Debates of Nov. 19th, 2020

The Environment

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are all faced with the crisis of COVID-19, but the climate crisis is still here. People are worried about the future.

In 2007, years ago, Jack Layton proposed a bill to fight the climate crisis. It was the first of its kind. Jack would not be satisfied with the Liberal government's proposal to wait 10 years before seeing any results. People are worried right now, and they want to see a real commitment.

Will the Prime Minister commit to fighting the battle against the climate crisis as if he really wants to win it?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, of course the Prime Minister will, and so will everyone on this side of the House.

I will ask, respectfully, the leader of the NDP, whether the NDP will commit to supporting the Canadian net-zero emissions accountability act. This is landmark legislation. It sets Canada on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050. I am so proud of Canada for this legislation and I hope all members of the House will support it.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, with the crisis that is happening in Nova Scotia with the lobster fishery, if there is one file and decision that the Minister of Fisheries should have read by now, it is the Marshall decision. Shockingly, yesterday at the fisheries committee, the minister admitted she has never read it.

How is it that the Minister of Fisheries does not have the time or the interest to sit down, read and know the law on the most important file that she is dealing with?

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to clarify that.

Basically, what I was asked last night at the fisheries committee was if I had read it in its entirety. I have read the Marshall decision. I needed more context on it. I went to legal experts as well as the member for Sydney—Victoria, who is a treaty rights person, to give me more context on the decision. I have since finished reading that decision. It is an extremely important one, but what is really important is making sure we implement first nations treaty rights.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, she read it last night is basically what she is telling us.

Commercial fishermen were calling for the minister's resignation weeks ago, and now Chief Sack is also calling on her to resign. Why? She has not met with the Mi'kmaq fishers in a month. The fisheries minister does not have the time or interest to read the important legal decisions on her file, and now she cannot be bothered to meet with commercial or Mi'kmaq fishers.

Just exactly what is the fisheries minister doing to fix the crisis that is literally threatening the backbone of Nova Scotia's economy?

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I have been actively meeting with both first nations leadership as well as commercial harvesters since the onset of this issue. I will continue to do that. I met with Chief Sack this morning, as a matter of fact. I will continue to have those very important conversations. We know that the only way forward, to make sure that we find a long-term solution to this issue, is through negotiations.

I will continue to have those conversations.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we already know that the Liberals sent CERB cheques to prisoners. We also know that the Liberals told officials who suspected fraud to send the cheques anyway. Today, we learned that the government sent cheques to people who had not even filed income tax returns, even though they were supposed to have had an income of $5,000 the year before.

What did the government do to ensure that every person who received money was entitled to it?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the CERB has been critical from the beginning of this crisis. It has helped millions of Canadians pay their rent, clothe their children, buy school supplies and put food on the table.

There are clear rules. People who did not follow these rules will face consequences.

We have no regrets about implementing programs that were so important to all Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, everybody believes that those who lost their jobs because of COVID shutdowns should have been helped with the CERB. Everyone should also believe that those hard-working people earning minimum wage bagging groceries or doing other essential work should not pay taxes to send CERB cheques to prisoners or suspected fraud cases. Now we find that the government sent out 800,000 CERB cheques to people who had not even filed taxes in the preceding year, failing to prove they were eligible for that money.

What did the government do to ensure that the money did not go to people who did not earn the right to receive it?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our income support programs have played a fundamental role in getting Canadians through the first wave of the COVID crisis, and they are going to get Canadians through the second wave.

When it comes to fraud, that is completely unacceptable. The hard-working public servants in the CRA are doing an outstanding job, and they are going to make sure that all claims are legitimate.

Health

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the B.C. premier is set to announce province-wide travel restrictions. People live, work and look after family members between municipalities. I am hearing from constituents who are stressed out. The federal government's approving of an at-home test could help this, yet the Prime Minister says it is not his job. Actually, it is his job to ensure that Canadians have access to the best tools available to fight this virus as quickly as possible, just like other countries have.

When will at-home tests be available in British Columbia and across Canada?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite is interested in testing. In fact, we have delivered almost five million rapid tests to provinces and territories, 345,000 to B.C. We know that provinces and territories are looking at how they can best deploy these safely. We stand ready to assist them with that deployment as needed.

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Ontario health minister announced the number of vaccine doses Ontario would be receiving in early 2021. However, before the day was over, the parliamentary secretary to the federal minister of health went on CTV and said the numbers were wrong. The Liberal government refuses to table a plan for vaccine distribution, leaving Canadians with mixed messages and doubt.

Why does the government not have one clear plan for Canadians when it comes to the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to thank the vaccine task force strategy, yet again, for its expert advice, which has placed Canada in an amazing position to be able to acquire effective vaccines. In fact, we have more vaccines per capita than any country in the world.

As I work with the provinces and territories to ensure we have an equitable, fair and logical distribution plan, we will be coming to Canadians with that plan. I want to thank all the provinces and territories for arranging sharing agreements to date on things like personal protective equipment and testing. That work will continue.

Justice

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that the Liberals vet judicial appointments using their pet partisan tool, the Liberalist, where they check political connections to find good Liberals. Today we learned that another good, generous Liberal was offered a seat on the bench. He is a long-time acquaintance of the Minister of Justice, an old acquaintance who made $2,900 in political contributions to that very minister. As such, my question is for him.

Did this candidate receive preferential treatment?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, our government created an open, transparent and accountable process to identify and select highly qualified jurists.

With respect to this individual, the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner reviewed the situation and determined that there was no conflict of interest and that a recusal was not necessary.

I acted proactively. We are proud to have appointed over 400 jurists, men and women, to the bench. These are high-quality jurists.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's own actions prove that the process is partisan. No one questioned the judge's qualifications, but the minister was so afraid that the appointment would appear partisan that he delayed it for months to protect himself.

If the appointments were non-partisan, the minister would never have needed to go to the Ethics Commissioner beforehand. The problem is that the Liberals have made so many patronage appointments that even they now think it looks bad to appoint a Liberal.

The process needs to be non-partisan, non-partisan and non-partisan.

Does it need to be said in English in order to make sure that the Liberals understand?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely believe that I am answering in French.

I have considered the recommendations of the judicial advisory committees, which are independent, as well as this appointment, and following consultation, it was determined that he is a serious and qualified candidate.

However, since he is a professional acquaintance—I do have some—who had made political contributions before I was appointed Minister of Justice, I consulted the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, who provided me with a response. I subsequently made the recommendation.

Foreign Affairs

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the G20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia starts on Saturday. This is a unique opportunity to call for the release of Raif Badawi so that he can return to his wife and children in Quebec.

Historically, the Saudi Arabian kingdom has shown mercy by freeing prisoners during events of significant importance. Mr. Badawi has already served 80% of his sentence, and his health has suffered greatly as a result.

Does the government intend to use the G20 summit as an opportunity to call on Riyadh to make this magnanimous and humanitarian gesture?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his important question.

We in the House are all gravely concerned about Raif Badawi. I believe I can say that on behalf of all Canadians as well.

We have raised this issue privately and publicly on several occasions. We will continue to do so at every opportunity, because human rights are a cornerstone of Canada's foreign policy.

I would to thank the member for his question. We will continue to use every opportunity to bring attention to the case of Raif Badawi.

Official Languages

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Saint-Laurent's comments and lack of sensitivity about the decline of French in Quebec are shocking.

However, we have not seen very many Liberal members stand up to condemn her comments and even fewer Liberal members from Quebec. Their silence is disturbing and it confirms more and more what everyone is thinking: Many Liberal caucus members think the same way as the member for Saint-Laurent.

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and immediately take the member for Saint-Laurent off the Standing Committee on Official Languages, yes or no?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to say what I thought about her remarks.

The member apologized and, of course, as we stated in the throne speech, we will always be there to protect the French fact in Canada and recognize that French is a minority language that needs more support.

How strange it is to see the Conservative Party suddenly become a great champion of the French fact in Canada.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister cannot even answer a simple question about removing the member for Saint-Laurent, who does not believe that French is in decline. That is what she thinks, and that is what the Quebec president of the Liberal Party thinks.

We will take no lessons from the minister of the two official languages or the Prime Minister when they claim to be defending francophones across the country, including in Quebec.

I would also like to hear the other members from Quebec stand up once and for all to defend francophones and Quebeckers. I am talking about members from Quebec like the members from Louis-Hébert, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, Compton—Stanstead, Sherbrooke, Brome—Missisquoi and Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

They need to stand up and they need to condemn the comments—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the members from Quebec—and I see many here, including the member for Papineau and the member for Ahuntsic-Cartierville, basically from all over Quebec—are standing up every day and defending francophones, the French fact, our language and our culture.

We do not need any lectures from the Conservatives, who cut the CBC's funding, who took francophones to court and who let the provinces cut back on francophone services. We will not be lectured by them.