Debates of Nov. 19th, 2020

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, let's tone things down because it seems like the government House leader is about to blow his top.

Let's look at the facts. The Liberals have been in power for five years, and in that time, nothing has been done for official languages. Canadians and Quebeckers alike can all come up with countless examples, such as WE Charity, labelling, and text alerts sent in English only.

If the Prime Minister is truly sincere and a man of his word, then why does he not introduce the bill on modernizing Canada's two official languages before Christmas, as requested by every organization advocating for Canada's two official languages?

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

Mr. Speaker, I know that Halloween just passed, but I want to remind hon. members of the horrors of the Conservative Party when it comes to official languages.

The Montfort hospital, the Campus Saint-Jean, and the French-language university in Ontario are examples of Conservative cuts to French services. The ghosts of the court challenges program and Supreme Court justices haunt the Conservative Party.

When my colleague brings up our legacy on official languages, I have no problem telling him everything we have done, such as making an additional $500-million investment in official languages, protecting Radio-Canada, appointing bilingual judges to the Supreme Court, ensuring that French is protected—

Justice

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today Canadians learned that a lawyer who contributed thousands of dollars to the justice minister's political campaigns was appointed to be a judge by the Liberals.

People need to have trust in the justice system, which must be free from even the slightest perception of partisan considerations in the appointments process. Last month, the Liberals said that accessing their party database containing donor information when vetting judges had nothing to do with partisanship.

In light of today's news, how can the Liberals possibly defend those claims about merit-based judicial appointments?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, we want candidates from all backgrounds and political stripes to apply to the bench.

Political donations are neither an advantage nor a disadvantage when applying to the bench. In fact, the Ethics Commissioner said, “Making donations to a political party, or to a particular riding, does not indicate in itself a friendship. It is perfectly legal to make political donations.”

I proactively went to the Ethics Commissioner. In this case, this candidate went through the process and was recommended by the judicial appointments committee. I am proud of this appointment.

Health

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, no one should have to face the impossible choice between paying rent or filling a prescription, but one in five Canadians is not taking the medicine they need because they cannot afford it.

The Liberals have been promising pharmacare for 23 years, but Canadians are still facing sky-high prescription costs. Liberals say the right things, but when it comes time to act, they put the profits of big pharmaceutical and insurance companies ahead of what Canadians need.

Will the Prime Minister finally back up his talk with action and support the NDP pharmacare bill to deliver universal, public pharmacare for all?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, our government has, in fact, done more in a decade than any government before it to lower the costs of prescription pharmaceuticals in this country, and we are going to do more.

As members know, we have been proceeding to ensure that we do have a universal pharmacare program. Budget 2019 allotted monies for the Canada drug agency. We are working on that right now. We are taking the steps necessary to work with provinces and territories, which will deliver the pharmacare programs in their jurisdictions.

I agree with the member that nobody should have to make that choice.

The Environment

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, constituents in my riding are deeply concerned about how we are going to address climate change and how we can retool our economy for the future. Leading environmental NGOs such as My Sea to Sky and businesses such as Carbon Engineering and Nexii know that this is not only a moral imperative but that it also presents tremendous economic opportunities. In the last campaign, we promised to introduce legislation that would ensure our government and all future governments will fight climate change and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change please update the House on this important work and how we are working with Canadians to build a better, cleaner future?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country for his efforts in addressing climate change.

Earlier today I was very pleased to introduce the Canadian net-zero emissions accountability act, which would establish a legally binding process for this government and future governments to set and meet Canada's net-zero emissions goal between now and 2050, based on the best available science.

Over 120 countries, a thousand businesses, two thousands chambers of commerce, 452 cities and some of the largest investors in the world have committed to a net-zero future. We will work with members and parties in this House who are committed to achieving climate change goals and moving forward on this important step to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and protecting the future for future generations.

Indigenous Affairs

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2015 the headlines read that the PM had pledged to eradicate all drinking water advisories in first nations communities by March 2021.

Fast-forward five years and the Prime Minister will not commit to keeping his promised timelines. This has huge implications for first nations such as Neskantaga, which has been evacuated because of the drinking water.

The government made a solemn promise to this community. Will it guarantee the people of Neskantaga will be home for Christmas with safe water?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to speak to chief and council yesterday. Currently, members should know that the timeline for getting back into the community would be early December.

Obviously, with COVID we are being extra careful to prevent contamination in vectors of the spread of COVID in the community. However, there is currently a cycle of 14 days in the new plant that Indigenous Services Canada built over the last two years. That cycle needs to be respected, and testing needs to come back in a good way.

If those tests are positive, and we are cautiously optimistic about them, the community will be back, we hope, by early December, but this is a decision that will be made by the community.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as this water crisis drags on, the people and the children of Neskantaga have been moved 400 kilometres away to Thunder Bay, Ontario. They have been relegated to hotel rooms far away from home.

Their youth are going through a difficult time. Lyndon, a 12-year-old, said he feels invisible, stating, “We're not animals or things. We are humans, like you guys.”

Can members imagine someone feeling that way? Again, let me ask the minister, without weasel words, will the young people be home for Christmas?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said to the member, we are cautiously optimistic. This is a decision that will be taken in conjunction with the community and not dictated by Indigenous Services Canada.

I would ask the member what she would have said to that community, with the abhorrent investment the Conservative Party did of $300,000 a year over 10 years. What situation would it be in today had we not invested $16 million to build a new plant?

Agriculture and Agri-Food

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are paying more for food, and it could get worse this winter. Last March, grocery sales were up $2.5 billion over February. While grocery giants bank this windfall, they continue to gouge farmers and processors with fees that they say are because of the pandemic.

Will the Prime Minister tell his rich, grocery giant friends to stop gouging suppliers that are putting Canadian families' food security at risk?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the frustration the member has raised and the impact this is having on grocers, food producers and processors. They have played a critical role during the pandemic and so have essential workers across the country.

We share these concerns. That is why we are going to continue to work with the provinces and territories to make sure we move forward in a manner to protect our workers and, more importantly, the supply chain when it comes to grocers.

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

Mr. Speaker, what about protecting farmers and processors? Loblaws, Walmart and Metro want to gouge farmers and processors. Loblaws saw record third-quarter profits of about $400 million. Metro's fourth-quarter profits were up 11.4%. However, they want farmers and processors to pay for store expansions while groceries for families from Streetsville, Pointe-au-Baril and across Canada get more expensive.

When will the Prime Minister tell his rich, grocery giant friends to pay for store improvements out of their own windfalls and stop putting Canadian food security and affordability at risk?

[Neil Ellis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing to see grocery stores imposing these costly fees that fall on Canadian producers, who are working hard to feed Canadians. We are open to discussing the issue at the next meeting of the ministers of agriculture, which will take place shortly. However, contracts between suppliers and buyers are in the provincial and territorial jurisdictions. We encourage our provincial and territorial counterparts to examine this matter.

The Environment

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government reiterated today that it wants to attain net-zero emissions by 2050, but there are no solutions in its bill to get us there.

The government has not set itself a greenhouse gas reduction target, and it is not requiring itself to do anything for 10 years, until 2030. There is nothing for 2025. It is even giving itself the right to change these future targets at any time if it does not reach them. It is not required to be accountable to an independent authority. There is no accountability.

Is that the Liberals' environmental strategy: no plan, no target, no oversight?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian net-zero emissions accountability act will hold the federal government accountable for its commitment to attain net-zero emissions by 2050.

Many countries are accelerating their transition to a net-zero economy, and Canada cannot afford to fall behind. We must use climate action as an economic opportunity. That is why achieving net-zero emissions is not just a plan for a healthier environment, it is a plan for a cleaner and more competitive economy.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government needs to move beyond its fine words and take action.

The government is introducing its bill to fight climate change, but meanwhile, it is also promising to pressure Joe Biden to protect the dirty Keystone XL pipeline, and it is approving 100 offshore oil drilling initiatives without environmental impact assessments. That is the action the Liberals have been taking. They have had a year to put together a strong, binding plan to fight climate change.

My question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Can he look us in the eye and tell us that this plan will really enable us to meet our Paris targets by 2030?

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

Mr. Speaker, we put a plan in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It is a historic plan for Canada. We are going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 270 megatonnes by 2023. We promised to come up with a plan to accelerate progress in the fight against climate change. We will present a new plan in the coming weeks.

Justice

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Bar Association has said that the use of the Liberal database to vet judicial applicants raises doubts about the independence of the judicial appointment process. We have now learned that the Minister of Justice appointed someone to the Quebec Superior Court who donated thousands of dollars to his nomination campaign and that of his riding association.

Why is being a Liberal as important as being a lawyer when it comes to federal judicial appointments?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the only criteria to be appointed to the bench is quality and the only consideration is diversity. Each candidate passes through a judicial appointments committee that has no access to any partisan data. Then we vet those candidates very carefully to make sure they are of the highest quality.

I am proud of the judicial appointments we have made, the over 400 of them, in a transparent and responsible process. Over 55% of them are women and there is a high degree of diversity. It is unprecedented and I am proud of it.

Government Programs

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, has the government used its own tools to get any kind of federal help?

I highly doubt it, because if it had, the government would realize how much paperwork is involved in doing so: one form here, another there, sorry, application denied because such and such form was forgotten, please start over.

For example, Richard Savoie of Sainte-Marie had to apply for his daughter's social insurance number three times because, for one thing, he forgot to include a copy of the back of a document.

Does the government not see the appeal of simplifying things?

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

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that we will always work toward cutting excessive red tape and regulations.

We will work with my colleague to ensure that the people of his riding get good service. In the meantime, if they have more specific questions, they can always get in touch with the Canada Economic Development team in the beautiful region of Beauce, which is there to support business owners and sometimes help them navigate the intricacies of the federal government.

International Trade

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government triggered Australia's World Trade Organization challenge to the federal excise exemption on 100% Canadian-made wines when it implemented an escalator tax in 2017. As a result, hundreds of wineries and thousands of Canadian jobs are now at risk. The Liberals caused this mess and it is now on them to fix it.

Will the Minister of Finance commit today to supporting our wine industry in budget 2020-21 with an industry-supported program that will protect our proud wineries, wine businesses and the great Canadian jobs they create?