Debates of Oct. 30th, 2020

Office of the Auditor General

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

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and to the Minister of Digital Government.

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

Madam Speaker, that is a great question.

After Stephen Harper's Conservatives cut the Auditor General's budget by nearly $6.5 million, we took steps to restore that funding.

In budget 2018, we invested over $41 million in additional funding for the Office of the Auditor General. Thanks to that increased funding, that office was able to add the equivalent of 38 full-time employees to the team.

As I said in my previous answer, we are very encouraged by the discussion between—

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

The hon. member for Elgin—Middlesex—London.

Women and Gender Equality

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Madam Speaker, the pandemic has clearly led to an increase in violence against women, in the form of both domestic abuse and human trafficking. While Canadian women are facing these grim realities, women in unstable areas of the world face unthinkable threats to their safety and security. Unfortunately, Canada's leadership has been called into question when it comes to responding to these threats, in particular due to the lack of women peacekeepers who are available for deployment.

When will the government pick up the slack and take these issues seriously?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for the question.

No form of gender-based violence is tolerated in our country, and we are going to continue to work with Canadians to end it in every form.

Our government has made progress with the first-ever federal strategy to prevent gender-based violence that will support survivors and families. We know there is more work to be done, and that is why we have committed to a national action plan to ensure that anyone facing any violence has reliable and timely access to protection and services, no matter who they are or where they live.

Due to COVID-19, we have seen additional funding of over $100 million to help women in need, and that—

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

The hon. member for Elgin—Middlesex—London.

National Defence

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Madam Speaker, we are speaking about the number of women in the Canadian Armed Forces. It is embarrassingly low. We are nowhere near our target of 25% of women in the Canadian Armed Forces by 2026. When women are caught in conflict zones, it is essential that women peacekeepers are there to offer compassionate and empathetic support.

What is the government's plan to meet this need and show Canadian leadership in peacekeeping efforts?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Madam Speaker, I agree with the member who raised the question. We need to increase the number of women in the Canadian Armed Forces.

If we want to increase the number of women in peacekeeping, all of us, as allies, have to increase the number of women, and we are working very hard to increase our numbers. In fact, the current commander of the NATO training mission in Iraq is Jennie Carignan, and she has done fabulous work.

We will continue to increase our numbers and have an impact on peacekeeping operations.

Ethics

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Madam Speaker, for someone who has nothing to hide, the Prime Minister is going a heck of a long way to cover up in the WE scandal. He threatened an election, he shut Parliament down for six weeks, and in his latest move he has paralyzed the finance committee with a 25-hour, 171,000-word, one-month-long filibuster. Rambling speeches this week ventured into a Liberal MP comparing the WE scandal documents that have been blacked out to sacred texts, like the Torah, the Bible and the Quran. That presumably means that he wants to black out sections of those texts as well.

Which ones would he like to black out?

[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, it is interesting when the member talks about filibusters. I sat in this chamber when the member spoke for 14 hours on the budget. He talked about the stones of the chamber and all sorts of things that, some might say, were somewhat interesting.

As much as the Conservatives want to focus their efforts and concentration on WE, who are we to say that they cannot do what their priorities are?

What I can tell members is that this government's priority is to work for the health and well-being of Canadians and our economy. We are going to remain focused on the coronavirus and fight it.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Madam Speaker, a big difference is that when the member for Carleton filibustered it was to expose corruption. The Liberals are filibustering to hide their corruption.

This week at the finance committee, the display by the member for Guelph where he likened the Bible, Torah, Quran and other sacred texts to the Liberals' blacked-out corruption documents is disgusting and, frankly, quite stupid. We know that, for this Liberal government, corruption is sacred.

Does the minister—

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

I would ask the member to please refrain from using unparliamentary language.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Madam Speaker, does the minister agree that this language was wrong and that it was hurtful to Canadians of faith?

Will he apologize to the House and ask the member to do that same?

[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, in my time I have heard Conservative members filibuster. When they talk about filibusters, I think they need to look in the mirror. It is important for us to realize what is taking place is a government that is focused on working collaboratively for those who want to work collaboratively on the number one priority of Canadians, which is the coronavirus and minimizing the negative impact it is having on our society. We look to the Conservatives to join with us and start working collaboratively, whether it is in committee or in the House.

Rail Transportation

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Madam Speaker, this week the environment commissioner told us that the risk assessment system for the transportation of dangerous goods is flawed, with incomplete and outdated data. At the same time, the Transportation Safety Board watch-list highlighted that uncontrollable movement of train incidents is on the rise, the same incident that killed three CP workers in February of 2019 with trains carrying the same dangerous goods that blew up in Lac-Mégantic. This is beyond unacceptable. What these watchdogs are telling us is that the next accident is around the corner.

When will the minister finally take action before he has to once more share his condolences with the families and communities affected?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Madam Speaker, we welcome the publication of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's “Watchlist 2020”, which provides key recommendations for the overall improvement of Canada's transportation system.

We are pleased to see the Transportation Safety Board of Canada recognize the significant progress made by the department in substantially reducing the backlog and addressing past safety recommendations, but we understand we need to do more. We share the Transportation Safety Board's commitment to advancing the safety of Canada's transportation system and take its recommendations seriously. We will never hesitate to take the necessary actions to continuously improve safety.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Madam Speaker, the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development released a report this week revealing that the risk assessment system is based on incomplete and outdated data.

The following day, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's watch-list highlighted that the number of unplanned or uncontrolled movements is climbing. These are the same incidents that killed three CP workers in February of 2019, with trains carrying the same dangerous goods that caused the accident in Lac-Mégantic. We are being warned that the next serious accident is around the corner.

When will the minister do something to prevent the next—

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

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Madam Speaker, Transport Canada has taken concrete action in response to safety issues identified on previous watch-lists, including implementing many measures to strengthen rail safety, such as implementing stricter rules to secure trains and reduce the risk of uncontrolled movement of railway equipment.

We published the locomotive voice and video recorder regulation to provide accident investigators with the insight into the sequence of events leading up to rail accidents. We will listen to the Transportation Safety Board and act on its recommendations, because rail safety is of fundamental importance to this minister and the department.

The Environment

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

Madam Speaker, on October 7, our government announced it was moving forward with its commitment to ban harmful, single-use plastics as part of its plan to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030. However, for many Canadians with disabilities, plastic straws are essential for drinking. Without access to bendable, durable plastic straws, the simple act of taking a drink can become more challenging and potentially dangerous.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change please share what steps our government is taking to ensure the needs of Canadians with disabilities—

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

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Western Economic Diversification Canada) and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change (Canada Water Agency)]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Saint John—Rothesay for his strong advocacy for Canadians with disabilities. Our government is taking ambitious action to eliminate plastic waste and pollution, including through a ban on harmful, single-use plastics.

We will engage with Canadians with disabilities as we move forward to ensure their needs are reflected in our approach. We will ensure no Canadian who needs a plastic straw for accessibility or medical reasons will go without. We will always protect our environment and advance the rights of people with disabilities.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Chris Lewis, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Madam Speaker, there are hardships at the Canada-U.S. border due to buck-passing by the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Health.

One example is when Darren tried to cross to the United States to visit his brother. He was turned around by U.S. customs, yet still required to quarantine for 14 days. What followed was buck-passing from public safety to health, only to learn, too late to help Darren, that appeals are to be made to PHAC.

To the Minister of Public Safety, how is it that U.S. billionaire executives clear the border, while regular Canadians like Darren face nothing but chaos?

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to advise the member that we took very strong action to protect the health and safety of Canadians by imposing very significant restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border that accomplished a number of things. They allowed for the facilitation of the passage of trade goods and essential workers at that border, and at the same time, we placed severe restrictions on non-essential travel.

We have been working to resolve issues where individual Canadians have been impacted by those measures. Those measures are important and it is also important we work with local health authorities and our provincial and municipal partners to ensure the health and safety of Canadians. That is what we have been doing from the outset and we will continue that work.

Health

[Chris d'Entremont, Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Madam Speaker, one week ago the new PMPRB regulations and guidelines were announced. These changes have been expected for quite some time by patients and patient groups. These groups warn that, without serious revisions to the draft guidelines, new life-saving drugs like Trikafta will not be released here in Canada. Unfortunately, the proposed changes do not reflect the concerns communicated to the government.

Why is the Liberal government letting down patients and families once again?