Debates of Jan. 28th, 2020

Roger Nicolet

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honour the memory of Roger Nicolet, a leading engineer and well-known face in Quebec public life. He was responsible for unforgettable projects like the Louvre pyramid, the CN Tower and the Olympic Village in Montreal. He served tirelessly as mayor of Austin for 33 years, as reeve of an RCM and as president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités.

We will also remember how committed he was to Quebec, in particular as a member of the historic Bélanger-Campeau Commission on the future of our nation. He presided over commissions on significant matters of public safety in Quebec, such as the ice storm and the Saguenay floods. He received a number of honours for his commitment, most notably being named an officer of the Ordre national du Québec.

On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to offer my condolences to Roger Nicolet's family and loved ones. He was a talented, generous man and we recognize his legacy.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this fall's harvest has been extremely difficult for Canadian farmers and the Liberals have made it worse. Liberal political blunders have cost Canadian farmers vital trade markets, and they added to that burden by implementing a devastating carbon tax.

This fall, farmers had to dry their grain and the carbon tax cost them billions of dollars, money they do not have, yet the agriculture minister still says she does not know how the carbon tax will impact farmers.

Through an Order Paper question, I asked the minister about an exemption for Canadian farmers from the carbon tax. In her response, she admitted she and her department, “does not have information concerning the administration of the federal carbon tax.” How can the Liberals implement a crippling carbon tax on Canadian agriculture without having any clue how it will impact hard-working farm families?

The Liberals must stop ignoring the data, give Canadian farmers credit for their conservation efforts and immediately exempt Canadian agriculture from the Liberals' crippling carbon tax.

Regional Economic Development

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to rise for the first time in the 43rd Parliament to thank the wonderful people of Saint John—Rothesay and my incredible campaign volunteers for giving me a second mandate to stand up for them in this place.

Since being re-elected, I have hit the ground running. I have worked to deliver nearly $8 million in new federal funding for our riding. Last week, this began paying off.

I was thrilled to announce our federal government's investment of $750,000 through ACOA to help UNB Saint John relocate its MBA program to Saint John's uptown core. This significant federal investment in our riding will allow our community to fully leverage its entrepreneurial hub and its world-class university in order to unlock its full economic potential.

This is only the beginning. I am excited to continue delivering the unprecedented federal investments our riding needs by always putting it first in Ottawa.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before going to Oral Questions, I just want to remind hon. members that the S.O. 31s are limited to 60 seconds. I noticed a few of them going five seconds over and as much as eight seconds over. I just want to remind everyone to keep it within the 60 seconds. I would not want to cut anybody off.

Infrastructure

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, under the current Prime Minister we have the worst of both worlds. We have the sky-high deficits that he promised, but we do not have the infrastructure spending that was supposed to go along with it.

In fact, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said that the infrastructure plan “does not exist”. Instead of spending their hard-earned money on things that will actually grow the economy, all Canadians have instead is reckless borrowing, wasteful spending and sky-high taxes to pay for it all.

If the Prime Minister is so sure about his infrastructure plan, will he support our calls to call in the Auditor General?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, five years ago we made a commitment to Canadians to do things differently from the Conservatives who had underinvested in infrastructure for 10 years. We made historic investments in infrastructure to grow the economy and to improve Canadians' quality of life, while Conservatives campaigned on billions of dollars' worth of cuts from much-needed infrastructure across the country.

Our plan has over 4,800 projects under way or completed, four times the number of the Conservatives in their last four-year mandate. We are building affordable housing, community centres, libraries and bridges. We are investing in Canada's future.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is doing something different from the previous Conservative government. We got projects built, we balanced the budget and we cut taxes for Canadians all along the way.

Instead, for every $100 that the current Liberal government is spending on infrastructure, only three dollars is actually going to projects for trade and transportation, all the while racking up billions of dollars in new debt. In fact, this year alone $25 billion worth of taxpayers' money will have to go just to pay the interest on that debt.

Once again, will the Prime Minister support our calls to bring in the Auditor General?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, many Canadians remember with regret the Conservative Party's infrastructure plan that features things like billboards, doorknobs and, yes, gazebos. We will continue to invest in the things that Canadians need with a historic $40-billion national housing strategy, investing in transit, investing in the kinds of things that keep our economy moving and keep Canadians growing toward a better future.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, match our record of opening up ports and bridges and increasing trade capacity against the current Prime Minister's temporary hockey rinks and spending money on the Asian infrastructure bank, building projects in other countries.

The Prime Minister promised that his infrastructure plan would increase the GDP, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer showed that the plan would not have any impact on the GDP.

Will the Prime Minister support our motion so that the Auditor General can look into his infrastructure program?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we made a very different choice from the Conservatives. We chose to invest in communities and in the infrastructure that has an impact on people's lives rather than opting for the kinds of cuts and austerity measures that the Conservatives keep advocating for even after two electoral defeats.

We know that investing in communities puts more money in the pockets of Canadians. That is how we created over one million jobs and lifted nearly one million people out of poverty. We will continue to make investments.

Health

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the crisis created by the coronavirus has made it clearer than ever that co-operation among all governments around the globe is important to ensuring public health.

Will the Prime Minister support observer status in the World Health Organization for Taiwan?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we continue to work with the WHO. We continue to work with allied countries around the world to ensure that we are dealing with this health challenge. I can reassure Canadians that the risks to Canadians are low, and in regard to Canadians in China, we are engaged in consular support for them.

We will continue to make sure that Canadians remain safe amid these concerns about public health.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that was a very simple question. There has been a request made by the government in Taiwan to be an observer at the WHO, especially during this time. This is a decision that the Prime Minister can make, whether or not to support Taiwan's request.

It is a yes-or-no question. Will the Prime Minister support observer status for Taiwan at the WHO?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are a country that is always engaged in supporting multilateralism, whether supporting the United Nations, whether supporting the WHO or supporting collaboration between countries around the world. We will continue to work together on addressing this public health emergency.

We recognize that the Conservatives like to play politics with international affairs. We are focused on keeping Canadians safe.

International Trade

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, aluminum is Quebec's second-biggest export and accounts for no fewer than 30,000 jobs in Quebec. Aluminum can enter North America freely through Mexico without protection. I would imagine the government has studied the impact of the latest version of the free trade agreement on Quebec's aluminum sector.

Can the government and the Prime Minister confirm that such studies exist and make them public?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is very simple. Under the old agreement, North American aluminum producers had no guarantee calling for the use of their products in North American auto manufacturing.

We now have a guarantee that 70% of the aluminum used in North American auto manufacturing must come from North America. Given that much of North America's aluminum is produced in Quebec, that is good news for aluminum producers and workers in Quebec and across Canada.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we must not confuse parts and the metal used to manufacture them. When NAFTA was signed, Quebec produced more aluminum than China. Now China produces 15 times more aluminum than Quebec. There were five projects to modernize or expand aluminum smelters in Quebec.

Can the Prime Minister definitively confirm that there will be no negative impact and that those five expansion and modernization projects of aluminum smelters in Quebec will go ahead?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of innovation in Quebec's aluminum sector. I have watched projects like AP60 and Elysis take shape.

We know that there is good news for our aluminum workers and manufacturers. We will always support them, just as we supported them by eliminating the unfair tariffs the Americans had imposed on the aluminum sector.

The member does not need to take my word for it. He can trust Jean Simard, president of the Aluminium Association of Canada, who said that the new NAFTA is the right way to go.

Automotive Industry

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2016, we learned that Volkswagen vehicles were emitting illegal levels of toxins that were hurting people and the environment, yet the Liberal government did nothing for three years. When it finally decided to act, it gave a foreign company, which makes no contribution to our Canadian workforce, a sweetheart deal and let it off the hook with no criminal charges.

Volkswagen knew that its cars did not meet our health and environmental standards.

Why do the Liberals choose foreign companies over people and the environment?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we take our responsibility to never stop fighting for a healthier environment very seriously. That is why we are pleased that Volkswagen paid the price for the way it misled Canadians. It is important to ensure that in Canada we have some of the best standards and the best plan in the world to fight climate change.

We will continue to lead the charge because we know that jobs, our children's future and the future of the planet are at stake.

Public Service of Canada

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is a foreign company and no criminal charges were laid. That is unacceptable.

Yesterday, the minister bragged about the fact that the government uses outside help for our public services. Giving $12 billion to foreign companies is not a solution.

The Liberal government has contributed to the tripling of the outsourcing of public service work. That is tripling the public money that goes to large international corporations.

Outsourcing hurts our Canadian workforce, so why is the Liberal government favouring large international corporations over Canadian workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been focused over the past five years on growing the Canadian economy by creating new jobs and by encouraging Canadians to create new jobs. We have seen success with over a million new jobs created over the past five years and the lowest poverty rates in a long time. We have decreased poverty by significant percentages and lifted almost a million people out of poverty.

We recognize that when it comes to procurement there is always an important balance to be made between making sure we are making responsible use of taxpayer money while at the same time creating good jobs. We are always focused on getting that balance right.

The Environment

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in July the expert, science-based review said that Teck's Frontier mine should be approved. All local indigenous communities support it. Yesterday the environment minister said the Liberals might reject it. Today he said they might delay it. Death by delay is a tactic of anti-energy activists.

If approved, Frontier would immediately create 7,000 much-needed jobs in Alberta and show the world that Canada is open for business. Can the Prime Minister name a single project outside of the oil and gas sector that his cabinet has rejected based on emissions?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected this government to protect the environment, to grow the economy, to advance reconciliation and to create good jobs. They also expect this government to oversee fair and thorough environmental assessment processes.

This is a major project that is being reviewed under the 2012 environmental assessment process. Under that process, the cabinet must make a decision by the end of February, and we will do so.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the answer to my question is no. In fact, the Liberals have turned a blind eye to major emissions from projects in other sectors, and even to other projects in the oil and gas sector, to foreign oil and to pipelines in China.

The Prime Minister said that he heard the message from Albertans. Premier Kenney made it easy with a five-point list, including the quick approval of Teck's Frontier mine. Oil sands are a world leader in emissions reductions and they create jobs in every single province. Alberta needs them now. Will the Prime Minister approve Teck's Frontier mine?