House of Commons Hansard #423 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was marijuana.

Topics

International TradeOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

Marc Garneau Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC

This is the most important trade deal in the world, and we got it right.

International TradeOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan

The hon. member for Abbotsford has helpfully reminded me that one member should be speaking at a time and not others joining in. Of course, that applies, as he knows, to all of us. One member should speak at a time and not be interrupted also.

The hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent.

International TradeOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Conservative

Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, never in the history of Canada has it gone backwards on international relations or international trade. Never, that is, until the Liberal Prime Minister signed NAFTA 2.0, or rather NAFTA 0.5, as it should be called.

Never before has Canada gone backwards, yet that is what happened under the current government. It has taken a step backwards on auto manufacturing, on medication and on agriculture. The government touts this as a win for Canada, but it is no such thing.

How can the government celebrate? Mr. Pence is thrilled today, and it is easy to see why.

International TradeOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount Québec

Liberal

Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives told us many times to back down, sign a bad deal and basically just capitulate.

Canadians can be glad that we did not follow their example. If we had taken their advice, we would have an agreement with no chapter 19, the supply management system would have been completely dismantled, there would have been demands that would have decimated our auto sector, and a sunset clause would have made investing in Canada impossible. Thank God we did not listen to them.

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Conservative

Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Canada Revenue Agency is making secret deals with big financial players, no matter what the agency says. According to CBC/Radio-Canada, KPMG has once again managed to make a secret deal with the Canada Revenue Agency.

How can the Minister of National Revenue allow such a situation?

I do not want to hear her say that the net is tightening because, on the contrary, the net is still wide open for friends of the Liberal Party.

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Gaspésie—Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Québec

Liberal

Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly committed to combatting tax evasion. The Canada Revenue Agency undertakes a fully independent process before reaching out-of-court settlements. This helps maintain the integrity of our tax system.

Although I understand that the regulations can be used appropriately in certain situations, I am concerned about the lack of transparency. That is why I have asked the Canada Revenue Agency to review this processes to ensure greater transparency surrounding the reasons for which a settlement is reached.

International TradeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC

Mr. Speaker, workers are critical of the Liberal government, which is in a rush to ratify NAFTA at any cost. This trade agreement is bad for our farmers, consumers, workers, and the environment. The consequences of this agreement could be disastrous.

Can the Liberals use some common sense and improve this agreement instead of giving in to Donald Trump?

International TradeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount Québec

Liberal

Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, the NDP needs to understand that reopening this agreement would be like opening Pandora's box. We have an agreement that preserves $2 billion worth of trade daily.

At best, the NDP is naive, at worst, it is playing political games by suggesting that Canadians would benefit from reopening this agreement.

If the NDP is so confident, why not admit that it is firmly opposed to NAFTA?

Status of WomenOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. vice-president is here today to talk to the Prime Minister about the terms for ratifying the new NAFTA. The Prime Minister wants to ratify the agreement quickly, without debate.

That is almost as shameful as Mike Pence's position on a woman's right to choose. Unlike trade agreements, a woman's right to bodily autonomy is non-negotiable, but it is not enough to raise the issue with the vice-president.

Will the Prime Minister commit to ensuring that women across Canada have access to safe, accessible health care services?

Status of WomenOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe New Brunswick

Liberal

Ginette Petitpas Taylor LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, our government will always support a woman's right to choose. We all believe that Canadian women deserve safe access to abortion services. This is why we have consistently defended health and reproductive options in all regions in Canada, for instance, by expanding access to Mifegymiso and making it available without a prescription.

International TradeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON

Mr. Speaker, Vice-President Pence is in Ottawa today and U.S. congressional members are paying attention and asking why the Liberals are rushing the new NAFTA.

Congresswoman DeLauro said the Liberal government is acting prematurely and that quick approval of this deal is actually working against their efforts in protecting labour, the environment and ensuring people's access to affordable medication, the progressive things that Liberals pretend to care about.

A better deal is possible, but instead the government is working against it by ramming it through as is.

Why is the Prime Minister helping Donald Trump?

International TradeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount Québec

Liberal

Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, what the NDP should realize is that reopening this deal would be like reopening Pandora's box.

This is the fruit of a whole year's effort by three countries to come up with a good deal. Either the NDP are naive in thinking that by reopening it, we are going to get a better deal, or they are playing political games. My guess is that the NDP should stand up and have the courage to say they are squarely against the NAFTA deal.

International TradeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals should stop fearmongering about Pandora's box. This has happened in the U.S. twice, and it has been about all of these specific issues. The Liberals do not have the courage to fix the deal.

Canadians know that this NAFTA will hurt our dairy industry. No matter what the Liberals say, they did not protect them and the impacts will be felt by farmers, processors and workers in the whole dairy supply chain. The mystery compensation package that is yet to materialize will not include workers who drive trucks and work in processing plants.

Why do Liberals want working people to pay the price for their unwillingness to get a better deal?

International TradeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount Québec

Liberal

Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, Canadians saw how hard it was to negotiate this new agreement and achieve the lifting of tariffs. This was a task that all of our country was involved in. During that time, many Canadian families had real worries about whether they would lose their jobs.

Canada did its job. We have a new NAFTA deal that is a win-win-win outcome. We have a full lifting of the tariffs.

It is astonishingly irresponsible that the NDP seems prepared to plunge our country into a new negotiation and period of uncertainty.

International TradeOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Conservative

David Sweet Conservative Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON

Mr. Speaker, the president of the United Steel Workers warned the Liberals not to bask in the glory of their agreement to end the American steel and aluminum tariffs, which leaves Canadian businesses and workers at risk, because the Liberals agreed with the Trump administration that tariffs can simply be slapped back on if the U.S.' imports begin to surge. The minister refuses to say exactly what would constitute a surge. With the livelihood of Canadian workers hanging in the balance, she had better know what it means.

Workers and businesses need to know. They need certainty. What constitutes a surge?

International TradeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Don Valley West Ontario

Liberal

Rob Oliphant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, when the United States government imposed tariffs, we stood up for the Canadian economy, we stood up for steel and aluminum workers and we stood up for their families. We immediately retaliated dollar for dollar with Canada's strongest trade action since World War II. Despite calls by Doug Ford and the the Conservative leader to back down, we stood firm.

We have the tariffs lifted. We have a good deal, and we are now able to ratify it and continue this process.

International TradeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Richard Martel Conservative Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister volunteered to renegotiate NAFTA by promising to get a better agreement. However, Canada accepted concession after concession without getting anything in return.

The Prime Minister even signed an agreement knowing that the steel and aluminum tariffs were still in place. Now, we have learned that the wording of the new agreement implies that Canada will be subject to a quota in disguise from now on.

Why did he sign an agreement that is so bad for our workers?

International TradeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Don Valley West Ontario

Liberal

Rob Oliphant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we know how important it is to stand up for Canadian workers.

The American tariffs were lifted because we imposed significant counter-measures, despite calls from the Conservatives to lift them.

In November, the member for Durham said that our counter-measures were dumb and that they should be removed.

If we had listened to the Conservatives, there would still be tariffs on Canadian steel.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Richard Martel Conservative Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC

Mr. Speaker, if Canadians are in fact the Prime Minister's priority, I would like to know whether he asked the American vice-president for help with André Gauthier, a man from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord who is being held in the United Arab Emirates, a country known for its troubling human rights record.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country B.C.

Liberal

Pam Goldsmith-Jones LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)

Mr. Speaker, we are aware of that situation, and our government has been working on it for some time.

The minister has been in direct contact with the family. I have raised the issue with the Omani authorities. We are also in contact with the United Arab Emirates.

We are monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to do so.

International TradeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised a plan to help the workers at Oshawa's General Motors plant, and he failed to do so. The Prime Minister failed to come to Oshawa to meet with workers to justify this mistake, and it took over two weeks for the Prime Minister to even pick up the phone to call the mayor of Oshawa. Now, in the Prime Minister's new NAFTA agreement, automakers, including General Motors in Oshawa, are now limited in how many cars they can export to the United States.

Can the Prime Minister explain why he did not raise the issue of quotas on automobiles with the United States vice-president?

International TradeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Mississauga—Malton Ontario

Liberal

Navdeep Bains LiberalMinister of Innovation

Mr. Speaker, one of the key sectors to benefit from the new NAFTA was the automotive sector. We shielded this sector so we could continue to see production for years to come. With regard to GM and Oshawa, our government supported the workers every single day. We were there when the solution was proposed as well.

Over the last few years, we have seen $6 billion invested in the automotive sector. If the member wants to compare our track record with theirs, 11,000 new jobs have been created in the automotive sector versus 20,000 jobs lost under the Conservatives before the recession even hit.

International TradeOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Conservative

Erin O'Toole Conservative Durham, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is quite ironic that the Liberals feel NAFTA 0.5 is a win when there were no gains and only losses sector by sector, but Canadians should be very troubled by the fact that the bill has a provision that allows the Prime Minister and cabinet to change the deal after we have voted on it. If this is such a good deal, why do they have a provision that says it will change?

Do they know that they will accept whatever Donald Trump gives them?

International TradeOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Don Valley West Ontario

Liberal

Rob Oliphant LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, we stood firm for a good deal and we got a good deal. The new NAFTA preserves our vital access to the U.S. market and safeguards $2 billion a day in cross-border trade between our countries. The International Trade Commission reported that as a result of this deal, Canadian exports to the United States will increase by almost $20 billion, as will U.S. exports to Canada. This is a good deal for Canadians. We will take every step we need to take very carefully, making sure that Canadians are protected, Canadian workers are protected and our economy continues to flourish.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Erin O'Toole Conservative Durham, ON

Mr. Speaker, in his meeting with the U.S. vice-president, the Prime Minister did not raise Canada's Arctic sovereignty despite the fact that two weeks ago, Secretary of State Pompeo questioned our sovereignty in the Arctic. At a time when Russia and China are showing ambitions there, the Prime Minister is failing our north.

We know they signed away our sovereignty in the trade deal. Why are they not standing up for it in our Arctic?