House of Commons Hansard #13 of the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was nafta.
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Mr. Speaker, the World Health Organization has called the coronavirus a global health emergency. Other countries are taking proactive measures by declaring a public health emergency. Other countries are cancelling all flights into and out of China. The United States said it is implementing these measures to increase its ability to detect and contain the coronavirus.
Why has Canada not done the same?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, the situation around coronavirus has, indeed, been declared a world public health emergency. Here in Canada we have very different processes in place than in the United States. For example, we do not need to call a public health emergency here because we already have the structures, the systems and the authorities to spend appropriate dollars necessary to respond, treat and maintain our public health systems.
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, there are now four confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Canada. We have learned that Canadians in China will be brought back to Canada and placed under quarantine. However, we asked many times what had been done for passengers on flight CZ311, on which the two first cases were detected. Unfortunately the government has yet to respond.
Can the Prime Minister tell us whether all passengers from flight CZ311 have been contacted? Do we know where they are? What is being done to make sure they do not have the coronavirus?
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity to correct the record. I have said in this House that all 27 passengers that were undergoing contact tracing have, in fact, been found and do not have the virus. There are no other confirmed cases in Canada at this time. We continue to work very closely with our local, provincial and territorial partners to make sure that we continue the process of screening, detection, isolation in the instance of a case and further reporting mechanisms.
Leona Alleslev Conservative Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching the government with anticipation and disappointment as the flight that they were told would bring Canadians home from China has yet to take off. The U.K., the U.S., EU countries, Japan and South Korea have all been successful in evacuating their citizens affected by the coronavirus from China. What is the hold up? Is the delay in evacuation due to the disastrous state of Canada-China relations?
When will the government be able to set a date for the flight to get Canadian citizens in China home?
François-Philippe Champagne LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, to answer the question of my colleague, the answer is not at all.
Once there is an emergency, the first thing that needs to be done is to assess the needs, and this is what we did. The second thing to do is to charter a plane, and this is what we did. What we are working on now is in respect to authorization and organizing the ground logistics. We will be there for Canadians who want to be repatriated, and I will inform Canadians at every step of the way what this government is doing for them.
Steven Blaney Conservative Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage is trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube, but that is not working.
The Liberals are trying to control the media and journalists. They tried to buy journalists off with a $600-million subsidy, but that was not enough. Yesterday the minister said that he would impose licences on news organizations. Big Brother has nothing on him.
When will the Minister of Canadian Heritage stop indulging in these undemocratic whims and start looking after the cultural sector?
Steven Guilbeault LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, our government will always support a strong, free and independent press. My colleague from Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis said last week that the report was interesting and that he welcomed it.
Unlike the Conservatives, we will work to ensure that our cultural policy is not defined in Hollywood, but rather here, by Canadians and Quebeckers.
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have seen a jaw-dropping erosion of rights under the Liberal government, for example, Bill C-76, which rigged election rules in the Liberals' favour, and the $600-million bailout of selected struggling newspapers.
Now the Liberals have embraced the shocking recommendation to license media companies, an Orwellian tool used by ruthless authoritarian governments. Are the Liberals so desperate to cling to power they would emulate dystopian societies in Russia, China, North Korea and Iran?
Steven Guilbeault LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, the report, done by an independent body, which we received last week specifically said that news media should be exempted from licence requirements. Let me be clear on our intentions. Our government will not plan to impose licensing requirements on news organizations. We will—
The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota
Order. I am having a hard time hearing the hon. minister. I want everyone to maybe take a deep breath.
The hon. minister.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, both the minister and the Prime Minister have said that certain news media outlets will be exempt from their licences, which means that there are licences to be exempt from. There should be no restrictions on freedom of speech or freedom of the press.
On this side of the House, we will protect Canadians' hard-won freedoms. Why will the super-woke government not do the same?
Steven Guilbeault LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, our government will always support a strong, free and independent press. Let me repeat what I have already said. The report we received from an independent panel recommends that news media be exempted for licence requirements. I want to be clear about our intentions: Our government will not impose licensing requirements on news organizations, nor will we regulate news content.
Kristina Michaud Bloc Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Mr. Speaker, the proposed Teck Frontier oil sands mine will produce at least four million tonnes of greenhouse gas every year for 40 years. That is like putting an extra one million cars on our roads or driving from Vancouver to Montreal and back four million times.
During the election campaign, the Prime Minister promised that Canada would be carbon neutral by 2050.
The Frontier mine is going to pollute until at least 2067, so will the government show some consistency and say no to this project?
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, the government will take many factors into account in making a decision about this project. Among other things, it will take into account our promise to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, work toward reconciliation, create good jobs and grow our economy. This is a major project that our government is examining very closely. As required by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, a decision will be made by the end of February.
Monique Pauzé Bloc Repentigny, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Teck Frontier project will lead us straight into disaster. The government claims it will offset the oil sands' greenhouse gas emissions by planting two billion trees. Let's do the math. Those two billion trees will reduce greenhouse gases by 30 megatonnes within 10 years. The Frontier project alone would increase emissions by 40 megatonnes over the same period, and that is not even counting the entire oil industry or the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Will the government stop treating us like dummies and say no to the Frontier project?
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, as I said, there is a process. We are currently working very hard to come to a decision by the end of February. Environmental effects will, of course, have a major impact on that decision.
Monique Pauzé Bloc Repentigny, QC
Mr. Speaker, I keep getting the same answer so I will try my luck with the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
I completely agreed with him when he was on Tout le monde en parle two weeks ago and said that every minister is responsible for climate change. I completely agree with that assessment. His office is getting ready to make a decision on the Teck Frontier oil sands mine, which is projected to produce 160 megatonnes of greenhouse gases in its lifetime.
Will the minister ask his colleagues to forget about Teck's Frontier project?
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague said, every MP and every department has a responsibility to think about climate change. This is a very important issue for all Canadians, especially young people. It is something we must work on and think about when we make decisions on any project including this one.
David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Mr. Speaker, the project being proposed by Teck Resources would create 9,500 jobs for Canadians and generate tens of billions of dollars for our economy. While the Liberals are eager to meet with foreign-funded environmental activists, they have not yet had meaningful consultations with stakeholders in the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo.
Will the Prime Minister agree to meet with the municipality of Wood Buffalo and the key stakeholders regarding the pending decision on the Frontier project?
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, this government was elected on a platform of ensuring that we have appropriate processes in place and that we follow those processes. This is an environmental assessment process. We are following the process to make a decision before the end of February.
During that process, extensive consultations were undertaken by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The cabinet will now need to weigh all the various considerations and look at all the environmental impacts in order to make a decision.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Mr. Speaker, in July, after eight years of an evidence-based review, experts did recommend approval of the Teck Frontier mine. It checks every box with world-class environmental practices, and every local indigenous community and every local municipality supporting it.
Each Alberta oil sands job creates 3.2 jobs in the rest of Canada, but the Liberals are holding hostage 10,000 much-needed jobs in Alberta after 200,000 losses there already under them. No wonder Alberta says this decision is a national unity issue.
When will the Liberals approve Teck Frontier?
Jonathan Wilkinson LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, this is a project like any other project that goes through a process. It is governed under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. We are mandated to review the environmental impacts of all of those projects. The process is proceeding as it is intended to do so.
The hon. member should read the law. This is entirely within the process and we will be making a decision by the end of February.