Debates of May 13th, 2021

Canadian Heritage

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

Mr. Speaker, our government has the highest opinion of Canadians and I believe every single member of the House does, too. All of us are privileged to serve our Canadian constituents.

As a former journalist and editor, let me assure Canadians that our government understands how essential freedom of expression is to democracy. We will never limit freedom of expression. This bill does not do that.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Canadian Heritage admitted the goal of Bill C-10 is to end net neutrality, thereby controlling online freedoms. This is not about web giants or artists. It is about what Canadians can and cannot post, and can and cannot see online.

Can the heritage minister just admit that what the Liberals are trying to do actually has nothing to do with promoting Canadian content, and everything to do with stifling free speech and expression?

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

Mr. Speaker, speaking very personally as a former journalist and editor, I absolutely understand how important freedom of expression is. It is a foundation and pillar of our democracy, and I want to assure all members of the House and all Canadians that our government will never limit freedom of expression. That is not what this bill does.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we, the Conservatives are for culture and against censorship. The problem with Bill C-10 is that it was literally thrown together by the Minister of Canadian Heritage after he withdrew the much-talked-about clause 4.1 resulting in Canadians' freedom of expression no longer being protected and even threatened.

We are not the only ones saying this. Academics, observers, former members of the CRTC are sounding the alarm. This bill goes too far. The minister himself said that those with a very popular YouTube account will now be under the yoke of the federal government.

Who is going to draw the line between what is good and what is not good in that government?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is absolutely against censorship, and I believe that every member of this House is too.

Canadians expect us to be there to support our artists and our creators. That is why our government was very pleased to see a unanimous resolution at the National Assembly of Quebec to support Bill C-10.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that it is the Deputy Prime Minister answering the question. I can also understand why because every time the Minister of Canadian Heritage speaks, he gets tangled in his own web.

On the weekend, it was something else. In the span of 24 hours, he had to clarify his position twice and apologize. As a result, the parliamentary secretary is taking the scrums now. The Minister of Canadian Heritage is the architect of the problem with Bill C-10.

I have a simple question. Why did the government withdraw clause 4.1 that protected freedom of expression?

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

Mr. Speaker, as a former journalist and writer, I can assure you that I am acutely aware that Canadians have the right to freedom of expression. Our government would never limit freedom of expression. That is not what Bill C-10 does.

Official Languages

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is an important day for Quebec. It is an important day for the French language.

The Government of Quebec has introduced Bill 96, an act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec. This is certainly the most ambitious bill on the French language since Bill 101. The Bloc Québécois applauds this effort to halt the decline of our common language and to contribute to its development.

Will the Prime Minister join us in applauding this effort by the Quebec government to defend and promote our only official and common national language?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have always said, protecting and promoting French is a priority for our government.

The federal government has recognized for the first time that the situation of French in this country is unique and that the government has a responsibility to protect and promote French. We acknowledge the bill introduced by the Government of Quebec and we will study its content carefully.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I was expecting more enthusiasm.

The Quebec government is addressing many issues that Ottawa was unwilling or unable to address. Quebec is doing what all federal governments have refused to do since the Meech Lake accord failed, and that is to enshrine in the Constitution that Quebeckers form a nation, and a French-speaking nation at that. That is a strong affirmation of our national will.

I urge the Prime Minister to make a solemn, unqualified and categorical commitment.

Will he commit today not to challenge Bill 96, an act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, either directly or indirectly, in the courts or in the House? Will he even commit to supporting the bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, protecting and promoting French is a priority for our government.

In fact, our government has recognized for the first time that the situation of French in this country is unique and that the federal government has a responsibility to protect and promote French. It is a responsibility that we take very seriously, and it will be a pleasure for us to work with all members in doing so.

Health

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there is currently a ban on the donation of blood by gay men. It is a blood ban that makes absolutely no sense and has no basis in science. The Liberals know this. They campaigned to remove the blood ban in 2015 and 2019, yet continue to break that promise.

I have a question directly for the Prime Minister. Why did the Prime Minister continue to campaign to remove the blood ban, yet right now is defending the blood ban in court?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is a very important question. Speaking as a member of Parliament, that is something that I have spoken to many, many of my constituents about. I know it gravely concerns many Canadians. Our government absolutely shares those concerns. At the same time, we respect the independence of Canadian institutions, especially when it comes to medical and scientific issues.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

That makes no sense, Mr. Speaker.

We know there is a ban on gay men donating blood and we know that it is not based on any scientific evidence. This is harmful and upsetting to the gay community. That is clear and the Liberals know it. They campaigned against this ban.

Why did the Prime Minister campaign on withdrawing this ban when he is now defending it in court?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that our government agrees that this is a discriminatory practice that is hurting a lot of Canadians. Our government is working very hard right now to eliminate it, but we must work in collaboration with medical and scientific experts.

The Budget

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised a growth budget. Instead, all he gave us was bigger government, bigger debt and bigger deficits. More and more experts are piling on. Kevin Lynch, the former deputy finance minister, said that the budget missed “an urgent opportunity to rebuild our longer-term growth post-pandemic”. He said that this intergenerational transfer of debt and risk was unprecedented. By any measure, the biggest spending budget in our history was a bust.

Why did the Prime Minister miss this opportunity to secure our economic future?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am so glad to get this question because it gives me an opportunity to talk about how well the Canadian economy is doing. Let me talk about some verdicts that really matter. Standard & Poor's, the international ratings agency, reaffirmed our AAA rating one week after the budget and said the outlook for Canada is stable. It does not get better than that and that should assure all Canadians.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last month, Canada lost 200,000 jobs. The recent budget was not about economic growth. It was about an avalanche of spending to re-elect the Prime Minister. Now we read troubling reports about officials who were asked to come up with excuses for millions of dollars of spending after that spending had already been announced. It turns out this budget was not about growth. It was about a “ready, fire, aim” approach to policy-making that is not about serving Canadians. It is about serving the Prime Minister.

Who is left holding the bag? Canadians are, of course. The Prime Minister has failed us. Why?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives may have their own partisan reasons for talking down the Canadian economy, but I am so proud of how resilient and innovative Canadians are. That resilience is showing in the numbers. In the fourth quarter, our economy grew by 10%. In the first quarter of this year, it grew by 6.5%. In the first quarter, the U.S. grew by only 6.3%. The Bank of Canada has upgraded its forecast for this year to 6.5% growth.

COVID-19 Emergency Response

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of small businesses have had to close their doors because they could not get help during the pandemic, yet the Prime Minister gave $1 billion in wage subsidies to big corporations that were not in need and paid millions in dividends to their executives.

Extendicare, Canada's largest operator of private seniors' residences, applied for and received $21 million in wage subsidies on the grounds that demand for care dropped during the pandemic.

Why did the Prime Minister favour the Liberal elite over Canadian workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government always chooses to support Canadians and Quebeckers. That is exactly what we did.

The Canada emergency wage subsidy supported 5.3 million workers in Canada, 1.29 million of them in Quebec alone.

It is very important to support Canadians now, and that is exactly what our government will do.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance should know that the reality is that the wealthiest got richer during the pandemic at the expense of struggling Canadians.

Marcel Bourassa, president and CEO of Savaria, received $3.4 million in dividends, and his company received $4.5 million in wage subsidies.

Alain Bédard, CEO of TFI International, paid $2.3 million in dividends to his executives, and his company received $25 million in public funds.

Why did the President of the Treasury Board authorize these payments to wealthy friends of the Liberal Party?

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

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that our government has been there for Canadians since the pandemic began, and we will continue to be there.

All told, 873,000 small businesses received assistance from our government through the Canada emergency business account, or CEBA. Our government has supported over 10 million working Canadians. We know that we must support Canadians, and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are now learning that at least 32 companies that filed for bankruptcy before the pandemic was declared took millions from the wage subsidy, but no jobs were protected despite the taxpayer investment. It is becoming more and more clear that the Liberal government failed to provide the necessary oversight on this program worth over $100 billion.

Meanwhile, a woman entrepreneur in my riding opened a gym in early 2020 and does not qualify for any federal program as a result. I wrote to the government two months ago about this, and I have yet to receive a response.

Why is the Liberal government prioritizing bankrupt companies over new small business owners, who have received nothing?

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

Mr. Speaker, that question I am afraid betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of how bankruptcy protection works in Canada and what it is intended to do. Bankruptcy protection is intended to enable companies to restructure and to emerge as viable businesses. It is entirely appropriate for companies during that process to be encouraged to maintain employment.

That is exactly what the wage subsidy does and continues to do. It has supported the jobs of 5.3 million Canadians. We are proud of that.