Debates of April 22nd, 2021

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what is important is that the commitment made by the Prime Minister this morning at the Earth summit, on Earth Day I might add, to reduce emissions for between 40% and 45% is a significant and a historical move that will get us closer to net zero by 2050. This is a drastic reduction to our original 2030 target set. This budget will support us getting and meeting our environmental objectives.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to wish the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations a Happy Earth Day.

In relation to tourism, I was talking today to the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, which represent 1,900 indigenous businesses, over 40,000 indigenous jobs and managed a budget of $20 million in the last fiscal year, which saved thousands of jobs. It was given $2.4 million in the budget, 3% of what it requested.

It was cited in a release today that the Indigenous Tourism Association was confused, troubled and disappointed with the federal budget announcement. In fact, it said, “this is yet another blow to preserving Indigenous languages, cultures and way of life.”

Is the parliamentary secretary going to go back to the finance minister and get the government to fix this oversight? There are thousands of indigenous jobs, critical jobs, especially in British Columbia in the Nuu-chah-nulth territory, which I represent. Will they fund this organization adequately so they can help be part of the critical recovery in the tourism sector, the hardest hit sector in our country?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I always appreciate my friend's interventions, particularly his advocacy on issues of indigenous communities and businesses.

The budget proposes $18 billion in new spending toward indigenous communities. I have been working with many businesses and business associations, along with my fellow Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services. Many supports are available to ensure that indigenous businesses are able to survive and in fact thrive. We hope to continue to support this process over the coming months and years to ensure that all businesses, particularly indigenous businesses, are able to thrive in a post-pandemic world.

[Jag Sahota, Conservative, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as the shadow minister for women and gender equality, I want to start my speech by congratulating my colleague, the Minister of Finance, on being the first woman to present a federal budget.

I listened closely to the speech the minister delivered Monday on the budget and then read it closely. The minister was right when she said this budget had to be about finishing the COVID fight, healing economic wounds left by the COVID recession and creating more jobs and prosperity for Canadians in the days and decades to come. However, it does not do any of that and it absolutely does nothing to secure long-term prosperity for Canadians.

The minister mentioned that one of the consequences of COVID had been women leaving the workforce. This is true. COVID forced businesses, small and big, to suddenly shut down. The status of women committee heard from witnesses that women left the workforce for several different reasons.

Some left the workforce not by choice, but because they worked in industries, such as retail, travel or hospitality, which were hit the hardest. Others left the workforce because of the additional responsibilities of having to become teachers to their kids and taking care of family members, while for others working from home was just not an option.

The committee heard from these witnesses as well that while many men had returned to the workforce, women still had not at the same rate.

The minister made the conclusion that the reason for this was because of a lack of child care spaces and the need for a universal child care package.

Again, the committee heard evidence from witnesses that this was not the case. As a matter of fact, it heard that child centres were closing because of a lack of children to fill the spaces. Additionally, a universal child care plan is a simple answer to a very complex problem.

Under the Liberal plan, we end up treating all children exactly the same and make day care centres identical from coast to coast to coast. However, their plan has not taken into consideration parental choice and that parents, not the government, are in the best position to make these decisions on what is best for their kids, not a bureaucrat.

The Liberal budget also has not taken into account the cultural sensitivities that exist in such a vast and diverse country like Canada.

For example, I am of an ethnic background where we believe strongly in the importance of not just ensuring our children get a good education, but the preservation and teachings of our culture, language and religion. This is something on which I know that my Bloc colleagues will agree with me. This is why their provincial child care system is unique and important in Quebec. It does just that. It is designed to protect, nurture and instill the French culture, the French language and French history.

Canadians do not need a generic program where they drop off their kids and then pick them up at the end of the day. They need help in supporting their choice of child care, whether that be a day care centre, or grandparents or friends, where the culture, language and values are taught to their children.

For example, I have heard from many how, when their children were younger, grandma and grandpa would watch them throughout the day, and it was there that they learned how to do their fractions. The learned that four quarters of a cup equalled one cup when spending quality time baking delicious cookies and breads, which they enjoyed before their parents would pick them up. This is extremely important to my constituents and the Liberal budget does not achieve that.

I want to highlight in the budget the focus on gender-based violence in Canada.

Since the government was elected, it has constantly talked about gender-based violence and how it impacts negatively women and girls. On average, one in three women and girls in Canada will face some sort of violence in their lifetime. Each time the Minister for Women and Gender Equality appeared at the status of women committee, I asked her repeatedly when Canadian women and girls could finally see the government's national action plan to address gender-based violence.

Do members know what her response is? The minister always replies with acknowledging this is an important issue that the government wants to address, yet there comes a point when words no longer mean anything if they are not followed through with action.

Every single one of our allies who signed the international agreement that gender-based violence is a serious issue, a pandemic, that needs to be addressed has already published at least one national action plan, and in some cases they are already working on versions two and three. We do not even have our first version out.

This is why I was pleased to see in the budget the government’s plan to address this very serious issue. However, I was completely disappointed that only now, after years of campaigning and promising from the Prime Minister, the government has decided to appoint a secretariat to develop our plan. Last year, 160 women died because of the government's failure.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

It being 5:15 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the amendment now before the House.

The question is on the amendment.

Now, in the usual way, if a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request either a recorded division or that the amendment be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate so to the Chair.

The hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded division.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the amendment, which was negatived on the following division:)

Vote #95

The Budget

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the amendment lost.

The House proceeded to the consideration of Bill C-218, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sports betting), as reported (with amendment) from the committee.

Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

moved that the bill be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

The hon. member for Niagara Falls.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that at report stage the bill be passed on division.

(Motion agreed to)

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

When shall the bill be read the third time? By leave, now?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.

Mr. Speaker, what a day we have today. It is certainly an honour for me to speak to this legislation once again. Now we are in our third reading, after a robust study at the justice committee.

It is worth noting that Bill C-218 returns to us with a slight amendment, supported by all parties, to ensure that proper protections are in place for Canada's proud and long-standing horse-racing industry.

At first reading and second reading, and in committee, I had the opportunity to discuss many of the issues at the heart of single-event sports betting. Even though single-event sports betting is prohibited by the Criminal Code, it is still a $14 billion industry here in Canada. As I have said before in this place, it is all done by unregulated and unsupervised offshore betting sites and black market bookmakers. There are no consumer protections in place. There are no problem-gambling programs offered and no guidelines that bookmakers are required to follow. This also means that the economic benefits are not being felt by Canadians.

I do not want to repeat what I have discussed already through the various stages of this legislative process. However, for the benefit of my colleagues who did not participate in the justice committee study, I want to highlight some of the important points that were raised by witnesses during the justice committee study on Bill C-218.

The first comment is from Shelley White. She is the CEO of the Responsible Gambling Council, which is an independent organization that works to ensure there are adequate gambling safeguards in place to promote the well-being of Canadians and communities. She said:

[I]t is RGC's neutral and independent stance that we recommend Bill C-218 be passed. This is a unique opportunity to bring together stakeholders from health, mental health, education, financial services and the policing sectors with the gambling industry to create a made-in-Canada responsible gambling culture comprised of evidence-informed regulations and leading practices. We have the opportunities to learn from other jurisdictions who've come before us and applied the highest level of safeguards.

This same point was reiterated by Paul Melia, who is the president and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. He said:

I think the legislation provides an opportunity to provide greater services and support to those who may become addicted to gambling than the current system, where we have an unregulated market and where it's going on. We're not really aware of how much is going on, who may be addicted and who might be harmed, so I think there's an opportunity to provide the appropriate services.

I put these two comments first because they address the concerns I have heard from many constituents of mine and from Canadians who have written to me from coast to coast.

When we talk about gambling in any form, mental health and addictions are major concerns, and rightfully so. However, the reality is that the current situation is far worse for those who are struggling with addiction and mental illness. By allowing offshore sites and black market bookmakers to monopolize single-event sports betting, we are ensuring that adequate consumer protections and assistance programs are not available to those who desperately need them. As addressed by the Responsible Gambling Council and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, this bill presents an opportunity for us to rectify that issue once and for all.

The next comment I want to touch on is from Unifor president Jerry Dias. He said:

It goes without saying that revenues generated in illicit, illegal, underground black market gaming operations do nothing to contribute to good jobs for workers in Canada. This money is siphoned off into the pockets of offshore operators and organized crime. On the other hand, by creating a legal and regulated market for single-game sports betting in Canada, we could help protect thousands of good, unionized jobs in gaming locations across the country and potentially create many more.

I have two more comments from the committee on which I want to touch.

The first is from Zane Hansen, the CEO of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, which is responsible for managing several casinos in my home province of Saskatchewan. He provided some important context for the gaming industry, given the COVID-19 pandemic. He said:

...having single-event wagering as an approved form of gambling to incorporate into our business model will really assist us in rebuilding and going forward. It's going to be a whole new world getting our customers back into our building and feeling safe and comfortable.

By the way, Zane Hansen provides what I feel is important insight from the industry's perspective because it is also from an indigenous perspective.

Bill C-218 would provide a significant opportunity to help the gaming sector begin the rebuilding process. This applies not only to SIGA or Saskatchewan, but to all establishments and communities across the country.

The final comment I want to touch on is from David Shoemaker, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee, as it gives an all-encompassing overview of the legislation. He said:

The timing is right for Canada to expand sports betting. This bill has the potential to unlock new growth opportunities, reduce illegal betting and generate revenues for both the sport industry and governments. Our interests are in ensuring that single sport betting is introduced in a responsible, effective and profitable manner.

I am not sure I need to add anything else to Mr. Shoemaker’s remarks tonight, other than to point out that the support coming from the Canadian Olympic Committee is representative of the fact it is not just professional sport that wants the legislation to pass, but amateur sport as well. Bill C-218 is in the best interests of all athletes.

We know the legislation has support across party lines, throughout industries and from countless stakeholder groups. Let us not delay any further and get Bill C-218 sent to the Senate so it can be considered and hopefully passed there.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for bringing this bill forward and for getting it through the various stages. Hopefully, tonight we can see this put to an end and it will make its way over to the Senate.

One of the things I find very attractive about the legislation, which the member brought up in his comments, is that as a lot of this activity is already going on, there is an opportunity for the government to get involved and generate legal revenue from it.

Would the member like to expand a bit on that.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Kingston and the Islands for his support on this bill, Bill C-218.

He is absolutely correct. All the federal government has to do is take a single line out of the Criminal Code to give the provinces and territories the much-needed support to move forward with single event sport betting. This is just the first of many processes. If we can get it passed tonight and on to the Senate, where it can look at it and make the necessary adjustments if it wants to, then it will give that power to the provincial governments, through their lotteries, which quite frankly have been dealing with gaming institutions for the past 30-plus years. We are really looking forward to the legislation moving forward.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for introducing his bill. The Bloc Québécois supports the bill, and I would like my colleague to remind us how it can help protect organizations like Loto-Québec from unfair competition from American casinos, for example.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, that is happening in the industry now. In 2018, in the United States, New Jersey challenged the bill, because the only place people could access single game betting was in Nevada. New Jersey took it to the Supreme Court and won.

Therefore, what we have right now, two or three years later, are states like Michigan and New York, which are bordering Canada, offering single game betting already. The member is right. The issue is that in Canada, particularly closer to the border, as Quebec and Ontario are, we do not have that luxury today. Obviously, the benefit goes to those casinos that are closer to Canada as they will take a lot of our money away and the prosperity we could enjoy in Canada, in Quebec, Ontario and B.C. in particular.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood for his work on this. The committee also worked very diligently on a robust study to get it back to the chamber.

I have a quick question, though, regarding the money that will be taken away from organized crime. One thing is clear in reflecting on this, and that is that it will actually also take money away from the organized crime that police spend on because organized crime uses that money for other types of criminal activities. There will be a net benefit for Canadians and policing.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Windsor West for all his support going forward with this bill. Unfortunately, his bill in the last Parliament did not pass, so we are here again, trying to push it across the finish line.

The member for Windsor West is correct. We heard in the justice committee testimony that a lot of this money is going to organized crime, fuelling drugs and fuelling guns. We are not going to get it all back. There is $14 billion that we know is bet, illegally, today in Canada.

A lot of this money needs to come back to the provincial coffers. With this bill passing, I think we are going to do very soon.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to speak to this private member's bill.

I do want to express my support for Bill C-218, the safe and regulated sports betting act that is before us. I also want to take the opportunity to congratulate and thank some other members too, in particular the member for Windsor West, who just asked a question a moment ago. He brought forward a similar bill that did not get to where we think this one will get to after the vote today.

The legislative process is very interesting in the way things can work their way through this House and the way bills can come forward and be lost, but the issue may not be lost and it can keep gaining momentum. Then somebody else will bring it forward, or perhaps a government will bring it forward. Eventually, it will end up getting here. Although the bill from the member for Windsor West did not make it through, it certainly played a role in advancing this issue in this House.

In my own caucus, I think of the member for St. Catharines, who routinely talks about this issue and brings it up, making sure it was at the forefront and people were continually considering it. I had many opportunities over dinner and at various times listening to him talk about this issue.

What we have come to realize is this is a $14-billion industry in Canada. Right now, a lot of that money, the majority of it, is offshore or in crime. We have an opportunity here to recognize the fact that this is already happening, so why not use it as an opportunity to regulate the industry, control it, and get that money out of crime. Getting that money legitimately into our economy will make sure that governments, whether federal, provincial or regional, have the opportunity to benefit from this as well, and that the money is not just in organized crime or hiding behind legitimate ways of doing business.

One other thing I will add is that I genuinely think this will increase the integrity of sports. It will help, in particular, the booking of sports and the police in doing their work to make sure that things are being done legitimately.

There are a number of good arguments for this legislation. There is the angle of tourism, as it relates to sports betting and what it means to certain tourism industries in certain parts of country. I think of Niagara and Windsor off the top of my head. As I am from Ontario, those are the two that come to mind first.

The government plans to support this piece of legislation. It is long overdue, and I am happy to lend my voice to that support and vote in favour of this when we get to that moment shortly.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am unable to turn my camera on.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I can confirm that your camera is off. We will move to the next speaker so that the member for Saint-Jean can deal with her technical issues. She will then be able to resume her speech.

We will move to another speaker for now and come back to the hon. member for Saint-Jean.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Windsor West.