of that, he forgot to tell the Ethics Commissioner about a villa he owned in France.

The young people watching us must find it rather unbelievable that someone could forget to tell the Ethics Commissioner about a wonderful villa on the Mediterranean in France, on some kind of lake or the sea, I assume.

Then there is the clam scandal as well. The former minister of fisheries and oceans is in my thoughts since he is now fighting cancer. It is sad, but that does not excuse his deplorable ethics behaviour two years ago when he tried to influence a bidding process for clam harvesters in order to award a clam fishing quota to a company with ties to his family.

SNC-Lavalin is another case. It seems clear that there were several ethics problems all along. What I find rather unbelievable is that the Liberals are still trying to claim that there was absolutely nothing fishy going on. I am sorry, but when two ministers resign, when the Prime Minister's principal secretary resigns, and when the Clerk of the Privy Council resigns, something fishy is going on.

I want to close with a word on ethics and recent media reports about judicial appointments. There is something called the “Liberalist”, a word I find a bit strange. It is a list of everyone who has donated to the Liberal Party of Canada. Of course, all political parties have lists of their members, but the Liberals use their list to vet candidates and identify potential judicial appointees.

In other words, those who want the Prime Minister and member for Papineau to give them a seat on the bench would be well advised to donate to the Liberal Party of Canada so their name appears on the Liberalist. If not, they can forget about it because actual legal skills are not a factor in gaining access to the highest court in the land and other superior federal courts.

When it comes to lobbying, I just cannot believe how often the Liberals have bowed down to constant pressure from big business, like they did with Loblaws. It is a shame. Unfortunately, the NDP motion is once again attacking the people who work in our oil industry.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, as we can see, in the current official opposition there really is no change from Stephen Harper. All the Conservatives focus their attention on is personal attacks, consistently through the years, whether the leader of the Liberal Party was the Prime Minister of Canada or the leader of the Liberal Party was the leader of the third party inside the House.

As the opposition continues to persist in that, this government and this Prime Minister will continue to focus on Canada's middle class and those aspiring to be a part of it by developing solid social policies that will benefit Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

While I am speaking about policy, do members know that it has been 365 days since the Leader of the Opposition promised to come up with the Conservative plan on the environment? Where is that elusive Conservative plan on the environment? Could the member opposite enlighten Canadians and tell us where the Conservatives are when it comes to the environment?

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has no climate change plan. It has a taxation plan. That is exactly what it is doing.

On the reverse side, under Stephen Harper, a great and honourable Canadian, we had the ecoENERGY efficiency initiative. All the young guys listening to us should Google that right now, please. The ecoENERGY efficiency initiative in 2007 was even recognized by Steven Guilbeault, a great ecologist in Canada.

The ecoENERGY efficiency initiative was a decentralized way of doing things in Canada to make sure that we were strong on the climate change problem in the world. For example, there was an envelope of $1.3 billion that was divided among the provinces. About $300 million or $400 million was sent to Quebec at the time, to the Charest government, which used this money to put forward the province's ecological plan. At the same time, there were other projects in Ontario that received money from the ecoENERGY efficiency initiative.

All that put together gave us one important result that Canadians should remember every single day: There was a reduction of carbon dioxide in Canada of 2.2% under the great leadership of the Conservative Party from 2006 to 2015.

We did not do that by taxing more Canadians; we did it through decentralization and through respect for federalism.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

NDP

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

If he will be voting against the motion because he feels it is an attack on the oil industry, I would like to say to him that he is probably a little thin-skinned and sensitive.

With respect to the oil and gas industry, the motion simply states that the government provides huge subsidies to large oil and gas companies. It is a matter of public record that the federal government provides $1.6 billion to the oil and gas industry year after year.

I would like to know if my colleague is denying or agreeing that this is true, which it is. Is he saying that, in the end, the oil and gas industry should continue to receive these subsidies or perhaps not receive more? The motion clearly states that the oil and gas industry receives subsidies. I would like to now where he stands on this.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, I believe in a free market with safeguards to protect everyone's rights. However, we must never ignore the fierce global competition.

Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Harper's government eliminated many subsidies for big oil.

An article published by CBC this morning indicated, and I quote:

The total volume of Canadian imports from Saudi Arabia has increased by 66 per cent since 2014...

Saudi oil accounted for roughly 10 per cent of Canadian consumption, up from about eight per cent in 2017...

Saudi Arabia is the second-largest source of foreign oil for Canada, after the U.S.

Even human rights groups are saying that we need to stop importing oil from Saudi Arabia.

One of the reasons why I believe we need to support the Canadian oil industry is the great Canadian paradox. The article goes on to say, and I quote:

Canada is the fourth-largest producer and fourth-largest exporter of oil in the world...and 99 per cent of Canadian oil exports go to the U.S.

Canada is also an oil importer, which is rare for an exporting country.

The paradox is that we have one of the world's largest energy resources. Importing oil for our country is ridiculous. We need to put an end to that.

Under the leadership of the Conservative leader, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, Canada would become self-sufficient. That is a commendable goal that everyone in the country should support.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

NDP

Jagmeet Singh NDP Burnaby South, BC

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the fantastic member for Vancouver East.

Everyday families are being told by the government in Ottawa that while they are paying more and more, they cannot receive the help they need, that the government is unable to help them out when it comes to their concerns about improving health care to make sure it covers everyone who needs it.

Families are being told that they are not a priority when it comes to making sure life is more affordable. They are being told they are not able to have a sustainable income or a place to call home or a future without student debt. The Liberal government in Ottawa is telling them that it cannot afford to ensure that families have clean air and water and that we cannot have a sustainable economy.

I reject the government's proposal that this is not attainable.

The Liberals say they cannot afford to pay for the things Canadians need, yet they keep giving handouts to rich corporations at the expense of workers.

There are many examples of the government showing who it has prioritized over everyday Canadians who need help. The Liberal government has chosen to purchase a pipeline for $4.5 billion, it has given $12 million to Loblaws, and in the last fall economic statement, it gave $14 billion to the wealthiest corporations in tax giveaways.

I want to focus on one area in particular. The Liberals continue to subsidize the oil and gas sector. They gave more than $1.6 billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. Why is the government subsidizing the fossil fuel industry that is polluting our air, land and water? Why is the government stalling the development of new, clean energy that would help save our planet and create sustainable good local jobs?

I do not understand how they can make that choice, when experts in Canada and around the world are making it clear that we need to act right now.

I do not understand how they can make that choice when thousands of young people are taking to the streets to demand that politicians make different choices, when doctors and health experts are warning that climate change has become the greatest risk to health, and when about 20% of asthma in Canadian children is directly tied to pollution.

Why are the Liberals putting the profits of rich corporations over the needs of Canadians? It is clear we need to move off subsidizing fossil fuels and instead invest our public dollars in clean energy and clean infrastructure. We need to build stronger, healthier communities. We need to create good long-term jobs in more of our communities. Canada needs to become a world leader in innovation in the clean energy jobs of the future, from green aviation to electric cars and buses to retrofitting buildings. That is the future for our country. That is the opportunity for our Canadian economy and for our kids, but it is not going to happen on its own. It is not going to happen unless we make a commitment to change our ways now.

I have always set strong conditions for future development. Any future development has to achieve our climate goals and has to lower emissions. It has to respect the rights of indigenous communities under the framework of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and it has to create good jobs for Canadians in Canadian communities. Those are the goals that have to be met every time. We will continue to be vigilant in ensuring that these conditions are met.

Some people think we can tackle climate change justice without taking on social justice and first nations reconciliation. I disagree; they must go hand in hand. We cannot achieve environmental justice without economic justice. That means we cannot fight climate change and reduce our emissions without ensuring that people are not left behind and that they have good opportunities to build a good life for themselves and their families.

We need a federal government that is prepared to put up real action, concrete action, and not just words. That is why we need a firm commitment today. That is why we need to stop spending our public dollars on fossil fuel subsidies.

This Liberal government's track record is disappointing. We expected more. The Liberals said things would get better, but that did not happen. The Liberal government not only continued to help the fossil fuel industry, but it also created new ways to subsidize the industry, when it should have been helping workers and their families, who want secure, long-term jobs.

It is our workers' security that we should be concerned about. It is our workers and their families' livelihoods that we should be focused on.

We should be investing in creating good jobs in new clean energy industries in every community in Canada.

That is why we also need to be on guard for the risk of another Conservative government in Canada. The last one set us back decades when it came to wages keeping up with costs. The last Conservative government set us back when it came to corporations getting ahead while people were paying the price. The Conservatives continue this tradition of hurting people when it comes to the things they count on: health care, clean air and water, strong transportation and good jobs.

Just last week, the Conservatives again showed Canadians their true colours. They secretly met with oil and gas executives to stop Canada from becoming a world leader in the new clean energy economy of the future. Why can Conservatives not see that changing our economy to a clean energy economy, a green economy, is a necessity and not a luxury? How do we get this done?

We cannot go back to life under the Conservatives. We need to pull together and get to work for the environment and for Canadians. We need to build a sustainable economy that works for everyone.

I want to build a future in which we are not fracking and burning. I want to build a future in which we are not subsidizing fossil fuels. I want to build a future in which we have good jobs in Canada, clean energy everywhere in our country, a future that does not rely on fossil fuel and the pollution that comes with it.

We can do this. This is possible. We need to make better choices and get better results. If we commit today to green energy and a green economy, we can change the direction of this country and we can be leaders in the world.

We need to make investments. We need to follow through on ideas that are long term, such as our plan to retrofit all homes in Canada by 2050. We need to invest in green energy. We need to encourage the development that we know is possible, sustainable development that creates great jobs while defending our environment. That is the future New Democrats will fight for.

With the rest of this House, together we can achieve this difference.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

Liberal

Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON

Mr. Speaker, I put this question to the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona and he sidestepped it, so I would like to put it directly to the leader of the New Democratic Party.

Opposition Motion—Government PoliciesBusiness of SupplyGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

NDP

Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

That is because you made a smarmy comment.