Debates of Dec. 13th, 2021

The Economy

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the CFIB for their collaboration, co-operation and engagement throughout the entire pandemic. Their voices throughout this very difficult time have helped us create the very emergency support programs that have helped businesses. Countless businesses have told all of us, even those across the aisle, that the support programs have to stay in place so they can get through this vulnerable time of the pandemic.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the Liberal government created a $34‑billion deficit in the employment insurance fund because of its decisions. That is an extra $1,100 per employee that the government has been stealing from the pockets of employers since 2015.

Will the Prime Minister announce measures that will help businesses and self-employed workers or will he continue to spend, increase the deficit and make honest workers pay more taxes?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are working very hard to make life more affordable for all Canadians. That is why we announced some good news today: A child care deal was reached with New Brunswick. That is good news for the people of New Brunswick and all Canadians.

We must not tell the member for Carleton, who said yesterday that it would be better for women to stay home than to go to work.

Why do the Conservatives not want women to access the job market? That is unacceptable.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the finance minister told committee that she did not know how much debt was in Canada or how much a 1% increase in interest rates would cost the federal government, or when she predicted that there would be deflation right before the biggest run-up in inflation in 20 years, we assumed it was just more media manipulation like Twitter found she had already done. Now we learn, in her favourite newspaper, that in fact she “rarely takes department briefings” and has not spoken to her deputies in months.

When will she consult with her department before getting it wrong again?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, who can tell where the Conservatives are these days? On the one hand they say we need to support seniors more, and on the other side they say not to increase the CPP.

We are not going to listen to the Conservatives, because when it comes to taking care of seniors and their income security, we are making important investments today for the future. Our government will continue to do that so that we are there for Canadians every single day, no matter which stage of their lives.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing they are doing for seniors is driving up inflation to vaporize seniors' savings, increase the cost of home heating and increase the cost of groceries by $1,000 a year. What is the minister doing about it? According to her favourite Liberal newspaper, she is not attending her briefings. In fact, she has not spoken to many of her deputies in months and is spending her time on political outreach.

When will the finance minister start doing her job rather than just passing the bill for her failures on to Canadians?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, it is a little hard to take the member opposite seriously when he calls a child care agreement a “slush fund”.

What we know on this side of the House is that we are going to make investments that will make a difference for families. In fact, we just announced a new child care agreement with New Brunswick today, making it the ninth province and 10th jurisdiction in Canada that will have affordable child care for families. We are not going to stop there. We are going to keep delivering for families right across the country.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister refuses to rise and defend herself against this report, even though it was in her very favourite newspaper, The Globe and Mail. The Globe further said that her department is in total disarray. This is while inflation is at a two-decade high, we have a housing bubble that could lead to a housing crash and the national debt is over a trillion dollars.

Before she causes inflation to gallop further and the cost of living to go higher on Canadians, will she stand and commit that she will get a handle on her department and get back to work?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are working hard to make the lives of Canadians more affordable. We have a fantastic announcement today on a child care deal signed in New Brunswick that is good for New Brunswickers and good for Canadians. However, yesterday the member for Carleton called accessing child care like putting our hands in a “slush fund”. I cannot believe the member opposite would insult Canadians in that way.

Will the member apologize to hard-working families from coast to coast to coast?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have not heard the last of Roxham Road. We learned this morning that the federal government has approved a five-year renewal of the lease on border facilities used to receive migrants who cross illegally. This means that the federal government does not intend to close Roxham Road for five years.

Can we still refer to them as illegal crossings when the federal government is making these reception facilities and resources permanent? Why is it making these illegal border crossings legal instead of tackling the problem once and for all by suspending the safe third country agreement?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, Canada remains committed to upholding our fair and compassionate refugee protection system, fulfilling our domestic and international legal obligations and protecting the health and safety of Canadians and those who wish to live in our country.

Public Services and Procurement

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, by renewing the lease for these border facilities, the government is making it clear that it has no plan to shut Roxham down for at least five years.

This obviously comes with a price tag, and I am sure it will reassure no one to hear that a Liberal is benefiting from the deal. The federal government signed the lease without a tender in 2017 with a donor who contributed around $23,000 to the Liberal Party. The lease was even renewed for five years, again without a tender. This is a huge problem with a simple solution.

Why not shut down Roxham instead of jumping right into another Liberal ethics scandal?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, the lease was signed at fair market value.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, things are not going well at Roxham Road.

First, by announcing that it will do nothing for five years, the government is ensuring that crossings at Roxham Road will continue and become normalized, even though these crossings are illegal. Second, it is paying a Liberal donor for these border facilities and there was no tender. Third, the government refuses to tell Quebeckers how much this is costing. These are three serious ethics violations that are not even necessary because there is a solution here. The government should suspend the safe third country agreement.

Why is the government choosing another Liberal ethics scandal over shutting down Roxham Road?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member can appreciate that there were necessary measures put in place to protect the health and well-being of Canadians during the pandemic. Now that the situation has changed, we have made good on our domestic and legal obligations to ensure we are treating asylum seekers in accordance with Canadian and international laws.

I will remind the hon. member opposite that we are moving forward in collaboration with our partners in the Province of Quebec. I will also share that I had a very productive call on this and other matters as recently as last week. We are going to move forward in a way that is responsible, protects the health and well-being of Canadians and considers the perspective of the Province of Quebec every step of the way.

Disaster Assistance

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask the minister this again and this time I would like a real answer. He decided that only the Red Cross is worthy of receiving matching funding, yet B.C. has been devastated by this flooding disaster. Thousands are without homes. We need all hands on deck. The Salvation Army, the MCC, Archway, Samaritan's Purse, the United Way, the Abbotsford Disaster Relief Fund and even the churches and gurdwaras all stepped up to help, yet all have been snubbed by the minister. Will he now reverse course and announce they too will receive matching funding, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the remarkable generosity and support that British Columbians and Canadians right across the country have provided to those impacted by these terrible floods.

We have been working closely with the British Columbia government and the Canadian Red Cross to match funds and, so far, $175 million has been accumulated between the three donors in order to support British Columbians. The Canadian Red Cross is doing important work in registering those individuals and conducting assessments to ensure the money goes where it is needed the most. At the same time, we welcome the generosity of so many British Columbians in supporting their neighbours.

Infrastructure

[Tako Van Popta, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Speaker, by now the Minister of Emergency Preparedness is well aware that part of the flooding in the Fraser Valley last month was caused by a breach in the Nooksack River diking system in Washington state, yet he should have known about this a long time ago. There are certainly enough reports and studies to that effect, but the government failed to act in a timely fashion to avoid the flooding last month. Can the minister commit today to making sure that he works with federal U.S. counterparts to make sure this never happens again?

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

Mr. Speaker, we know the water that fell in the Cascades a month ago accumulated in the Nooksack River and much of it has flowed into the Sumas Prairie, impacting Canadians on our side of the border. We are continuing to work with the Americans to manage this, but we are working as well with local officials, the people who reside in the Canadian portion of that impacted area and the British Columbia government. There are a number of studies that clearly indicate there need to be significant investments made into rebuilding a more resilient infrastructure. That is the work we are undertaking now.

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the devastation impacting Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon and all of B.C. is unprecedented. Farmers in the blueberry sector are especially terrified about the consequences of another flood and its impacts on food security and the economy of B.C. Will the Minister of Agriculture commit, especially for Matsqui, British Columbia, to funding the dike repairs and enhancements throughout the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley to make sure that when the next flood comes our agricultural producers are not put out?

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

Mr. Speaker, we know that farmers in this region have been significantly impacted by these floods. That is why our Minister of Agriculture met with her B.C. counterpart, visited the area last week and toured those areas impacted—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I apologize for interrupting the hon. minister. I am trying to hear him, but the noise is getting to a level that I cannot make out the answer. I will have him start right from the beginning so we can all hear the answer that the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon would also like to hear.

The hon. minister.

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will certainly speak up to allow the member to hear me. This is a very important question. It is unfortunate some of the members opposite are afraid to hear the answer.

Last week, our Minister of Agriculture travelled to British Columbia, met with her counterpart and visited many of the farmers who were impacted in that region. It is very clear that we are going to have to provide significant supports not only to those who have lost livestock in this tragedy, but also to the blueberry farmers the member references. There is significant work to be done. That is why the joint committee of the federal government, the Government of British Columbia and indigenous leadership in the area will be convening an important meeting later today to work together to solve this issue—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for London—Fanshawe.