Debates of May 10th, 2021

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, to be clear, we know that there was never an investigation even started. Katie Telford was complicit in the Vance cover-up when she decided not to tell the Prime Minister about the serious allegations against the former chief of the defence staff. She confirmed at the defence committee that she allowed the Prime Minister to personally sign off on General Vance's pay bonuses and extended his contract without properly briefing him on the sexual misconduct allegations against the very man entrusted with Operation Honour. Katie Telford wilfully withheld critical information and by doing so, she failed to protect the women and men of the armed forces from sexual misconduct.

It is clear the Prime Minister can no longer trust her. Why has he not fired her?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, when information was brought forward, it was immediately acted upon. It was given to non-partisan public officials at the Privy Council to take appropriate action. No political staff or politician should ever be involved with an investigation. It is the exact same process that the member opposite's government also followed when allegations were brought forward.

We know that we have a lot more work to do. I ask the member opposite for us to be able to work together to find the right solutions so we can rebuild the confidence for our survivors. We have a lot more work to do. We know that by working together we can get this done.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we investigated, and they turned a blind eye.

On Friday, Katie Telford claimed she knew the Vance allegations did not pose a safety risk, while at the same time denying that she knew anything about the nature of the allegations. If she did not know the nature of the allegations, there is no way she could have been confident that there were no safety concerns. In fact, Gary Walbourne, the former military ombudsman, only told the Minister of National Defence that he had a complaint of inappropriate sexual behaviour against Vance.

Who assured Katie Telford not to worry about the safety of the complainant? Was it Michael Wernick, Janine Sherman or was it the Minister of National Defence himself?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite stated that they investigated, but they also still appointed General Vance at that time for chief of the defence staff.

When it came to the specifics of the case, we did not receive the details. We immediately forwarded it to non-partisan, public officials at the Privy Council Office to take the appropriate action. Action was taken, but clearly more work needs to happen.

We are currently working to regain the confidence of the survivors. We have been listening to the survivors. The work that Lieutenant-General Carignan will be doing will be absolutely instrumental in this case.

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

Mr. Speaker, calling oneself a feminist has to mean something.

The Prime Minister told everyone that he is the greatest feminist in the world, but that is clearly not true. A feminist would take action when a woman in the Canadian Armed Forces files a complaint with the ombudsman.

The ombudsman went to the Minister of National Defence, who covered his eyes and plugged his ears so that he did not hear anything. The following day, an email from the Privy Council Office dated March 2, 2018, at 5:09 p.m. confirmed that the allegations in question involved sexual harassment.

What other details did the Prime Minister need to take action and be a true feminist?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, any time, if ever, information is brought forward, immediate action is taken.

As I stated before a number of times, when the information was brought forward, immediate action was taken. It was provided to the non-partisan, public officials at the Privy Council Office to take the appropriate action. No politician or political staff should ever be involved in any type of investigation. The previous government also followed the same process.

Nonetheless, we know that we have a lot more work to do. We can get this done. I look forward to hearing the recommendations from the NDDN committee on this matter. As parliamentarians, by working together, we can rebuild the confidence for the women in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Labour

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, workers at the Pacific Gateway Hotel in British Columbia are on strike after management fired 100 long-service employees. Most of these union members are women, many people of colour. This hotel and others are cynically using the pandemic to gain economic advantage.

Instead of standing up for workers, the federal government is using this hotel for quarantine while its management is assaulting its staff. This is not the action of a government that is truly feminist, committed to working people or fighting discrimination.

Will the Liberals stop giving money to an employer who is attacking workers, women and marginalized communities?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I agree that workers everywhere need to be protected, especially as they face the front lines with such determination and courage.

Protecting the health and safety of Canadians is our top priority. Keeping travellers and staff at designated quarantine facilities safe requires training in infection prevention and control practices. I understand that the employer is having conversations with the workers. As this process is under way in a provincial workplace, I cannot comment further.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that was no answer at all.

Here is yet another case of the Liberal free ride for the ultrarich. We learned last weekend that billions of dollars in public funds through the wage subsidy that should have gone to protecting jobs and workers, instead went to dividend payments, stock buybacks and big executive bonuses.

The Liberals have gone after regular Canadians, the victims of CERB fraud, demanding the victims pay for the criminals. It is shameful. Will the Liberals make the ultrarich, those companies and CEOs who misused these funds, pay the money back?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his concern for working Canadians.

Let me take this opportunity to point out to him that the wage subsidy has protected the jobs of 621,000 workers in his province of British Columbia. Across Canada, more than 5.3 million jobs have been supported by the wage subsidy.

The CRA website makes clear that the wage subsidy can only be claimed for employee remuneration. It cannot be used for other purposes.

Small Business

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we recently tabled the most small business-friendly budget in Canadian history.

Last Friday, our government made an announcement to significantly increase rapid testing for businesses and their workers across Canada. Could the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade please tell us how this would both protect the health and safety of Canadians, and benefit our small businesses?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, that is an important question. As we continue to fight COVID-19, rapid screening is an important tool to protect Canadians' health and safety and to help our businesses of all sizes operate safely and reopen quickly.

Last Friday, we announced that we are making rapid screening even more accessible, building on the stay safe initiative, working collaboratively with local chambers and SMEs in order to protect Canadians and support workers and businesses to operate safely and to recover strongly from this pandemic.

Natural Resources

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Lévis and Montreal refineries depend on Line 5 to supply Canadians with 50% of their oil and gas. Thousands of jobs depend on Line 5 continuing to operate. However, the Governor of Michigan has said she wants to shut it down in two days, and the government has done nothing to protect it.

What will the government do in the next 48 hours to protect these jobs?

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

Mr. Speaker, Line 5 is a critical piece of energy infrastructure, vital to North American energy security. We are working on the diplomatic level, we are working on the political level and we are working on the legal level to defend it.

Last week, the House had an emergency debate; there was no daylight between parties. The members for Banff—Airdrie and Sarnia—Lambton suggested that the Leader of the Opposition actually spoke with the Governor of Michigan on this issue. In the spirit of a team Canada approach to this, and this is important, will the hon. member perhaps share with this House what the governor said?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that the minister and the Prime Minister cannot get the governor on the phone themselves, because, of course, they have done nothing but fail in Canada-U.S. relations for the last five years.

They failed to get a buy America exemption, as Harper did under Obama. They failed to resolve the softwood lumber dispute, as Harper did under George W. Bush. They have had three presidents to work with, and yet no concessions whatsoever. The U.S. President will not even intervene right now to help save this vital energy link on which thousands of jobs and our entire energy system in central Canada depend.

Why should we have any confidence that they will do better this time, after their failures the last times?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a non-answer.

At a time when producers and workers in western Canada are concerned about getting their products to market, when consumers are worried about the price of gas and how that will affect the heat in their homes, what have the Conservatives been doing? They have been fundraising off threats to shut down Line 5, fundraising for their election campaign. It is insulting to oil and gas workers and insulting to Canadians who just want to heat their homes.

While Conservatives are focused on improving their bank account, we are standing up for Line 5 with a full team Canada.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today is May 10. In two days, on May 12, the government will fail if the Governor of Michigan closes down Line 5. When is the government going to actually recognize that this is something serious it has to deal with? When is the government going to talk to the Governor of Michigan, and also with the President of the United States, and get this problem solved?

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

Mr. Speaker, Line 5 is not just an issue for producers in Alberta or consumers in Ontario. It supports the entire country. Thousands of jobs depend on it, and thousands of homes depend on it for heating.

We are working closely with Minister Savage in Alberta, with whom I was just on the phone, and with Minister Eyre in Saskatchewan as well. We have been talking with Minister Rickford in Ontario, with Sarnia mayor Mike Bradley, and I have been speaking with Minister Julien in Quebec. This is a full-court press by team Canada.

While the Conservatives are more focused on using this to fundraise, we are standing up for oil and gas workers and defending Line 5.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources is leaving no stone unturned, he says, and he is looking at all options. That is what he tells us. However, there are 48 hours left before 30,000 jobs and millions of people who depend on them are affected. Fuel shortages, food distribution impacts, essential goods and personal protective equipment not being manufactured are what awaits us if the government does not have a contingency plan in place.

Where is the Prime Minister while his minister is turning over stones and not getting it done?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the House that we are looking at all our options. We will leave no stone unturned in defending Canada's energy security. We will work at the political level, at the diplomatic level and at the legal level. We are ready to intervene at precisely the right moment.

We are standing up for energy workers, we are standing up for energy consumers and we are standing up for energy security. People will not left be left out in the cold.

Canadian Heritage

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, ever since we began our study of Bill C-10, the government has insisted that only social media platforms would be affected by the government's amendments, not their users.

On the weekend, the minister stated that users with lots of followers could be affected. No matter how many followers a user has, a user is a user. There is no reason the government should subject people to regulations based on how many likes they have on their page.

Can the minister be clear for once? Does he intend to subject people to regulations or to protect social media users' freedom of expression no matter the cost? I would appreciate it if he did not quote someone else this time.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that what we want to do is focus on two things.

First, we want social media platforms to contribute financially to our cultural industry. Second, we want to make our Canadian artists discoverable on platforms such as YouTube.

Today I was relieved to see that the Conservative Party is finally listening to the cultural sector. I would be very disappointed if the Bloc Québécois were to stop listening to Quebec's cultural sector. I hope the committee responsible for studying Bill C-10 will resume its work so that this bill, which is very important to all our artists and creators, can be passed as soon as possible.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would not be afraid to compare my record on the study of Bill C-10 and the defence of the Quebec cultural industry with that of the minister at any time.

This bill is vital to Quebec culture and to our artists and artisans. The work on Bill C-10 will be able to continue as soon as the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Canadian Heritage have testified to reassure Quebeckers who are concerned about freedom of expression.

Will the minister commit to doing his part to unblock Bill C-10 once and for all by ensuring that he and his colleague, the Minister of Justice, accept the request of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to appear as early as Friday to reassure Quebeckers about the critical issue of freedom of expression on social media?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am always pleased to respond to the requests of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. I have appeared before that committee every time it has asked me to do so.

As my hon. colleague is well aware, clause 2(3) of the bill specifies that Bill C-10 must be consistent with freedom of expression and journalistic and creative independence. Since my colleague examined the bill so closely, I would be surprised if he forgot about that.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Les Viandes du Breton, a business in my riding with more than 600 employees, is in danger of having to cut back its operations or even having to move to the United States if Canada cannot bring in enough temporary foreign workers.

There are over 8,000 job vacancies in the food processing industry in Quebec. Under paragraph 205(a) of the regulations, the Minister of Immigration could temporarily exempt these essential businesses from the 10% maximum threshold or labour market impact assessments if it were in the national interest.

Will he do that?