Debates of Jan. 29th, 2020

Public Safety

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Marylène Levesque was murdered by a convicted killer on day parole. Her death was both shocking and avoidable.

According to the media, parole officers encouraged this murderer to meet a woman for sexual services, and he killed her. That is unacceptable, and an internal investigation is not good enough.

What is the Prime Minister going to do about this horrible case?

Are Canadians to conclude that this is standard practice on the part of parole officers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we extend our deepest and sincerest condolences to Marylène Levesque's family and loved ones. Such a loss under these circumstances would be tragic for any family. The individual has been arrested and is facing charges. The Parole Board operates at arm's length from the government. Nevertheless, the Parole Board of Canada is launching an inquiry into the circumstances that led to this tragic situation.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is this individual was convicted of the violent murder of his wife. The Prime Minister has opposed mandatory prison sentences for convicted murderers in the past. However, the individual should never have been released or encouraged to seek the services of a sex worker by government officials. Marylène Levesque deserved better than this failure. Public Safety sets guidelines for parole officers and people involved in parole decisions. Will the Prime Minister confirm that this is not the type of encouragement that is standard practice for individuals released on parole?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, this was a tragedy and we offer our support to the family and friends of Marylène Levesque.

Obviously, decisions of a parole board are independent from government. However, we are pleased to see that the Correctional Service of Canada and the Parole Board are launching a board of investigation into the circumstances that led to this tragic case. I assure the House that all Canadians want answers to this.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, I think it is relatively well known by now that the Bloc Québécois has announced and presented to the government a numbers of things to consider with a view to finding an upstream solution to the problem of Quebec aluminum in relation to the CUSMA.

Parliament has a golden opportunity to do the right thing, make the right choice. To do that, we must first understand each other and establish a common basis for communication.

I will start with this: Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that the new agreement treats aluminum differently from steel?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in the new NAFTA, we secured guarantees for steel and aluminum. The new agreement guarantees that 70% of the materials used in the production of automobiles in North America must be steel from North America and aluminum from North America. The Americans will indeed have different concerns and requirements with regard to the aluminum or steel sector. We always stand up for our aluminum and steel sectors.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear that. Unfortunately, at this point, the agreement has already been drafted, but there are indeed possible avenues.

Unfortunately, I am sorry to have to say that, as it stands, the Bloc Québécois cannot vote in favour of the ways and means motion. I hope this is the only time we vote against it and that, going forward, we will be able to find reasons to vote with the government on this agreement.

To make that happen, will the Prime Minister acknowledge that this poses a risk to the expansion and modernization projects in Quebec worth $6.2 billion?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to provide the hon. leader of the Bloc Québécois with many reasons to support this NAFTA agreement, which is good for workers from coast to coast to coast, including farmers, steel and aluminum workers, small and medium-sized businesses, investors who want to expand their businesses and families who depend on trade with the United States. There are many reasons to support this agreement, which provides certainty and opportunities for workers in Quebec and across the country.

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned of a recent announcement by the government, but Canadians are deeply concerned about those who are trapped in the region because of the coronavirus. The U.S. and other countries have negotiated an agreement to secure the evacuation of their citizens. What stage are we at with respect to securing similar negotiations or assurances for Canadians who are trapped in the region?

People have serious concerns about the coronavirus.

What is the government's strategy for helping Canadians come home?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, all members in the House take the security and safety of Canadians abroad very seriously. That is why I am pleased to say that Canadian officials in Ottawa and in China are working closely with their Chinese counterparts. We continue to liaise closely with our international partners on developing options to ensure the safety and health of Canadians in the affected region.

So far, we have received repatriation requests from 160 Canadians. Every Canadian who has contacted us will receive consular help with this situation. We will keep people apprised of the next steps.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is still looking for ways to give huge sums of money to rich corporations. Recently, it was Loblaws, and now it is MasterCard, which made $9 billion in a single year.

Now the Liberal government is jumping to give this profitable company $50 million of public money while they drag their feet to deliver the health care that Canadians need so they can afford their medication.

Why does the Liberal government keep giving money to profitable companies instead of investing in our health care?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again the NDP is choosing to share this erroneous perception that we have not taken real action on moving forward on reducing the cost of prescription drugs for Canadians. We have moved forward in significant ways that have lowered the cost for prescription drugs for Canadians. We have continued to move forward on creating a national drug agency and to move forward on the strategy for high-cost, rare disease medications. There is much more to do.

We will continue to work with the NDP and everyone in the House to deliver on affordable health care for all Canadians.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister first ran for office he said his fiscal anchor was that the deficit would never exceed $10 billion. Now it has reached $27 billion. He said the budget would be balanced in 2019. Now the Liberals will not tell us how many decades it will take for that to happen. They said that the debt as a share of GDP would never go up, and this year it is going up.

Given that there are at least three fiscal anchors that have been detached from the government's fiscal ship, are there any anchors left?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the basic approach that the Liberal government has taken is very different from the approach of the Conservatives.

We believe that investing in Canadians is the way to build the economy. Conservatives believe that austerity and cuts are the way to help Canadians. We know that they are wrong, because over the past years we have demonstrated that investing in families, investing in communities, not only has seen Canadians create over one million jobs over the past few years but we have reduced poverty by record amounts, seeing almost one million Canadians lifted out of poverty, including over 300,000 kids.

We are going to continue to invest in Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Only we are not getting any value for the money, Mr. Speaker.

The reality is that unemployment in Canada is higher than in at least four G7 countries, higher than in the U.K., the U.S., Japan and Germany. It has been above the G7 average for the Prime Minister's entire term. Growth in the U.S. is 50% faster than here in Canada. These deficits are not buying us growth and they are not buying us any jobs.

Back to my original question. The Prime Minister said the debt-to-GDP ratio would continue to go down. Is he still committed to that or is he just going to put our future on Mastercard?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives continue to talk down the Canadian economy. We can understand that Canadians might wonder where we are going.

I am happy to reassure them that not only is our plan working to lift Canadians out of poverty and see jobs created, but the international bond rating agencies have unanimously given Canada a Triple-A rating, the top rating in terms of our fiscal plan for going forward. We are the only other country with Germany in the G7 that has that top, unanimous Triple A rating and it is because international agencies know that our plan is working for Canadians.

The Economy

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity has repeatedly failed to answer basic questions about what middle class even means. The Liberals say that they like evidence-based policy but we know that they like buzzwords even better. Without a definition of the middle class and an estimate of how many Canadians belong to it, nobody can measure their prosperity.

Does the Prime Minister think it is important for his Minister of Middle Class Prosperity to know who the middle class are? Maybe he has his own definition.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have continued to invest in the middle class and have supported them throughout, from the very, very beginning of our coming into office.

The member opposite wants to talk about results. We have seen results in over a million new jobs being created and in almost a million Canadians lifted out of poverty. We have seen investments in public transit, in housing and in approaches that have made a real material difference in the lives of millions of Canadians. We have chosen to invest in Canadians and their families, unlike the Conservatives who choose cuts and austerity as their only tool in the fiscal tool box.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian aluminum sector is dealing with competitors who have little concern for labour standards or protecting the environment.

The new NAFTA is not perfect, but improvements that could be quickly incorporated were presented to the government. Aluminum has to be at the heart of a Canadian environmental strategy. Representatives from Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean came here today expecting a signal from the government to that effect.

Will the Prime Minister give the signal to fix the flaws in the new NAFTA?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, like all Quebeckers and Canadians, I am extremely proud of our aluminum industry.

We have world-class, cutting-edge innovations. Whether we are talking about Elysis or AP60, I have seen with my own eyes what is being done with aluminum in Saguenay. I am extremely proud of that work. I am pleased to support these aluminum workers and show that Canadians are once again leading the way on economic growth and environmental protection.

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the importance of the integrated North American economy is not lost on Conservatives. The aluminum, auto, agriculture and digital sectors have many questions and they remain unanswered. They need to know the upsides and the downsides of this deal.

We have asked the Prime Minister to release all NAFTA-related economic studies and analysis, so that we as parliamentarians can do the job Canadians sent us here to do.

When will the Prime Minister release all of the NAFTA-related documents?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working over the past three years to ensure continued access for Canadian businesses to the North American market and to ensure the jobs of Canadian workers from coast to coast to coast who rely on a tight and strong trading relationship with the United States.

We were pleased that, in an era of unpredictability and protectionism from the United States, we were able to secure a great deal for Canadians that has demonstrated that we will be able to be reassured for generations to come, on NAFTA. We will continue to work with all parliamentarians to ensure that this moves forward the right way.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it has been 48 days since we asked the Liberal government to provide its economic impact analysis of the new NAFTA. There are clearly concerns from a number of key sectors, including dairy and aluminum. We have asked the Prime Minister to provide these documents so that we can do our job. When will the Prime Minister provide these documents?

Are you trying to hide something?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I just want to remind the hon. members that they are speaking through the Speaker. Honestly, I am not hiding anything.

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I assure the member opposite that the Speaker is certainly not hiding anything.

The reality is that from the very beginning we offered full briefings and information, not just to the leaders of the opposition parties, but to their critics as well. We will ensure that all information that they require to make the right decision for their constituencies and for Canada is given to them.

We know that it is an extremely important achievement for Canada to have secure trade within the North American market. We will continue to work with all members in this House to ensure that we can move forward properly.