Debates of May 31st, 2021

Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development—Main Estimates, 2021-22

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, I refer my colleague to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights statement we made last Thursday, where we have been very clear on our position with respect to trying to achieve a two-state solution and particularly with respect to the issue of settlements, which has been a very difficult one and which has essentially been a major stumbling block in finding a two-state solution. Canada is categorical in saying these settlements must cease immediately.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, Liberal governments previous to this one have long supported resolutions in the United Nations holding that the continued occupation of Palestinian territory is contrary to international law.

Do this minister and his government actually agree the occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal under international law?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, Canada's long-standing position with respect to settlements has been that we do not recognize any territories taken by Israel in the 1967 war and our position is these settlements are not legitimate, as well as the possibility of evictions and demolitions that are threatened at the moment in East Jerusalem.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, Canada has objected to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in its investigation into alleged war crimes by both sides during the 2014 escalation between Israel and Palestine despite the fact Palestine is listed as a state party to the ICC on the government's website.

How does objecting to an independent investigation support Canada's stated commitment to a just and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, Canada strongly supports the ICC and the important work it does as a key pillar of the rules-based international order. Canada continues to respect the independence of its judges and of the ICC prosecutor.

However, Canada's long-standing position is that it does not recognize a Palestinian state because it has not yet occurred and therefore it does recognize the accession of such a state to international treaties, include the Rome Statute.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, recently we have seen a dramatic rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic acts in Canada, including in the wake of recent events, which we condemn strongly. What will the government do to address this rise in anti-Semitism in Canada and ensure that members of the Jewish community are protected from this evil?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, it has come to the heart of my own riding, where swastikas were painted on the doors of the synagogue barely 100 yards from my home and we saw violence in recent demonstrations and anti-Semitism in my own riding near Montreal's Israeli consul general. The Prime Minister, myself and other members of government have been speaking out forcefully that it is critically important that we condemn all demonstrations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in this country.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, I want to turn now to arms exports. Thanks to our efforts in the foreign affairs committee, we recently received and made public documents that show that Canada has not been doing its due diligence on arms exports.

Will the minister commit to enhance Canada's arms export regime to ensure that end-user adherence takes place by recipients of all Canadian military exports?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, as I said before, I take this very seriously because I sign export permits. A recent example of us rescinding arms permits to Turkey because of violations of the agreement is a clear indication that we take this issue extremely seriously and that there are strict conditions associated with providing arms export permits.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, one has to wonder how Canadian WESCAM sensors ended up in Nagorno-Karabakh during last fall's conflict there.

We also have an allegedly strong human rights interest internationally, yet Saudi Arabia's human rights violations are appalling and Canada continues to sell it arms, $3 billion worth in 2019 alone. How can the minister continue to say that we are committed to international human rights when we continue to sell arms to a country that is fuelling the war in Yemen and has been called out by the United Nations Security Council on this issue?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, yes, Saudi Arabia is guilty of human rights violations within its own country. We have worked hard to improve the specific contract that he is talking about that was signed by the previous government to meet Canada's international human rights obligations and preserve, at the same time, jobs within Canada.

The cancellation of the current contract has important financial implications for Canada, but over and above that, we will not hesitate to take action if we feel there are any violations of human rights. That was part of our agreement when we ratified the Arms Trade Treaty.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, I would like to turn to nuclear disarmament, which is of great concern to Canadians, 80% of whom want to see Canada work toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. Three out of four Canadians want Canada to join in the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Why does Canada continue to refuse to do so?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, Canada unequivocally supports global nuclear disarmament. We are committed to take concrete steps toward a nuclear-free world. This includes the important work that Canada is doing on the development of a fissile material cut-off treaty that will help to halt the production of material for nuclear weapons. Canada has been and remains an important player in global nuclear disarmament. We remain entirely committed to that goal.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, we need to bring about the end of nuclear weapons in the world. This particular treaty is one aspect. Canada has long had a reputation or fostered a reputation for being at the forefront of this issue. What are we doing now, in addition to this treaty that the minister just mentioned?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, as my colleague knows, we share the same objective of seeing a nuclear-free world. We also have to deal with what is possible. Canada acknowledges that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons responds to concerns about the pace of recent progress toward disarmament, but to make progress toward a nuclear-free world, united action is needed, including from states that possess nuclear capabilities. That is why Canada supports the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as the cornerstone of the international non-proliferation and disarmament architecture.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, the situation in China has deteriorated quite rapidly over the last several years. In Hong Kong, it has rapidly eroded over the last year, and even the last few weeks, with Jimmy Lai recently being sentenced to another term in jail for participating in a demonstration. However, Canada has still not imposed any targeted sanctions in respect of these matters.

Will the minister make a commitment to apply sanctions to put pressure on key individuals within the Chinese and Hong Kong governments in relation to what is going on in Hong Kong?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, Canada always makes judicious use of sanctions. I agree with my colleague that the situation in Hong Kong is extremely preoccupying. Canada has consistently voiced concerns about Beijing's imposition, first of all, of the national security law, alongside our international partners, and other assaults on Hong Kong, as its high degree of freedom was promised under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

We will continue to speak out against what is happening and, most recently, against the decision to prevent less than a quarter of citizens from running for the legislature and the decision that they must prove they are patriotic to China to be electable.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, pro-democracy activists in Canada have been targeted for speaking out against the Chinese government. In fact, we had two individuals before the Canada-China committee tonight, one Canadian who is of Tibetan ancestry and a Uighur, who had been targeted with impunity by the People's Republic of China and their agents in Canada, with no recourse for them or anybody else in the same circumstance. However, we have not really seen a concerted effort from the Liberal government to combat this foreign interference and pressure. Activists are pretty isolated and vulnerable and do not think we are acting fast enough.

What is the minister and his government doing to communicate to China that this is completely unacceptable? What measures are being taken to protect Canadians in these circumstances?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, my colleague raised an important matter. Canada is concerned when any country shows irresponsible and destabilizing behaviour, including interference in a country's democratic system. In December, the Minister of Public Safety publicly outlined the threats related to foreign interference and the critical work of the security and intelligence community in a letter addressed to all members of Parliament.

We work in close collaboration with allies and partners around the world to counter foreign interference. We know that more needs to be done between allies and partners to discourage these malicious acts. We welcome the work undertaken by the national security and intelligence committee. As colleagues know, Canada, in 2018, when it hosted the G7 in Charlevoix, announced the rapid response mechanism for the G7, which is aimed specifically at the issue of disinformation.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, in the situation with foreign interference and the treatment of the Uighurs, which was just mentioned, Canada has not yet resolved the cases of Michael Spavor, Michael Kovrig and other Canadians in prison in China, including Huseyin Celil.

What can the minister tell us about what Canada is doing to ensure that these Canadians will be returned home soon?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, I want to make this point very clear. The release of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig has been my number one priority, as I have said publicly. We cannot go into details on what we are doing to try to secure their release, but we are working extremely hard on this issue.

With respect to Mr. Celil, who is a Canadian citizen, we have been pressing the Chinese government to have consular access to him.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Madam Chair, I will now talk about Ethiopia and the Tigray situation. The last statement from the government was April 8, yet there has been widespread rape by soldiers, and the Ethiopian and Eritrean military have cut off humanitarian access to most of the region's four and a half million people.

Will the government call for a ceasefire to put pressure on the Ethiopian government?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Chair, we have been pressing. The Prime Minister has spoken to his counterpart and I have spoken to my counterpart. I agree with my colleague's assessment of the dire situation in the Tigray region.

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Madam Chair, good evening to all members attending today's committee.

With the rapid rollout of vaccines, I am optimistic that we will be able to reopen our economy, and with the investments we are making in budget 2021, we can look forward to a strong, sustainable and inclusive economic recovery.

Our government's COVID-19 economic response plan has protected millions of jobs, provided emergency supports to countless families and kept businesses afloat throughout the pandemic. We have had the backs of Canadians and businesses since day one.

Budget 2021 sets us up to finish this fight against COVID-19 and to keep Canadians healthy and safe, all the while building a better, fairer and more prosperous future for generations to come. The time to act is now and this budget puts us on the right path. However, this is not 2009. We cannot afford to take a decade to recover from the COVID recession.

We are taking prompt, decisive, responsible action.

We are making ambitious and targeted investments to accelerate job and business growth, driving toward faster recovery than if we did not take any action. This is the most small-business friendly budget in Canadian history.

We are extending the Canada emergency wage subsidy and the Canada emergency rent subsidy to September, with flexibility to go further than that if public health measures require it.

We are also announcing new supports to bridge the recovery, such as the Canada recovery hiring program, as 500,000 Canadians are still unemployed or have reduced hours because of the pandemic. We will invest $600 million so that businesses can hire more workers or increase hours and compensation for those they already have.

We also announced significant investments to support the success of diverse entrepreneurs through the Black entrepreneurship program, the women entrepreneurship strategy and investments for indigenous entrepreneurs. This is part of the greater action our government is taking to make our economy more inclusive and to bridge the gaps that racialized and under-represented entrepreneurs and businesses have faced for far too long.

Budget 2021 is ambitious.

It will not just get us onto the road to recovery. It will take us where we need to go to be competitive, to be more prosperous and to become even more resilient. Since my first day as minister, I have been focused on ensuring that businesses have the tools they need to start up, scale up and access new global markets. COVID-19 and our economic recovery have only increased the importance of this work.

Our businesses need the tools and the financing to compete in today's economy. That is why we are expanding the Canada small business financing program loans of up to $500,000, with a potential line of credit of up to $150,000, to provide liquidity for start-up costs and intangible assets, such as software for data management and supports for intellectual property. We have also committed to taking decisive action to lowering credit card fees for small businesses, helping to make consumer interactions more beneficial so that our main streets can be even more competitive.

Beyond financing, we want to ensure that our Canadian entrepreneurs have the expertise and tools to protect their Canadian innovations in the increasingly intangible global economy. The pandemic has greatly expedited the shift to the digital economy. More businesses have gone online in the last six months than in the last 10 years.

The pandemic has also shown the importance of businesses needing the latest tools, technologies and expertise to compete. In budget 2021, we are investing $4 billion for small and medium-sized businesses to go digital and to adopt new technology so they can grown and be even more competitive. This will support some 160,000 businesses and create jobs for nearly 30,000 young Canadians.

It will ensure long-term post-recovery growth and competitiveness.

Today, our small businesses are just a click away from being exporters, and we want to support as many as possible to grow around the world, while anchoring their success here in Canada, and to create jobs.

We have seen another global shift, one to sustainability. We know that the environment and the economy go hand in hand, which is why we have also announced $1 billion over five years to help draw in private sector investment for Canadian clean tech projects, ensuring that they remain competitive and on the cutting edge of innovation. This will help us reach our target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Through this budget, we are setting up our businesses to start up and scale up now, and to be ready to succeed and thrive in the economy of the future.

While travel has been limited through COVID-19, I have not let it slow us down in our efforts to create opportunities for trade and investment, to diversify our trade and to develop solutions to supply chain challenges, especially for essential goods. COVID-19 should not and cannot be used as an excuse to stop trading or to turn inward with protectionist policies.

International trade has been critical to create jobs and opportunities for growth. This is truer in our economic recovery more than ever. By working to implement the new NAFTA, CETA and the CPTPP, Canada's businesses are able to access new markets to expand their companies.

Canada and Canadian workers from coast to coast will benefit.

We have continued our work to ensure that Canada's 14 free trade agreements, including the new NAFTA and the recent trade continuity agreement with the United Kingdom, continue to serve Canadian interests and Canadian businesses, entrepreneurs, workers and families.

Earlier this month, I met with my Mexican and U.S. counterparts to discuss the implementation of the new NAFTA, and to work together on our shared priorities, such as the environment, labour and inclusive trade, for our shared economic recovery. From steel and dairy, to forestry and clean tech, we have the backs of Canadian businesses and workers in all sectors.

Our government has pivoted during the pandemic to support Canadian businesses through virtual trade missions to France, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea; through the first Canada-Africa clean growth symposium; and through our virtual CETA road show last year. With over 2,000 entrepreneurs attending, we have made international trade more accessible. We have led over 150 business-to-business connections for our Canadian businesses.

We continue to take a team Canada approach to help businesses and entrepreneurs succeed here at home and abroad with Canada's trade tool kit: the Trade Commissioner Service, Export Development Canada, the Business Development Bank of Canada, the Canadian Commercial Corporation and Invest in Canada. They are all working together and focused on supporting Canadian businesses and their needs.

Budget 2021 will support the Trade Commissioner Service by providing $21.3 million over the next five years, and $4.3 million on an ongoing basis, to boost Canada's clean tech exports. We will work with our international partners and multilateral institutions to reduce unnecessary trade barriers and restrictions, keep supply chains open and build back a more resilient and inclusive economy. We will continue to work together, as we have done throughout the pandemic, including through our work on the WTO's trade and health initiative, to ensure that our essential health and medical supply chains remain open and resilient.

Crucially, we must also continue our hard work with one another and with all of our international partners to find solutions that accelerate the production and equitable distribution of affordable, effective life-saving vaccines. The pandemic is not over anywhere until it is over everywhere. We are committed to continuing our work toward a speedy and just global recovery.

I look forward to answering questions.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business]

Madam Chair, one of the little-known success stories over the course of the pandemic has been Canada's leadership on the international stage in ensuring that our supply chains remain open and that countries do not turn inward and adopt protectionist policies.

I wonder if the minister could elaborate a bit on the important work that Canada has done at the World Trade Organization, including but not limited to our leadership of the Ottawa Group at the WTO, to ensure that all countries and all peoples have access to important life-saving medical supplies, and that our economies have access to all of the inputs required to ensure a robust economic recovery.