Debates of Nov. 20th, 2020

Finance

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to remind the parliamentary secretary that being accountable does not mean systematic obstruction for hours on end in committee.

The government made two key promises, to give an economic update and to hold a meeting with premiers on health transfers, but so far it has refused to provide dates for either of them. The two go hand in hand.

The government has just announced catastrophic forecasts on the spread of COVID-19. It cannot just stand by and watch from afar. In its economic update, it must show flexibility in providing for a sustainable increase in health transfers.

Will the government do its share on health in its economic update? When will it make the announcement? We would like to have a date.

[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, I can reassure the hon. member that we will be providing an update on fiscal projections this fall, and he will have that information as soon as it is available.

I do not want to prejudge conversations that may happen between the federal and provincial governments. However, if the member has feedback that he would like provide to inform those discussions, I would invite him, as I always do, to contact me directly so we can incorporate his ideas as well as ideas that may come from members of any party in the House of Commons.

Official Languages

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Madam Speaker, this has been a rough week for the French language in Canada under the Liberal government.

The government has denied that French in Montreal is on the decline, and the Quebec president of the Liberal Party of Canada called the Charter of the French Language oppressive. These people withdraw their comments, erase their tweets or, having painted themselves into a corner, walk out on the paint.

Yesterday, at the Standing Committee on Official Languages, the Liberals tried to sweep a study on the decline of the French language in Canada under the rug. Why are they abandoning linguistic communities across the country?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

Our government recognizes that the use of French is declining in Quebec. As a francophone, I consider the French language to be more than a simple matter of debate. It is the language I use to speak, to write and to be who I am. This perspective is shared by all of my Liberal colleagues from Quebec and by all other members of the Liberal Party.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Madam Speaker, what are these elected members waiting for? When will they get to work? It is when the going gets tough that we discover who our real friends are.

Yesterday, francophone and Acadian communities and the anglophone minority in Quebec understood that the Liberals are abandoning them in their time of need. Why? Because the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada and the Quebec Community Groups Network are asking the government to do this one thing: to modernize the Official Languages Act.

However, yesterday, the Liberal members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages refused to ask the government to introduce its modernization bill before Christmas. Why? Do they want a national crisis?

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

Madam Speaker, my colleague is a bit off base. I want to remind him of the facts.

The party that he belongs to made cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada. It made cuts to francophone communities. It took minority communities that wanted to defend their rights to court. The Conservatives said that there was too much French during their leadership race. Still today, they are refusing to appoint bilingual judges to the Supreme Court. That is the party that my colleague represents, and we will not take any lessons from them.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Speaker, it looks like a fight has broken out in the Liberal Party. On one side, a member who denies the decline of French in Montreal and the Quebec president of the Liberal Party of Canada who says that Bill 101 is oppressive. On the other side, ministers and a leader acting as though everything is fine and dandy when clearly, it is not.

All week, the Liberals have refused to commit to introducing their Official Languages Act modernization bill, and we have not heard a peep from the members for Compton—Stanstead, Saint-Maurice—Champlain and Brome—Missisquoi.

Why?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Madam Speaker, I can tell my colleague that that is not true.

We are here, we are on it, and we will always protect and promote our languages. My fellow MPs from Quebec and I are francophones and Quebeckers above all.

We have taken concrete action and will continue to do so.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Madam Speaker, would you like proof that the Liberals are all talk and fail to keep their promises?

At the Standing Committee on Official Languages yesterday, they adjourned a debate on the decline of the French language and prevented the tabling of a motion calling for the modernization of the Official Languages Act. As a former Liberal prime minister from Quebec once said, “a proof is a proof”.

Why are the Liberals from Quebec refusing to commit today to introducing a bill before Christmas to modernize the Official Languages Act?

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Madam Speaker, we have taken concrete action, we have consulted, reports have been produced, and we are working closely with the provinces, particularly Quebec. We are making sure that the legislation we introduce is sustainable.

It is funny, but it seems as though the members opposite are only now realizing the importance of loving French.

The Environment

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Madam Speaker, the spotted owl is listed as endangered in Canada. There was once 1,000 of them here, but after old-growth forest loss, there are only three left.

Two of those owls nest in the Spuzzum Creek valley of British Columbia, where their critical habitat is being logged right now. Under the Species at Risk Act, the Minister of Environment can make an emergency order to force provinces to protect species. If there were ever a case to make such an order, this appears to be it.

Will the minister act immediately to protect this species before it vanishes from Canada?

[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 want to thank the hon. member for passion and commitment to endangered species. He knows that our government is extremely serious about endangered species and protecting them. The spotted owl is very much in our sights to protect.

Health

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, last night, at 2 a.m., the Liberal parliamentary secretary for housing responded to a post promoting the NDP pharmacare bill with “WGAF”. It would be unparliamentary for me to expand on the acronym, but it basically means who really cares. The answer is 93% of Canadians care, including those who have to chose between paying their rent, putting food on the table and buying medicine they need.

Is the real reason why Canadians still do not have universal public pharmacare, after 23 years of Liberal promises, because the Liberals simply do not care?

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

Madam Speaker, I appreciate a chance to apologize for that tweet. It was a very strange one coming from me, and I regret that acronym was used. It was not intended. It was a typo.

[An hon. member]

It was a typo?

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

That being said, our commitment to pharmacare is in the throne speech, and the commitment to ensuring that we support vulnerable Canadians, including ending chronic homelessness. They were all part of the throne speech. We are very serious about delivering on these commitments.

Canadian Heritage

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, our broadcasting system is out of step with the digital era and disadvantages Canadian broadcasters. That is why our government has introduced a bill to ensure that online broadcasters contribute their fair share to support Canadian music and stories.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage tell the House how this bill will benefit all Canadians from coast to coast to coast?

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

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Kings—Hants for his important question.

The Canadian broadcasting, film, television and interactive media sectors contribute as much as $19.7 billion to Canada's GDP and represent nearly 160,000 jobs. Modernized legislation would result in an increase in contributions to Canadian music and stories of as much as $830 million per year once the new system is put into place.

Being represented on screen and in productions is essential for affirming one's identity, including in one's own language. I encourage all hon. members of the House—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River.

Labour

[Gary Vidal, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Madam Speaker, extremely concerning reports of bullying, harassment and conflicts of interest have been reported within ISC's offices in Atlantic Canada. Last year, out of desperation, a staff person raised this issue with the former ISC minister and the Prime Minister, but they have yet to receive a response. Several other allegations, including some of a sexual nature, have gone without action by the current government.

What is it about healthy workplaces that the government cannot seem to get right?

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour]

Madam Speaker, workplace harassment and violence are completely unacceptable. That is why we introduced and passed Bill C-65 to protect employees from harassment and violence in federal workplaces, including Parliament Hill. With regulations now in force, this legislation will come into force on January 1, 2021.

By instituting new processes and protections under the Labour Code, the regulations will support all workers, including the ones mentioned by the hon. member, to ensure that our workplaces are more healthy and more safe.

Indigenous Affairs

[Gary Vidal, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Madam Speaker, this week at the INAN committee, we heard from the CCAB and NACCA of repeated delays, similar to the first wave, in access to supports for indigenous businesses.

They also reported that out of several hundred applications from indigenous businesses to supply PPE, only seven were awarded contracts, representing 0.04% of the total federal spend.

For a government that likes to talk a lot about reconciliation, why are these indigenous businesses being left behind again?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services]

Madam Speaker, I, too, listened to the CCAB talk about procurement and express its concerns, and I have shared those concerns with the Minister for Public Services and Procurement.

Having said that, we recognize that indigenous businesses face unique challenges and may be disproportionately affected by this pandemic. We announced $117 million to help indigenous communities support their local businesses and economies, and a $16-million stimulus development fund to support indigenous tourism.

We are committed to helping indigenous businesses through the pandemic and into the recovery.

Small Business

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Madam Speaker, one in three small businesses across Canada is losing money every day they try to stay open, and as of January 1 they will be hit with a major hike in Canada Pension Plan premiums. This is an onerous and untimely burden on small businesses struggling to survive, and for employees transitioning off of emergency benefits.

Will the government do the right thing and postpone the CPP premium hike?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Madam Speaker, right from day one, we know how important it is to support businesses and the workers they employ, particularly those small businesses all across the country. They are littered in all of our main streets and our vibrant communities, so we are supporting them to help pay for payroll, supporting them with small business loans and supporting them with important fixed-cost support like rent. We are doing that, and we are going to keep doing that to support our small businesses across the country.