Debates of May 27th, 2019

Veterans Affairs

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the commemoration of the Second World War is tinged with sadness every year, and planning the event itself is stressful. Our cousins in Bernières-sur-Mer, France, where thousands of Canadians landed on June 6, 1944, including some of our very own ancestors, learned in the news that the 40 veterans would simply not be attending the event. This news came just days in advance.

Do we not believe that a more dignified and honourable approach would have been for the minister to call the mayor himself to inform him and then the veterans of the decision?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the delegation's travel itinerary is not yet finalized, but it will visit Canada House in Bernières-sur-Mer during a ceremony in Normandy.

On June 6, the delegation will attend two large ceremonies on Juno Beach. The main Canadian ceremony will be held in the afternoon, and the international ceremony is to be held on the Saturday evening. There are indeed some details to be ironed out; that is what we are working on at the moment.

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

Mr. Speaker, the reason that military families and Afghan veterans were upset by the secret ceremony a few weeks ago was that the government, in 2016, cancelled the national monument to the Afghanistan mission. Having the chief of the defence staff apologize and write letters for the minister's incompetence is not enough.

Will the minister stand in the House today and give a date on when a national public memorial for the Afghanistan mission will be completed?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite spoke about accessibility, but the monument proposed by the Conservatives to commemorate the Afghanistan mission was not accessible 12 months of the year.

We are proposing a public monument accessible to all that recognizes the service to Canadians throughout the Afghanistan war. We held broad consultations with veterans, their families and our stakeholders. It may take us some time, but we will move forward in the right way.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member should access the site by visiting the naval monument right beside where the Afghanistan monument was going to be.

The Liberals have broken promises to veterans on pensions. They paid veterans benefits for a cop killer while they allowed veterans to wait for PTSD benefits, with skyrocketing wait times. They have had four ministers of Veterans Affairs, but one defence minister, who has allowed failure after failure to occur.

Will the minister stand in this place and apologize to the families of our fallen from Afghanistan?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to reiterate that the previous government made cuts for 10 years to everything we did for veterans.

We reopened the offices, we rehired the front-line workers and we consulted veterans about their needs instead of making cuts to balance the budget at their expense.

We have nothing to learn from the Conservatives from the past 10 years.

International Trade

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, right now, Democrats and labour in the U.S. are working hard to achieve a better NAFTA. They are trying to improve labour provisions that will protect jobs, fight big pharma to keep medication affordable and strengthen the language of the deal to protect the environment.

Canadians expect the Liberal government to push for these same changes here at home. This new NAFTA is too important to be rushed, and the U.S. is not even close to ratifying the agreement.

Do the Liberals understand that rushing the ratification of the new NAFTA can have devastating impacts on Canadians?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member for Essex worked for Unifor before entering the House. I would therefore hope that she is familiar with the comments from Unifor leader Jerry Dias. Here is what he had to say: “There are some incredible victories in this deal, things we've been arguing and fighting for for the last 24 years”, and “Traditionally, trade deals have been about profit, not people. I can honestly say these negotiations included discussions about people — about workers.”

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I worked at a real job on an auto assembly line, and workers want a better deal.

After a very difficult year of steel and aluminum tariffs, they are gone, but the threat remains. The U.S. has reserved the right to reimpose them, even if the imports surge beyond historical levels. The problem is that no one knows what the definition of “surge” is, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

What is to stop the U.S. from calling any increase in Canadian imports a surge? Canada is not safe from tariffs if the language of this agreement can be manipulated by Donald Trump.

How will the Liberal government protect our steel and aluminum sectors, given the loopholes—

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let me thank the hon. member for giving me a chance to say something that I think comes as a great relief for all Canadians.

A week ago today, illegal and unjust tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum were lifted. Today, Canada is one of the only countries in the world with unfettered access to the U.S. market, and that is right.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, it is bad enough that ISIS traitors move back to Canada and that illegal migrants crossing our borders are greeted by a welcoming committee. Now we learn that criminal members of Mexican cartels are living comfortably in Canada and doing business here. That is another consequence of the Prime Minister's rosy outlook.

What is the plan for sending these criminals home and stopping others from coming here?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are examining very carefully the numbers that have been referred to in the media. They are not immediately verifiable. However, at any port of entry if someone seeking to enter Canada cannot be properly identified, or is unlikely to present themself for proper processing, or presents any danger to the public, they can be and are detained to keep Canadians safe.

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

Mr. Speaker, what we do know is that criminal organizations and Mexican cartels have set up shop here in Canada, especially in Montreal. We know that there are nearly 200 criminals, including contract killers.

The Prime Minister changed the immigration rules in 2016. He wanted to be nice to Mexico, and we have been having problems ever since.

When will the government change the rules to keep criminals from ending up here?

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

Mr. Speaker, again, the hon. gentleman is referring to unverified statistics. The CBSA takes its responsibilities very seriously with respect to border protection and national security. Its main priority is obviously the safety of Canadians. The CBSA's border management is based on a multifaceted approach that provides for the control of travellers and goods at several stages in the travel continuum, as early as possible, both abroad while in transit and on arrival at the Canadian border. The whole purpose of that system is to keep Canadians safe.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yet again the current government has failed Canadians at our borders. More than 400 Mexicans with ties to drug cartels have entered Canada since the Liberals removed visas for Mexico. Can the Prime Minister please tell us what his plan is to return these criminals back to Mexico?

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

Mr. Speaker, again opposition members are repeating unverified numbers. I would point out that the whole point of the Canadian screening system is to prevent illegal entry into Canada and to keep Canadians safe. The CBSA works closely with its domestic and foreign security partners and shares information with relevant partners as required, in accordance with the strict parameters of Canadian law, to detect and prevent illegal cross-border activity, including organized crime and smuggling narcotics. When persons are determined to be ineligible, they are removed.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of illegal border crossers have already strained border security. Now, it is reported that under the current Liberal government, 400 nationals from Mexico with links to the drug cartels, many using fake passports, have entered Canada. The threats to Canadians from drug cartels, gangs and organized crime officials are obvious.

Canadians want action, but the Liberals continue to put politics ahead of public safety. What is the plan to make sure that no more criminals enter Canada, and when will those already here be removed?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, we take all possible steps, before, during transit and after a party arrives at the border, to make sure that the screening system is strong to detect any criminal activity. When that activity is detected, persons are inadmissible. When they are inadmissible, they are removed from Canada as quickly as possible. The safety of Canadians is absolutely paramount.

International Trade

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is our last chance to fix NAFTA 2.0. We need to give the Democrats time to improve the terms of the agreement.

Considering the results of the Liberals' negotiations, agricultural producers are still very angry. With another breach in supply management, the Liberals are jeopardizing the viability of our family farms. Once again, agricultural producers are the ones paying the price for this bad deal.

Instead of getting a good deal for farmers and workers, why are the Liberals in such a hurry to ratify a terrible agreement?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP says one thing in the House, but behind closed doors it admits that this agreement protects Canadian jobs. The leader of the NDP celebrated the agreement at an event held in Ottawa. The member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, who is also the NDP's Quebec lieutenant, described the new agreement as the best deal possible.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, because of the breaches in our supply management system, farmers are once again the ones who will lose out under the new NAFTA.

South of the border, Democrats are working hard to improve the terms of the agreement. They want to protect workers, keep drug prices down and protect our environment, which are common sense objectives.

Instead of rushing to get this deal through, why are the Liberals not doing the same thing as the Democrats, that is, working to improve NAFTA and fill in all the gaps?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let me continue to quote the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. He said he wanted to congratulate all the Canadian negotiators on the fantastic job they did, and that the agreement would protect workers across the country. We agree with him on that.

Persons with Disabilities

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is National AccessAbility Week, and this is an opportunity for all of us to recognize the contributions of Canadians with disabilities, and to help raise awareness about the need for greater accessibility and inclusion in our society.

While our government is breaking down barriers, many still exist. Can the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility inform the House how our government is taking action to ensure an inclusive, accessible Canada for all?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Calgary Centre for his tireless effort and advocacy on behalf of citizens with disabilities.

This is indeed National AccessAbility Week, the third annual that our government has put forth. This week we celebrate the contributions of individuals and organizations who are indeed removing barriers. We also, God willing, have the proposed accessible Canada act here in front of the House of Commons again this week, so that we can remove barriers in the law and create a proactive system to make sure that everybody is treated equally.

I want to thank all the advocates who made this bill the best that it can be, and I reiterate our government's commitment to accepting all of the amendments put forth—