Debates of Nov. 24th, 2020

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the Liberals have been blocking the work of the committee for weeks, and we have been waiting for years for a law to modernize the Official Languages Act. Could the truth be that, much like the member for Saint-Laurent and the Quebec president of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Liberals do not believe that the decline of French in Quebec and elsewhere in the country is real?

If such is not the case, can the minister tell us why the government does not support the Government of Quebec's desire to apply Bill 101 to federally regulated businesses?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that one is either for or against a strong francophonie in Canada. It would be inconceivable to look at Quebec alone without looking at all francophones across the country. We cannot say one thing to Quebeckers and the opposite to everyone outside Quebec. I am tired of hearing the Conservatives' double-talk.

What are they doing not only to protect the French language and recognize the decline of French in Montreal, but also to protect Campus Saint-Jean in Alberta?

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister continues to wave her arms in the air and lecture everyone.

I sent her a letter talking about the urgent need for action to modernize the Official Languages Act. That is what all the representatives of organizations across the country are asking for, and they want it introduced before the holidays. Consultations have been held. Reports have been submitted and recommendations tabled.

If French is so important to her, can the minister commit to introducing the bill to modernize the Official Languages Act before Christmas, as everyone is calling for, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, I did receive my colleague's letter.

It was the first time in five years, since I took over the official languages file, that I finally received something ostensibly concrete.

That said, I look forward to working with my colleague. We like taking a co-operative approach. I have said this to my Bloc Québécois colleagues and I will say it again to my Conservative colleagues: Let us work together to make sure that we protect the French language and all linguistic minorities in this country.

Indigenous Affairs

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Max Johnson is an amazing local artist in Bella Bella. When I first met him two summers ago, he was painting artwork on the front of the new big house in his community. It was heartbreaking to later hear that he and his granddaughter had been racially profiled by BMO staff in Vancouver and had been handcuffed by police for trying to open a bank account.

Now we have learned it was Indigenous Services Canada who told the bank manager they should call the police. Will this minister apologize, and inform this House of the steps he has taken to investigate this situation and ensure that it never happens again?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services]

Mr. Speaker, incidents like this should never happen again. The incident in question was exceedingly alarming.

I would invite the member opposite, and indeed all Canadians, to review the 911 transcript. It is unclear at this time, but if there is any trace that Indigenous Services Canada, or any part of the Government of Canada, was involved in that type of advice, as well as what information was conveyed when they relayed what was alleged, we will get to it. We will take responsibility for that action, apologize, move forward and ensure that status cards are respected by all Canadians within this country.

Air Transportation

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the airport in Windsor has become a success story after 20 years of investment by the municipality, but now the privatized NAV Canada is threatening the public achievement and safety record by putting Windsor in a study to remove the air traffic control tower, making it an uncontrolled airport.

An uncontrolled airport would eliminate commercial passenger air travel and create significant safety problems for cargo and private planes due to a complex airspace that has five airports in the area, including public and private, and those of the U.S. National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Will the Minister of Transport stop this nonsense that is threatening jobs, business, investments and public safety?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear that there will never be a compromise with the safety of air passengers.

As we know, the number of passengers has dramatically reduced by about 90%, and that includes many fewer aircraft in the air at the moment. Nav Canada, which is our air traffic controller, is examining that situation. It has an enviable safety record, and it is reviewing certain requirements with respect to service needs. Let me just be very clear that Transport Canada will work with Nav Canada to ensure that safety remains uppermost for all Canadians.

International Aid

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, members of the Filipino community in my riding of Surrey Centre and communities across the country are extremely concerned and worried about loved ones after two typhoons hit the Philippines this month.

Super typhoon Goni hit the Bicol region in early November, leaving people dead, injured and displaced. In its wake, Goni was followed by typhoon Vamco, whose destructive winds and torrential rainfall triggered extensive flooding in several areas, including metro Manila.

Can the Minister of International Development inform members of the Filipino community how our government has responded to these tragedies?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of International Development]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Surrey Centre for raising this important issue and for his tireless advocacy for the communities in his riding.

Our government has responded to both typhoons, Goni and Vamco, through Canada's emergency disaster assistance fund by providing the Canadian Red Cross with $240,000 for relief operations and to help meet the emergency health, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene needs, as well as focusing on disaster risk reduction, community engagement, protection and gender inclusion services.

When typhoon Vamco hit land almost two weeks later, we quickly responded with another $40,000 contribution to the International Federation of the Red Cross's relief operations to help provide—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Carleton.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals announced a big, new program to supposedly rescue the jobs of employees of large employers. With the relief program, we assumed they might want to help the airline workers, 20,000 of whom have lost their jobs; the countless hotel workers who no longer have a paycheque; or, God forbid, the hundreds of thousands of energy workers out west who are now jobless. None of them got help.

Who got the biggest chunk of cash from that program? It was consultants and insiders. The firm Lazard Frères & Co. was the largest recipient with $3.6 million, and another $22,000 went to two former PMO staff. Why is it only Liberal insiders that enrich themselves off these programs?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to share with the hon. member that the premise underlying his question is false. In fact, more support has gone to businesses that are keeping workers employed than has gone to help set up the programs.

The contracts the member is referring to simply establish the Crown corporation to administer the program and put integrity measures in place, so that we know the money is going to workers. If he does not think this actually benefits Canadians, I would ask him to talk to his members from places such as Orillia, Abbotsford or Sarnia who are still on the payroll today because of the program that is supporting them.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is actually Liberal middlemen who are getting rich off the program because, again, this program, the LEEFF program, has furnished the largest sum of money to Liberal financial insiders. Now we are starting to get a sense of where all this money is going.

We have a $380-billion deficit, but only $175 billion has gone to CERB, wage subsidies and CEBA loans for small businesses. Is it not becoming clear that Liberals saw this pandemic as an opportunity not to save the livelihoods and lives of Canadians, but to enrich Liberal insiders with political influence?

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

Mr. Speaker, that question is absolutely ridiculous. I remember being on the phone through the middle of the night early in the spring talking to workers who did not know where their next paycheque was coming from and businesses owners who did not know whether they would be able to keep workers on the payroll.

We have advanced programs such as the wage subsidy. Three million Canadians are still going to work as a result of that program. The CERB kept food on the table for nine million Canadians, and the Canada emergency business account has provided direct support to over 700,000 businesses.

We are going to continue to listen to Canadians. I would urge the member to take part and be helpful in providing advice on the basis of what he is hearing, but if he does not want to, then we will go through this without him.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have, from the very beginning, supported the basic programs to save jobs and provide incomes to people for whom lockdowns have cost their paycheques, but those programs only account for $175 billion of the $380-billion deficit, a deficit which equals $40,000 for the average family of four. Nobody knows of a single family that has received $40,000 from this government since the March pandemic outbreak.

Is it not becoming increasingly clear that the bulk of the cash is going to Liberal cronies and insiders who have stepped in between the government and Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, again, the member is putting forward falsehoods in an attempt to spin a political narrative that suits his interests, rather than the interests of Canadians. The reality is that he says now that he supports some of these programs. At the outset of this pandemic, he said that the Conservatives would never support big fat government programs to get Canadians through this pandemic. His leader, more recently, has described CERB as being completely messed up.

The reality is that it is not a leader who waits to find out whether something is popular before he or she decides to support it, it is an opportunist. We need more leadership to get us through this pandemic and less political opportunism.

Finance

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it really says something when the best attribute the member can ascribe to his program administration is that they are big and fat. We want programs that are effective in helping Canadians. They want fat for their friends, and that is exactly what they have delivered.

Speaking of the upcoming fiscal update, the finance minister has said that her government will impose limits upon itself to avoid the brutal external restraints of international capital markets.

Will the government tell us exactly what limits it will impose on the new debt it is piling on the shoulders of Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, it was Oscar Wilde who described a cynic as someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. We value, on this side of the House, keeping food on the table for nine million Canadian households. We value keeping three million Canadian workers on the payroll. We value supporting over 700,000 Canadian businesses to help them keep the lights on.

I look forward to November 30, when the minister will present the fall economic statement to this House to identify for Canadians how we will continue to support them to get them through this pandemic, and ensure that the recovery is inclusive, prosperous and sustainable for all.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our farmers cannot count on the federal government. It promised them it would protect supply management, but it sacrificed them for three agreements in a row. Then it promised full compensation for their losses. The dairy sector got a cheque in 2019, but there has been nothing since.

The government is presenting its economic update on Monday. Will it reveal the details of compensation for all supply-managed producers and for processors?

Most importantly, this time will it budget money now for future years?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that we understand the supply management system very well and that we are protecting it. We protected it from Donald Trump, who wanted to dismantle it.

In the summer of 2019, we announced $1.75 billion for dairy producers. Less than a year ago, we sent $345 million in initial compensation to 11,000 producers. We will keep our promises.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we want details and a timeline. Farmers cannot count on the federal government. That is why we need to make supply management inviolable so it will never again be used as a bargaining chip for trade agreements.

The Bloc Québécois introduced a bill to prevent any further attacks on supply management. Today the Union des producteurs agricoles asked all parties to vote in favour of that bill.

Will the federal government prove its support for supply management and support our bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, again, the supply management system is essential. It is extremely important for the vitality of our regions and our family farms. We stood up for them against Donald Trump, who wanted the system dismantled. Less than a year ago, we paid the first installment of compensation of $345 million to our 11,000 producers and we kept going.

In fact, we also just protected the supply management system during our negotiations with the United Kingdom.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after trading away access to Canada's dairy market, our farmers and processors are still waiting on the Liberal government to honour its commitment on trade compensation payments.

We want the date. When will the compensation be delivered to Canadian farmers and processors?

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

Mr. Speaker, supply management is very important for agriculture in Canada. It is very important for our rural vitality. It is important to protect our family farms. Less than a year ago, 11,000 dairy farmers received $345 million. We will follow through on our commitment.