Debates of May 28th, 2019

News Media Industry

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, many, including those in the media, have expressed concerns about the Liberals' $600 million press bailout. Andrew Coyne wrote about the bailout that “it intrudes the government into areas it has no business being in”, and “It is a disaster...now unfolding”.

That is because the Liberals have put overtly anti-Conservative Unifor on the committee that will oversee which media get funding. Will the Prime Minister finally admit that this is all part of the Liberals' plan to rig the next election?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, the Conservatives are playing a very dangerous game. They are attacking the media. They are saying that our journalists can be bought. Yesterday, they said that our journalists were for sale. Instead of supporting professional journalism, they are attacking it.

We say quite the opposite. We have to support professional journalism and take into account the principles of the independence and freedom of the press.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, we trust the media. It is the Prime Minister Canadians do not trust, because we have all seen how vindictive he gets when anyone dares to stand up to him.

Even the CBC said, “The government just made its toxic media bailout plan even worse”. We agree with the CBC.

In federal and provincial campaigns across the country, Unifor has been campaigning against Conservatives and pledges to do the same in the upcoming election. Therefore, will the Prime Minister admit he has made another terrible error in judgment and reverse the decision and get Unifor off this committee, for—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, if they want to talk about the CBC, let us talk about the CBC. The Leader of the Opposition just said that he would like to dictate to the CBC how it covers its stories, how it tells its stories. That is totally unacceptable. When he was asked if he would cut the CBC, once again he did not answer.

We are saying that we need more professional journalism, not less. That is why we are moving forward with this, respecting one fundamental principle: the independence of the press.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage claims that an independent press is exactly what a democracy needs to function, and then he appoints Unifor to sit on his panel—a union that describes itself as our leader's worst nightmare. So much for independence. Even Andrew Coyne says that any chance this process would not be politicized has now vanished.

When will the Liberals stop attacking the credibility of journalists with their gimmicks?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite something to hear that from a Conservative who wants to get rid of the CBC and control how it covers the news.

Once again, the Conservatives are playing a dangerous game by attacking professional journalists and calling them fossils. We, on the other hand, are introducing a program that respects fundamental principles such as the independence and freedom of the press.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the worst cuts to the CBC were made by the Liberals, and now the Minister of Canadian Heritage is attacking the credibility of journalists. In fact, a National Post journalist said that the minister was putting foxes in charge of the chickens. The minister's panel of independent experts is made up of a highly partisan union.

Will the minister take off his rose-coloured glasses, remove Unifor from the panel and hold a real election, unless he prefers a rigged election?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, what we need is a panel that is both independent and representative of the entire industry. Yes, it takes employers and people from newsrooms, but it also takes people who represent workers, people who represent journalists, people who represent minority communities and people who represent ethnic media.

We need a variety of opinions while respecting one fundamental thing: freedom of the press. Rather than attacking the media, the Conservatives should follow our lead and support it. Our media is one of the pillars of democracy.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I have heard the dulcet tones of the hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George many times today. As much as I enjoy hearing those tones, I would prefer to hear them only when he has the floor.

The hon. member for Chilliwack—Hope.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Engage Canada is an anti-Conservative organization that tries to influence elections. Unifor boss Jerry Dias has boasted that Unifor was a major financial supporter of Engage Canada in the last election. The Prime Minister has appointed Unifor to his panel to determine eligibility for a half a billion dollar media bailout package. At the same time, Unifor is bankrolling anti-Conservative special interest groups.

Will the Prime Minister finally kick Unifor off this panel, or is this just part of his plan to try to rig the next election?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts. What our government did is bring in Bill C-76, which actually strengthens the rules around advertising and activities for third parties in the lead-up to the election. We brought in a pre-writ spending period, which will begin on June 30. This is the first time in Canadian history that this is being done to make sure that there is a fair and level playing field when it comes to our elections.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Unifor is spending union dues collected from its members to fund anti-Conservative special interest groups like Engage Canada, who are trying to influence the outcome of the upcoming election. Knowing its anti-Conservative bias, these Liberals have still appointed Unifor to a supposedly independent panel that will decide which media will get access to half a billion dollars in government subsidies.

Will the Prime Minister finally kick Unifor off this panel, or is this all just part of his plan to try to rig the next election?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, as we said yesterday, the Conservatives are going down a dangerous path. This is just another line in their story trying to undermine our democratic institutions. They have gone after the CEO of Elections Canada, they have gone after the commissioner of Canada Elections, they have gone after the commissioner of the debates commission and now they are going after a free and independent press. Canadians deserve better and democracy deserves better.

International Trade

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, even though the new NAFTA has many shortcomings, the Liberal government wants to rush to ratify it. U.S. milk and poultry producers are about to flood our market.

Workers' jobs and rights are not adequately protected. The cost of certain medications could rise, and environmental protection is not guaranteed. In short, there are many parts of this agreement that are not progressive and that could hurt us.

Why will the Liberals not address these shortcomings rather than rushing to ratify the agreement?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, what the NDP needs to understand is that reopening this agreement would be like opening Pandora's box. Why is the NDP prepared to risk our economic stability?

It would be naive for the NDP to believe that Canadians would benefit from reopening this agreement. The NDP is playing a very dangerous game.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is simple. We want a better deal for working people.

While Liberals are ramming through the ratification of the new NAFTA, Democrats in the U.S. are fighting for a more progressive deal. Canadians want to know why the Liberals are not. Once again the Liberals are putting their interests ahead of priority number one, protecting Canadian jobs. If the Liberals push this through before the Democrats fix the deal, they are throwing away a once in a lifetime opportunity to make trade fair for Canadian workers. Under NAFTA, we lost over 400,000 manufacturing jobs alone.

I have a simple question. Why are the Liberals doing Donald Trump's bidding at the expense of Canadians?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, what the NDP needs to understand is that re-opening this deal would be like opening Pandora's box.

We have an agreement that safeguards more than $2 billion a day in cross-border trade. The NDP are naive at best and playing political games at worst to suggest that Canada would benefit from re-opening the deal.

If the NDP wants to take a page out of Donald Trump's playbook and withdraw from NAFTA, it should have the courage to say so.

The Environment

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a few days ago, the Minister of Environment was caught saying something that was insulting, to say the least. She said, and I quote, “we've learned in the House of Commons, if you repeat it, if you say it louder, if that is your talking point, people will totally believe it.” Basically, repeating and shouting works. That is utterly insulting to Canadians and to the members of the House of Commons.

In light of that situation, how can the Minister of Environment have any credibility when it comes time to talk about our Paris targets?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, how ironic to hear the Conservatives talking about credibility on environmental matters. We on this side of the House will take no lessons from the Conservatives. As people watching at home can see, only Conservatives like those across the aisle could oppose the polluter-pay principle.

We are proud to be taking action on climate change, protecting Canadians and their families and protecting the planet. We will invest in environmental protections for Canadians.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I would ask the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier to refrain from shouting when someone else is speaking.

The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the environment, the Liberals are all talk and no action. However, they have done two things. They imposed the Liberal carbon tax and they sent $4.5 billion in taxpayers' money to Houston. That is the Liberal record.

We are not the only ones who have noticed that the Liberals say one thing and do the opposite. The Liberal government's own “Clean Canada” report, which was released a few days ago, shows that the government is falling short of the Paris targets by 79 megatonnes.

What credibility does the Liberal government have when it comes to recognizing the Paris Agreement, when it did not even respect that agreement?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians watching at home, particularly those in my colleague's riding, see the Conservatives' true colours. The Conservatives have the nerve to criticize our plan for the environment when they have no plan of their own. The fact that they have no plan tells Canadians that the Conservatives are against reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They do not want to do anything to lessen the impact of natural disasters. They have no regard for future generations.

We have a plan and we will take action. We will protect the environment for Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, why is he always screaming over there?

The answer came from the environment minister, who said:

if you actually say it louder, we’ve learned in the House of Commons, if you repeat it, if you say it louder, if that is your talking point, people will totally believe it.

That is the Liberal strategy to convince Canadians they will be better off by paying higher gas prices while missing the Paris accord by 80 million tonnes of carbon. Is that not really the Liberal strategy, to say it louder even when it is wrong?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, I will say this very calmly.

We will take no lessons from the Conservatives. Only Conservatives can be against putting a price on pollution. We are proud to act on climate change. We are proud to protect this generation and future generations. We are proud to protect our planet. We will continue to invest in disaster mitigation and resilience so that future generations do not have to spend year after year for damages caused by climate change.