Debates of Dec. 2nd, 2020

Health

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, medical assistance in dying is a difficult, complex and deeply personal issue. We reintroduced legislation that we believe strikes the right balance between upholding rights and protecting our most vulnerable.

We have done so by listening to the diverse and evolving views of Canadians on this issue. That is exactly what we will continue to do as we move forward to meet the court-imposed deadline. We hope all parties in the House will work with us to do this difficult but critically important work.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-7 does not strike the right balance, and in fact, those diverse voices the Prime Minister has been talking about have said that: disability groups, indigenous advocates, physicians.

In fact, the Prime Minister can just ask his Minister of Employment. Last week, she told the Senate she agreed with the concerns being advocated by disability advocates, Conservative MPs and many other Canadians for weeks.

I want to thank the government for providing more time for us to speak on this issue, but I want the Prime Minister to heed the advice of so many Canadians. Let us make the changes that protect the most vulnerable in medical assistance in dying.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the House has worked over many years now to move forward on getting that balance right between protecting the most vulnerable and respecting people's fundamental rights. The approach is meant to ensure people who are suffering unbearable pain have the choice of a peaceful death.

The proposed legislation contains revised safeguards to protect vulnerable persons from pressure and coercion and to ensure that medical assistance in dying is always an informed and voluntary choice. It is a difficult balance to strike, but it is one that Canadians expect us to do the work on and that is exactly what we are doing.

Aerospace Industry

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the government why on earth there was nothing for the aerospace sector in the economic update. I was lucky because I got an answer from none other than the author of the economic update herself, the Minister of Finance. Unfortunately, she had no idea what I was talking about. In her answer, she talked about regional airports and aluminum. I am not saying those things are not important. They are very important, but that is not what I was asking about. I was asking her about the aerospace sector, the country's biggest manufacturing industry, whose Montreal hub is the third-largest in the world.

How could the aerospace sector have been so far off her radar that she essentially forgot it existed?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, from the start of the pandemic, we have been there for workers and businesses in every industry that has experienced a pandemic-related downturn or difficulty. The aerospace sector is no exception.

The fact is that we have sent hundreds of millions of dollars in support to the aerospace industry because it is a key industry for Montreal, for Quebec and even for Canada. We know that workers, manufacturers and companies of all sizes in the aerospace and other sectors are grappling with tough times. That is why we are here to support them financially.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday it was the Deputy Prime Minister, and today it is the Prime Minister. At least there is continuity. We cannot accuse of them of being inconsistent. From what I understand, there will be no aerospace policy until the vaccines are rolled out.

There was not one word about this in the economic update or in the Speech from the Throne. Canada is there for the auto and oil sectors when they need it, but not for Quebec's aerospace sector. Canada is the only country in the world that does not have an aerospace policy, even though the aerospace sector is the largest industry in Montreal.

Does the Prime Minister know that he is an MP from Montreal?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our government has always been proud to support the aerospace industry in Montreal, in Quebec and across Canada with record investments, support for companies, and above all, support for the workers, for training, for the assistance and research that will foster economic growth in this sector. We recognize that the aerospace industry is going through a tough time, like so many industries across the country, and we will continue to be there for it with the wage subsidy, with business assistance, and with a return to a strong economy once we get through this pandemic.

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board was responsible for ensuring that an official languages impact analysis was conducted for the WE Charity contract. The Minister of Official Languages said that the minister followed all the rules. The upshot was that the contract was awarded without an official languages impact analysis, to the detriment of francophones. The Treasury Board does not take French seriously, and all of the responsibility for this fiasco lies with the President of the Treasury Board.

Will the Prime Minister make his minister do his job and fulfill his responsibilities? It is time to act.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as we have clearly said many times, the non-partisan public service recommended this structure and approach to support young people.

We will always be there to support young people, whether by granting interest relief on Canada student loans and Canada apprenticeship loans for a full year, enhancing the youth employment and skills strategy, or supporting up to 120,000 placements through the Canada summer jobs program next year.

We will be there to protect young people. We will be there to defend French across the country.

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

Mr. Speaker, he should really listen to the question.

I am asking the Prime Minister to reprimand the President of the Treasury Board. French is being systemically neglected in government communications. COVID alerts are being sent in English only. Departments are holding Zoom meetings in English only. Official languages impact analyses are being ignored.

Even worse, in committee, the President of the Treasury Board blamed his public servants. As minister, he is responsible for enforcing compliance with Canada's Official Languages Act. Does the Prime Minister intend to reprimand the President of the Treasury Board, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to learn from the Conservative Party about protecting the French language.

The Conservative Party always cut funds for linguistic minorities across the country, and it eliminated the support program that made it possible for people to defend their rights in court. To this day, that party still refuses to commit to appointing only judges who know French to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Liberal government will always be there to protect French both inside and outside Quebec, because we know it is essential for our country.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal members from Quebec refuse to fight for the French language.

The President of the Treasury Board is from Quebec City and yet, during the pandemic, he refused to enforce the Official Languages Act. This posed health risks for the francophone population and also led to the WE Charity scandal.

Why are so few Liberal members standing up for the French language?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party will always stand up for the French language.

That is why we have always worked to protect linguistic minorities outside Quebec. We will always work to protect French in Quebec and we will always appoint only bilingual judges to the Supreme Court of Canada.

I have given the leader of the official opposition plenty of opportunities to do so, but he has never committed to appointing only bilingual judges to the Supreme Court. Why?

Women and Gender Equality

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Markham—Stouffville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the first wave of this pandemic hit Canada, child care providers from across the country were particularly hard hit. In many cases, this meant that mothers were forced to leave their jobs and stay home to take care of their children. This is leading to what some are calling a “she-cession”.

Can the Prime Minister tell us how the fall economic statement proposes to address this?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Markham—Stouffville for her incredibly hard work.

We recognize the extraordinary and disproportionate toll this pandemic has taken on women. Investing in accessible, high-quality and affordable child care is not only good for families, it makes economic sense.

With the fall economic statement, we have laid the groundwork for a Canada-wide child care system with a new federal secretariat on early learning and child care. By taking this step, we are charting a clear and meaningful path forward to deliver this system for women and families across the country.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, public transit will be key to our economic recovery after COVID, but the government keeps saying no to York Region. The Yonge subway extension would create 60,000 jobs, reduce gridlock and deliver economic growth for the entire GTA. York Region has met all the federal government demands and the Ontario government has committed to invest.

What is the government waiting for? Why will it not just say yes to the Yonge subway extension?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this government has invested more money in public transit, both in the past five years and in future years, than any government in Canada's history. We have continued to work with the provinces and with municipalities to deliver on public transit, and we look forward to delivering on the public transit priorities of the Ontario government. We are waiting on more clarity from them. We look forward to working with them on delivering for Canadians right across the country and Ontarians right across Ontario.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Yonge subway extension is York Region's top priority, but the government refuses to invest. The Yonge line is at capacity, with 800,000 commuters a day and almost 100,000 of them passing through Finch. For jobs, economic recovery and growth, the GTA needs a union station of the north.

York Region has delivered everything the government has asked for. No more excuses, no more delays. Will the government just say yes and get the Yonge subway extension on track?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on top of moving forward with historic investments in public transit and infrastructure across the country over the past years and into the coming years, we have also committed to work in partnership with provincial governments. We are waiting on the provincial government in Ontario to move forward with its plans on the York subway extension because we are there to be partners and invest, but we need to see the plan.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, York Region is one of the fastest growing parts of the country. Every day, 100,000 commuters pass through the Finch station. I took the Yonge line myself for five years as a commuter. Extending the Yonge subway line will take cars off the road and shorten commute times so that people can get to their families in Vaughan, Markham and Newmarket.

When is the government finally going to commit to funding the Yonge line expansion?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are there with hundreds of millions of dollars for infrastructure projects and public transit projects in the GTA and across the country. We simply need the member opposite, the Leader of the Opposition, to give a nudge to his friends at Queen's Park to move forward with a plan that we can support and deliver for the people in York Region.

Small Business

[Bryan May, Liberal, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we all have seen the impact of COVID-19 on our economy and witnessed the toll this has taken on many small businesses across the country, including many in rural and remote communities.

Could the Prime Minister provide more information on how the recent fall economic statement will support Canadian small businesses, the backbone of our economy?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Cambridge for all of his hard work and advocacy on behalf of his constituents and, indeed, small businesses.

We know businesses need support during this second wave. That is why we are raising the maximum wage subsidy rate back to 75%. We are also introducing the new highly affected sectors credit availability program for those hardest-hit businesses. We are topping up the regional relief and recovery fund for businesses that are unable to access other supports.

We will ensure that Canada's small businesses continue to have the support they need as we fight the second wave and position ourselves for a strong recovery.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, in the face of a climate crisis, the Liberals adopted the Conservatives' targets and have not even managed to meet them.

Worse yet, we fall further behind year after year, and they do not even want to review these targets for 10 years.

Their economic update was dismal from an environmental standpoint. They keep talking about three billion trees but have yet to plant a single one. The update makes no mention of creating jobs in renewable energies.

Does the Liberals' green plan involve anything beyond wasting $20 billion to buy an old pipeline and ignoring the pollution created by GNL Québec?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians voted for a government that is committed to protecting the environment. We have accomplished a lot in the past five years. We introduced legislation to achieve net-zero emissions, we put a price on pollution across the country, we invested in clean energy, we banned plastics, and we protected 14% of our marine areas.

There is still a lot of work to do, which is why we are committed to proposing an improved plan that will enable us to exceed the 2030 emission targets.