Debates of May 7th, 2019

Opposition Motion—Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, it is extremely important to have a balance in the economy, working with indigenous communities and making sure we can get it done in the right way, but that takes a lot of effort.

We have seen 50,000 consultations on this side by the government contacting individuals and first nations, talking with people directly—Canadians, indigenous people, environmentalists—ensuring that environmentalists can actually give their opinion when we are building this to make sure it is done in a good way.

This works to ensure that indigenous peoples can also see a profit from this, that they can have sole-sourced revenues, so that they can fund their own programs.

Not only that; it is also about ensuring that we invest in those things that sometimes people do not see, like the aboriginal centre on Higgins and Main in Winnipeg Centre, which has received money to retrofit its windows, so that it can have less heat loss, so that the building costs less to heat during the winter, which is sometimes very long in Winnipeg.

We have also been spending lots of money ensuring that indigenous communities do not have to truck in thousands of tons of diesel fuel to run electrical generators, that we hook communities up to the actual hydro being produced on their territories. That sounds like equity.

Let us talk about Shoal Lake and building the Freedom Road so that indigenous peoples can actually access their community, and then we can actually start building a new water treatment plant, which supplies the city of Winnipeg with its clean water. These things are concrete actions that we have been taking day in, day out, year after year for the last three years, which have started to make a significant difference in people's lives.

I hope we do not stop, because if this stops, if we do not have the opportunity to continue, we are going to set back reconciliation and we are going to set more Canadians back into poverty. That is not what we should be about here in this country. We should continue investing in all Canadians, making sure that all Canadians have an equal opportunity, an opportunity to succeed in this country, our nation.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to speak in the House on an issue of importance to my constituents. I want to let you know that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Langley—Aldergrove, and I know we are all very anxious to hear from him after question period.

The previous Liberal speaker led quite nicely into what I wanted to say. He proved once again how out of touch the Liberal government is with the everyday needs, the everyday concerns of average British Columbians and of average Canadians. For those just tuning in, he said in his speech that if people are worried about high gas prices, they should just change their behaviour. In my riding, gas is $1.52 for a litre of fuel. It has been up to $1.80 plus in metro Vancouver, but we can just modify our behaviour.

If construction workers are driving a pickup truck full of drywall to go to work to feed their family, they should just modify their behaviour—stay home that day and maybe do not go to work. Maybe they should be hauling drywall on top of an electric vehicle. Maybe they should be driving a Prius when they have to do heavy construction labour building homes in my riding of Chilliwack—Hope. Just modify their behaviour.

If people need to take their mother to the doctor's office in my riding, which has limited transit options, maybe they should tell her to wait in the rain for the bus if she can get it, or tell her she can get her prescriptions next week; she does not need to go to the doctor. Why are people complaining about the high price of gas? They should just modify their behaviour. If they want to take their kids to school, why do they not just modify their behaviour?

Has the member ever been outside of Winnipeg Centre to a rural community? Do any of the Liberals represent rural Canadians who have to drive to work? They have to drive to school. They have to drive to get to doctor appointments, but for the Liberals, people are just exhibiting bad behaviour. People made a bad decision when they decided to live in rural Canada in one of the most rural countries in the entire world. That is a bad decision, and people should modify that decision.

It is an outrageous attack on rural Canadians to have that kind of attitude from the Liberal government, to tell them to modify their behaviour as if everyone lives within walking distance of a SkyTrain. That is the Liberals' attitude. They also have the attitude that everyone can just pay for it, that everyone has the ability, because that is whom they are connected to. That is whom they listen to.

We saw it with their $12 million gift to a multi-billion dollar company, Loblaws, a company that has more money than most Canadians can ever imagine having. The government took money from average, everyday Canadian commuters and gave it to a multi-billion dollar company—$12 million for something that Loblaws would have bought on its own.

That is whom the Liberals look out for. We saw it with SNC-Lavalin. Liberals look out for the big corporate interests and their big wealthy friends. In British Columbia, the person driving a luxury SUV whom Liberals are looking out for can peel off another $20 when the gas price goes to $1.75. It is nothing to them. They just reach into their wallet and peel off another couple of twenties and say they are doing something for the environment while they do not change a single behaviour.

The people I represent have to make choices and do not have hundreds of dollars left over at the end of every month and are struggling every month to make ends meet under the government. They do not have the option to just reach into their pockets and pull out another couple of extra twenties. They reach into their rainy day fund. They reach into the money they might have put away in an RRSP. They reach into the money they might have put into their children's future education fund. When people do not have that money available to them because of high gas prices, because of the increased cost of living, they do without, something that the Liberals have never understood.

My colleague, the member for Carleton, referenced again today that it is clear that the Prime Minister does not have the faintest clue what it is like to sit down at the kitchen table and try to balance a budget for a family. He has never had to do it. He has never had to run a small business where the cost of fuel determines whether he will make a profit from month to month.

There are now non-profit, volunteer organizations in British Columbia that drive people to cancer appointments and are seeing their operations devastated by this increase in the cost of fuel, and the Liberals say that they should modify their behaviour. I guess maybe they should go to one fewer chemo treatment. What is being said is that people should modify their behaviour. People are polluters if they go to work, go to school or take their children to activities that help them become better rounded individuals.

I have to touch on this. In British Columbia, we have a provincial government that has completely failed its people. First of all, it has taken Alberta to court to stop it from building a pipeline into the province. Now it is going to court to insist that Alberta continue to send oil and gas to British Columbia. It is outrageous. We know that the pipeline, if it were built, would reduce the price of wholesale fuel, refined fuels, in the Lower Mainland by about 20¢ a litre. If we combine that with the carbon tax in British Columbia, which is 9.8¢ when we add the GST, it is 30¢ a litre right now as a result of the Liberal government's inability to get the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion built and the NDP's carbon tax.

The NDP has a carbon tax that was brought in by the B.C. Liberal government, and it has now made it completely revenue-neutral to the government. The government gets all the money now. There is no rebate in taxes. This is a preview of exactly what will happen across the country if these Liberals are re-elected. People should not fool themselves. The $1.75 prices we are seeing in British Columbia are coming right across the country, as well as the fact that the government will see that revenue pool and take it all.

Right now the Liberals are saying things like they are going to give it all back, which is a great scheme. If we give them our wallet, there will be more left over when they give it back to us. What a great scheme. That is how it always works with the government, is it not? It always gives back more money than people give it on the front end. Just pay the government and trust that we will get more afterward.

We know what happened in B.C. With the stroke of a pen, the NDP government took all the money for itself. It took all the money for itself, and it is forced to have a carbon tax by the federal government. Therefore, we have a two-step process in British Columbia that needs to be undertaken. The first step is to get rid of the federal government that requires a national price on carbon. That is job number one. Given the results in the by-election last night, I would say we are off to a good start, because after the next federal election, there will not be many Liberals left in British Columbia because of the attitude we have seen here today—things like telling people to modify their behaviour and that they are bad people if they use their vehicle, even though they have no other options. Then we will work on getting rid of the provincial carbon tax.

On the Trans Mountain pipeline, this is something that the government has bungled from day one. First of all, it added on 10 months' worth of additional hearings, which were supposed to ensure that this pipeline met the requirements for consultation with indigenous communities. We were told that it had to be pushed off almost a year so that the government could meet the requirements of the court. Of course, it held those expensive hearings and did not change a single recommendation. The only thing it did was delay the decision.

Does that sound familiar? Again and again, the government has delayed and delayed the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion decision. That now is coming home to roost. For a pipeline that was supposed to be in service this year, not even a shovel has turned this year. Another construction season will be missed this year.

British Columbians know more than most what it is like to live in a very unaffordable region. The government has done more in three and a half years to make life less affordable than any government in history. That is why job one is to replace the government with one that understands the needs and the concerns of everyday Canadians and does not think they are bad Canadians for driving their kids to and from sports or going to work to feed their families, that does not think they need to modify their behaviour and that thinks they are doing their jobs and looking out for their families. That is job number one. We will help them get ahead when we replace the government in October.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Mr. Speaker, in answer to this, the hon. member will talk about similar themes to those he just talked about, but before he does that, I would like him to address one very important thing. He has been here a while. Several years ago, as a commitment to the people of Canada, it was stated that a re-elected Conservative government led by Stephen Harper would “reduce the federal excise tax on diesel and aviation fuel by half, from four cents per litre to two cents per litre, reducing the price of transportation”.

Why did the former Conservative government not do that?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will tell colleagues why we did not do that. We instead reduced the GST from 7% to 6% to 5%, which resulted in an across-the-board reduction in more than just the cost of fuel. The cost of fuel was reduced because of the actions that Stephen Harper and our government took. We did all of that while returning Canada to a budgetary balance in 2015. That is what we did.

Yes, we made some tough choices. We made the choice to reduce government revenue so that we could leave more money in the pockets of everyday Canadians. That is the difference between Conservatives and Liberals. The Liberals always believe that the government in Ottawa has a much better plan for our money than we do. That is why they want to take more and more and more of it. Even today they are saying, “Look, just give us more and more. Trust us. We'll give you some back.” What a great plan.

How about if we left more money in the pockets of Canadians so that they could make decisions about how they would like to support their families? That is our philosophy on this side of the House. It is too bad the Liberals have abandoned it.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, governments around the world are recognizing that something is happening in the environment. One of the solutions is a price on pollution. Canada is not alone. Other governments around the world are recognizing the value of a price on pollution. The Conservatives do not have any plan. For over a year they have said nothing in terms of what a Conservative government, heaven forbid, would actually do to deal with the environment. We wait and wait and wait.

Now we have a member who made a statement today. He said that plan one is to get rid of the price on pollution, and plan two is that if there is any province that has a price on pollution, the Conservatives are going to go after that province.

My question for the member is—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I believe there is an apology owed. I heard a word that was not exactly appropriate or parliamentary.

[An hon. member]

I apologize.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Apology accepted.

The hon. member for Winnipeg North.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am looking for an answer from the Conservative Party. If Conservative members do not support the price on pollution and if they want to be a minority in the world, then they are entitled to that position. However, would you please share with Canadians what the Conservative Party plan is on the environment?

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I think it is very unfair that the member for Winnipeg North is asking our Speaker to justify his plan. He is not to ask you for what your plan is. That will be you as a candidate in an election. He should have been asking the Conservatives to explain their plan.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I appreciate the intervention by the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay.

I want to remind the hon. members that when they ask a question, they are to ask it in the third person through the Speaker, not to the Speaker. The Speaker remains perfectly neutral, as I want to remind them.

The hon. member for Chilliwack—Hope.

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

Mr. Speaker, British Columbia has had a carbon tax for a number of years and the carbon emissions have continued to go up. It is not working. The only thing it has done is to raise taxes on British Columbians and provide a bonanza of revenue for the provincial government to spend on initiatives as they see fit.

Actually, the environment minister of the Government of British Columbia had this to say, which was very interesting. He is a member of the NDP government. He said, “Greenhouse gases do not respect provincial boundaries or international boundaries for that matter.” He also said that the B.C. government would argue in court that there would be harm to its competitiveness “if other provinces do not put a price on carbon”.

This is the argument that Conservatives have been making for years. Greenhouse gases do not respect international boundaries, yet the Liberals want to put us at a huge economic disadvantage when it comes to our competitors. They might be willing to put our competitiveness into the toilet, and they might be willing to take more and more and more money from Canadians and say they are making bad choices. They might say they are bad Canadians for choosing to live in rural areas and for driving to work and school. That is never the approach that a Conservative government will take.

Gasoline Prices

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the price of gas has jumped even further to $1.43 in Montreal. The Conservatives' solution is to cut the carbon tax and build more pipelines. Quebec does not have a carbon tax, yet gas is still expensive.

In December, their leader even admitted that the lack of new pipelines was keeping gas prices low. If we build pipelines to increase demand, gas will just cost more.

Instead of wasting billions of dollars on the oil industry, we should be investing in green public transportation. That is how we will lower demand for oil. We can also combat climate change and keep gas affordable for consumers at the same time.

That is what it means to act responsibly.

Joanna Wardley

[Joe Peschisolido, Liberal, Steveston—Richmond East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Joanna Wardley, who passed away in March.

When Joanna's son, Steve, was suffering with HIV/AIDS nearly 20 years ago, Joanna and her husband, Brian, felt they had nowhere to turn for support. She vowed that she would help others when she retired, and she stayed true to her word.

Joanna and others founded the Heart of Richmond AIDS Society in 1997, and later the Gilwest Clinic at the Richmond Hospital. Thanks to Joanna, Brian and other like-minded advocates, Richmond residents living with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C now have treatment and support closer to home.

I wish to extend my sympathies to Joanna's husband, Brian, and their family. May they find comfort knowing Joanna leaves a legacy of love and compassion.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, three years ago, Clark and Kimberlee Moran began the process of adopting a Nigerian orphan by the name of Ayo. They did everything by the book. They used a reputable adoption agency, checked out the orphanage where Ayo lived, and complied with all the laws of Nigeria and British Columbia.

Nine months ago, the Morans travelled to Africa to pick up their son, and that is where the story took a terrible turn. The Minister of Immigration refused to issue travel documents for Ayo. The Morans have done everything right and provided this Liberal government with copious evidence proving that they are the rightful parents of Ayo. However, for almost a year, the Morans have been separated from each other, living thousands of miles apart as they trade off being parents to their child.

They are among the many Canadian families who have felt the cold shoulder of this immigration minister. How heartless. Is this what the Prime Minister meant when he promised sunny ways? When will the minister do the right thing and bring Ayo home?

Ramadan

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of residents in Ajax and across Canada are observing Ramadan, and to them I say Ramadan Mubarak.

For the fifth year in a row, I am going to be fasting in support of a phenomenal charity that is blowing up across the world, called Give 30. We fast and then take the money we save from fasting and give it to local food banks to help those in need.

Ramadan is a powerful tool that connects us, through fasting, to the suffering of others. Unfortunately, here in Canada, we still have those who are suffering, but we have made remarkable progress. We are three years ahead of our targets on poverty reduction, having lifted 300,000 children out of poverty.

As we observe Ramadan, this is an excellent opportunity for us to say, “Inshallah, we can get rid of poverty in this country altogether.”

Mental Health

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this week is CMHA Mental Health Week, and I want to “get loud” about mental health care in northern Saskatchewan.

In my riding, getting the help one needs can be complicated. Mental health workers are hired by tribal councils, by reserves and by the Athabasca and Saskatchewan health authorities to work in clinics and hospitals, always motivated by the fact that they are helping the elders and youth in our communities to live better, one day at a time.

Talking about what one is going through can be hard, but it is only through sharing one's experience that one can get help. We all deserve to feel good and to live with dignity, and mental health care workers in northern Saskatchewan are helping their communities do that every single day.

I thank all the mental health workers across northern Saskatchewan.

I also want to wish a happy birthday to the Petit triplets from Buffalo Narrows, who are celebrating their 52nd birthday today.

LGBTQ2 Community

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to thank and congratulate OUTSaskatoon for its leadership in supporting LGBTQ2 Canadians on the Prairies and across the country. Its response to high levels of LGBTQ2 youth homelessness led to the building of Pride Home, a five-bed home that gets kids who have been kicked out of their home simply for being LGBTQ2 into a safer space so they can finish school and build their lives. OUTSaskatoon is also a driving force behind Enchanté, Canada's new national network of LGBTQ2-serving organizations.

Recently, I announced $1.1 million in funding to OUTSaskatoon from the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality and from the Public Health Agency of Canada. It will use this funding to get to the roots of gender-based violence in our community and to train officials to make sure we put an end to this violence.

I thank the whole team at OUTSaskatoon. They inspire, save lives and make us Prairie proud.

Regional Economy

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has politicized the fighter jet procurement file. Three and a half years later, nothing is happening. The Liberals' improvisation, political interference and schemes are motivated by their naive and reckless election promise to not buy the F-35s.

Our relationship of trust with our main allies is crumbling. The Liberals' political interests do not prioritize defending our territory and maintaining relations with our allies. The government is jeopardizing thousands of jobs in the aerospace industry. The Liberals' 2015 platform said, “Government should base its policies on facts, not make up facts to suit a preferred policy”. A fact-based policy would take the Auditor General's comments and recommendations into account.

Today, the people of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord are calling on the government to base its policies on facts so that we can maintain and improve our regional economy, which greatly benefits from CFB Bagotville.

Port of Matane

[Rémi Massé, Liberal, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to applaud members of Matane's business community for the amazing way they joined forces to save the port of Matane.

It was one minute to midnight; the community was running out of time to find a solution that would maintain the commercial wharf's operations until its reconstruction. Our people rolled up their sleeves. Instead of giving up, they got busy. They were creative and ingenious. Today, I am proud to say that the solution, which was developed by one of Matane's own businesses, Construction CEG, will keep the port of Matane up and running until reconstruction is complete.

I am proud of our government's $1.5-million contribution to this project. I have always said that we have everything we need to create growth right here at home. This solution is proof of that. The port of Matane has always been one of my priorities. I would like to thank the business people, the Coalition urgence port de Matane, elected officials and the Minister of Transport and his team. Together we have taken concrete action for our businesses and workers.

Poverty

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, as I have done many times, I joined the Cafétéria communautaire MultiCaf team to serve food to hundreds and hundreds of residents in need. At the other end of my riding, the Mile End Community Mission prepares 10,000 bags of groceries for families that do not have enough to eat.

No child in this country should go to sleep hungry. No child should go to school hungry. Our government has already lifted over 800,000 people out of poverty, including more than 300,000 children. We have just increased the Canada child benefit. It is working, and we want to help families even more. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, we are tackling childhood poverty and we are making real progress.

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has let down Canadians who voted for him in 2015.

He promised the budget would balance itself. It has not.

He promised huge investments in infrastructure. It turns out the money is stuck in Ottawa.

He promised real action on climate change. Instead, Canadians received more taxes.

He promised transparency and open government, and then he was personally accused of politically interfering in the justice system behind closed doors. Now one of the members of his own Privy Council will be testifying against him.

He lost the ambassador to China. He embarrassed Canada during his trip to India. When welcoming the Prime Minister of Japan, he confused Japan with China.

He pledged $50 million to a celebrity's cause in a flippant tweet.

He said oil workers have “social impacts” in the communities they work in.

He forgot to mention Alberta in his Canada 150 speech. He spends more time on the beaches of Tofino than in his own office.

I am running out of time here, but it is clear that the Prime Minister is not as advertised.

Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Speaker, our government has introduced amendments to the Canada National Parks Act in budget 2019 to take steps to establish the Thaidene Nëné national park reserve.

I want to acknowledge the work done by our Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the community and people of Lutselk'e, the Dene and Métis in their historical territory.

Thaidene Nëné is a sacred place to the Lutselk'e Denesoline people. Fourteen thousand square kilometres will be designated as a federal national park reserve. The park reserve, near the eastern shores of Great Slave Lake, encompasses vast and extraordinary terrain, ranging from forests to tundra. There are cliffs and islands, lakes, rivers and waterfalls, and it includes the deepest fresh water in North America.

Thaidene Nëné is also a culturally rich area, including the traditional and present-day hunting, fishing, gathering and spiritual places used by various aboriginal peoples.

Congratulations to Lutselk'e and Chief Darryl Boucher-Marlowe.

Mental Health Week

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week is mental health week, and we need to get loud about what mental health is. We need to look beyond moments of crisis and consider our mental well-being on a day-to-day basis. We need to talk about the real-world health impacts of having a sense of purpose, strong relationships, feeling connected to our communities and being well equipped to cope with crisis.

This past month, the parliamentary mental health caucus brought together advocates, researchers and Canadians with lived experience to discuss the gaps and deficits in mental health services from a wide range of perspectives, seeking consensus on the path forward.

I would like to thank all participants for being part of the conversation. I encourage them, and all Canadians, to get loud this week and take that conversation to the national level.

Prime Minister of Canada

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I could talk about the massive deficits or the many ethical breaches, and I could go on about affordability or the lack of leadership, but now everyone has seen the Prime Minister's true colours and his questionable governance.

The Liberal governance has never been reliable or effective, even though the Prime Minister promised a new way of doing things. Worse still, the very person who portrayed himself as a different kind of politician has been embroiled in one scandal after another since 2015.

He promised to balance the budget in 2019, but we still have a massive deficit. We deserve better.

He promised to reduce the tax burden, but the deficit and the carbon tax will make life even harder for Canadians. We deserve better.

He promised to be ethical and transparent, but he is hiding things and has no qualms about cheating. We deserve better.

This Prime Minister does not and will never measure up to the challenges facing our country. Let us give Canadians something to be proud of again. We deserve the best.