Debates of June 5th, 2019

The Environment

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his advocacy to protect the environment. I would like to wish everyone across Canada a happy World Environment Day.

We understand that taking action to protect the environment and tackle climate change is good for the environment, is good for the economy and is good for our kids. It is unfortunate that Conservative politicians do not understand that.

The Leader of the Opposition says that he knows best, that Ottawa knows best. What the Conservatives know best is how to do nothing on the environment and nothing on climate change.

Today, we announced $15 million to support Forests Ontario, to support 50 million trees being planted in Ontario. That is good for the environment, it is good for the climate—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Lévis—Lotbinière.

Government Priorities

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

Mr. Speaker, after giving Loblaws $12 million, this Liberal government is in hot water again for showering $50 million on a handful of Canadian venture capital funds.

However, two of the three winning funds that applied to the program said they were not in particularly dire need of Ottawa's money. That is totally backwards. This is a gross injustice to those who really need this money.

Why does the Liberal government not just mind its own business? Why is it giving money to investment funds that do not even need it?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to get this opportunity to remind the House that giving money to those who do not need it is a Conservative specialty.

For 10 years, they lavished handouts and tax breaks on the wealthy. They doubled the TFSA limit. I wonder how many people in my colleague's riding had $11,000 left over at the end of the year to put into a TFSA. We changed all that and chose an approach that works. We have cut poverty in Canada by 20% by introducing the Canada child benefit and lowering taxes for the middle class. This is a plan that works.

Finance

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, under the Liberals, the national debt is growing by over $2 million an hour, yet it is not stopping them from finding new ways to squander Canadians' hard-earned tax dollars.

First, the Liberals gave Loblaws $12 million for fridges. Now it is giving $50 million to an investment fund that when asked if it needed the money, said “No, but it's great to have it”. Those are words that most Canadian small businesses would only dream of being able to say.

Why are the Liberals handing out money to giant companies that literally do not need it, instead of helping small businesses by reducing taxes and cutting red tape?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to rise in the House to remind the member opposite that our plan, unlike theirs for 10 years, has been working for Canadians. While the Conservatives were giving tax break after tax break to the wealthiest, we decided to take a different approach and give more to those who needed it most.

We have reduced taxes for the middle class. We have made the Canada child benefit the most progressive social policy in a generation, which has lifted hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty and reduced poverty in the country by 20%.

I know that was never the policy intent of the Conservatives. That was never their intent to reduce inequalities in the country. We are taking that very seriously.

The Environment

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have asked the Minister of Environment several times to tell Canadians the truth about the Paris targets. Why is she refusing to answer and be transparent?

We know that this government's so-called environmental plan is not working. The government has to take its head out of the sand. It must be honest and confirm that the Paris targets will not be met.

I have a very simple question. When will this Liberal government clearly say to Canadians that Canada will not meet its Paris targets?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the Conservatives' questions. I want to wish them a happy World Environment Day and ask them if they will stand with us and vote in favour of our motion on the climate emergency. We must take immediate action on climate change and accept that we must meet our Paris Agreement targets.

Will they vote with or against Canadians?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal climate plan is a massive failure. In fact, every expert, including the minister's own department, says the that the Liberals are not going to meet their Paris targets. The minister continues to deny the truth and mislead Canadians.

Two weeks ago, during a very candid moment, the minister admitted what she was trying to do. She said, “if you repeat it, if you say it louder, if that is your talking point, people will totally believe it.”

Canadians are smarter than that. Will the minister now admit that her plan—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. The hon. Minister of Environment.

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, when we are talking about talking points, look at the other side. Who is reading the talking points about how they are going to do less and less to protect the environment and tackle climate change?

We are committed to taking action to tackle climate change. We have created one million jobs. While we are doing it, we are making life affordable.

At the end of the day, we all have an obligation. On World Environment Day, I would ask all Canadians to think about how we can tackle the biggest challenge of our generation, climate change, and how we can do it in a way that grows our economy and creates good jobs for Canadians.

Canadian Heritage

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Google spent $47 million on lobbying to roll back copyright in Europe. Here in Canada, the Liberal government is leaving the door wide open to giants such as Facebook, Google and Netflix. The government says nobody gets a free ride. Give me a break. It has been singing the same tune for four years now.

The consequences are very real. Today, TVA announced it is cutting 68 jobs because of Liberal favouritism and the government's refusal to ensure a level playing field for everyone.

I am ashamed of Parliament for handing our culture, our democracy and our jobs over to Big Brother in the states on a silver platter. The Liberals have not done a thing for four years.

Why not? God dammit!

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is in fine form today. As I said earlier, he should be saying those things to the Conservatives, who were in power for 10 years and did absolutely nothing.

Since taking office, we have created a committee that is in the process of analyzing all of this in order to eventually change the law. We will have one system that will be the same for everyone and will ensure that everyone who participates in the system contributes to the system.

No government has done more for culture than our government.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

You only have a month left before it's over!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. Let me remind the hon. member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert that he may speak only when it is his turn. The other members listened while he was speaking, so he should listen while others are speaking.

The hon. member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.

Dairy Industry

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs promised compensation for Canadian dairy workers after three successive free trade deals with thousands of Canadian jobs at risk.

While budget 2019 promised compensation for dairy farmers, dairy processors who employ 24,000 in Canadian rural communities received nothing. Not $1 was allocated for dairy processors to compensate them for economic harm stemming from these free trade agreements.

When will the Liberals deliver on their promise to fairly compensate Canadian dairy processors?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to provide an update on our commitment to supply management.

We are indeed firmly committed to supply management and to our dairy, poultry and egg farmers as well as to our processors. We will soon be announcing the mechanisms that will be used to provide our industry with the compensation it was promised.

Natural Resources

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Manitoba produces a lot of clean energy, so we can help other jurisdictions reduce their environmental impact with our clean energy resources.

Minnesota is prepared to buy renewable clean hydroelectricity from Manitoba to displace coal generation in its state. The National Energy Board and the province have both approved the transmission line, but the Prime Minister refuses to allow the project to go forward.

We know the Prime Minister regularly shows his disrespect for the provinces, but why is he punishing all Manitobans and preventing them from realizing the benefits of this fantastic clean energy opportunity?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, our government is supporting clean energy projects that are reducing emissions and creating good, well-paying middle-class jobs. However, it has become clear that because of the agreement that Manitoba Hydro proposed with indigenous communities, Manitoba Hydro was forced to cancel that agreement by the Manitoba government.

There are issues that we are trying to resolve to ensure we are concluding our meaningful consultation with indigenous communities in the right way, in a meaningful way, to ensure good projects can move forward.

Forestry Industry

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the community of Vavenby received devastating news on Monday when the Canfor sawmill closed and 178 people were out of work. This follows the Tolko Industries closure, where 240 people in Quesnel are out of work. This is the second major shutdown in the last 30 days. We have an industry in crisis.

Why did the government fail to make resolving the softwood lumber issue a priority when it renegotiated NAFTA?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the people and the workers who are impacted by the closures of the sawmills. We know about the reduction in logging and forestry in that area because of the issues of the wildfire as well as the infestation of the pine beetle that have been caused by climate change.

We are ensuring that proper support is available for the industry and for workers who are impacted by these closures.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in signing the last softwood lumber agreement, the former Conservative government put an end to the longest and most costly trade dispute with the U.S. We expanded overseas markets, we championed a wood-first initiative.

However, when the deal expired, the Liberals refused to make securing a new softwood lumber agreement a priority. In my province, over 140,000 jobs are forestry-dependent, 140 communities are forestry-dependent. In the past three weeks, seven mill closures have been announced or are imminent.

How many more families have to lose their livelihoods before it becomes a priority for the Prime Minister?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives simply do not know what they are talking about. Our government saw the consequences of the horrendous quota deal they accepted on softwood lumber.

Our government will continue to vigorously defend our industry and its workers against protectionist trade measures accepted by the Conservatives. We are continuing our legal challenges against the U.S. duties through NAFTA and through the WTO, where Canadian softwood has always won in the past, and we will win again.

Our government will always defend our workers and this industry.

Tourism Industry

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in my 32-year career with Parks Canada, I dealt with tourism operators and agencies across Canada. As a result, I know how important tourism is to our economy, particularly in B.C. where it represents over 300,000 tourism workers.

Can the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie please explain how the new tourism strategy works to champion job creation in the tourism industry, especially in B.C.?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Cloverdale—Langley City for his hard work. Not one week goes by without him talking to me about tourism.

After being abandoned by the Conservatives, the 1.8 million workers in the tourism sector know that we have their backs. We just invested nearly $60 million in a new Canadian experiences fund to boost our tourism season in the wintertime and to make sure that we have tourists outside our three major cities to empower our regions. We will also support LGBTQ tourism, culinary and—