Debates of June 7th, 2021

The Environment

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, whether we are taking a walk in the park or a hike in the woods, green spaces improve our well-being and mental health and provide an escape from everyday life. Our forests also offer numerous environmental benefits, like improving biodiversity and capturing carbon.

Can the Minister of Natural Resources inform the House of the progress our government has made in its ambitious commitment to plant two billion trees over the next 10 years?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

There is no path to net-zero emissions that does not involve our forests. Last Friday, I announced that over 30 million trees would be planted by the end of the year. Some are already in the ground. We are building new, permanent forests, large enough to cover an area twice the size of Prince Edward Island. They are absorbing and storing carbon and creating thousands of jobs.

We are planting today for a better future.

Telecommunications

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's Internet costs are among the highest in the world and this is one of the few countries where they continue to rise. On May 27, the CRTC reversed its own decision to reduce the broadband access costs from the large telecoms to the smaller Internet service providers, such as TekSavvy, headquartered in Chatham. Whereas the railway secured Canada's future 136 years ago, Canadians need reliable, reasonably priced access to broadband to secure our future today.

Is the government breaking its own promise to reduce rates, or what is the plan?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would say to the hon. member that we share the same goals of affordability, competition and innovation. That is why we have been relentless in promoting competition to lower prices while working to improve quality and increase the coverage of telecom services across our nation.

As the member knows, we are ensuring that Canadians pay affordable prices for reliable Internet services regardless of where they live in our nation. Every time I have a call with telecom companies or Internet service providers, I always push for better outcomes for consumers and for lower prices. I will continue to do that.

Canadian Heritage

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal-Bloc coalition cutting off debate on its Internet-censorship bill is an act of cowardice by this government. It is doing this because it is afraid of the public backlash against going down in history as the government that trampled over Pierre Trudeau's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In my riding of Saskatoon West, constituents have made it clear that they do not want this Prime Minister to censor their social media posts. Bill C-10 will censor Canadians' Facebook and TikTok posts.

Will the government do the courageous thing, reverse course and stop Bill C-10 ?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, according to the member for Lethbridge, “That 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”. She added, “These artists are not able to make a living off of what they are producing, so they require grants that are given by the government”.

I would like to know if a series like Heartland, in its 15th season and filmed in Alberta, is one of those outdated series. Would the member wish to comment on Schitt's Creek, a winner of nine Emmys and also one of those series that is stuck in the early 1990s because it has not managed to be competitive on the new platforms?

Post-Secondary Education

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been reported that more than half of $2.9 billion in Canadian emergency student benefit funds went to those in households with more than $100,000 in annual income. Supporting young Canadians, a group that has been particularly hard hit by this pandemic, is critical. It is also this younger generation that will be paying off this government's record-breaking debt for decades.

Why not target relief to the students who need it the most?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, over 700,000 students had help through the Canada emergency student benefit last year and just last week, Statistics Canada released a report saying that our lower wage workers, women and racialized Canadians were all supported at rates higher than their counterparts. We put forth a $7.2 billion package of measures for students last summer. We added $4.7 billion of support last year in the fall economic statement and we have added more support this year in budget 2021. We will be there for students.

Indigenous Affairs

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, despite only making up 4% of the population, indigenous women and girls represented 28% of the homicides perpetuated against women in 2019. Two years ago, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its final report and calls for justice, which called for a national action plan to end the violence. Last week, contributing partners from across Canada came together to release that national action plan.

Could the minister update the House on the federal component of that action plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his exemplary leadership. We honour the strength and resilience of the families and survivors for their decades of advocacy for justice, healing and prevention.

The federal pathway is a key contribution to the national action plan that will lead to lasting and transformative change. It outlines the concrete actions to end systemic racism, sexism, ableism and economic inequality: root causes of violence against indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people who deserve to feel safe wherever they live.

National Defence

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, members of the Canadian Armed Forces strive every day to uphold the highest standards when it comes to military conduct and Canadians trust that they will always do so. However, we have seen repeated failures of senior leaders to uphold those same standards whether we are talking about sexual misconduct, the torture of detainees transferred into local custody in Afghanistan, or now the failure to report possible war crimes by Iraqi troops that Canadians were supposed to be training.

Will the Minister of National Defence break this pattern of looking the other way when it comes to human rights violations, and will he now order an independent inquiry into the failure to report possible war crimes in both Iraq and Afghanistan?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we are absolutely committed to making sure that we respect human rights and international law in all of our operations. Training is always done for our members, and any unit that our members train goes through some rigorous training. Every situation like this is rigorously looked at and the current allegations are being looked at by the military police.

The Environment

[Jenica Atwin, Green, Fredericton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the current generation of youth grew up acutely aware of the urgency to fight the climate crisis and the multitude of challenges facing our planet, from deforestation to environmental racism and pollution generated by plastic waste.

Youth around the world have united. Through their protests they are educating us, but most importantly, they are demanding action and they expect accountability. They want a glimpse of hope and the German High Court handed them a victory: It ordered the government to expand its plan to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050 and required lawmakers to make long-term climate commitments.

Will the government demonstrate that Canada is learning from this legal precedent and commit to achieving its 2030 climate goal? Will it formally recognize the rights of this generation and the next generation—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. minister.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her continued climate advocacy and passion on the file. We have a bold and ambitious plan to protect our environment, reduce emissions and create a sustainable economy for our kids and grandkids.

In fact, the former leader of the B.C. Green Party and leading climate change scientist, Andrew Weaver, called our pollution pricing plan the gold standard. He described our plan as an innovative and inspiring climate plan, and we agree.

Indigenous Affairs

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Independent, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2020, the UN Secretary-General noted that the “approach to and handling of mass graves has too rarely been respectful or lawful”. Canada has no legal framework to address the Tk'emlúps site or any other sites that will come to light. The legal framework led to the deaths of these children. That legal framework, the Indian Act, remains in place.

Will the Prime Minister do what is needed and establish a legal framework for mass and unmarked graves that meets human rights norms, including ensuring all records are kept and released, sites protected and criminal investigations conducted so that families can heal and are appropriately compensated?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the opportunity for the clarification.

Kukpi7 Casimir has made it very clear this was not a mass grave, although it is heartbreaking that we learned of the possibility of all the remains of children at the former Kamloops residential school.

We are reaching out to indigenous communities to make sure that all other communities, with the support of the NCTR, will be able to find their lost children, and we will make sure that this is done in a proper and legal way.

Oral Questions

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup on a point of order.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during question period, in one of the responses we heard from the heritage minister, the sound quality was so poor that I had to remove my earpiece.

On top of that, on two occasions, two Bloc Québécois members left their microphones on at certain points, one of them continuously, which I think is totally unacceptable after 14 months of using these technologies.

When I was in Ottawa last week, I had an opportunity to observe the tight spaces the interpreters work in, crammed in like sardines, not to mention the awful conditions using technologies that hurt their ears.

Mr. Speaker, I urge you to take the necessary steps to ensure that the technology used to address the House of Commons is used appropriately, and that the sound quality when members are speaking is decent. It is very disruptive.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I thank the hon. member for bringing this matter to our attention. He is right, it is very disruptive. Every member has a responsibility to ensure that their microphone is on mute when it is not their turn to speak, and I would once again like to remind all members that it is important not to speak when your microphone is on, but it is not your turn.

The hon. member is also right about the sound quality. We were having problems, but they have been resolved. I was prepared to stop the minister, but he fixed the situation and the sound was good. If anyone is aware that there could be a problem, it might be worth checking to see if their microphone is working.

Documents Related to the Transfer of Ebola and Henipah Viruses to the Wuhan Institute of Virology

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a very short point of order. The House ordered the production of unredacted documents from the Public Health Agency of Canada by the end of day last Friday.

The Minister of Health, during question period, twice indicated that the Public Health Agency of Canada had delivered the unredacted documents to the House Clerk. Can you confirm that that is the case, Mr. Speaker?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I can confirm, and I will be tabling the documents, the letter when we are under the rubric of Tabling of Documents this afternoon.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to point out that the name of the department in French is “le ministère du Patrimoine”, not “Heritage”.

More to the point, I want to acknowledge that I was having technical problems that I spent several minutes unsuccessfully trying to resolve with the House technicians. New equipment should be sent to me soon.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I would like to thank the minister, and I would remind all members that we have a fantastic IT support team.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!