Debates of Feb. 4th, 2020

Health

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, whenever the government wants to avoid having to explain why it left aluminum workers out in the cold, it holds up François Legault's words as gospel truth.

Logically, then, anything Quebec's premier says about health, which is under Quebec's exclusive jurisdiction, should be just as sacrosanct. François Legault has consistently demanded that the federal government increase health transfers enough to cover 25% of health care costs.

Will the government honour Quebec's request and increase health transfers?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it looks like the Bloc is trying to make the point that the Liberal government is not François Legault's government. I think everyone understands that.

There are issues on which we disagree with Quebec's premier. The fact that Quebec and Premier Legault do not always agree with us makes their strong support for the new NAFTA that much more significant. Like us, they understand that this agreement is good for Quebec.

Government Programs

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

Mr. Speaker, since the launch of the $186-billion investing in Canada program, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has raised many questions about how the Liberals have managed it. Transparency, accountability and performance have been completely lacking.

Will the Prime Minister, who keeps telling anyone who will listen that he wants to work with the opposition parties, make a commitment to work with the Auditor General and give him the means to carry out this investigation that the House is asking him to do?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, openness and transparency are hallmarks of our government, and we welcome public and parliamentary oversight of our historic infrastructure program. I remind all Canadians that, in the last election campaign, the Conservatives wanted to slash $18 billion from our infrastructure investments. Which projects did the Conservatives want to cut: the blue line in Montreal, the tramway in Quebec City, the Champlain Bridge or investments in affordable housing?

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

Mr. Speaker, half of the funding she mentioned has yet to be invested.

Meanwhile, the Liberal government had no trouble coming up with $10 million to give Omar Khadr. It gave Loblaws $12 million to buy fridges. Since it loves credit so much, it gave Mastercard $50 million. The House has spoken. The Auditor General must shed some light on the Liberal infrastructure fiasco.

Will the Prime Minister, who always finds money to toss out the window, commit to investing in the Office of the Auditor General so it can deliver on the task entrusted to it by parliamentarians?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for pointing out just how important decisions based on facts and science are.

That is why the Auditor General's work is so important and why we invested so heavily in science and in government accountability, transparency and openness during our previous term, to ensure that Canadians, including Conservative Party members, have a better grasp and understanding of the considerable impact made by our infrastructure investments.

News Media Industry

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today the Liberal-appointed author of a report that recommended to regulate news media in Canada was quoted in an article as saying that the CRTC would be best positioned “to decide whether an outlet is practising journalism” and suggested it could judge which news outlets exhibit “journalistic independence” and, ergo, could be exempted from licensing and registration requirements.

Will the Prime Minister reject and condemn this assault on free speech?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, our government believes in a strong, free and independent press. The report we received last week from an independent panel specifically excluded news media from licensing requirements.

I want to be clear on our intentions: Our government will not impose licensing requirements on news organizations, nor will we regulate news content.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that was code for “no”.

Yesterday, in response to a question on how he would define who would be regulated and licensed under their upcoming legislation, the minister spectacularly fumbled and said, “Media can be confusing.” Let me make it clear for him: There is no one in Canada who wants the press to be regulated by his government, the CRTC or any government outfit.

Will the Liberals condemn this flat out and uphold freedom of speech in Canada?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be quite a bit of confusion among members of the Conservative party. On one side, the member for Durham said the report would be dead on arrival. On the other side, the member for Calgary Nose Hill said the report does not go far enough and promotes the status quo.

I am happy, however, that the member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, for his part, shows a balanced position to work with us to promote Canadian culture, which is what we want to do on this side of the House.

The Environment

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have more proof today that the Liberals' choices have left Canada lagging behind on its climate targets. I meet people every day who want to do their part, but while the Liberals are letting big polluters off the hook, they are making it harder and harder for families to make ends meet.

When will the Liberals end all fossil fuel subsidies and commit to a real climate plan, a climate plan that actually cuts emissions and does not leave workers and communities behind?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, this government came to power and developed the first real climate plan this country has ever had, with 50 different initiatives that have identified over 275 megatonnes in reductions.

During the recent campaign, we pledged to go beyond the 2030 targets established under the previous government. We have committed to net zero by 2050. We are working to develop the pathways there, and we will be working with all Canadians to do that.

Climate change is an existential threat. We understand that. We know we need to do this for our grandchildren and our children. We are acting.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, domestic violence and violence against women are evils that undermine our societies. On January 22, Marylène Levesque was placed in an extremely dangerous situation and was brutally murdered. Let us be clear. The facts show that the harm reduction approach and a rigorous parole process do work. However, in this case, a huge and incomprehensible mistake was made and a young woman paid for it with her life. Feminism is more than just fine words.

What practical measures will the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness put in place to ensure that such a terrible tragedy never happens again?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I share, as my government shares, the concerns expressed about this tragedy and the loss of an innocent life in these circumstances and more broadly about the issue of violence against women. It is one of the reasons we are working very hard on a national strategy to reduce and eliminate violence against women.

I want to assure him we are equally committed to getting to the bottom of the facts in this case to make sure there is a full, frank, open and transparent examination of all the issues that gave rise to this tragedy so that action is taken to make sure it never occurs again.

The Economy

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have just spent the past several weeks back in my riding hearing from my constituents. By listening to Canadians and investing in the middle class, our government has put in place a plan built by and for all Canadians. We have already introduced a tax cut that would save millions of Canadians several hundred dollars at tax time.

Could the minister tell the House and Canadians about the next step in our plan to continue growing the middle class and our economy?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Laval—Les Îles for the work he is doing to listen to his constituents on how we can build budget 2020.

We are in the midst of doing our pre-budget consultations this year. We are listening to Canadians about things they think we should be putting in the budget and how we can keep the economy strong and resilient in the face of challenges.

In our budget, we will be working to make sure that we keep the middle class strong. We will be working to ensure that our environment is strong. We will be looking to make sure we keep Canadians safe and healthy and, of course, that we continue to reconcile with indigenous peoples.

I look forward to working with all members of the House on budget 2020.

International Trade

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take advantage of the presence of Canadian dairy farmers on the Hill this week to remind the government that it promised to conduct impact studies on the concessions made in previous free trade agreements. The government is about to ratify a new agreement, but it has still not disclosed the impact of those concessions. We keep asking for those studies, but we are not getting a response. The dairy industry is one of the hardest-hit sectors.

Will the government finally give Canadians answers?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it was a Liberal government that created the supply management system and it is a Liberal government that is preserving it. It is worth noting that the American government's goal at the beginning of the negotiations was to completely dismantle the system. This agreement will provide access to markets, but also the assurance that the future of supply management is secure. That is very good for Canada's dairy farmers.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have been asking the Liberals to release all NAFTA-related economic studies and analyses since December 12, to no avail. As parliamentarians, Canadians entrust us to make decisions on their behalf and they expect us to have all the information to do so before we vote. The government's refusal to reveal the upsides and downsides of the new NAFTA is not the action of an open and transparent government.

What exactly are the Liberals trying to hide?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are not hiding anything. We are very proud of the new NAFTA. Steve Verheul, the chief negotiator of this agreement, who is respected on all sides of the House, was made available to the Leader of the Opposition immediately after the protocol of amendment was signed.

When it comes to the economic analysis being prepared by the chief economist of Global Affairs, as soon as this analysis is complete, we will publish it and share it with all members of the House.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

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

Mr. Speaker, it is time for the stubborn Liberal government to admit that its damaging carbon tax is crippling our farm families and communities. Our agricultural sector is world class and our producers pride themselves on being strong, great environmental stewards of their land.

When will the agriculture minister and her Liberal cabinet colleagues admit they have failed farm families and exempt agriculture producers from their income-stealing carbon tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, the agriculture sector is very important to us and we work closely with the representatives of all sectors and my provincial colleagues as well.

We are listening and we are always ready to put practical solutions in place and improve our mechanisms. There are exemptions for fuel use by farmers for agricultural activities and also rebates on commercial greenhouse gas operations. We are there to support our farmers.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, farmers pay an inordinate amount of the Liberal government's carbon tax directly through costs like heating and grain drying and indirectly through transportation, fertilizer and more. A recent analysis by APAS reveals that when the carbon tax hits $50 per tonne in 2022, Saskatchewan producers will lose 12% of their net income to this Liberal tax.

Will the Prime Minister now admit that his carbon tax unfairly targets Canadian farm families?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly recognize that 2019 has been a challenging harvest year for farmers in terms of climate and trade disruption. We are listening and we are committed to finding practical solutions to the issues that farmers face. We have taken numerous steps to ensure that the realities of the agricultural sector are reflected in our pollution pricing policy, including by exempting fuels for on-farm use.

I am certainly working closely with my colleague, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, to look at all options.

The Environment

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is citing François Legault's support for CUSMA to justify its inability to protect Quebec's aluminum smelters. I will take this rare opportunity where the authority of Quebec's premier is being respected in the House to quote him again.

Mr. Legault is calling for Quebec alone to conduct environmental assessments of projects on its territory. The federal government has to obey Quebec's laws like anyone else. That goes without saying, does it not?

Will the government respect Quebec's environmental sovereignty, or is the aluminum file the only issue on which the federal government agrees with the Government of Quebec?