Debates of Dec. 1st, 2022

Carbon Pricing

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we all know Canadian families are feeling the financial pinch. Liberal inflation is hitting them right in the pocketbook. The Liberal government needs to give them a break.

The easy way to do that is to agree to our one key demand: do like other G7 countries and cancel the carbon tax hike. Canada is the only country fixated on increasing the carbon tax.

Will this government finally agree to our demand and follow in the other G7 countries' footsteps?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I have news for my colleague. Pollution pricing does not apply in Quebec. What is more, Quebeckers wholeheartedly agree that we must tackle climate change.

I would also add that our government has a strong plan to address the economic instability we are all experiencing by ensuring a fiscally responsible approach to the debt and the deficit, which are the lowest in the G7.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the plan she is referring to is a tax plan.

At the same time that the Liberal government is insisting on increasing the carbon tax, it is announcing new spending to please the NDP, which, members will recall, is keeping the Liberals in power.

People living in rural areas no choice but to drive because there is no public transit. Families, workers and businesses are being hit hard by the carbon tax.

How can this government just look away and pretend that it does not see that the carbon tax is slowing down the economy, making Canadians poorer and not helping the environment?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague said, the federal pricing on pollution does not apply in Quebec, but it does apply on the Prairies, where I come from. There was good news for Atlantic Canada last week, and good news for the Prairies coming up this spring. As of April 1, a family of four will get up to $1,500 in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and $1,000 in Manitoba. Those cheques are going to be coming every three months. It is going to help with cash flow, and it is going to help with affordability.

The Conservatives have no plan.

Official Languages

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's minister of the French language is meeting with the federal government today. That is good timing.

Last Thursday, we celebrated a historic anniversary. Two years ago, the Quebec National Assembly adopted a unanimous motion calling on Ottawa to work with Quebec to apply the Charter of the French Language to federally regulated businesses. Bill C-13 does the opposite. It lets businesses off the hook.

Will the minister announce to her counterpart that she will amend Bill C‑13 to stop supporting the anglicization of Quebec?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, it is really disappointing that the Bloc Québécois continues to spread inaccurate information about Bill C‑13.

We are the first government to recognize the decline of French, and that is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill. Yes, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with my counterpart, Mr. Roberge, this evening. We look forward to beginning to work together. Once again, as Minister of Official Languages, I will make sure I work closely with all of the provinces and territories to promote French across the country.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's minister of the French language is concerned because all indicators point to French being in decline. One of the main indicators comes from Statistics Canada: One in five Quebeckers cannot work in French in Quebec. The numbers are even worse in Montreal and the Outaouais region.

Knowing that, why does the minister want to allow federally regulated companies to use Bill C‑13 to circumvent the Charter of the French Language?

Her own statistics prove the contrary. There is a decline in the use of French in the workplace in Quebec. Does she not listen to science?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, our government and the Government of Quebec share a common goal, which is to do everything possible to protect and promote French across the country. That is why we are implementing an ambitious bill to ensure that federally regulated private companies' clients and employees will have the right to work in French and to be served in French, and this also applies to regions with a strong francophone presence.

I hope the Bloc and the Conservative Party will support this bill, as stakeholders across the country want us to take the next step.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's minister of the French language also called for a national awakening, urging Quebeckers to open their eyes to the decline of French. It is high time the federal Liberals from Quebec woke up. Their Bill C‑13 does not protect French in Quebec. It protects English in the workplace and anglicizes Quebec.

It is time the federal Liberals remembered they do not work for Air Canada. They do not work for the Royal Bank of Canada. They work for Quebeckers, and Quebeckers' language of work is French. When will they wake up?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, the national awakening we should be seeing is the Bloc Québécois choosing to work with us to do everything we can to protect and promote French across the country. What we are seeing here is, once again, just for show.

The federal government has to be honest. We are the first government to recognize the decline of French across the country. That is why we put forward an ambitious bill. Now is not the time to squabble. Now is the time to work together closely to make sure this bill moves forward.

Diversity and Inclusion

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, two days ago, Liberal members of Parliament and the Minister of Transport welcomed a dangerous anti-Semite, Holocaust denier and terrorist sympathizer to this place. Nazih Khatatba and Meshwar Media, which the government already gave tax dollars to, has referred to the Holocaust as a “Holohoax” and “the biggest lie in history”. This newspaper called Judaism a terrorist religion. Worse yet, this man praised last week's heinous murder of 16-year-old Canadian teenager by terrorists.

Will the Minister of Transport denounce this man, his publication and apologize to Canadians?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, anti-Semitism is real and all of us must condemn it whenever we see it. This individual should not have been invited to this event. He should not have been welcomed to this event. That event was hosted by MPs from all parties. I am always happy to participate in parliamentary events, but we all should condemn anti-Semitism and all forms of hate wherever we see it.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there was no apology and no condemnation. Members of the Canadian government should not be meeting with Holocaust deniers and Hamas sympathizers who praise the murder of children. They invited him and they got caught.

I will ask this again. Will the Minister of Transport have the courage to stand up on his feet in the House and apologize to Canadians?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the member is misleading the House. I did not meet with the individual. Let me be very clear that as members of Parliament, we attend events everywhere, we are accessible to our community members and there is always a risk of us meeting unsavoury individuals. The issue here is how we, as MPs, react to this.

I want to make sure that I am clear. I condemn anti-Semitism. I will always condemn anti-Semitism. Will the members of the opposite side do the same when they encounter people who are spreading hate and anti-Semitism across Canada?

Public Safety

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, listen to this.

Hunting is part of Québec's history, and has become a way of reconnecting with nature and escaping the daily grind. Whether for the challenge...or to obtain good quality meat, hunting is within everyone's reach.

Who said that? It was the Government of Quebec.

What is more, the Conference Board of Canada said that, in 2018, nearly three million Canadians participated in hunting, trapping, sport shooting and fishing activities. This sector supports nearly 107,000 jobs.

Does the minister understand that hunters are not a threat to society? Will he stop this foolishness?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. We have a lot of respect for hunters.

However, the bill and all of the policies that have been introduced by the government target the criminal element and the assault-style weapons that have been used in tragedies across Canada.

That is why we need to reverse the position of the Conservatives, who still want to make assault-style weapons legal. That is wrong.

Climate Change

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are living with more frequent and extreme weather events that have left Canadians devastated. While people are dealing with the impacts of the climate crisis and trying to keep up with rising costs, the biggest polluters are getting even richer.

Like the NDP, 350 Canada, Leadnow and Greenpeace are calling on the Liberals to tax the excess profits of oil and gas so they pay their fair share. When will the minister stop defending the interests of the oil and gas industry and start making them pay what they owe?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we know two things. We know that energy profits are at record levels and we know that emissions have to come down.

We are investing $9.1 billion in an emissions reduction plan. We have put our money on the table. Oil and gas companies have to come to the plate. They have to put their shoulder to the wheel. They have to work with us to get those emissions down and to realize the ambitious targets we have set through our emissions reduction plan.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the last three auditors general have been clear. The government has failed to help first nations communities protect themselves against natural disasters. The Auditor General is fed up with the government's inaction and Canadians are fed up too. Even the deputy minister sees that the government is leaving first nations communities to fend for themselves.

The climate emergency is here. We have no time to wait. When will the government drop the platitudes and deliver the $358 million first nations need?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to say that I agree with the member opposite that the climate emergency is real and that it is challenging first nations communities and indeed all communities across the country.

Indigenous Services Canada works closely with first nations communities that are under threat from fire, from torrential rain and from wind to make sure that people can get to safety and that we can protect infrastructure when those events happen. I also agree with the member opposite that as a nation we are going to have to pivot to ensuring Canadians have the prevention and the plans they need to adapt.

Public Safety

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, hunters across Canada carry on a proud tradition, and some are worried.

I can say from experience that spending time in nature with family and friends is not just good for mental health, it also provides food security to many indigenous families and communities.

Can the Minister of Public Safety assure us that the changes in Bill C‑21 will not affect our hunters?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. I agree with her. Hunting is not only a fine tradition, it is also an activity at the heart of many communities.

That is why the guns commonly used for hunting will still be allowed. We will make sure of it.

Bill C‑21 is about making our communities safer. Our government has been clear: Guns designed for war have no place in our communities.

Democratic Institutions

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

Mr. Speaker, CSIS advised the Prime Minister in its top secret briefing note that the way to combat foreign interference was through “a policy that is grounded in transparency and sunlight in order to highlight the point that [foreign interference] should be exposed to the public”.

Why are the Prime Minister and the government not heeding this advice? Why are they not going public and telling Canadians exactly which candidates and which riding associations were involved in Beijing's foreign interference?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that we need to take allegations of foreign interference very seriously. That is why we created independent, non-partisan panels to shine a light on the allegations of foreign interference, both of which confirmed that the elections in 2019 and 2021 were free and fair.

We will continue to shine a light on the tools, on the investments, that we are putting in our national security community to protect all our democratic institutions, including elections.

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

Mr. Speaker, intelligence experts here and in the Five Eyes are saying that the best way to combat foreign interference is transparency and sunshine, to go public with information. That is why last summer the U.K. government and MI5 went public about a Beijing agent in the U.K. Parliament, Christine Lee. She was publicly named and so were the MPs who were the target of her donations.

Those MPs took action to protect the integrity of the U.K. Parliament. Why will the government not do the same thing in this country?