Debates of June 17th, 2021

Domestic Violence

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

Mr. Speaker, It starts in school:
A tug of the hair
Some crass language
A first love, without love, without respect
Not to worry, boys will be boys...
And it continues
A new relationship, passionate, but unhealthy
Love serves as bait, but has no soul
That first love planted a seed, now growing strong
The respect comes and goes, and then just goes
Kind words become unkind
Whispered words become screams
Connection becomes disconnected
A gentle touch, now but a memory
Replaced by bruised skin, bruised heart
The love is gone, control's all that remains
Isolation, devastation
Death.
13 women were killed in Quebec
13 lives lost to a treacherous love
I can no longer stand by and hold my tongue
I can no longer ignore this violence.
To colleagues and Canadians alike:
We cannot pretend we don't see
The cries, the tears, the noises, the bruises
Are not all harmless
Perhaps a sign of something wrong
We cannot close our eyes
If we're to save that 14th woman,
Who's now suffering in silence, hoping a neighbour
Will see the signs
And put an end to the deadly cycle
Of domestic violence

Liberal Party of Canada

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, ordinary Canadians are being left behind by the Liberal government. Inflation is out of control. Prices are skyrocketing. Wages are down. Unemployment is rising. Businesses are closing. When Canadians look at their country, they no longer see it as a place where they could build something for the future. That is on the Liberals.

They have turned Canada into a country where it has become impossible to succeed. Inequality is rampant and opportunity is nowhere to be found. Young families cannot afford to buy a home. People are losing their jobs. Taxation, red tape and restrictions are stifling and shuttering businesses across the country. Success is no longer determined by hard work. It is something only well-connected Liberals and the wealthy can achieve.

Canadians need hope. They need assurance that there is a future for them. That is what the Conservatives are fighting for. Canadians are counting on us to secure their future, and we will not give up.

Automotive Industry

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday General Motors announced a 75% increase in investment in electric vehicles to $35 billion. GM will accelerate construction of two new electric battery plants in the U.S., in addition to the plants in Ohio and Tennessee that are now being built. None are in Canada.

With the entire auto sector having a once-in-a-generation investment cycle, which will impact us for many decades as vehicles will be produced, Canada's lack of a national auto policy is leaving workers behind, and our country is at risk of losing the industry that built our middle class. We cannot and should not depend solely on the impressive union contract negotiations that Unifor has achieved to secure any new investment. For the past 19 years, as a member of the House, I have been advocating for national auto strategy and warning what would happen without one. While other countries of the world have implemented theirs, our vehicle production has continued to decline year after year.

As we have seen with the pharmaceutical, medical device, PPE and technology sectors, once manufacturing leaves it is extremely difficult to bring back, and the pandemic has exposed the consequences. Canada needs a national auto policy immediately to secure our workers, our industry and our country's future.

Édith Cloutier

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on May 15, the Institut national de la recherche scientifique awarded an honorary doctorate to Édith Cloutier. This is her second honorary doctorate, after the one she was awarded by Concordia University in 2018.

Ms. Cloutier has been the executive director of the Val-d'Or Native Friendship Centre for more than 32 years and also served as chair of the board of directors of Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. She was the first indigenous woman to hold this position at a Quebec university.

She is credited with implementing practical projects for the urban indigenous community such as the Minowé Clinic, a model of indigenous health care services in Quebec. Ms. Cloutier has received many accolades from governments, community organizations and universities, including the Ordre national du Québec in 2006 and the Order of Canada in 2013.

I congratulate Ms. Cloutier, and I thank her for all her work on behalf of members of first nations and indigenous peoples.

The Economy

[Rosemarie Falk, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot afford more of the same from the Prime Minister and his Liberal government. As we turn the corner on the pandemic, Canadians need paycheques and opportunity. However, for my constituents whose paycheques depend on the Canadian energy sector, more of the same from the Liberal government is actually detrimental. With their livelihoods already under attack long before the pandemic, more of the same from the Prime Minister means more job losses and even less opportunity.

Only Canada's Conservatives have a five-point plan to secure the future. It includes job creation and economic recovery in every region and every sector of this country. Canadians who can afford not to worry about their jobs have four parties to choose to from. However, for everyday Canadians who care about securing Canada's economic future, there is only one choice: Canada's Conservatives.

Vimy High School Graduates

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as this school year draws to an end, I would like to congratulate the graduates of the secondary schools in my riding, including École Saint-Martin and École Saint-Maxime and Laval Senior Academy, on their amazing achievement.

Obtaining a diploma is no small feat, and here in the House, we recognize the unique challenges that these students have had to overcome and the sacrifices they have made to get to where they are today.

As they celebrate this milestone and think about the next chapter in their lives, I encourage them to continue being curious, compassionate, engaged and bold. They should not be afraid to break down barriers, shatter glass ceilings and work towards a future that is just, equitable and sustainable for all.

I wish them all the best as they embark on this incredible journey, and I hope they will have a safe and happy summer.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, let us review. The minister falsified his service record, turfed Admiral Mark Norman, bought used fighter jets, slashed health care for military personnel and covered up sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces after a complaint by a woman in uniform three years ago.

Will the minister finally resign?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will start with what matters most to me and to our government. No woman should be sexually harassed at work. No woman in the Canadian Armed Forces should be sexually harassed while serving her country. We must change the toxic culture in the Canadian Armed Forces, and we will do just that.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will not fire the defence minister. The defence minister will not do the honourable thing and resign. The military has no respect for their minister, and the hard-working people of Vancouver South have lost confidence in him.

Canadians cannot afford more of the same corruption from the defence minister. Therefore, I urge all my Liberal colleagues to vote in favour of censuring him for his conduct, and join the Conservatives in sending a clear message to the women who serve their country that we are demanding better and demanding a change at the top.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to start with what is most important to me and our government, which is that no woman should be sexually harassed in Canada. That is particularly true when it comes to Canada's brave women in uniform. To those women I would like to say directly that there is clearly a toxic culture in our armed forces and that must change. Our government has full confidence in our Minister of National Defence.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the Deputy Prime Minister is concerned, she should realize the toxic culture starts with the Prime Minister, the defence minister and the chief of staff. For three years, everyone in the Privy Council Office and the Prime Minister's Office knew of these allegations. The Deputy Prime Minister has an office in the same building.

If she is sincere about ending the toxic culture she just talked about, after three years of failing the woman who came forward, how can women in the Canadian Armed Forces possibly have any faith in the defence minister to do his job after he failed them so badly for three years?

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

Mr. Speaker, our Minister of National Defence is an inspirational trailblazer and we are proud to have him on our team. I would like to share with the House and Canadians some examples of the minister's work that I saw first-hand as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He defended Canada's national interests during the Trump administration in the face of charges that our steel and aluminum tariffs posed a national security threat. We worked together at NATO to pledge Canada's support for the Baltic states, for Ukraine and to build the training mission in Iraq. This is the track record of our Minister of National Defence.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed in the minister's response. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians is not accountable to the House. The committee has no authority to look into an ongoing investigation. The rules make that clear. The cover-ups need to end.

When will the Prime Minister turn the Winnipeg lab documents over to the House?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government has a lot of respect for the House of Commons. We understand that the House and its committees have a job to do and should have all the information they need to do that job. I can assure the Leader of the Opposition that national security is a priority for our government.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister is wrong. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians is not allowed by law to review active investigations. The committee is now being used as a political tool by the Prime Minister to cover up the Winnipeg lab incident.

The Conservatives will never be complicit in this Liberal corruption and will bring accountability back to Ottawa. That is why today I am informing the government that Conservative members of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians will be withdrawing their participation effective immediately.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, the Liberal government will never play games with Canadians' national security. We will continue to operate in a way that protects the privacy and security concerns of Canadians, and that is why the Public Health Agency of Canada has provided fully unredacted documents to the committee. I am sad to hear that the Conservatives will not participate in such an important process.

Official Languages

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the House of Commons acknowledged the fact that Quebec constitutes a nation and that French is its only common and official language. It stands to reason, then, that the House of Commons also voted in favour of applying the Charter of the French Language to federally regulated businesses. Indeed, Quebec's demand to be the master of its language policy is consistent with its unique reality as a French-speaking nation.

Yesterday, the House of Commons requested that Bill 101 be applied. Why does the Liberal Party continue to oppose that? It is alone in doing so.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that we will continue, along with every Quebecker, every francophone in the country and every Canadian, to protect and promote the French language in Canada.

Why? Because French is a minority language that needs more than just a helping hand; it needs our attention. With our new historic official languages bill, we will further protect the beautiful French language and take steps to recognize new linguistic rights for francophones and linguistic minorities in Canada.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, note that yesterday, when the House almost unanimously agreed that Quebec is a French-speaking nation, 10 Liberals from the greater Montreal area abstained from voting and refused to acknowledge that Quebec considers itself a nation whose official language is French.

I would also point out that, yesterday, the Liberals were the only ones to vote against Quebec applying its Charter of the French Language to federally regulated businesses.

Are the Liberals obstructing the clear solution that seeks to promote French at work in order to please some of their own, for whom, these—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Minister of Official Languages.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, either my colleagues from the Bloc Québécois want to protect and promote French with the government or they want to push their plan for Quebec's independence and pick a fight with Ottawa. It is up to them, but Quebeckers and Canadians see right through their games.

Government Programs

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the middle of the pandemic, what brilliant idea did the Liberals come up with? They cut the Canada recovery benefit by $800 a month beginning in July. That means it will drop from $500 a week to $300 a week.

Are the Liberals really that heartless? Entire sectors, such as arts, culture and tourism, are still struggling.

Will the Liberals finally come to their senses and reverse the cuts to the Canada recovery benefit, yes or no?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, the CRB is part of a comprehensive set of emergency and recovery measures to support Canadian workers and businesses. Through the CRB, if opposition parties support Bill C-30, Canadians can have access to up to 50 weeks of benefits. Canadians can also have access to more flexible EI benefits. Businesses can continue to have access to the wage subsidy, and we can help Canadians re-enter the labour market by creating 500,000 new training and work opportunities and launching the Canada recovery hiring program.

This is what is at stake when the opposition does not help get Bill C-30 through.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in just a few weeks, the Liberals are planning on cutting vital money that Canadians need. Those receiving CRB benefits will soon get $800 less per month. The Liberals are forcing them to live on only $1,200 per month, and that is simply not enough. People who needed the CRB in January are going to need it in August. Thousands of Canadians are scraping by. They will have to make difficult decisions just to get by.

Will the minister commit to reversing this decision, which will have devastating impacts on two million Canadians?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, the CRB is helping and has helped two million Canadians, and at present Canadians have access to 38 weeks under the CRB. If opposition parties do not support Bill C-30, Canadians will end their benefits in the weeks to come. We can reverse that. We can pass Bill C-30. We can give Canadians the extra weeks they deserve, give them more flexible access to EI, give them access to the wage subsidy, and 500,000 training and work opportunities.