Debates of May 5th, 2021

National Defence

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what that hon. member is saying is entirely false.

The committee heard multiple witnesses over three months, including non-partisan officials, who said that the details of the allegation were not known. The record is clear.

During her testimony, the deputy secretary to the cabinet said, “I did not have information about the nature of the complaint or specifics that would have enabled further action.”

The former mediator, the ombudsman, testified before the commission that he could not provide any details, saying that he took the investigation as far as he could.

Canadian Heritage

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

Mr. Speaker, last night, Reuters had a headline that said, “the government was working on 'fake news' legislation to tackle 'misinformation, hatred and lies,' as worries grow over media freedoms”.

When it comes to the basic freedom of expression, the Prime Minister has also always felt it should be free if it agreed with his expression.

Why is the government once again taking a hammer to Canadian free expression rights with Bill C-10?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our artists and creators are among the Canadians who have been hardest hit by this pandemic. They are suffering financially and mentally. This bill is about ensuring that we are no longer putting the interests of international companies ahead of Canadian creators.

We have been clear that this is not about individual users or about what individual Canadians post online. As the Minister of Canadian Heritage said, we will be bringing forward an amendment to ensure that this is absolutely clear. We must get to work and pass Bill C-10.

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

It is very interesting, Mr. Speaker. That Reuters headline I was talking about was actually referencing new legislation being introduced in Hong Kong. It should worry Canadians that the Prime Minister could not tell the difference between what is happening in Hong Kong and his own bill, Bill C-10. Of course, we should not be surprised, because last fall he told Canadians that free speech has limits.

Why is the government using Bill C-10 to crack down on the free speech rights of everyday Canadians on the Internet?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to be absolutely clear: This is not about restricting content, but about making Canadian music more discoverable and available to the general public. Freedom of speech is explicitly protected under the act and in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is not negotiable for our government and we will continue to protect it, uphold it and abide by it. The Conservatives are deliberately misleading Canadians once again, obstructing the study of this important bill and siding with web giants against Canadian creators.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister knows this is not about cultural content. It is about the everyday content Canadians put on their social media. The Prime Minister, last fall, mused about placing limits on free speech. He then backtracked and told this House he would “unequivocally defend freedom of expression.”

Will he make good on that promise and withdraw Bill C-10, or will this broken promise to defend the free speech rights of Canadians just be added to the list of broken promises from the Prime Minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, unlike what the Leader of the Opposition is trying to pretend, Bill C-10 is not about what Canadians do online. It is about what web giants do not do, which is to support Canadian-made stories and music. That is why we made sure the bill covers professional, profitable content while explicitly exempting regular users from contribution requirements. We have improved, and we will continue to improve, this bill so it truly reflects its initial objective, which is to serve Canadian creators without hindering free expression in this country.

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

Mr. Speaker, freedom of expression is fundamental. It is not a privilege, but a right.

The Prime Minister thinks this freedom should be free provided it is in line with his expression, but last year he said that freedom of expression has limits.

Why is this government once again attacking Canadian freedom of expression with Bill C-10?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are showing that they know nothing about Canada's cultural industry. Canadian artists and creators have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic.

This bill will ensure that we no longer put the interests of international corporations above the interests of Canadian creators. We have clearly indicated that this is not about individual users or about what Canadians themselves publish online.

As the Minister of Canadian Heritage said, we will propose an amendment to make this crystal clear to us and to everyone else. We must get to work and pass Bill C-10.

Indigenous Affairs

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Prime Minister promised to get clean drinking water to all indigenous people within six years. Six years later, he broke that promise. Now the promise is to do it in five years. Eleven years to get indigenous communities clean drinking water is absurd. It is outrageous. It is not good enough and people are fed up with excuses.

Why does the Prime Minister keep breaking promises to indigenous people?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, decades of neglect led to the unacceptable reality of first nations on reserve not having access to safe, clean and reliable drinking water. Let me be clear: Not a single long-term drinking water advisory has been delayed until 2026.

We have provided an additional $1.6 billion to accelerate this commitment. We will directly contribute to lifting advisories and stabilizing operations. Since 2015, we have lifted 106 long-term drinking water advisories, and we remain aggressively committed to lifting all long-term advisories and ensuring first nations have clean water now and into the future.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that those aggressive commitments continue to be broken and pushed back again and again.

Another commitment the government made was to do something about the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls calls for justice. Today is a national day to recognize the losses, reflect on those losses and commit to doing something to protect indigenous women and girls. It has been two years since the report. Why has the Liberal government not done anything to advance those calls for justice to truly honour and respect the demands and needs of the indigenous communities?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, today is Red Dress Day, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We honour and remember the women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people who have been taken from their families and communities. We are actively working with provinces and territories, indigenous leaders, survivors and families to develop a national action plan that sets a clear road map to keep indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people safe. From the very beginning, we have made investments and fought against gender-based violence and the ongoing tragedy that is missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. We will continue to work hand in hand on this path to reconciliation.

Health

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week is Mental Health Week, and the pandemic has underscored the need for more accessible mental health services.

Our government opened a clinic in my riding for people dealing with operational stress injuries to make it easier for our veterans to access these resources. This is positive news, but we know that there are still many Canadians looking for help during these difficult times.

Can the Prime Minister tell us what our government is doing to make sure Canadians have access to the mental health support they need?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne for her work and her question.

More Canadians are suffering from mental health problems because of the pandemic. That is why, in budget 2021, we are providing more funding for innovative projects designed to help Canadians have access to high-quality mental health care, including $62 million so that Canadians can continue to access the Wellness Together Canada portal until 2022.

We will continue to be there for Canadians when they most need help.

Canadian Heritage

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

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-10 originally stated that the act does not apply to users who transmit and receive programs through an online undertaking that provides a social media service, such as YouTube, Facebook or TikTok.

One Friday afternoon, without warning, the Liberals surprised us by deleting this entire clause of the bill, thereby attacking Canadians' freedom of expression. Why did the Prime Minister do this?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-10 is not about what Canadians do online. It is about what web giants do not do, which is to support Canadian-made stories and music. That is why we made sure this bill covers professional, profitable content while explicitly exempting regular users from contribution requirements.

We will continue to improve this bill so it truly reflects its initial objective, which is to serve Canadian creators without hindering freedom of expression in this country.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has plenty to say, but he forgets that all MPs are responsible for protecting the freedom of expression we value so highly, no matter the cost.

The original version of the bill had one single clause protecting that freedom, and the Liberals chose to quietly delete that clause one Friday afternoon. Given the Liberals' attempt to censor Canadians, why should Canadians believe anything the Prime Minister says now?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to culture, Canadians are certainly not going to believe the Conservatives. That is for sure.

As a government, we have always been there for creators, including during the pandemic. This bill is not about restricting content, but about making Canadian music more discoverable and available to the general public.

Freedom of speech is explicitly protected by the bill and by our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is not negotiable for our government. We will always continue to uphold freedom of speech while supporting content creators across the country.

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

Mr. Speaker, now we are going to see whether the Prime Minister is honest in his next answer.

The Minister of Justice is responsible for providing a statement on whether every bill respects the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the statement that he released in November, the justice minister said that the original clause exempting social media users was essential in order to respect the charter and freedom of expression.

Now that the Liberals have deleted that clause, can the Prime Minister guarantee us today that the Minister of Justice will issue a new charter statement before we continue studying Bill C-10?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our government will always be there to support Canada's creators, cultural industry and content producers. The Conservatives are deliberately misleading Canadians, obstructing the study of this important bill and siding with web giants against Canadian creators. On this side of the House, we will always side with creators and the cultural industry across Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is the one misleading Canadians by trying to convince them that we are against culture.

For his information, we have received letters from thousands of Canadians, as well as former CRTC commissioner Peter Menzies, University of Ottawa emeritus law professor Michael Geist, University of Calgary law professor Emily Laidlaw, and Carleton University professor Dwayne Winseck. They all denounced the Liberals' direct attack on the freedom of expression we hold so dear.

Why is the Prime Minister ignoring them all by deleting the clause in Bill C-10 that protected our freedom of expression? Why?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are yet again deliberately misleading Canadians. This bill does not target what individual Canadians are doing online. Rather, it targets what the web giants are not doing, which is supporting Canadian stories, creators and music.

That is why we made sure the bill covers professional, profitable content while explicitly exempting regular users from contribution requirements. We will always protect freedom of expression. We will always support our artists and creators.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, since the federal government imposed the mandatory quarantine, 5,000 travellers who registered at the hotels have tested positive, and a quarter of those cases involved variants. That is overwhelming evidence that the Bloc was right to demand this quarantine.

Given that the variants currently make up more than 84% of the cases in Quebec, this proves that Ottawa has allowed, and continues to allow, too many travellers through. For instance, Ottawa did not follow up with the contacts of the 1,411 people who left hotels with a negative test result after three days but later tested positive on day 10. Given the threat that variants pose, will the Prime Minister tighten traveller screening?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we closed our border to non-essential travellers over a year ago. We will continue to do whatever it takes to protect Canadians.

Now, when returning to Canada, travellers must test negative before boarding the plane and arriving at the border. They must also test negative upon arrival and on day eight. They are also required to quarantine for two weeks.

We are monitoring travellers. We are here to protect Canadians, and we will continue to implement additional measures when the data shows that we need them, as was the case when we stopped direct flights from India and Pakistan.