Debates of May 16th, 2019

The Environment

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would invite the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby to speak when he has the floor and not when he does not have the floor.

The hon. member for Essex.

Taxation

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of Canadian winery jobs are in danger because the government refuses to act. We are running out of time for a WTO settlement with Australia. The finance minister knows that if he removes the escalator tax, he will save 9,000 direct grape and winery jobs, and another 37,000 tourism jobs linked to the industry. This is simple: remove the escalator tax and the WTO challenge disappears; leave it in place and jobs are threatened. We are running out of time.

Will the Prime Minister reverse the escalator tax to save Canadian wineries, yes or no?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance (Youth Economic Opportunity)]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question because it gives us another chance to talk about how our government lowered taxes for businesses. We have been investing in Canadians and, as a result, we have actually created a million new jobs. It is hard to take New Democrats seriously when they are talking about the economy because it seems that every day they change their position on various industries.

We, on this side of the House, have had a plan: invest in Canadians and lower taxes for the middle class and small businesses. As a result, Canadians are $2,000 better off. A typical Canadian—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are just now waking up to the urgent need to take action on the environment. Was that not obvious? After more than three and a half years at the helm, they are starting to realize that they have taken no meaningful steps toward meeting their Paris targets.

The National Observer is saying that Canada is going to miss its 2030 climate change targets by a country mile.

With the Liberals in power, Canada will not fulfill its commitment to the Paris Agreement.

Can this government finally tell Canadians the truth?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want to know is whether the Conservatives understand that we are in a climate emergency.

Does the Conservative Party understand that climate change is real and that it is accelerating?

Does the Conservative Party understand that we can price pollution and put money back into the pockets of Canadians?

Does the Conservative Party understand that the economy and the environment go hand in hand in the 21st century?

Will they vote for our motion? Everybody wants to know.

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

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would remind the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier that there is a time to ask questions and a time to listen.

The hon. member for Abbotsford.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, day after day the minister stands in this House and tells us that her so-called climate plan is working, and day after day she is reminded by friend and foe that her climate plan is failing and that the Liberal government is falling far short of its Paris targets. Why is that? It is because hers is not a climate change plan; it is a tax plan. While she is busy forcing carbon taxes—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. Let us have one member speak at a time. That should apply to all sides.

The hon. member for Abbotsford.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while she is busy forcing carbon taxes on Canadians, her plan is missing the mark by a country mile. When will the minister finally come clean and admit that her plan is not as advertised?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we put a price on pollution. We are giving money back, such that 80% of Canadians are better off, better than advertised. We have created a million jobs for Canadians, better than advertised. We are phasing out coal and ensuring a just transition for workers, better than advertised. Does everyone know what is exactly as advertised? It is the Conservatives, because they are just like the Harper Conservatives. They have no plan for the environment and no plan for the economy.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period, the minister admitted that she does not get it. Remember? She is right. The minister's own documents show that the Liberals are falling far short of the promises the Prime Minister made in the Paris Agreement. We have another promise made, another promise broken.

When will the minister drop the charade, stop trying to distract from Liberal failures and scandals and admit that her plan is a complete failure, not as advertised?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I want to take us back to three and a half years ago. We went to Paris to negotiate an ambitious Paris Agreement after a decade of inaction. Who was with me? It was the member opposite. What did we talk about there? We talked about how we needed to take serious action on climate change, how that needed to include putting a price on pollution, that we needed to act for our kids and that we could grow the economy at the same time as tackling climate change.

He seems to have forgotten that. I am happy to go out and have a drink with him and remind him of exactly what happened and how we can grow the economy, how we can tackle climate change and that we can all do it together.

Transport

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Mr. Speaker, in 1949, my province joined Confederation as Canada's 10th province. Since then, it has been our constitutional right as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to be guaranteed a connection to Canada's mainland.

Eastern Canadian ferries are essential for tourism, for the movement of goods and services and for providing locals with an alternative source of transportation. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport please advise my constituents and all those who rely on the ferry services how our government's plans are improving our connection to the mainland?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Long Range Mountains for her advocacy on this file.

Our government is proud to be delivering the first new ferry on this route in 30 years. More than 70% of goods and 30% of people arrive via this service. It is crucial for Newfoundland. This $80-million investment will ensure that both tourism and the economy continue to prosper in Newfoundland for the benefit of future generations.

International Trade

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming pathetic how the Liberals are mishandling the canola crisis. The minister could not get a formal meeting with her Chinese counterpart. There is no delegation, no WTO complaint, no ambassador and no advance payment program. Yes, the Canadian Canola Growers Association said to farmers that it has not been implemented yet.

The Liberals are taking no action. When will farmers have access to the help they need to get through this Liberal failure?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, we have stood with our farmers from the very beginning. I do not know where my colleague has been for the last two and a half months, because apparently, he missed a lot. I have travelled to the Prairies. We have talked with the industry, with farmers and with our provincial counterparts. We have created a working group. We have made a declaration at the WTO. I have travelled to Japan. I had a conversation with my Chinese counterpart. We are moving on this file, and we take it very seriously.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I remind members that we do not bring attention to questions about the absence or presence of members.

The hon. member for Windsor—Tecumseh.

[Cheryl Hardcastle, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 15 months ago, the government promised that Canada's ombudsperson for responsible enterprise, CORE, would be able to investigate human rights abuses committed by Canadian companies abroad, but these investigative powers are caught up in red tape, and it looks like it will not even open by the election. The government has a serious issue with corporate ethics and accountability, as the SNC-Lavalin scandal shows us, so this CORE office must be opened up and running by the summer. Will this minister follow up—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade Diversification.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be part of a government, for the first time in Canada's history, to create an office for social corporate responsibility. Our government has fulfilled our promise, and today we are consulting with stakeholders on the mechanisms that are needed. We recently announced the chair of the CORE office, and we are currently consulting. I look forward to the hon. member's support for that office.

Labour

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Liberal, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. A hundred years ago, more than 30,000 workers started the largest strike in Canadian history. It was a passionate fight, born on the streets of Winnipeg, for workers' rights and better working conditions.

“Bread and roses, bread and roses”. Today we remember the progress we have made thanks to the labour movement. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour remind the people's House of our commitment to organized labour?

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for his obvious passion for working on behalf of Canadian workers. With the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Winnipeg Strike, I want to thank those pioneers for what they did.

Unions matter. Unions represent people, people who work hard, support their families and contribute to their communities and to the national economy. Unions fight for the middle class and have been a driving force behind historic progress made for workers.

Our Prime Minister and our government stand with workers today and every day.