Debates of June 10th, 2021

Indigenous Affairs

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, addressing the historical harms committed against indigenous children is a crucial step toward healing and justice for survivors, their families and their communities. The IRSSA and the McLean, Gottfriedson and Anderson settlements represent historic milestones in Canada's efforts to address harms associated with the tenants at federally operated educational institutions. We know that there are outstanding claims in other educational and care settings, and we are committed to collaborative discussions with both the provinces and territories and those affected on how we foster the healing and make sure they—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel.

Canadian Heritage

[Patricia Lattanzio, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thought all members of the House agreed that our artists have enabled us to stay strong and connected throughout this pandemic.

That was why I was dismayed to hear the member for Lethbridge say, and I quote, “[t]hat arts fund actually goes toward a very niche group of artists that are stuck in the early 1990s because they haven’t managed to be competitive on new platforms. So they are very reliant on government grants in order to continue to exist.”

Would the Minister of Canadian Heritage care to respond to that disgraceful statement by a Conservative Party member?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel for her ongoing support for the arts.

The member for Lethbridge should apologize to the House for her shameful remarks because she made them both outside the House and in the House. Canadians are proud of our arts community, and we should celebrate it, not put it down.

Every day, our artists find more creative ways to give Canadians hope. Are artists such as Lise Dion, Yvon Deschamps and Claude Legault outdated, as the member for Lethbridge says? I do not think so, and I think that—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek.

Foreign Affairs

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been unjustly detained for years. The genocide of Uighur Muslims continues. The erosion of Hong Kong freedoms is still happening. Military threats and provocations towards Taiwan are rampant.

Could the Prime Minister give one reason why he still supports the location of Beijing in communist China as the site for the 2022 Winter Olympics?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government is deeply concerned by reports of egregious human rights violations against Uighurs and other minorities in the Xinjiang region. We have announced sanctions targeting individuals and entities implicated in the repression, in coordination with like-minded democracies. We will continue to call for unfettered access to the region so independent investigations can report first-hand.

That said, we must recognize the independence of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees with regard to Canada's participation in the games. The Minister of Canadian Heritage spoke to both organizations and informed them of the House of Commons vote regarding the situation in China—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Foothills.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's trade relations with the United States are in shambles. There is no softwood lumber agreement. The Canadian dairy sector is under attack under the new NAFTA. Keystone has been cancelled. Line 5 is now in jeopardy. Now the Biden administration is threatening our livestock industry by reinstating the mandatory country of origin labelling program.

Conservatives secured a softwood lumber agreement. We built pipelines. We successfully ended COOL at the WTO. With higher carbon taxes, Canadian farmers could not afford another Liberal trade failure. Is this yet another mess by the Prime Minister that a Conservative government would have to clean up?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Small Business]

Mr. Speaker, Canada and the U.S. share one of the biggest agricultural trading relationships in the world, with nearly $51 billion in agricultural trade in 2020.

The WTO ruled in 2015 that mandatory COOL measures in the U.S. discriminated against Canadian exporters, and we expect the U.S. to continue abiding by this ruling and its WTO obligations.

Our government will continue to stand up for Canada's beef industry, for the workers whose jobs it supports, and we firmly oppose any new proposals from the U.S. to resurrect mandatory country of origin labelling for beef or pork.

Public Safety

[Alice Wong, Conservative, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last month, a man was murdered in broad daylight outside of YVR. We have since learned that the victim had ties to gangs. Following the shooting, I, along with my colleague from Steveston—Richmond East, asked the minister what steps he would be taking.

Instead of targeting legal, law-abiding firearm owners, when will the Liberal government take action against dangerous and violent gangland slayings taking place on the streets of Richmond and in other communities across Canada?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad for the opportunity to remind this House that we have promised Canadians that we will strengthen gun control in this country, while of course the Conservatives have promised to weaken it.

I would also point out to the member opposite that we actually provided $327 million to the provinces and territories to support law enforcement efforts to do gun and gang investigations, including in her community. She voted against that funding. We are also making monies available for communities to invest in kids and in families in order to prevent this gun violence. Again, the member opposite voted against this.

Our communities need more than tough talk. They need the support we are providing.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Churence Rogers, Liberal, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have heard from many fish harvesters and industry stakeholders in my riding about the recent 3Ps codfish management plan for the 2021-22 season. While we know that the stock is facing challenges, it is a valuable resource for my riding and our many small rural communities and residents. Harvesters have expressed concerns with the scientific assessment model that is used for stock assessment and have called for a review of the science.

Can the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard explain the steps the government is taking in advancing—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. minister.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his tireless advocacy on behalf of the hard-working fish harvesters in Bonavista—Burin—Trinity.

Sustaining healthy and protected fisheries, which many communities depend on, is a top priority for this government and we rely on the best available science when making management decisions. Support and confidence in science models and assessments used to determine stock health is critically important, particularly to those whose livelihoods will be impacted by the results and outcomes, so we will be convening a small group of scientists, as requested by the industry, to provide a consensus-based analysis of our assessment models for 3Ps cod over the summer.

We will continue to consult with harvesters on the path forward for this—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski.

Indigenous Affairs

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the horrifying revelation of the 215 children found at Kamloops residential school makes clear that Canada has committed genocide against indigenous peoples, but the Prime Minister has failed to recognize this as genocide. He has not acted decisively to bring in international experts in genocide, such as the ICMP, as requested by the Pimicikamak Cree Nation. Instead, the government is sending links for recycled grant applications. This is an insult.

Why will the Liberals not take decisive action to bring in international experts to find these children, victims of genocide, and allow communities to bring their children home?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, it has been very clear in the Calls to Action that communities must direct the research, the processes and the ceremonies using their customs. It is really important that each of the communities is able to direct that research.

Last night, we met with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the only forensic pathologist in the country who is indigenous. It has been very important that people have the tools to make those decisions and we be able to bring their children home.

The Environment

[Yasmin Ratansi, Independent, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents and many civil society organizations would like to have a stronger governance mechanism to ensure Canada meets its climate goals. Bill C-12 is a step in the right direction. Canada is warming at double that of the rest of the world and, to date, Canada has not met it targets.

With COP26 being held in Glasgow, can the minister advise whether he would institute a more regimented and independent governance structure for Bill C-12 as the U.K. has done?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would reiterate the government's commitment to taking strong and meaningful climate action. The net-zero accountability act proposes a number of different accountability measures, but I would note that significant and meaningful amendments were made to the bill at committee, which included a 2025 review of our 2030 target, an interim emissions reduction objective for 2026, enshrining the principle of progression for future targets and codifying our new 2030 emissions reduction target of 40% to 45% below 2005.

This is a landmark piece of legislation that will fundamentally alter how future governments report on the progress toward our climate goal and I certainly hope that the member will support us in moving this forward.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for La Prairie on a point of order.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during question period, the member for Manicouagan asked the Prime Minister three times to retract his comments because he conflated Bill 21 and the tragic events in London. Three times the parliamentary secretary gave answers that had nothing to do with the questions asked.

When the Prime Minister was asked to retract his comments because they conflated the issues, the parliamentary secretary answered with the same kind of nonsense. As these are extremely important issues, I am asking the Speaker to rule on this and to ask the government to answer questions posed by the opposition—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I remind the hon. member that it is not the Speaker's role to assess the quality of answers or questions. That is the responsibility of members when they answer or ask questions.

The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order.

If you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion, that in the opinion of the House the government must recognize what happened in Canada's Indian residential schools as genocide in accordance with article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which reads that:

any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.