Debates of Dec. 2nd, 2021

Interparliamentary Delegations

[James Maloney, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, two reports of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association. The first concerns its participation at the third part of the 2021 session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, held by video conference from June 21 to June 24. The second concerns its participation at the fourth part of the 2021 session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, held by video conference from June 24 to June 28.

Indigenous Affairs

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by members of my constituency. Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms every individual is equal before and under the law, and has the right to equal protections and benefits from the law without discrimination. The purpose of the First Nations Financial Transparency Act is to enhance financial accountability and transparency for first nations people. The people who have signed this petition are concerned about the use of the funds by their bands and are asking the government to enforce the First Nations Financial Transparency Act.

Travel Advisers

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to table e-petition 3643 on behalf of over 2,500 signatures and 12,000 independent travel advisers across Canada. These advisers in Canada have been working without income for 19 months due to COVID‑19 travel restrictions. The Liberal Party promised financial aid for these advisers, but sadly there was zero mention of it in the throne speech and they are not included in the provisions of Bill C-2.

The petitioners call upon the government to provide sector-specific funding for independent travel advisers in the form of bridge financing until May 2022 at the very minimum until they are able to see a recovery in their business, and ensure that independent travel advisers are included in the class of eligible applicants for the tourism and hospitality recovery program announced by the government on October 21.

Volunteer Firefighters

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table this petition on behalf of residents from Errington, Hilliers, Parksville and Qualicum Beach in my riding who are calling for support for volunteer firefighters, who account for 83% of Canada's total firefighting essential first responders. In addition, they cite that approximately 8,000 essential search and rescue volunteers respond to thousands of incidents every year, including the floods in my riding recently. They cite that the tax code of Canada currently allows volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers to claim a $3,000 tax credit if they provided 200 hours of volunteer services in a calendar year. That works out to a mere $450 per year that we allow these essential volunteers to keep of their own income, which is about $2.25 an hour. If they volunteer for more than 200 hours, which many do, this tax credit becomes even less. The petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to increase this tax exemption from $3,000 to $10,000 to help our essential volunteer firefighters and search and rescue people across the country.

Advertising

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this petition is of a really critical issue and one that has come before the House before. It is about the rights and respect for our children, and to protect children.

The petitioners point out that a child's brain is not fully developed and is particularly susceptible to advertisements that are targeting children, whether that advertisement is to increase a culture of materialistic wants that parents may not be able to fulfill, creating a sense of dissatisfaction, encouraging children to want things that their parents might prefer they did not have, whether it is sugary drinks or junk food.

Therefore, the petitioners call on the government to protect children, families and communities by banning advertising that is specifically geared to children.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Conservative Party Caucus

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to subsection 49.8(5) of the Parliament of Canada Act, I rise to discharge my obligations as chair of the Conservative caucus and to inform you of the recorded votes of the first Conservative caucus meeting.

Whether section 49.2 and 49.3 of the Parliament of Canada Act are to apply in respect of the caucus, the caucus voted yes. Whether section 49.4 is to apply in respect of the caucus, the caucus voted yes. Whether sections 49.5(1) to 49.5(3) are to apply in respect of the caucus, the caucus voted yes. Whether sections 49.5(4) and section 49.6 are to apply in respect of the caucus, the caucus voted yes.

I believe this fulfills my obligation as national caucus chair for the recognized Conservative Party in the House to inform you of the recorded votes under subsection 49.8(5) of the Parliament of Canada Act.

I trust that the other recognized parties will follow suit and their caucus chairs will similarly inform the Speaker of their vote results in the House.

The House resumed from December 1 consideration of the motion for an address to Her Excellency the Governor General in reply to her speech at the opening of the session and of the amendment.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time this morning with my hon. colleague from Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon.

It is an absolute honour and privilege to rise and reply to the Speech from the Throne. I listened very carefully to the speech and identified two concerning issues that I heard repeatedly while knocking on thousands of doors during the past election campaign, namely the escalation of crime, particularly gun offences, and the failure of the Liberal government to prioritize a meaningful relationship with our indigenous neighbours.

The safety and security of Canadians must be the top priority for the government. As a former Crown attorney, I am deeply concerned about the escalation of crime in Canada and particularly in my riding of Brantford—Brant. Unfortunately this topic was completely neglected in the throne speech, despite many details published by the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety statistics.

The report shows that in 2020, Canadian police services reported over 2.2 million Criminal Code and other federal statute violations of which 743 were homicides, which is 56 more than the previous year. Let me repeat that number: 743 people killed in Canada last year and yet there is no plan to reduce the escalation of crime in the throne speech. Canadians deserve better. My riding deserves better. People want to feel safe and protected in their home and communities. The Liberal government must stop playing politics and pushing its ideological agenda. It must fight crime and finally end these horrible trends in Canada.

The fact that crime was not addressed in the Speech from the Throne did not surprise me. If we reflect on the Liberal government's track record on this issue, we would see that there is nothing new here. In 2019, the Liberal government, while having a majority in the House of Commons, put into effect Bill C-75, the criminal justice bill. Liberals were claiming that the bill was designed to reduce sentences for milder offences, but the reality was that it implemented softer sentences for serious violent crimes including participation in an activity of a terrorist group, abducting a child and participation in activities of criminal organizations, just to name a few.

In 2020, the same Liberal government tabled a bill colloquially known as the “no more jail time for criminals” bill, which proposed to reduce jail time for dangerous offenders. If implemented, it would have allowed individuals found guilty of horrific crimes like sexual assault, arson and kidnapping to serve their sentence under house arrest instead of real jail.

It would also remove mandatory jail time for anyone who commits robbery with a firearm, trafficking in crystal meth and criminals who smuggle firearms across the Canada-U.S. border. When talking about the smuggling of firearms across the border, it is very concerning during the last session when the Liberal MPs, with the support of their loyal and faithful NDP friends, voted down the Conservative bill that had been designed to address the prevalence of smuggled weapons and the rise in gun crime.

The “soft on crime” agenda is simply irresponsible and dangerous. The Liberal government must do better to ensure the safety and security for everyone wherever they live in Canada.

For six years, in throne speech after throne speech, we heard the same rhetoric: the government is going to get handguns and assault weapons off the streets; we have to focus on reducing gun violence, we have seen the devastating effects of gun violence; too many lives lost; too many families shattered; time to show courage and strengthen gun control; the government will invest to help cities fight gang-related violence. Now, in 2021, our throne speech makes one opening statement: the Liberal government will ensure that it will take steps to allow our communities to be safe.

During the election campaign, the Prime Minister promised to give $1 billion to provinces and territories that want to ban handguns, but the reality is this would not lower gun violence, as almost 80% of the guns used to commit crimes in Toronto, for example, are illegal handguns originating in the United States. As quoted in the press recently, “Since criminals aren't deterred by the Criminal Code, it's a given they won't be deterred by any provincial legislation or municipal bylaws.”

The Prime Minister and his government know this. The 2018 paper by Public Safety Canada “Reducing Violent Crime: A Dialogue on Handguns and Assault Weapons” reports that the vast majority of owners of handguns and other firearms in Canada lawfully abide by requirements; that most gun crimes are not committed with legally owned firearms; that any ban of handguns or assault weapons would primarily affect legal firearms owners; that jurisdictions differ in their approaches to controlling handguns and assault weapons; and the data do not conclusively demonstrate that these handgun or assault weapon bans have led to any reductions in gun violence.

The former minister of public safety and former Toronto police chief told The Globe and Mail in 2019 that banning handguns would not work because most illegal guns are smuggled into Canada from the United States. The former minister was quoted as saying:

I believe that would be potentially a very expensive proposition but just as importantly, it would not...be perhaps the most effective measure in restricting the access that criminals would have to such weapons, because we'd still have a problem with them being smuggled across the border.

The Prime Minister is now poised to reintroduce legislation that died on the Order Paper when the election was called last August to remove minimum sentences for many gun-related offences, including robbery with a firearm, discharging a firearm with intent, reckless discharge of a firearm and possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition. This is another example of the government's soft-on-crime agenda that will not reduce gun crime.

The Prime Minister and his government are completely tone deaf on what it takes to keep our community safe. It is time to target the real source of the problem. It is time to take bold and decisive action to strengthen our borders, provide the maximum support to our Canadian border agents and work in partnership with the U.S. authorities to stem the tide of illegally smuggled firearms.

On September 30, I proudly attended the ceremony on Parliament Hill and stood shoulder to shoulder with indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians, reflecting and honouring the victims and survivors of the residential school system. The good people of Brantford—Brant sent me to Ottawa for this purpose. I am honoured to represent my riding, which includes the largest first nations reserve in Canada. On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I did not take a personal day and spend it on a beach.

This year's throne speech was delivered by the Her Excellency the Right Hon. Mary Simon, the first indigenous person ever to hold the position of the Governor General of Canada. As Canadians, we are very proud of this historic moment. This past summer, the collective consciousness of all Canadians was shocked and saddened with the discovery of unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools. It is our collective responsibility to accept the truth and reflect on the failed and tragic policies of our previous leaders.

Six years ago, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission presented its final report. It presented 94 calls to action to help redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation. Under the watchful eye of the Prime Minister, the Liberal government has failed to implement the vast majority of them. According to a 2020 status update on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action conducted by the Yellowhead Institute, only eight actions had been implemented. At this rate, it would take until at least 2062 to complete all 94 calls.

I am honoured to represent my riding, which includes the largest first nations reserve. Throughout my entire life, and especially during the campaign, I have had many opportunities to discuss the myriad of issues that people on reserves are facing every day. As their representative in Ottawa, I will fight tooth and nail for their interests. My—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I am sorry, but it is time for questions and comments.

The hon. member for St. Catharines.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is interesting that the hon. member talks about being tone deaf, as we are nearly on the eve of the anniversary of École Polytechnique, and he is talking about relegalizing military-style assault weapons.

I would like to focus on his one mention. He mentioned the statistic of 80% of illegal firearms being used, and if we were to accept his statistic, why is he willing to write off 20% of homicide victims? In his own statistic, there is an opportunity to have a significant dent in the homicide rate. Why does he not want to take that action, and why is he writing these victims off?

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Madam Speaker, quite frankly, my friend opposite's question was offensive, given my background prior to me being elected as a parliamentarian.

I enjoyed 18 years as a representative of Her Majesty prosecuting crime in Brantford—Brant. I take crime extremely seriously. I fought every day for victims to ensure that their rights were heard.

[An hon. member]

Then answer his question.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

It is very rich that my friend is now asking me to answer a question, but in any event, that quote was not my quote. That quote came from the Toronto Sun. It is an alarming figure. We have to take steps now. This is enough with the platitudes. He should come up with concrete action to deal with this issue.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I do want to remind the member for St. Catharines that he had the opportunity to ask the question, and he should not be asking any questions or heckling while somebody is answering the question.

Continuing with questions and comments, we will now go to the hon. member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I found everything he said about reconciliation and the first nations very interesting. I think Canada still has a long way to go in that regard.

I was, however, a bit bothered by a comment that my colleague made. He said that the appointment of the new Governor General, Mary Simon, was a date to remember in Canadian history. That might be a good thing for reconciliation with indigenous peoples, but it is a big problem for francization in Canada and Quebec.

By appointing this woman who does not speak French to the position of Governor General, the government insulted eight million francophones across Canada. She really struggled with the French in the throne speech.

Would my colleague agree that a bill should be passed in the House to require Prime Minister Trudeau to appoint a Governor General who speaks both of Canada's official languages?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I will remind the member that he must not name sitting members of the House of Commons.

The hon. member for Brantford—Brant.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Madam Speaker, I think there is an obligation on every Canadian to learn both official languages. As a public official, I am taking great pride in learning the language. I am taking daily French lessons, and I hope that some day in the very near future I will be able to communicate in both official languages.

I applaud my friend's comments regarding the Governor General, and I think, as a general observation, every public official in Canada should take steps to learn both official languages.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, I keep hearing the Conservatives talk about the runaway housing crisis. I could not agree more that this needs to be addressed.

However, the Liberal-Conservative coalition is protecting the big banks and standing together united in protection of the wealthy, doing everything from protecting tax havens that need to be shut down to protecting CEO stock options. We never hear that coalition talk about the lack of solutions to tackle the housing issue. Maybe the member can actually talk about real solutions, such as non-market housing, instead of more incentives to prop up the wealthy.

The Conservative-Liberal coalition is ruining this country.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Madam Speaker, I guess the old adage about the pot calling the kettle black applies here. The member talks about a coalition between the Conservative Party and the Liberal government. Let us not forget what happened last week with the vote on virtual Parliament.

Leaving that aside, if my friend actually took the time and listened to the talking points of our leader, Erin O'Toole, which everyone of my colleagues, every single day of the election campaign—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I would remind the hon. member that he cannot use names of individuals who sit in this House. I mentioned it prior to this, and I would ask him not to do it.

The member for Brantford—Brant has two seconds to wrap up.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Madam Speaker, my point was that every single day of the election campaign, we talked about a very real, concrete plan to deal with this housing crisis. We talked about taking immediate steps to put shovels in the ground now, not years from now.

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

Madam Speaker, it is a true honour to stand here once again.

My thanks to the hon. member for Brantford—Brant who may have just had his first speech in the House of Commons. I think that all of us Parliamentarians do better when we have more Crown prosecutors in the House of Commons to teach us about our justice system.

It has been a really good, busy few weeks getting Parliament back and getting back to business. While I was encouraged to see an acknowledgement of the ongoing emergencies, to have the debate on British Columbia and to have it acknowledged in the Speech from the Throne, I will continue to push the government for concrete action on flood recovery and building infrastructure. My constituents and British Columbians are demanding that of all British Columbia MPs right now.

Government ministers have been responsive, and emergency personnel from the military have been essential, to disaster response efforts on the ground, including today. I commend their work and thank them for their attention, but when the rains let up and the flooding is managed, will the federal government still be there? Will the media still be paying attention in a few months' time? That is my greatest concern right now. I repeat that I am going to be resolute in my efforts to make sure that the upcoming federal budget responds to the Speech from the Throne, and that it addresses the critical challenges my province is facing right now.

I will ensure that the village of Lytton, which I represent and which was devastated by one of the most disastrous forest fires in our country's history, gets the type of federal support it needs moving forward.

The upcoming federal budget must contain a comprehensive suite of supports, and must revise policies for those who have lost their homes and do not have insurance, for impacted businesses that might not be able to secure loans, and for agricultural producers, especially the blueberry producers, dairy farmers and chicken farmers whose crops and livestock were devastated. We need updated flood mapping to account for future disasters and to adapt to climate change. Municipalities need money for dike upgrades and critical infrastructure, and there has to be provincially led construction of resilient infrastructure across the board to address the highways.

I have been walking around showing photos of Jackass Mountain summit and Highway 1 to many people in the House. The road is completely washed out. We have to build those roads back better.

Finally, we need to do more on emergency response policies and capacity for our indigenous brothers and sisters. Frankly, the way we handle disasters right now in British Columbia is not sufficient. We have to empower first nations leaders and emergency responders, and make sure they have the tools they need, especially in rural parts of my province, to do their jobs effectively and to help keep their people and their nations safe.

I just have a few more comments. The Speech from the Throne often gives members of Parliament a time to reflect on the election, on what people told them during the election and how they can respond to that in Parliament.

Before I go into some of the things I heard on doorsteps during the election campaign, I want to give a shout-out to a very close friend of mine. Ten years ago, he was my roommate, and we were sitting around the kitchen table in our apartment. We were staffers under the Stephen Harper government, and we were looking at the redistribution boundaries. They were creating a new riding in my home town. It was at that moment I decided that I was going to pursue a career in politics. Blair was there with me from day one. I do not think I could be here today without a friend like Blair, who has supported my family for so many years. When someone works in politics, having a staffer to confide in who knows your strengths and weaknesses is a blessing. I did not get a lot of sleep last night. Whenever that happens, I start to cry.

Blair is moving on. He has a wonderful woman in his life and is moving to the Prairies. He is going to be leaving my office at the end of the year. Blair will be sorely missed. He exemplifies public service and is an amazing dude. I thank him so much.

The Speech from the Throne talked about listening to diverse voices. Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon is one of the most diverse places in all of Canada. I also think it is the number one riding in all of Canada, and I challenge anyone to have a debate with me on that anytime in the House of Commons. Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon is 22,000 square kilometres of ruggedness. It spans from Matsqui and Abbotsford, British Columbia, up into the Bridge River Valley in the South Chilcotin Mountains. The only connecting feature of my riding is the Fraser River, which runs right through it from the north to the south. I am proud to live in a place where there is a rich indigenous culture and a rich immigrant culture. All of these people bring so much to the work that I do and so much to the communities that I represent. I am so proud and honoured to stand up for them every single day. It is a true honour.

During the election campaign everyone talked to me about one thing, and that was housing. In Abbotsford and Mission, not too many years ago a family perhaps working in the Gloucester Industrial Park in Langley, or working for a local small business, could afford a home. It was not too long ago that homes were selling in the $300,000 to $400,000 range in many of the communities I represent, but over the last seven or eight years, those prices have skyrocketed to levels that none of us could have ever imagined. The values of homes have doubled and tripled. Now we find ourselves in the situation where a good job is not good enough to have a secure place to live anymore. Many families appreciate the Canada child benefit, mine included, and the positive things it does such as helping to pay for day care and good food to put on the table. However, the Canada child benefit, or a small increase for seniors to old age security or the GIS, does not account for the significant and drastic increase we have seen related to the cost of housing.

The government talked about a housing accelerator in its budget. I do not know what a housing accelerator is. Frankly, it kind of reminds me of something the Liberals do not talk about anymore, and that is a supercluster related to an industrial area. They never mention superclusters, but a few years ago, every single day minister Bains would talk about superclusters. We do not hear that anymore. What Canadians want from the government is a concrete plan to address housing supply. The reality is that we are not building enough. Where I live is a key place for immigrants to come to live. Immigrants do not have safe places to live anymore. The government needs to set targets, to be accountable to those targets and to help municipalities build the types of homes that people need to live their best lives. We are failing on that front.

During the election campaign, there were some good points in the Liberal platform and there were definitely some good points in the Conservative platform. However, people are acknowledging the issue now. There needs to be no more rhetoric, and we need to see action. We need to see the federal government working with municipalities to incentivize the construction of new homes. We need to see housing tied to infrastructure development so that when the new SkyTrain stations are built expanding out to Langley, or if hopefully one day we expand the West Coast Express in Mission, housing is a key component of how we look at infrastructure. If we do not start looking more comprehensively at some of these key challenges we are facing as a nation, we are not going to address the housing supply crisis.

I will say one more thing on housing, and that is regarding indigenous housing. My indigenous constituents want “for indigenous, by indigenous” housing. If there was one thing in the Speech from the Throne that I was very concerned about not seeing, it was that. Let us work toward reconciliation. It has been a tough year for British Columbia. It has been a tough year for Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc nation, which I represent. Let us work toward reconciliation and let us give indigenous children safe places to call home. There is so much more we can do on that front collectively in the House to address this scar on our nation.