Debates of Nov. 30th, 2021

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we will always defend the interests of the forestry sector and the workers it employs. In a relationship as large as the one we have with the United States, we will always work together to solve and resolve issues. I will be speaking to my counterpart, the U.S. trade representative, later this afternoon, and I am pleased that tomorrow I will lead a team Canada group, which includes members from all sides of the House, to Washington to continue our government's advocacy and to stand up for Canadian interests.

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were once again blindsided by the doubling of tariffs on Canadian lumber. This is another example of the Prime Minister failing Canadians and failing Canada's natural resource sector. In my own riding, there are mills that continue to suffer as a result of the Prime Minister's failure on international trade. Historically, New Brunswick has been exempt from these tariffs, and the operators believe they should still be exempt.

When will the Prime Minister get off the backs of Canadian workers, including those in the natural resource and forestry sectors, and stand up for their interests, including those in New Brunswick?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian softwood lumber is an absolute priority for our federal government. I am looking forward to tomorrow to take a team Canada to Washington, where we will stand up for Canada. We will continue to advocate for Canadian businesses, for the forestry sector and for the workers they employ. We have done this before and we will continue to stand up for Canadians.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, U.S. trade representative Tai has been waiting since May to start negotiations on softwood lumber. Yesterday, the Minister of International Trade stated in the House that the softwood lumber industry will provide her with a mandate on negotiating with the United States.

U.S. tariffs on softwood have been in place since 2015. It has been six years. Please do not tell me the minister does not yet know what the industry wants.

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has taken up this issue through CUSMA, at the NAFTA panel and at the WTO. In 2020, it was ruled that Canada was indeed a fair trading partner. We are going to continue to stand up for the rights of Canada's forestry sector and its workers.

I have shared with the U.S. trade representative and U.S. interlocutors that of course we would be open to an agreement that will bring predictability and stability, but we are not going to take any agreement. We are going to negotiate an agreement that is a good agreement for Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think the agreement we have for Canada right now under the government is pretty bad. I mean, they doubled the tariffs.

Given that the most noteworthy trade event the minister has been involved in was an ice cream parlour in Beijing, can she please let the House know if she intends to give the Americans notice that we intend to litigate under chapter 10 of CUSMA regarding the tariffs, or if we intend to give notice on any other retaliatory measures and what those are? It has been six years. It is time to act.

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we have consistently defended the forestry sector, whether it is at the NAFTA panel or through CUSMA. I would remind the hon. member that we only have chapter 10 in CUSMA because we preserved the dispute settlement mechanism in CUSMA.

We will fight for Canadian businesses and the softwood lumber industry. We have done a pretty good job in the work of defending steel and aluminum from tariffs. We are going to continue standing up for this sector and industries all across the country.

Foreign Affairs

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are outraged by the Liberal government's failure to protect our allies and the women, religious minorities and people who are most vulnerable in Afghanistan. Experts have stated that Afghanistan is now among the world's worst humanitarian crises. There are 23 million Afghans who are at risk of starving, but the UN World Food Programme has said that the government's response has been like a drop in the ocean.

Will the minister act with the urgency and scale required to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned about the escalating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. As winter approaches, it is critical that that the international community work collectively to meet the needs of vulnerable Afghans.

Canada continues to collaborate with allies and others in the region to address the humanitarian crisis. In fact, I was just on a phone call with the special representative, Deborah Lyons, today to look at the next steps of what the international community can do.

Disaster Assistance

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I recently spoke to the mayor of Princeton, whose community of 2,800 suffered damage when the Tulameen River overflowed. He is deeply concerned that his community will not be able to rebuild under traditional disaster funding, which forces municipalities to pay 20%. A $10-million restoration would cost Princeton $2 million, a bill it would struggle to repay.

The impacts of the climate crisis are getting worse every day, so will the government help small communities by waiving or reducing this requirement?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, that is a very important question. Just last week, the Prime Minister and I travelled to British Columbia and visited with many of the impacted communities. It is very clear that it is going to require an extraordinary effort to recover and rebuild from the devastating flooding that has taken place in British Columbia.

We have announced that we are forming a joint committee, working with both the provincial and federal governments and bringing indigenous leadership to the table. Communication and coordination with those municipal leaders is going to be a critical part of our response.

We know there is a great deal of work to do, and we are prepared to be there for the people of British Columbia as they recover and rebuild from these devastating floods.

Housing

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, on the doorsteps in Halifax West, I heard loud and clear that housing was a pressing issue for my constituents.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the average cost of a home increased by about 20% in Nova Scotia in the past year. This is a big challenge, especially with the impressive growth in my riding.

We know we need to build more housing and ensure that young people and new Canadians are not shut out from buying their first home. Can the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion update the House on the government's plan to add to our housing stock, maintain affordability and unlock home ownership?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Halifax West for her question and I congratulate her on her election.

We know that many Canadians struggle to find a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why we are introducing an ambitious plan to make housing even more affordable. We will introduce a $4-billion housing accelerator fund, enhance the first-time home buyer incentive and introduce a groundbreaking and innovating rent-to-own program that will turn Canadian renters into homeowners.

Public Safety

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the wave of deadly violence in Montreal has cost the lives of three innocent teenagers in the past few weeks. The Premier of Quebec and his public safety minister are calling on the Liberal government to take its responsibilities.

For years we have been trying to convince the Prime Minister of Canada that violent murders are committed by street gangs and criminal groups, not by law-abiding citizens. It is time to stop going after hunters and sport shooters.

When will the government take action against the true cause of the problem?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we have taken significant measures to combat gun violence. We have made significant investments to improve investigative capabilities. We set up a working group with the United States. That is the work we did last week when I had the opportunity to meet with my U.S. counterpart and have a very constructive discussion with him. We will work with the Government of Quebec to combat gun violence.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like the Minister of Public Safety to confirm that the problem in Canada right now is due to illegal guns, guns that cross the border, including ghost guns, as they are called, and not due to law-abiding hunters and sport shooters.

Is the minister prepared to state clearly that the problem is those people, the criminals?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, this file presents many challenges. That is why our government has taken meaningful action. We continue to find and implement meaningful solutions such as banning military-style weapons, investing in the border to improve our police resources, or investing in our communities to create spaces. We must prevent this problem, and we will continue with our approach.

Ethics

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in a radio interview with CBC Calgary on Friday morning, the member for Calgary Skyview suggested he and his team are under investigation by the Commissioner of Canada Elections for stealing campaign literature from Conservative candidate Jag Sahota. His reference to the team being investigated is new information that suggests there was an organized effort on the part of his campaign team to engage in widespread stealing of Sahota's campaign material.

I have a simple question for the Prime Minister. If the member for Calgary Skyview is found guilty, will the Prime Minister remove him from caucus?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member has apologized. He is fully co-operating with Elections Canada as it goes through this process. That process will continue.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is really a simple answer, and that answer should be “yes”.

Again we see the hypocrisy of the Prime Minister operating on a different set of rules. Jody Wilson-Raybould was booted from caucus for not wanting to interfere in a criminal prosecution, yet by his own admission and compelling video evidence showing the member for Calgary Skyview stealing campaign material and replacing it with false information, he gets to stay in caucus.

I will ask again. Will the member for Calgary Skyview be removed from caucus if he is found guilty?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the member has apologized. He is working with Elections Canada as it moves through its process. It is incredibly important, as these processes work their way forward, that they be allowed to do so, and obviously the member will be continuing to co-operate with that process.

Public Safety

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we all share the responsibility for taking action against the shootings plaguing Montreal. That is why, yesterday, my colleague who is the public safety critic proposed creating a joint task force to combat firearms trafficking.

Instead of taking the hand extended by my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety took the opportunity to engage in a partisan attack. Is that a responsible approach?

Our young people are being killed in broad daylight on the streets of Montreal in the Prime Minister's riding.

Could the Minister take a different view of this and accept my colleague's offer of help?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that my heart goes out to the friends and family of Thomas Trudel and all families grieving as a result of the violence caused by weapons of war.

We remain very focused and promise to invest at least $1 billion to help the provinces and even municipalities ban handguns.

Absolutely, I am always ready to work with my Bloc Québécois colleagues.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, despite all the measures that the minister mentioned, the reality is that illegal guns are still on the streets of Montreal. That is the reality on the ground.

The minister cannot tell us that his government is doing everything it can to crack down on firearms trafficking at the border, just as I have never said that it is not doing anything.

The reality is that his government needs to do more. He can count on our support, because this is not a partisan issue; it is a public safety issue.

What is stopping him from accepting our proposal to create a joint task force to combat firearms trafficking at the border?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts: we have invested $125 million to combat smuggling. We have also transferred $46 million to Quebec.

As I said before, we continue to work closely with the U.S., as well as with the Quebec government. My door is always open to work with all members of the House.