Debates of Dec. 11th, 2020

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Madam Speaker, Canadian agriculture producers have worked hard this year to keep food on our plates during an unprecedented crisis. They are at the top of Santa’s good list this year. I think they deserve some long-awaited gifts, like broader trade access, an exemption from the carbon tax, BRM reform and a fair hearing for neonic insecticides.

Will the government deliver or can farmers and ranchers expect another lump of coal from the Liberal government?

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

Madam Speaker, I was very proud, a couple of weeks ago, to put a clear offer on the table to my counterparts from the provinces to improve AgriStability by 50%. The Government of Canada is ready to remove the reference margin limit in the AgriStability program and increase the compensation rate from 70% to 80%. I am waiting for a response from my counterparts in the provinces.

Employment

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Madam Speaker, jobs are what people in western Canada want. The Prime Minister promised the USW 5890 workers, when he did a photo op with them last year, that he would protect their jobs.

Without the Care Bear stare, without mentioning what Mr. Harper did or did not do, there is one simple question that oil and gas workers across this country want to know the answer to. In the Prime Minister's reimagined economy, is there room for them to raise their families, support their families and put food on the table?

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Madam Speaker, we approved TMX, with 7,000 jobs created so far. We approved the Line 3 pipeline, with 7,000 jobs created. We are supporting Keystone XL on the Canadian side, with 1,500 jobs created. We approved NGTL 2021, with thousands of jobs to be created. With respect to LNG Canada, there are thousands of jobs there. We have invested $1.7 billion in orphaned and inactive wells, with thousands of jobs created in Alberta and Saskatchewan. With the wage subsidy, more than 500,000 workers kept their jobs during the pandemic in Alberta alone.

That is our record. We will keep working to make sure people are working in western Canada.

Housing

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

Madam Speaker, Parliament rises today, but small municipalities and not-for-profits will work through Christmas trying to meet the December 31 deadline for rapid housing funds. Big cities, however, can simply collect their promised cheques. That is one set of rules.

I know for a fact that small communities are still trying to make sense of the fund, never mind being in a position to submit an application. That is the second set of rules.

Why is the government excluding them from having a reasonable shot at helping their homelessness issue before Christmas?

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

Madam Speaker, our government is committed to ending chronic homelessness everywhere right across Canada. The $1-billion rapid housing initiative targets where the situation is most severe, where COVID is strongest and where public health dictates we invest quickly. All municipalities, communities and indigenous-led governments can apply for the rapid housing initiative.

We are committed to ending homelessness. This is the first installment. We are working just as hard over Christmas to make sure all communities, whether small, large, regional or northern, get the support they need to help vulnerable Canadians in difficult situations.

Canadian Heritage

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, Canadian ownership and control of our radio and television broadcasters are crucial to ensuring the continued support of Canadian content and cultural programming, but the Liberals have decided to open the floodgates to foreign outlets by removing the long-standing legislative requirement that radio and television broadcasters shall be effectively owned and controlled by Canadians.

Why is the government throwing Canadian ownership requirements into the wind?

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

Madam Speaker, I think most members in this place agree that we need to modernize our Broadcasting Act to make sure the web giants pay their fair share.

Our broadcasting system predates the digital era and unduly disadvantages Canadian broadcasters. That is why we introduced legislation that would ensure that online broadcasters contribute their fair share to support Canadian music and Canadian stories. A modernized bill would also mean more creative opportunities for Canadians and by Canadians.

We are ready to work with our colleagues and opposition parties to protect our culture and promote Canadian workers and creators.

The Environment

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Madam Speaker, the Liberals have missed every single climate target. They have not planted a single one of their promised two billion trees, and they are spending billions of dollars on a pipeline that contradicts their own climate plans.

We are in a climate crisis. Along with ambitious targets, we need action. Cities like Montreal are showing real leadership, with bold, concrete plans, but the Liberals just keep rehashing versions of old plans with excuses about why they have not gotten around to them yet.

When will the Prime Minister stop reannouncing things and start actually doing them?

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Madam Speaker, perhaps my hon. colleague is unaware, so I will remind her that we are the first government to put in place a 50-point plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; we are the first government to put a price on carbon pollution; we are the first government to invest in planting in two billion trees; we are the first government to invest in zero-emission vehicles; and we are the first government to invest historic amounts in green infrastructure.

We are not done yet. Very shortly, we will be announcing our plan to show how we are going to not only achieve our Paris targets but surpass them. We are going to do it for our kids and we are going to do it for our grandkids.

Health

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Speaker, yesterday the Liberals gave Quebec and the provinces a slap in the face. If there is one thing the pandemic has taught us, it is that our health care system is fragile. Scarce resources and difficult working conditions are the direct result of cuts to transfer payments that the Conservatives started and the Liberals continued. This is putting terrible pressure on the provinces, and it is simply untenable.

Why are the Liberals having such a hard time understanding that Quebec and the provinces need sustainable health transfers not just this year, but permanently?

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

Madam Speaker, we are working hand in hand with the provinces, and we are transferring billions of dollars for health care.

Throughout this pandemic, we have transferred considerable amounts of money for equipment, for all kinds of measures, and for the vaccines that are on their way.

Naturally, we will keep talking about this with Quebec and the provinces. For now, we are focusing on the worst health crisis since the Spanish flu.

We are there for Quebeckers and will continue to be there for Quebeckers.

Air Transportation

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Madam Speaker, the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport in Cape Breton is a critical and essential piece of infrastructure that supports communities in my riding and surrounding areas.

This week, Air Canada announced the suspension of its remaining services to and from the airport, resulting in no commercial flights available for my constituents, jobs lost and uncertainty for the future of the airport.

Could the parliamentary secretary please tell the House, Canadians and the people in Cape Breton—Canso what our government is doing to support regional airports such as my airport in Cape Breton—Canso?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is a tireless advocate for Cape Breton. We are disappointed by Air Canada's decision to cancel more regional routes. We know how important regional airports are for communities in Cape Breton and across the country.

Over the next few years, the government will invest more than $1.1 billion to support key players, such as airport authorities and regional airlines. Any further discussions about taxpayer support for major airlines will prioritize retaining and reinstating regional routes that connect our communities, just like Sydney.

International Trade

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Madam Speaker, they say history repeats itself from time to time. With the government it seems to happen all too often. We are dealing with yet another eleventh-hour trade deal with the United Kingdom, our closest ally.

With only one day left in this parliamentary calendar, how can the government expect this deal to be subject to thorough scrutiny in Parliament before the December 31 deadline, and how much will this incompetence cost Canadian taxpayers in mitigation measures?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Madam Speaker, I know that all of us on all sides of the House care about our exporters who are exporting to the United Kingdom. I am very pleased that we have a trade agreement with the United Kingdom that will preserve the terms of CETA, a high standard agreement that protects the environment. It removes 98% of tariffs for Canadian exporters. It completely protects our supply-managed sectors.

This is a good agreement, and we are going to work with Canadian exporters to make sure that they experience a smooth transition.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, Industrial Process Products in my riding makes wire mesh pads for the energy sector. They are high-quality wires manufactured in Asia before being upgraded in Calgary. Now a CITT ruling is forcing the company to purchase inferior wire from its multinational competitor, which is 10 times its size, or face crippling tariffs for importing raw materials. Local manufacturing jobs are at stake.

Why is the Liberal government allowing big business to take out its local competition using government rules?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Speaker, we are, of course, committed to not only full value procurements in Canada, but also to respecting the trade deals that we have honoured. I would be happy to inform myself of the circumstances that the hon. member replies to and get back to him.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Speaker, the busiest duty at my office is helping people with immigration issues, but there is a problem: civil servants tell me that cases people filed online are being processed as usual, but cases people filed as paper applications, which are most immigration files, are hardly moving at all. We are told it is because civil servants working at home do not have access to those paper files. This is unfair to people eager to start a new life in Canada.

Will the immigration minister fix this problem immediately?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Madam Speaker, it has been a challenging time for loved ones, but we have reunited tens of thousands of families, notwithstanding the pandemic. This progress is the function of a carefully executed plan that has added resources to the border, introduced effective health protocols and created new pathways for unification. When it comes to our service standards, we are not only keeping our 14-day turnaround on completed applications, we are exceeding it.

It would be inappropriate to comment on any individual case. I would be happy to work with the hon. member, but I can assure members of the House that we are doing everything that we can to reunite as many families as possible, while protecting the health and safety of Canadians.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Madam Speaker, last month, I asked the Minister of Immigration about the unacceptable delays in processing applications for workers who are already in the country, spousal sponsorship cases, and other foreign workers who are still waiting their turn. Canadian businesses are losing contracts because of these delays.

The minister talked about increasing capacity in order to process 6,000 applications a month. At that rate, it will take 10 years.

Can he explain his math and guarantee that businesses will have access to foreign workers in 2021?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Madam Speaker, as I said earlier, we acted quickly to bring in a family reunification process that helped several families in June, but many families are still navigating our immigration system.

I am pleased to have announced new measures to process applications more quickly. These efforts will contribute to reducing wait times and processing 6,000 spousal applications a month, leading to roughly 49,000 decisions by the end of the year.

Public Services and Procurement

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Madam Speaker, let me provide a clear example of how little Quebec means to the Liberal Party of Canada.

Ottawa withdrew a contract to build an icebreaker from Seaspan in Vancouver because it was unable to build it. It simply did not have the necessary production capacity. I have nothing against British Columbia, but it was not prepared.

The Davie shipyard in Quebec offered to take over the contract and build the icebreaker immediately. The Liberals are not only not transferring the contract to Davie, but they are spending an extra $1 billion to improve the production capacity of the other shipyard. That is just great. They are prepared to pay $1 billion more to keep the contract out of Quebec.

How do the Liberals—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Madam Speaker, the Davie shipyard is an essential partner of the Government of Canada.

There is a contract to refit a frigate and a second interim icebreaker has been upgraded thanks to the workers at Davie shipyard. Beyond that, we are also considering its inclusion as the third shipyard in the national shipbuilding strategy, something the Conservatives ignored and did not do when they were in power.

We will continue to work with the Davie shipyard.