Debates of Nov. 29th, 2021

Housing

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Since we came into office, we have helped over a million families get the housing they need, but we absolutely agree that there is more work to be done. We are committed to an indigenous-led, indigenous-owned urban, rural and northern indigenous housing strategy.

Last week's throne speech outlined our government's continued commitment to making housing more affordable by bringing in a $4-billion housing accelerator fund, ending chronic homelessness and a rent-to-own program to help renters become owners.

There is more work to be done, but a lot of progress has already been achieved as well.

Justice

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, our health care workers were on the front lines to protect Canadians. That being said, as they continue to do their work, they are far too often bullied and threatened.

Can the Minister of Justice explain what measures we are taking to protect health care workers?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vimy for her question.

Before I answer it, I want to thank the health care workers. Their efforts and sacrifices are getting us through the pandemic. They should never be subjected to violence or intimidation. That is why we want to amend the Criminal Code to put in place tough consequences for these behaviours.

I look forward to the support of all members of the House in connection with Bill C‑3.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government continues to assure Canadians that negotiating a new softwood lumber agreement with the U.S. is a priority, yet just a few months ago the U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai, was quoted in Reuters as saying, “In order to have an agreement and in order to have a negotiation, you need to have a partner. And thus far, the Canadians have not expressed interest in engaging.” Now the U.S. has announced that it will go ahead with doubling the softwood lumber duties on Canadian producers.

Why will the government not come to the table and just get the deal done?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I have had an opportunity to speak to the U.S. trade representative, in fact, on many occasions. Absolutely softwood lumber, the forestry sector and its workers are a priority for this government. We will always stand up for this sector. We are very disappointed at the duties and tariffs that have been levelled on us.

We are going to continue to work with the American administration, so we can defend Canada's softwood industry.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the relationship between the United States and Canada is one-sided. The further increase in softwood lumber tariffs will have a serious impact on Canadian jobs. Businesses are already struggling due to inflation and the pandemic. We get results or we get excuses.

When will the Prime Minister stop coming back empty-handed every time he meets with the U.S. President?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's forestry sector provides hundreds of thousands of jobs for middle-class Canadians in communities across the country. These duties are unjustified, and they will hurt workers and businesses in both our countries.

We will keep fighting for Canada's softwood lumber industry and its workers. Canada has always been a fair trading partner. I will continue to raise this issue at every opportunity.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, during question period last week, the hon. Minister of International Trade told the House that she raised the issue of softwood lumber with the U.S. trade representative. As we have heard previously in questions, the response from the USTR is quite different. Regardless, it sounds like Ambassador Tai is ready to negotiate.

Therefore, could the minister tell us how many actual negotiations, not photo ops, on softwood lumber have taken place since Ambassador Tai's statement in May?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I know how important this is to the hon. member and to all of us.

We absolutely want an outcome that is acceptable to the Canadian industry and to the workers. We are working with the Canadian lumber industry. Its people will be the ones to provide us with the negotiating mandate on this issue. I will continue to work closely with Canada, and together we will continue to take that team Canada approach, because that is what works.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think that is code for zero negotiations.

After six years of inaction, countless jobs lost and a doubling of tariffs in spite of a WTO positive ruling on our behalf, last week the finance minister said that she was finally considering retaliatory tariffs against the Americans on the softwood lumber dispute issue. However, she has provided no details on what those measures would be, and we just heard that they really have not met with the Americans to do anything about it.

My question is this. As President Biden did last week when he doubled the tariffs, are Canada's softwood lumber workers correct in calling the finance minister's bluff on the fact that there are no details on retaliatory measures?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, what Canada's softwood lumber workers know, and indeed what workers in all sectors of the Canadian economy know, is that our government can be relied on to defend the national interest in trade disputes with the United States.

By contrast, they also know that when the going gets tough, the Conservatives believe in folding their tent. We know that because that is what the Leader of the Opposition said when it came to the 232 tariffs and when he urged us to drop our retaliation.

Official Languages

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Aéroports de Montréal's decision to jack up user fees at Mirabel airport by 7,000% is a devastating blow to French-language flight schools. Essentially, ADM is kicking the schools out and showing francophone students the door.

Once again, a federally regulated corporation is showing little concern for the future of the French language. Will the new Minister of Official Languages reach out to ADM to ensure the ongoing availability of French-language pilot training?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for entrusting me with the official languages file, which is so important to me. Moreover, I just learned that I am the first Acadian minister to hold this office.

As a francophone who lives in an official language minority community, I am very aware of these concerns and I recognize that the French language is in decline in Canada, including in Quebec. That is why our government will move forward with its bill to modernize the Official Languages Act, which is an absolute priority for us.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while flight schools in Vancouver are only charged 20% of the full rate, Aéroports de Montréal has decided to charge the full rate for flight schools that train French-speaking pilots in my riding of Mirabel. Believe it or not, the plan is to increase the rates from $540 to $38,000 per aircraft. This is not just a stratospheric increase, it is also thinly disguised expropriation.

We have been through this before and we don't want to go through it again. Will the Minister of Transport personally promise to ensure the viability of French-language flight schools in Mirabel?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, French is a very important language. Our government is working on protecting French in Quebec and all across Canada. We will work with our colleagues here in the House of Commons to ensure that our Official Languages Act is upheld and reformed, and that we support all Canadians who want to work in either official language.

Climate Change

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for years we have been saying that the Liberals are all talk, no action on climate change and now we have proof.

The environment commissioner has confirmed that the government has been a total failure on reducing emissions. Canada is number one in emissions in the G7.

Is the minister proud of being number one?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite my hon. colleague to actually read the report from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, which clearly shows that he did not look at the measures we have deployed since 2016 to fight climate change in Canada.

In fact, his report points out that under the Harper government there was nothing done on climate change in Canada. The commissioner acknowledges that he did not look at the hundred measures we put in place since 2016, the hundreds of billions of dollars we have invested to fight climate in this country.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Liberals are number one in the G7 on emissions and number one in this place for blaming others for their lack of action.

Now, the government has declared war on the oil and gas sector. Despite that, emissions are continuing to rise.

Liberals pick fights, make enemies and kill jobs, but still emissions do not decline, so if it is not to lower emissions, why is the government so focused on ending Canada's energy sector?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would point out to my colleague that the last inventory, Canada's greenhouse gas inventory, actually shows that without our government action and thanks to the inheritance from the Harper government on climate change, emissions in 2030 would be 30 million tonnes higher than they would have been without our intervention. That is almost half the emissions of all of Quebec. Our plan is working and we will continue on with implementing it.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to signs posted at the industrial parks in Portneuf—Jacques‑Cartier, they are at capacity and are now hiring. Businesses are having to cut back on production, cancel orders or, at worst, close their doors.

One solution to the labour shortage is to hire foreign workers. A quick and simple solution would be to set up dedicated teams to clear up the backlog and hire more staff in the department.

Will the minister commit to immediately reducing processing times to protect our businesses and enable them to participate in the economic recovery?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

More than 21,000 skilled workers have already been admitted in 2021, and the majority of them are in Quebec. We will hit Quebec's levels and get caught up on the pandemic-related delays.

If Quebec truly wants to reduce processing times, it should address the real cause, which is the Government of Quebec's selection criteria and its economic immigration levels.

Small Business

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, we all know how important small businesses are to our Canadian economy. They are the bedrock and that is why our government was there since day one of this pandemic through the wage subsidy, the rent subsidy and the extension of the Canada emergency business account. However, as we head into Christmas, I am thinking of my retailers in Kings—Hants, small businesses, those that are on the main streets of Windsor, Wolfville and Kentville.

Can the Minister of Small Business provide an update to the House on the measures the government is supporting for small businesses, particularly retailers, as we head into the Christmas holidays?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I thank small businesses all across the country so much for their incredible resilience during what was a terribly difficult time. I am seeing businesses that have gone digital, businesses and entrepreneurs that have been even more entrepreneurial. We are making a $4-billion investment to help more businesses across the country to go digital, so that wonderful main street store can offer those services and those products digitally. As we head into the holiday season, I would encourage everyone to shop local.

The Economy

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of living continues to rise while the Liberal government continues to spend. According to the vice-president of Scotiabank, inflation is expected to rise above 5% by the end of the year. At this rate, Canadians cannot afford to have the Liberal government continue to pour expensive gasoline on its inflationary fire. If the government does not plan to increase Canadians' wages by 5%, then what will it do to ensure my constituents can feed their families?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote another economist who I hold in very high regard and I know Prime Minister Harper did too because he appointed him to be Governor of the Bank of Canada. Stephen Poloz said over the weekend, “what the stimulus did was to keep the economy from going into a deep hole in which we would have experienced persistent deflation. Read a book or two about the Great Depression in the 1930s and realize what was averted when we went through this.”

We know on this side of the House we did the right thing and it is time for the members opposite to admit it.