Debates of Feb. 18th, 2021

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, the member's unparliamentary and rude language notwithstanding, let me be very clear that the legislation we have brought forward will provide all Canadians in every place, including in the province of Quebec, with the strongest regulatory framework that prevents handguns from getting into the hands of criminals by strengthening our response at the border, by preventing the theft and criminal diversion of handguns into criminals' hands and by taking steps to remove dangerous firearms from dangerous situations.

We are also prepared to support the provinces. We have given the Province of Quebec tens of millions of dollars to assist the police, and we look forward to it finally distributing that to municipal police services to help them do the important work of keeping their communities safe.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for months I have asked the government for certainty on getting international farm workers to Canadian farms. These workers are vital to Canadian fruit and vegetable producers. With commercial flights being cancelled from Mexico and the Caribbean, where the vast majority of workers come from, many farmers across the country are left wondering exactly how and when they will get their workers.

Will the minister tell farmers the plan for getting workers to farms after mid-March, when the largest number of farm workers are set to arrive?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes the integral role farm workers and farmers play in ensuring that Canadians have access to food, and we are here to support them. We are working very hard to ensure the continued safety and timely arrival of temporary foreign workers into Canada.

In the case of temporary foreign workers in the agriculture and seafood sectors, our government is deferring the requirement that they quarantine in a government-approved hotel until March 14 to allow for the development of tailored solutions. In the interim, temporary foreign workers entering Canada will go to the usual place of quarantine provided by their employer under existing quarantine rules. We value and are so appreciative of the work these workers do.

Employment

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in Beauce, using foreign labour is not a choice but a necessity.

Companies like Beauce Reinforcing Steel in Saint-Benoît-Labre are coming up against red tape. The delays, especially right now, never end. Businesses like these need foreign workers to remain operational and deliver on their contracts.

I asked the minister about this matter a year ago, nearly to the day. Nothing has changed in a year's time. The pandemic keeps being used as an excuse.

I want to know what the minister plans to do to help those businesses and, more importantly, when he plans to do it.

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, we are working very closely with the agricultural sector and we understand the need for foreign workers. The Minister of Agriculture and I have been putting significant resources into this file and we continue to support those workers and of course the farmers. We thank them for their work.

Transport

[Chris Lewis, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a commercial driver in my riding has a job pending, but his FAST card has expired. All requirements were met, except for an in-person interview. The problem is that the FAST support service office is closed due to the pandemic.

What does this mean for renewals? Windsor-Essex is the busiest border crossing in North America. Failures in processing FAST cards mean jobs lost and delays at the border. What specifically is being done to fix the problem?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, international bridges and border crossings are critical economic links between Canada and the United States, and those borders support essential supply chains for many different industries. We are aware of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and related travel restrictions have had on those border crossings. We are closely monitoring the situation to ensure that these border crossings and bridges continue to operate safely for individuals and supply chains.

Justice

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is clear: Indigenous and racialized Canadians are overrepresented in the justice system. Indigenous people account for just 5% of the adult population but 30% of federally incarcerated inmates. This is shameful.

However, the Minister of Justice has recently tabled a critical piece of legislation, which includes reforms that will help address the overrepresentation of indigenous people in the justice system. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice update the House?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the member for Sydney—Victoria for his tireless advocacy in the fight against systemic racism. We are finally turning the page on failed Conservative criminal justice policies that have not made us safe and not deterred criminals. Instead, they have resulted in the over-incarceration of indigenous people, Black people and marginalized Canadians.

The package that has been tabled is a necessary reset for our criminal law. It proposes to repeal certain mandatory minimum penalties, restore greater availability of conditional sentence orders and provide police and prosecutors the tools and guidance to treat addiction as a health issue.

Bill C-22 represents an important step forward in the fight against systemic racism. We hope members across the aisle support this bill that will truly keep all communities in Canada safe.

Natural Resources

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has been two weeks since I asked the Prime Minister to take action on the Line 5 issue. This requires a leader-to-leader interaction.

Will the Prime Minister personally pick up the phone, call President Biden and ask him to intervene to keep Line 5 open?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we take this issue very seriously. Line 5 is vital to our energy security and vital to our economy. It provides thousands of jobs at refineries in Sarnia and in Montreal and Lévis, Quebec. It supplies 53% of Ontario's crude oil supply and 66% of Quebec's. It supplies Michigan with 55% of its statewide propane.

I assure the House that we are looking at all of our options. Line 5 is a vital pipeline for Canada's energy security. We support it. We will defend it.

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has presided over thousands of job losses in Alberta's energy sector. At the same time, our energy workers watched foreign oil come into this country from third world dictators and human rights abusers. Clearly, the Liberal government is willing to support jobs in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Russia, Nigeria and others instead of supporting jobs here in Canada.

What specific action will the Liberal government take this year to reduce foreign-oil imports into Canada?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to remind the hon. member that we approved TMX and are building it. That is 7,000 jobs we have created. We approved the Line 3 pipeline, so another 7,000 jobs. We have approved NGTL 2021, with thousands of jobs created there. We are building LNG Canada, with thousands of jobs there. We have put $1.7 billion toward orphan and inactive wells, with thousands of jobs to be created. Of course, there is the wage subsidy. More than 500,000 workers were kept in their jobs in a pandemic, in Alberta alone.

That is our record.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, over the last three weeks there has been growing bipartisan consensus that the Keystone XL pipeline cancellation was a mistake. Now high-profile Democrat and Republican leaders are calling for the project to be continued, and more than a dozen states are pondering legal action against the Biden administration.

The Liberals say they support the patch. Now is their chance to actually do it and stand up for KXL. Will the government finally do so?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are not happy with the decision to cancel Keystone XL's permit. I will quote Chris Bloomer, the CEO of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. He said:

Keystone XL is a loss. But is it the end of Canada’s oil and gas industry? Absolutely not. Canada is a world leader in responsible energy development.... We have abundant natural resources that can help meet the growing demand for affordable energy around the world and can offset global emissions.

We agree that the world needs more Canadian energy, and we support our energy workers.

Economic Development

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Parc Safari is one of the main tourist attractions in the Montérégie region, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Like many tourism operators, Parc Safari has been hit hard by COVID-19, and has had to adapt to survive. A few weeks ago, I was pleased to announce that we are allocating close to $1 million to Parc Safari to help it cover its new costs, continue to welcome families and protect the jobs of the many people who work there.

Could the Minister of Economic Development please tell the House how this government is delivering for tourism businesses in my riding and across Canada?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Châteauguay—Lacolle for her question and her extraordinary work.

Parc Safari is certainly a key tourism attraction for the region. We know that the tourism sector is facing huge challenges. Of course, we have been there from the beginning to help.

Through economic development agencies, we have supported about 1,000 Quebec businesses. We have invested $44 million in various tourism businesses. Across the country, we invested over $350 million. About 3,500 organizations in the tourism industry have received federal funding, in addition to—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Vancouver East.

Housing

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling with significant income loss due to the pandemic. Even with the CERB or CRB, many are unable to afford rent. Their debt load in rental arrears is staggering, and as provinces lift their temporary eviction bans, many Canadians are at risk of losing their homes. This is especially acute in large cities and has disproportionately affected women, people of colour and people with disabilities. The National Housing Strategy Act says that adequate housing is a basic human right.

Will the Prime Minister put in place national eviction standards and a federal retroactive residential tenant support benefit so that no one will end up on the street because they cannot afford rent?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, our government's priority is to make sure that Canadians can keep food on their tables and a roof over their heads. That is why we took quick action by creating the Canada emergency response benefit and the Canada emergency wage subsidy to ensure that Canadians have the support they need to stay in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have moved Canadians from the CERB into employment insurance with no increase in EI premiums. In addition, we are concluding agreements with provinces and territories for the Canada housing benefit, a game-changer to enable people to receive direct payments to enable them to pay rent.

Human Rights

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Independent, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, disturbingly, Vancouver stats show that anti-Asian hate crimes are up 717%. At the same time, China's national security law is of grave concern to Canadians who have ties to Hong Kong. The two Michaels continue to be arbitrarily detained. As for the Uighurs, why is it genocide for my people, but not for the Uighurs? Move or boycott the Beijing Olympics? Well, the government has abdicated that decision in favour of an Olympic committee.

Will the government please stand up for justice and human rights and demonstrate it has the backs of Chinese Canadians, indeed of all Canadians?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as we have stated repeatedly, we are gravely concerned about the allegations coming out of Xinjiang with respect to the treatment of Uighurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities.

We have urged the Chinese government to allow a group of international and impartial experts to examine the situation, and at the same time we are working with our international partners and putting together our expertise with respect to the serious allegations that have come out of China.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

That is all the time we have for today.

There are two points of order. We will begin by listening to the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

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

Mr. Speaker, after consultation among the parties, I believe you would find consent in the House for the following motion: That the House condemn the Facebook decision to ban content from Australian media on its social network and affirm that intimidation by Facebook has no place in democracy—

[An hon. member]

Nay.