Debates of June 4th, 2019

Taxation

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we have been investing in Canadians as can be seen through the Canada child benefit where 300,000 kids have been lifted out of poverty. As we see when it comes to the economy, through the leadership of the Minister of Finance, we have one of the fastest growth rates among the G7 countries. When it comes to the economy, there are over one million jobs that have been created since 2015. What is really important to note is that 75% of those jobs are full-time jobs. When it comes to Canadians, their wages have gone up. We will continue to invest in the middle class.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been clear. They are having a hard time making ends meet and are disappointed in the Liberal government. The Liberals cannot take the same old approach as the Conservatives. They must stop spending money to help rich corporations.

Canadians need universal pharmacare and affordable housing. We need to make better choices in order to get better results.

When will the Liberals start putting ordinary people ahead of their friends in high places and their rich corporations?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to talk about the impact our investments are having on the middle class.

First of all, nearly one million jobs have been created, we have the lowest unemployment rate since 1976, and we have one of the strongest levels of economic growth in the developed world. In addition, the size of the debt relative to the economy is dropping, and it too will soon be at its lowest level in 40 years. Lastly, we have the lowest poverty rate in the history of Canada.

This is all great news and demonstrates the importance of investing in the middle class, which helps everyone and the economy.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, Manitoba Hydro is planning to build a transmission line to the U.S. to export clean green energy. Unlike the useless Liberal carbon tax, the Manitoba–Minnesota transmission project would actually help the environment by increasing the amount of green energy. Five years of consultations have been done and this project has been approved by the National Energy Board and Manitoba's clean energy commission.

Why is the Prime Minister blocking this product and not allowing it to get started?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand that for good projects such as this to move ahead and grow the economy, we must protect our environment and respect the rights of indigenous peoples.

We are working hard to ensure that we are discharging our duty to consult with indigenous communities. There are outstanding issues between the proponent and the indigenous communities so we extended the time to give them time to resolve those issues. We hope they will be able to resolve those issues.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is a complete fabrication. The Manitoba Hydro line was approved by two independent regulatory agencies and all outstanding issues have been addressed. This project would reduce emissions by providing clean electricity to areas of the U.S. that currently burn coal. However, the Prime Minister is blocking this green project and costing Manitobans hundreds of millions of dollars and Canadian jobs.

The Prime Minister is politically interfering and trying to kill yet another Canadian energy project. Why?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I encourage the hon. opposition House leader to be judicious in her choice of words.

The hon. Minister of Natural Resources.

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we will not follow the failed process of the Harper era that led to large energy infrastructure projects being challenged in the courts because they failed to put in place meaningful consultation that allows us to fully discharge our duty to consult with indigenous communities. We know that good projects such as this can only move forward when we look after the environment and we are meaningfully engaged with indigenous communities.

We encourage the proponent to continue their conversations with indigenous—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

Intergovernmental Relations

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, federal and provincial areas of jurisdiction go back to 1867. A prime minister's job is to maintain healthy, productive and harmonious federal-provincial relations, but this Prime Minister is paternalistic and centralizing.

When will the Prime Minister show some respect for the provincially elected representatives of all Canadian provinces?

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

Mr. Speaker, respecting jurisdiction means investing with the provinces.

This gives me an opportunity to talk about the announcement we made yesterday together with the government of Quebec. We are making a historic investment in excess of $500 million to rehabilitate the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel and transform the 20th-century bridge-tunnel into a 21st-century piece of infrastructure.

That is what we mean by “working with the provinces”. It was a joint announcement and it is a joint investment. We are going to work together for Quebeckers and for all Canadians.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that, in most cases, this Liberal government interferes and makes decisions at the federal level without taking the provinces into account. It does not respect Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick or Quebec, for starters.

Things have gotten so bad that, at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference last Friday, the Prime Minister said he was prepared to bypass the provinces to achieve his objectives.

Why does the Liberal government have so little respect for provincial governments and premiers?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague said, respecting jurisdiction means working with the provinces. That is why I was very happy to be in Halifax on Sunday working with the Province of Nova Scotia to announce two major transportation corridor projects. Our federal government is working with the provinces to make life better for Canadians.

Natural Resources

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the spring construction season has started but no shovels are in the ground for the Trans Mountain expansion. In 2016, the Liberals delayed their approval by four months and then failed to exert federal jurisdiction, while they actually funded opponents to use every tool to stop it. Last year, the Liberals' consultation mistakes delayed construction by another six months. In April, they delayed their second approval by a month. Now Liberal MPs on the natural resources committee question if a decision will even happen on June 18.

What exactly is the plan for construction to start immediately on June 19?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I would encourage the hon. member and the members of the official opposition to actually listen to their leader or the premier of Alberta who believe that the process we have put in place is the right process. Maybe they should talk to the energy minister for Alberta as she believes the process is the right process. If they really believe in this process, they should not have voted to defund and kill the process that would allow us to get to a decision on this project by June 18.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this minister has totally and utterly failed his constituents. Under the current Liberals, three companies that wanted to build pipelines in Canada are gone and building them in the U.S. Not an inch of new pipeline is in service in Canada, but the U.S. added 35,000 kilometres of new pipelines since the TMX was proposed.

The Liberals must give a timeline for construction, transparency on costs and a plan to use all federal powers to get the Trans Mountain expansion built. Missing this construction season will cost taxpayers billions more. What is the plan to guarantee construction will start on June 19?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are moving forward on building pipelines. We are the government that gave approval to the Enbridge Line 3, which is almost completely done on the Canadian side. We are the government that gave approval to the Nova Gas line, which is completely done here. We are the government that had been advocating for the Keystone XL pipeline.

We put in place a process to move forward on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in the right way to ensure that we are engaging with indigenous communities in a meaningful way, a process that the Conservatives tried to kill.

Indigenous Affairs

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, families told their truths. Sophie Merasty, who lost her sister Rose, said, “We have always known this was a genocide....The violence we face happens in all aspects of our lives—at every level, in every institution, in every interaction.”

On behalf of all Canadians, will the Prime Minister honour this truth and state clearly that Canada committed genocide against indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people? Will he commit to implementing all recommendations from the inquiry, with dedicated resources and a timeline that is accountable to the public?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, the inquiry presented its final report, in which it found that the tragic violence that indigenous women and girls have experienced amounts to genocide. As the Prime Minister has said, we accept these findings. Our job now is to develop a national action plan, as called for by the inquiry to implement its recommendations, that is distinctions-based and flexible. The final report makes it clear that action is now required not just from governments and institutions but from all Canadians.

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released 231 calls for justice to protect indigenous women and children. The calls include providing sufficient and readily available transit between cities in rural and northern communities. I have asked the current Liberal government 18 times to provide safe and affordable transportation in Saskatchewan, following the closure of the STC and the Greyhound service cuts.

Will the Liberals act now to ensure indigenous women and girls have access to safe transportation options?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, this is precisely the reason why, after Greyhound pulled out, we decided as a government to work with the provinces that wanted to fill the void left by Greyhound and not filled by other transportation companies. We would be there at the table with them. I am glad to say that, in the case of the Government of British Columbia, we will be co-financing the transportation costs associated with some northern routes, including the Highway of Tears.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is getting in the way of the Auditor General.

Canadians rely on the integrity of our government institutions to be transparent.

We all know that rewarding cronies is the Liberal way of getting favours or keeping officials quiet.

Why is the government prepared to obstruct the work of the Auditor General with impunity, instead of allowing him to do what he is mandated to do, namely to conduct independent audits?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the Conservatives are finally taking an interest in officers of Parliament. After all, it was their party that cut $6.4 million from the OAG's budget and fired the auditor general.

We increased the OAG's budget by $41 million, something the Conservatives voted against. Why?

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is very unfortunate that the Liberal government has been governing for four years and it takes no responsibility or accountability for anything it has done.

This is the first time in Canadian history that the Auditor General has said that he has not been given the resources to fully audit the Liberal government. His request for new funds was rejected, and now audits have been dropped.

How can the Liberal government always find money for its friends, but when it comes to holding it to account, the cupboards are bare?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for giving me the opportunity to remind the House of the record of cuts, muzzling and obstruction of the previous government.

This is just another officer of Parliament who the Conservatives do not respect. They have told the PBO that they will not allow him to audit their platform. That is probably because they know their climate non-plan will cost more than ours. Just ask Doug Ford in Ontario.

Where was that member when her party was thinking of burning the AG's budget—