Debates of Oct. 30th, 2020

Foreign Affairs

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

Madam Speaker, I believe the member knows that Canada has strongly condemned and will continue to condemn the attack against Alexei Navalny, who had been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent. We thank Germany for its steadfast support of him through this process. We strongly condemn this outrageous attack. Russian authorities have to explain what happened so that those responsible may be held to account without delay. The use of chemical weapons is abhorrent and unacceptable.

Canada joins the international community and will continue to stand with Mr. Navalny and his family in the search for justice.

Ethics

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Speaker, the government finally tabled its report explaining why it prorogued the House over the summer. I read the report, but I still do not know why the Liberals shut down Parliament. I still do not know why the prorogation lasted six weeks instead of 24 hours, if the sole purpose was to adapt our work in the House to the realities of the pandemic. I still do not know why it took six weeks for them to come up with a throne speech that was nearly identical to the previous budget.

My memory fails me. Could the government remind me what, exactly, happened on August 18 when it decided to shut down Parliament?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, since day one the government's and the Prime Minister's focus have been combatting the coronavirus pandemic. We have put in a multitude of different programs that have really had a positive impact on all Canadians in all regions.

We prorogued the session because it was very important for all of us to remain focused and work collaboratively on doing what Canadians want us to do, and that is to put in our best efforts in fighting the coronavirus.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Speaker, when something is urgent, you do not take six weeks, you take 24 hours.

There were two words missing from the report on the prorogation. The words I heard were “WE Charity”. The Liberals forgot to say that it was convenient for them to shut down the four committees that were looking into a Liberal scandal. They forgot to mention that they were looking to kill time for six weeks so that people would stop talking about WE Charity.

Plus, they are still trying to stall the committees to cover up the scandal. Why can they not be honest and admit that they shut down Parliament because of WE Charity?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, the House of Commons, for the first time since 1988, sat during July and August. We actually sat more days in the summertime than we lost through prorogation. I know members of the opposition might say technically we did not sit as the House of Commons, but we all sat on the floor of the House of Commons. There were literally hundreds of questions and opportunities for all opposition parties to hold the government to account. The reality is that we will continue to be focused on combatting the coronavirus.

Small Business

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Madam Speaker, Logan's, a long-time live music venue in Victoria, announced this week that it had to shut its doors for good. Logan's was a beloved watering hole where people came together to talk politics, listen to live music and go to the Sunday Hootenanny. I have heard from countless small businesses just like Logan's that are struggling to stay open, and Victoria is facing the impending loss of many of the places that make our community what it is. Logan's will be missed. We need to support these small businesses.

Why are small businesses like Logan's still waiting on the government to give them the kind of help that would keep them afloat?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for raising the issue about that local live venue and the importance of this venue. By the ongoing compliance with public health guidelines, Canada's theatres and live venues have been doing their part to keep Canadians safe during the pandemic, but these cancellations have had an impact on the businesses. We recognize the importance of ensuring the viability and that we have a strong, robust industry. We have committed through emergency funds $500 million to help maintain jobs and support this business community. We will continue to be there and continue to work for a robust recovery.

Housing

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Speaker, Canada had a severe housing crisis before the outbreak of COVID-19, but due to the severe economic impacts of the pandemic, many more Canadians are at risk of losing their homes. They need the federal government to help, yet in my riding of Vancouver Kingsway an agency of the government is ordering the Still Creek Housing Co-op to raise its rents by over 5%.

Will the Liberals instruct the CMHC to cancel this policy that will hurt many single-parent families, low-income individuals, disabled folks and seniors?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, this government through the national housing strategy has actually restored lapsed funding agreements with co-ops to sustain the rent geared to income program that the Conservative government was letting disappear under its watch.

Regarding the co-op in question, I would be happy to sit with the member to review what CMHC has done around re-establishing those subsidies, but in response to COVID, this government is now taking the unprecedented step of launching the rapid housing initiative, a $1-billion initiative to acquire, renovate and provide emergency housing immediately for cities across this country. We look forward to continuing to work with Parliament to achieve on this file.

Finance

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, unfortunately, Canada has the highest unemployment rate of all the G7 countries. Unfortunately, Canada is the only G7 country that does not have an economic recovery plan. Unfortunately, Canada still does not have a government that knows where it is going in matters of public finance. It has no budget and no economic update. What is worse, the Prime Minister said this week that spending is not being regulated. We suspected as much, but at least now he has finally admitted it.

Could the Prime Minister tell Canadians that he is aware that when his government spends recklessly, sooner or later, our children and our grandchildren will have to pay the price?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, as I am sure the member is aware, in the last number of months, the government has engaged in many different ways, with different levels of government, to work collaboratively on a restart program, amongst many other programs, to ensure that Canadians as a whole are in a much better position to combat the coronavirus and its impacts.

We are looking to the official opposition and others to work collaboratively with the government so that we can continue to be there for Canadians in a very real and tangible way.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Madam Speaker, the lengthy silence that preceded the parliamentary secretary's answer is very telling. Obviously, the government has no idea where it is going with regard to public spending.

Meanwhile, the Government of Quebec already has an economic update in place. Yes, the Quebec government is running deficits, but it has a goal. The Quebec finance minister said that the budget would be balanced by 2026.

What is the federal government's plan?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Madam Speaker, what I would say to the hon. member is that if his house was on fire, I would tell him to save the people inside and put the fire out. The Conservative approach seems, instead, to be to shut off the hose over the concern of the future price of water.

We entered this pandemic with the healthiest fiscal situation in the G7. We have used the fiscal firepower we have to help families keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. We have used that fiscal firepower to help keep the doors open at businesses and workers on the payroll.

Canadians deserve to have a government that will commit to getting them through this pandemic, no matter what it takes. That is exactly what we are going to deliver.

Public Safety

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Madam Speaker, this week the money laundering inquiry in B.C. said the RCMP does not have enough resources and officers to fight it.

Dirty money bought up billions of dollars' worth of B.C. real estate in 2018, inflating home prices by 5%. The C.D. Howe Institute says that dirty money laundered into Canada could be over $100 billion a year.

The public safety minister was the minister for organized crime reduction. He has known about this problem for years. When will he finally take money laundering and fighting organized crime seriously?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for a great question that gives me an opportunity to remind the member that during the last four years of the Conservative government, they slashed the RCMP budget by over half a billion dollars and closed all the integrated proceeds of crime units.

By contrast, and it is a sharp contrast, we have invested over $172 million restoring the ability of the RCMP, FINTRAC and CRA to establish enforcement teams. We have worked with the Province of British Columbia on this matter. We have created new offences. We are actually investing in dealing with the very serious problem of money laundering and restoring the very unfortunate cuts made by a previous Conservative government.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Madam Speaker, this minister has been in power for half a decade, so he should stop blaming everyone else. He should stop pointing fingers and actually do his job, because I would think he would get the big picture here, as a former police chief. It goes beyond legal casinos in B.C. China-based transnational cartels, connected to the Chinese Communist Party, have been operating underground casinos in B.C. and Ontario. It looks like foreign interference in Canada. Money laundering to fund organized crime is tearing Canadian families and communities apart. This is a real threat to Canada.

When will the minister actually do something, stop talking—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. Minister of Public Safety has the floor.

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Madam Speaker, the member points out that this is a problem right across Canada. In fact, Canada used to have 12 integrated proceeds of crime units that were staffed by excellent and qualified RCMP officers who conducted those investigations, until the Conservatives closed all 12.

We have begun to restore those cuts and to replace those officers with a significant investment in the RCMP to ensure it now has the capacity to do that important work. I appreciate the member's new-found interest in this, but the Conservatives' record speaks for itself.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Madam Speaker, Loblaws, Metro and Walmart are increasing fees to suppliers for the privilege of selling to their grocery stores. On Wednesday, the CEO of Sobeys announced that his grocery chain would not increase fees to farmers and processors. He said, “I don't think it's healthy …some of these behaviours are just plain bad for Canada.”

When will the government step up like Conservatives have, call this out and side with Canadians like Sobeys has?

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Madam Speaker, it is disappointing to see grocers impose these costly fees, which fall on the thousands of Canadian food processors who are working hard to feed Canadians and support their communities amid many challenges. Independent grocers, food producers and processors and their workers have played a critical role during this pandemic. We share the concern of Canadians about fair market practices, and we are committed to ensuring that Canada has the right conditions for all businesses to thrive.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Madam Speaker, gouging fees by grocery giants could put farmers and processors out of business in the middle of a pandemic, putting Canadians' jobs and their food security at risk. The government should tell Canadians that it will take action now: not tomorrow and not next week, but now. The government needs to call out this unfair competition practice like the Conservatives have.

When will the Liberals show leadership for our farmers and help everyday Canadians with their grocery bills?

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

Madam Speaker, I can assure the House that we are following the situation very closely with my colleague, the Minister of Innovation, and also with my colleagues from the provinces. This is a very important issue that would fall under the jurisdiction of the provinces, and this is why we will facilitate the discussion while we will be meeting many times in November through our almost weekly FPT meetings.

Office of the Auditor General

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, at yesterday's meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the Auditor General reiterated that she does not have the budget to scrutinize all the new pandemic spending. That is troubling. She reiterated that she will not be able to analyze the $343 billion in new spending unless she gets additional resources. That makes no sense.

Interestingly, the Liberal Party seems to be fine with that. We cannot let the government spend hundreds of billions of dollars with no oversight, especially not in light of the WE Charity scandal.

The Auditor General is asking for $31 million, which is very reasonable.

When will she finally get the resources she needs to do her job?

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and to the Minister of Digital Government]

Madam Speaker, let me start by assuring the new Auditor General of my full collaboration and that of the President of the Treasury Board. Our government is committed to supporting her important ongoing work.

As the Auditor General told the committee, she is feeling very positive about the work that is going on between her office and the Department of Finance.

We pledged to make sure her office has the resources it needs. We will have more to say in due course.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Liberals awarded an untendered contract worth $900 million to their friends at WE Charity. They awarded another untendered contract worth $237 million to Frank Baylis, who was still a Liberal member of the House just last year. How many other similar contracts exist that we just do not know about?

The Auditor General is asking for $31 million to scrutinize the $343 billion the government has spent during the pandemic. Her office has requested a budget increase five times in the last five years.

Aside from furthering the interests of the Liberal Party and its good friends, could the government—