Debates of May 25th, 2021

Forestry Industry

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the Leader of the Opposition was these past five years, but Canadians across the country watched this government consistently stand up for Canadian steelworkers, Canadian aluminum workers, Canadian dairy farmers and Canadian forestry workers. We have continued to stand up for Canadians faced with a difficult American administration, under the last administration and under this administration. We will continue to stand up for Canadian jobs and for Canadian interests and make sure we are protecting Canadian jobs every step of the way.

The Economy

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, everything is getting more expensive under the current Liberal government. Inflation powered through the government's target to a 10-year high. We now have proof: Lumber, houses and even food are increasingly expensive. Life is more expensive. That is a fact.

How much is the government's poor management going to cost Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of this pandemic, we promised Canadians that we would have their backs, however long the pandemic lasted. That is exactly what we did with the Canada emergency response benefit, support for businesses, the Canada emergency business account, and support for seniors and youth.

We have been there to support Canadians, as we have been doing for six years. The reality is that the Conservatives continue to vote against our measures to help Canadians, whether it is the tax cut for the middle class and the tax increase for the wealthy that we implemented when we first came to power, or the work we continue to do to present an ambitious budget for Canadians.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the news about the Canadian economy is getting worse every day. The United States announced last week that it wants to double tariffs on softwood lumber. That will have real consequences for mills in British Columbia, northern Ontario and the Saguenay region. Workers and their resources are being threatened by the United States.

When will this Prime Minister get serious about the economy in order to help all Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense. For five years now, the Leader of the Opposition has watched as we delivered on our commitments to protect jobs in the regions, especially against Donald Trump's protectionist administration.

We will continue to stand up for jobs, supply management and our workers in the softwood lumber, steel and aluminum industries across the country. We have always been there to defend Canadians against U.S. protectionist policies, and we will continue to do so.

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec has exercised its prerogative to amend the Canadian Constitution to say that Quebec is a nation, that this nation's only official language is French and that French is this nation's common language.

The Prime Minister has acknowledged this choice that will be put to the Quebec National Assembly. However, a formal response is warranted in this situation. Will the Prime Minister confirm in the House that he recognizes the will of the Quebec nation?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have been saying for a long time that we are working with the Government of Quebec to protect the French language in Quebec and across Canada, while protecting the anglophone minority in Quebec and francophones outside Quebec.

We will continue to work with all of the partners and governments that share this goal. I look forward to being able to continue working on this matter with the Government of Quebec.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the answer is yes.

However, it seems that the will of the Quebec government, and the Prime Minister's decision to acknowledge it, may have been ill-received or perhaps just misunderstood by the provinces. To avoid unfortunate misunderstandings among the public or the media, did the Prime Minister make the effort to explain his acceptance of Quebec's will to provincial premiers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, from the start of this pandemic, I have been meeting with the premiers of all provinces two or three times a week. Our next meeting is two days from now.

Naturally, I look forward to speaking to them about the pandemic, the upcoming summer and measures we are working on together to ensure that Canadians are safe. I look forward to continuing to discuss files that are important in all parts of the country, including the protection of French and the protection of linguistic minorities across the country.

Financial Institutions

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has been hard on people, but not on banks. Banks have made billions of dollars in profits. Despite that they have increased their service fees. Worse yet, the Liberal government has the power to stop them, but it continues to allow them to increase their service fees. Why is the Prime Minister refusing to stop the banks from gouging people?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP likes to talk about the wealthy, but I would like to remind this House that in 2015, we raised taxes on the 1% of wealthiest Canadians and lowered taxes for the middle class. The NDP voted against that measure.

In budget 2021, we made sure that digital service providers will pay their fair share of taxes, we instituted a tax on yachts and luxury vehicles, we are tackling aggressive tax planning schemes and we are building the government's capacity to crack down on tax fraud and tax evasion.

We will always stand up for the middle class and make sure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes.

National Defence

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister ignored my question about banks increasing their banking fees, just like the Prime Minister ignored the Deschamps report.

However, his national defence deputy minister has clearly stated what we have known for a long time: “I think that as little was done as possible to make it look like the report had been responded to without any real change. No structural change, no legislative change, no outside the department, outside the Canadian Armed Forces reporting.”

Why does the Prime Minister refuse to put in place the Deschamps report and why does it continue to fail women in the Canadian Armed Forces?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we agree that our institutions are not living up to the needs of those who have experienced misconduct, and that includes the military justice system.

We have taken concrete actions to address this. We have named Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan as the Chief, Professional Conduct and Culture. We have named Morris Fish to conduct the third independent review of the entire military justice system. We also recently appointed Louise Arbour to conduct an independent review of the treatment of sexual misconduct.

These are just the first steps. We know that every woman or man who serves in the Canadian Armed Forces deserves to be properly supported, and we will ensure that.

Canadian Heritage

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after some flip-flopping, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Official Languages, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and even the Minister of Canadian Heritage have all mentioned at one time or another that they support net neutrality.

By definition, net neutrality is the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally.

Can the heritage minister explain how regulating social media fits in with that concept?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I believe there is some confusion about the nature of the definition of net neutrality, since it has to do with the infrastructure, that is, how people can access the Internet. Bill C-10 will not affect the issue of telecommunications and infrastructure in any way.

All Bill C-10 seeks to do is ensure that the web giants pay their fair share and that our Canadian artists become more and more accessible on these platforms.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the Minister of Canadian Heritage to check the dictionary, because that is where I got that definition. The minister would have us believe that he is in favour of net neutrality or he is trying to make sure that people do not understand what is happening with Bill C-10.

However, an internal memo that his deputy minister gave him clearly indicates that the new Broadcasting Act could apply to training apps, gaming apps and even audio books. The reality is that the Minister of Canadian Heritage is preparing to give the CRTC even more power to regulate Internet applications.

Why?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again confirm that what we are going to do with Bill C-10 is ensure that web giants pay their fair share. Bill C-10 will not apply to health apps, for example, or to videos produced by individuals. We have been very clear on that.

My colleague was there when a Department of Justice statement presented to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage indicated that there is no issue with Bill C-10—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, briefs from senior officials, experts, academics, artists and Canadians express opposition to what the Minister of Canadian Heritage is saying and are fighting against his attack on freedom of expression.

Canadians want the truth about the government's true intentions. It is trying to give more power to the CRTC to regulate what happens on the Internet.

What is the minister waiting for to do what is right and announce that social media, Internet applications and audio books will be excluded from Bill C-10, clearly and unequivocally?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that a petition initiated by Quebec's Union des artistes has been signed by people like Yvon Deschamps, Ariane Moffatt and Claude Legault, who all support Bill C-10, as well as by artists from English Canada. I am thinking in particular of Loreena McKennitt, of the CRTC's former executive director, Janet Yale, and of University of Montreal law professor Pierre Trudel.

As far as individual activities are concerned, whether it be podcasts, workout videos or personal videos, the bill will not contain any requirements concerning this type of content.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, net neutrality is the principle that Internet users should have equal access to all sites, all content and all applications without being blocked or having preference given to certain sites over others. In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would defend net neutrality. The previous heritage minister made net neutrality a foundational part of Canadian cultural policy.

Why is the current heritage minister going against this principle by legislating that some content gets to be showcased and other content has to be downgraded in order to show favouritism to some artists over others?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before going to the answer, I just want to remind the hon. members that when asking a question or speaking in the chamber, in referring to another member, we refer to them by their riding or their title, not by their proper name. With questions, when we have a chance to write them ahead, we get a chance to think about it. I just want to remind everyone of that rule that exists in the chamber.

The hon. minister.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I believe there is some misconception about the concept of net neutrality because it refers to hardware: to Canadians being able to access the Internet and having these conditions be the same for all Internet users.

Bill C-10 is not about telecommunications or hardware. It is about ensuring that web giants pay their fair share and that Canadians have easy access to the content developed by Canadian creators.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister reads his speaking notes very well, but what he is saying is actually really misleading to the Canadian public and actually quite insulting to their intelligence.

Net neutrality ensures that all Internet users are treated fairly. The Liberals once believed this principle. Now, as stated, they will say Bill C-10 has to do with web giants, but that is actually not the case.

We are talking about a bill that targets everyday Canadians in their everyday Internet use. We are talking about regulating the Internet: everything from YouTube to Facebook to TikTok, etc. It is unfair, it is undemocratic and it is incredibly regressive.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, again, this is a profound misconception by the hon. member opposite. We are not regulating the Internet. We are regulating some activities on the Internet. There is a huge difference.

Bill C-10 does not affect how Internet service providers manage Internet traffic and does not modify the relevant provision in the Telecommunications Act, therefore maintaining net neutrality.