Debates of Dec. 5th, 2022

Public Safety

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been very clear from the beginning. We are not targeting hunters. We are targeting criminals. We are targeting the assault weapons that were used in our country's greatest shooting tragedies.

Bill C‑21 targets the criminal element with harsher sentences and with investments for the CBSA.

The Conservatives do not support this bill, which is a very bad thing. They need to change their position.

Firearms

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals continue to deny they are going after Canadian hunters with their latest gun ban, but the ban list is out and hunters across the country have seen many of their commonly used firearms on that list. Hunters from Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies, the north and our indigenous hunters are all speaking out. Even legendary Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price is speaking out. The CBC, in fact, just today, said the list includes a number of long guns in wide use by Canadian farmers.

Why will the Liberals not just admit this was never about public safety and that it was their target all along to go after law-abiding hunters, sport shooters and farmers? This was their plan all along.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, with great respect for my colleague, the intent of the government has always been clear. We are not targeting law-abiding gun owners or hunters. We are targeting the AR-15 style guns used in some of the worst shooting tragedies in this country's history, including Polytechnique.

Recently the Conservatives' friends at the Coalition for Firearms Rights exploited the worst femicide in Canadian history for profit. This was a slap in the face to all the families the victims and survivors of Polytechnique.

Will the Conservatives stand up now, condemn the CCFR and ask it to apologize?

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, it seems the only person in this chamber who does not understand this bill is the minister himself.

The bill lists in black and white the exact hunting rifles the bill is banning. Constituents who are calling their members of Parliament, both NDP and Liberal, understand it bans hunting rifles. Carey Price, an NHL goalie, understands it bans hunting rifles. The CBC, and we know the Liberals read the CBC, understands it bans rifles. We also know that backbench Liberal MPs understand that this bill bans hunting rifles.

They cannot have it both ways. Either everyone else is wrong or the minister—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. minister.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I will be the first person to stand up and applaud the exemplary work of our rural caucus who defend the rights of hunters, collectors and recreational sport shooters every day.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

The Conservatives can mock, but our side of the House knows full well—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order.

The hon. minister. Do it from the top please.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, before I was rudely interrupted by the Conservatives, and am again—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

I was highlighting the incredible work of our rural caucus, and indeed of all of our caucus, who understand the importance of the traditions of hunting. I have met with them and will continue to be sure we are not targeting those hunting guns. That is why we are working closely with the members of the committee who are undertaking a very careful study of the language of that bill to make sure it is in alignment with our intent, which is to go after those AR-15 style firearms that were used in the likes of Polytechnique. We never want another one of those tragedies again.

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has it all wrong. Everything he just said is contradicted by the actual text of the bill, the text that we understand, that Liberal backbenchers understand and that their constituents understand. Just because he says it is so does not make it so.

The Liberals' entire philosophy and approach to crime is flawed. The evidence is in. Since they took office, violent crime is up 32% and gang-related homicides are up 90%, yet their plan to combat these things is to go after law-abiding hunters. They need to get their priorities straight, go after the gangsters and leave hunters alone.

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Minister of Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, I am one of those hunters, and I know I can speak for all the hunters in this room when I say that we cannot stand it when we see a firearm used, as we heard earlier about Polytechnique, to take other innocent lives.

I would hope we all want to work together to make this bill the best it can be. The terrible misuse of information out there has to stop.

I am also going to tell members that I challenge anyone to please reach out with a specific make and model. The devil is in the details. The weapons on that list are not—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for La Pointe-de-l'Île.

Official Languages

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

Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada is putting the spotlight on the decline of French in the workplace. One the three worst sectors is banking, which is under federal jurisdiction. For 45 years, the federal government has allowed banks to circumvent Bill 101. As a result, this sector has become a major contributor to the anglicization of Quebec.

The Liberals know all this and they have the Statistics Canada figures in hand, so why do they still want to allow the banks to get around the Charter of the French Language in Bill C‑13?

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

Mr. Speaker, first of all, we acknowledge the decline of French across the country. We also acknowledge the statistics published this year after the census. That is why we introduced an ambitious bill to do everything we can to protect and promote our beautiful French language across the country and to protect our official language minority communities.

Our bill will make it possible for employees of federally regulated private businesses to work in French and for their clients be served in French. Once again, I hope the Bloc Québécois and the opposition parties will support us.

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

Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada has proven that, by allowing federally regulated businesses like banks to circumvent the Charter of the French Language, Ottawa is contributing to the decline of French in the workplace. With Bill C-13, the government is encouraging the trend towards the anglicization of workplaces in Quebec.

At this very moment, French is also declining as a language spoken at home, and it is declining as a language of service in the greater Montreal area and the Outaouais. If, on top of everything else, Ottawa continues to encourage its decline in the workplace with Bill C-13, what does the future hold for French in Quebec and Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would really like my friend and colleague from La Pointe‑de‑l'Île to stop spreading misinformation about Bill C‑13.

We are the first government to recognize the decline of French and that is the reason for introducing ambitious legislation. The federal government wants to do its share to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec. I hope once again that members of the House will work with us because stakeholders across the country want this bill to be passed as quickly as possible and we have a lot of work to do.

Carbon Pricing

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has shown a serious disrespect to all Canadians. He seems to think he can skirt the responsibility that comes with elected office by blaming global trends. Canadians elected him to govern and help Canadians through record costs of everything, which he can do today by eliminating the carbon tax.

Will the Prime Minister take leadership, assume some responsibility and cancel the carbon tax, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, instead of fighting inflation and making life more affordable for Canadians, what do the Conservatives want to do? They want to make it harder for Canadians to save for their retirement. They want to make it harder for Canadians who lose their jobs, and instead of flighting climate change, they want to make pollution free again.

On just about every measure that Canadians care about, the Conservatives are absent. We will always have Canadians' backs.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Liberals do not have an environmental plan. It is a tax plan. Liberals have not met a single target that they have set. As is typical with the government, I got another non-answer. I asked for a yes or no response, not more empty rhetoric.

I will provide the government with another opportunity to answer the simple question: Will they cancel the carbon tax, yes or no?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has made a suggestion that we have not hit a target. The target that we have set is for 2030, so if she has a DeLorean and a flux capacitor, I invite her jump in and travel in time.

The reality is that we are on track to reduce our emissions because of the investments we are making. We are bringing pollution down, and we found a way to make it more affordable for families at the same time. Every step of the way, we will do what it takes to protect our environment for our kids and our grandkids and to advance measures that support affordability at the same time.

This is the path forward. If the Conservatives do not join us on it, they will enjoy sitting in opposition for a very long time.