Debates of March 3rd, 2022

Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to subsection 15(3) of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons, it is my duty to lay upon the table the list of all sponsored travel by members for the year 2021 as provided by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, entitled “Situation at the Russia-Ukraine Border”.

The committee wishes to advise the House that it condemns the unwarranted and unprovoked attack on Ukraine that was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a clear violation of international law. It also calls on the Government of Canada to support Ukrainians and people residing in Ukraine who are impacted by this conflict, to ensure that it is prepared to process immigration applications on an urgent basis without compromising needs in other areas and to take steps to ensure rapid entry to Canada for all who wish to come.

Natural Resources

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, entitled “Supplementary Estimates (C), 2021-22”.

The committee has considered the estimates referred by the House and reports the same back without amendment.

Financial Administration Act

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-256, An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act (composition of boards of directors).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce an important bill to Parliament. This legislation would amend the Financial Administration Act to require gender parity on the board of directors of Crown corporations and agencies.

I would like to thank the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre for seconding this bill and for her tireless advocacy for gender equality.

Today in Canada, women make up only 27% of federal appointments to Crown corporation boards. Only 18% of director seats are held by women across all corporate boards in Canada, and 61% of boards are composed entirely of men. This is unacceptable and must change. By adopting this legislation, the federal government can lead by example and take concrete action to advance gender equality in Canada.

For systemic change to occur, we must change the system. I hope all parliamentarians will support this important and overdue initiative.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Canadian Human Rights Act

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-257, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act (protecting against discrimination based on political belief).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Haldimand—Norfolk for her collaboration and assistance on this important project.

I am tabling a bill that would expand human rights protection in Canada by making political belief and activity prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. Canadians must be free to express and act on their political beliefs within the law and with the protection of law. They should not face intimidation or discrimination while doing so by either governments or private employers. This freedom is essential for strong democracy within a robust and independent civil society.

This bill would align federal human rights codes with the human rights codes in most provinces. Currently, in federal jurisdiction it is legal for someone to face threats to their employment or access to services because of their political beliefs or activity. This allows governments and large corporations to coerce workers and other Canadians into limiting or changing their political behaviour.

The Canadian Human Rights Act already contains an exception for a bona fide occupational qualification. Let us protect freedom of speech, the rights of workers and the health of our democracy by passing this important human rights legislation as soon as possible.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Proposal to Rename Street

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions, and I hope if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That the House call upon the City of Ottawa to consider renaming the portion of Charlotte Street which houses the Russian Embassy in honour of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

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

The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

(Motion agreed to)

Seniors

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present petition e-3629 on behalf of Single Seniors for Tax Fairness. Their petition advocates for equal treatment in Canada's tax system for single seniors who are not able to access the same tax benefits as those who are married, but who face same reality of the rising costs of living on a limited income.

I want to thank the group's founder, Jane Robertson, who has been a strong advocate for this cause that affects those across Canada, including those in my riding of Davenport.

Air Transportation

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada and Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon are home to a vibrant community of more than one million Punjabi Canadians. Each year many travel to the Punjab region to visit family, friends and religious landmarks like the Golden Temple. Right now, they must fly into Delhi and make the long journey by train, bus or other means. Canadians are asking for direct flight service from Vancouver or Toronto to Amritsar, Punjab, which would cut travel times drastically. This would be good for our economy and it would make good economic sense.

I am pleased today to table petition e-3771, signed by more than 14,000 Canadians, calling on the Government of Canada to work with airlines and India's High Commission to initiate this direct flight service as soon as possible. We could get this done, and petitioners from across Canada look forward in good faith to the government's response.

Seniors

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, many residents of Winnipeg North have signed this petition asking for the Government of Canada, the Prime Minister and, in fact, all members of the House of Commons to advocate for our seniors and deal with issues such as long-term health care, mental health, the OAS and the GIS, all very important issues for our seniors.

The constituents I represent have signed, in good part, the petition asking for all members of the House to be advocates for the needs of our seniors.

Queen Juliana Park

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this place to present a petition from many people in the Ottawa area. This is in fact one of many petitions I have received on this issue, which has also been presented by other members in this place.

The cutting down of beautiful urban trees is a problem in any city in Canada, but in Ottawa Queen Juliana Park is more than a park. It is also a memorial and an honouring of the Canadians who died in the liberation of the Netherlands in the war. Queen Juliana Park was established to honour the 7,600 Canadians who died.

It is now slated that 750 mature canopy trees will be cut down in order to accommodate a decision that was the reverse of what was recommended by the National Capital Commission, which recommended 53 acres of surplus federal office land at Tunney's Pasture. Instead, the city council of Ottawa chose to cut down the trees at Queen Juliana Park to build parking lots and open up the door to more development.

The petitioners ask that the federal government assist in having an inquiry into why the National Capital Commission recommendation was overturned, restore the National Capital Commission recommendation of Tunney's Pasture as the ideal place for an Ottawa Hospital and maintain Queen Juliana Park and the entire Central Experimental Farm areas as much-needed urban green space for Ottawa.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Opposition Motion—Natural Gas Pipelines and the Invasion of Ukraine

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

moved:

That the House:

(a) condemn President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation for their unprovoked, illegal attack and invasion of Ukraine;

(b) stand with Ukraine, the people of Ukraine and Canadians in the Ukrainian community; and

(c) call on the Government of Canada to undertake measures to ensure new natural gas pipelines can be approved and built to Atlantic tidewater, recognizing energy as vital to Canadian and European defence and security, allowing Canadian natural gas to displace Russian natural gas in Europe, and being consistent with environmental goals in the transition to non-emitting sources of energy.

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Calgary Centre.

The attack on Ukraine by the Russian Federation is the first European war between countries since the Second World War and a serious violation of the international order and our collective humanity. This attack threatens not only Ukraine, but Canada. Canada's defence and security has always been inextricably linked to that of Europe. The attack was in Ukraine, but the threat is also among us.

Since Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec in 1608, the outbreak of major wars in Europe has always involved Canada. The Seven Years War, which many consider to be the first global conflict between Great Britain and France, led to the conquest of 1759. What we call the War of 1812 was actually a subsidiary of the Napoleonic Wars. Canadians know well the price that Canada paid in the First World War and the Second World War in Europe, and 100,000 Canadian war dead can attest to that.

The attack represents a second threat to Canada. It came on the heels of an autocratic pact between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China that threatens the rules-based international order in place since 1945.

Canada contributed to establishing this international order, and it has been the basis for the longest period of peace and prosperity in modern times. The disintegration of this international order will threaten peace and security here in Canada.

We support the actions taken to date by the Government of Canada, but more needs to be done, which is why we have introduced our motion today. One of the most important things we can do is understand that energy is vital not only to our economy, but also to our defence and security and to the defence and security of Europe. Russia understands this. It has used natural gas to intimidate and coerce European democracies. Russia supplies 40% of Europe's natural gas and uses this to intimidate Europe and Ukraine, threatening to cut off supplies. If supplies are cut, people will freeze, factories will shutter and Europe's economy will grind to a halt.

Not only does Russia understand this, and not only does it understand that energy is vital to its defence and security, but so does the European Union. In 2015, the European Commission introduced measures to try to diversify energy away from Russia. The commission said, in reference to Russia's use of energy to intimidate and threaten European democracies, in a document titled, “A Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy”:

Energy policy is often used as a foreign policy tool, in particular in major energy producing and transit countries.

The commission said:

As part of a revitalised European energy and climate diplomacy, the EU will use all its foreign policy instruments to establish strategic energy partnerships with increasingly important producing and transit countries or regions....

It also said:

The [European Union] will continue to integrate Norway fully into its internal energy policies. The EU will also develop its partnerships with countries such as the United States and Canada.

We need to understand, as the Russians and the Europeans do, that energy is vital not only to our economy but to our defence and security. We need to understand what others have long understood, which is that energy is also a foreign policy tool, particularly in major energy producing and transit countries.

Since the first week of December, the Biden administration has been trying to rally natural gas-producing allies and partners around the world, such as Norway and Qatar, to ensure that additional natural gas supplies can be brought online in the event that Russia cuts the gas to Europe. While Canada has participated in these conversations, Canada has not been able to provide any assistance.

Canada is the world's fifth-largest natural gas producer, but we are unable to get natural gas to tidewater to provide assistance to European democracies. We cannot get natural gas to tidewater because we cannot get pipelines built. That inability to get pipelines built is now not only impacting our economy. It is now threatening our security and defence here at home, and the defence and security of Europe.

The government must introduce measures to get new pipelines approved and built to transport Canadian natural gas to the Atlantic coast so we can displace Russian natural gas in Europe.

This is an urgent matter affecting the safety and security of Canadians. It is also an important issue for the defence and security of European democracies.

I know that some might say that exporting liquefied natural gas to Europe is inconsistent with our environmental goals. They would be wrong. Exporting liquefied natural gas is consistent with environmental goals in the transition to non-emitting sources of energy. One of the biggest things Canada and the world can do in the next decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in order to meet the Paris accord targets, is to replace coal-fired electrical generation plants with natural gas-fired electrical generation plants. Canada can play a role in that transition if we can build natural gas pipelines to tidewater to export liquefied natural gas.

The government's own data shows that coal-fired electrical generation plants are two times more greenhouse gas intensive than natural gas plants, and Europe and many other countries in the world still rely on coal-fired electrical generation plants. Getting our natural gas to tidewater is not only an economic imperative or a defence and security imperative, but it is also an environmental imperative.

We condemn President Putin and the Russian Federation for their unprovoked, illegal attack and invasion of Ukraine. We stand with Ukraine, we stand with the people of Ukraine, and we stand with Canadians here at home with ties to Ukraine. We must use all of the tools available to us as a country to defend Ukraine and Europe against a vicious authoritarian onslaught.

Some of the things that the Canadian government can do to support democracies in Europe are recognize that Canada has immense energy resources, recognize that energy is vital to Canadian and European defence and security, recognize that natural gas is consistent with environmental goals in the transition to non-emitting sources of energy, and undertake new measures that ensure natural gas pipelines can be approved and built to Atlantic tidewater. If we can build pipelines to get Canadian natural gas to tidewater, we can displace Russian gas in Europe, thereby countering the threat from the Russian Federation and President Vladimir Putin and strengthening democracy in Europe and here at home in Canada.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Madam Speaker, Parliament certainly stands to condemn Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked illegal attack, and we certainly stand with the people of Ukraine, but what I find really disturbing and appalling at this time is the crass exploitative attitude of the Conservatives to try to take a humanitarian disaster and use it to promote the pipe dream of spending billions of taxpayers' dollars on pipelines.

They could have talked about the need for Parliament to stand together and take on Russian disinformation. They did not do that. They could have talked about the food crisis we could start to see if we see wheat exports in Ukraine cut off. They could have talked about refugees, but they are not interested in that. I expect a lot from many of the Conservative backbenchers, but I expect more from this member.

Does he not know that Quebec has already shut down LNG pipelines? If he is going to get to tidewater, does he not have a map of Canada? Quebec says it will not allow LNG exports. That would actually undermine our world obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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

Madam Speaker, I could not disagree with my hon. colleague more.

We have for weeks, months and years called for the government to issue an order of general application to direct the CRTC to a new broadcasting policy, under section 7 of the Broadcasting Act, to take state-controlled broadcasters that spread disinformation and propaganda off of Canadian airwaves, such as Russia Today: RT. We have been advocating for over a year for visa-free travel for Ukrainians coming to Canada. It is clear, as understood by the European Union, that energy is not only vital to economies, but it is also vital to defence and security. That is why the Conservatives have introduced this motion today. It is vital that we protect the security and defence of this country and that of our European allies and partners.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, the government has demonstrated very clearly how important it is to work with allied countries, and we are all horrified by the things we see taking place in Ukraine. I am interested in knowing, from the Conservative Party's perspective, to what degree it weighs working with allied countries. Many of the initiatives, such as immigration, the lifting of and assisting with visas, and sending lethal weapons and humanitarian aid are done by working with allied countries.

Could the member share his thoughts on the importance of working with allied countries?

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

Madam Speaker, we believe it is essential that Canada work with allied countries. Our position is that the NATO alliance has worked in a very collaborative fashion in presenting a very strong position against the menace of the Russian Federation in Eastern Europe, and we support the actions taken by the Government of Canada to date.

We encourage the government to work in a quadrilateral fashion with the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union to discuss how the humanitarian crisis of refugees in Eastern Europe could be handled by the four parties to ensure that refugees are taken in, in an appropriate manner, by the members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

[Luc Thériault, Bloc, Montcalm, QC]

Madam Speaker, La Presse newspaper published an excellent article by Paul Journet this morning about the Conservatives' obsession with building pipelines and exporting fossil fuels.

He wrote that there are two obstacles standing in Canada's way. First, competing countries are already lined up to supply Germany.

He mentioned Norway in particular and wrote that time is not on Canada's side. It would take a few years to get a liquefaction plant up and running, but the war has prompted the German chancellor to speed up his energy transition.

Paul Journet quoted the German chancellor as saying, “the faster we make progress with the development of renewable energies, the better”. The chancellor then added that his finance minister calls renewable energy “freedom energy”.

Does my colleague not believe that, rather than using—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills.

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

Madam Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's question.

The European Union is also obsessed with pipelines. I have a document here from 2015 that says that pipeline policy is a concern not only for the economy, but also for Europe's security and its expenditures. I encourage my colleague to read this document.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, it is my honour today to second the motion brought forward by my colleague from Halton Hills. I stand firmly with the rest of my party in condemning the actions of Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime against our allies in Ukraine, our democratic friends in Ukraine. Here in Canada, there are 1.3 million Ukrainian descendants. They are one of our most important allies in the world, and we need to stand with them strongly at this point in time and make sure that we speak and act accordingly so that this does not continue, as much as we can.

The other day I heard from a friend who has a cousin who is in Ukraine. She was here in Canada for 20 years, but she chose to go back to Ukraine because she retired. She had an inheritance there in a small house that she got from her family, so that is where she retired. That house was destroyed earlier this week by a tank. Her name is Luda and now she is in hiding. Luda's family is asking that we quickly allow 200,000 refugees to come from Ukraine, at least temporarily. We have seen the backlog at the border with Poland. They are not going to be able to shelter all of these refugees alone. We need to help. Canada needs to help and quickly.

Rex Tillerson, former head and CEO of Exxon Mobil Oil, one of the world's largest oil and gas producers, said in 2014, when Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine, that they didn't take sides in international conflicts. That is an absurd statement. We need to know what side of humanity we are on. There is no commodity, no dollar earned, that is more important than the lives that are being trampled on by Vladimir Putin. Rex Tillerson's words represent the decline of western values to the point where nothing matters more than money. This needs to change immediately. The evidence is clearly at our doorstep.

I have heard the meek calls from world leaders saying we cannot disrupt Russia's oil and gas exports for various reasons. First, it will cause a spike in oil prices that will cause financial hardship in the world.

That is ironic considering the intent of all of our various tax measures on the oil and gas industry: excise taxes, royalties and carbon taxes. That one is going to escalate by 25% in less than a month in Canada. These are all designed to do exactly that: to make the consumption of hydrocarbons more expensive so that people believe that the expensive alternatives are more palatable. I suppose the message is to make it more expensive just on our own terms, but inaction to disrupt Russia's trade in oil and gas in the world is going to have some financial consequences on those countries that have chosen to have the resources supplied by Russia. This will cause inflation. There is no doubt. Just as every other input increasing prices in oil and gas impacts inflation. We are experiencing significant inflation.

Second, Europe's economy is dependent on the supply of Russian natural gas. That is also a choice that has been made, in spite of the danger that was always evident of having such a large portion of energy supply coming from an unpredictable and despotic regime. Yes, jobs will be impacted.

Third, Europeans will freeze at the end of this winter. Yes, the absence of natural gas delivery to Europe will cause some discomfort, some of which we have already seen as energy prices have skyrocketed in Europe this year. Europe is entering a period of energy poverty, and it has always been looking for a quick fix. It turns out that the impacts of being overly reliant on Russian gas supply is not the quick fix that leaders without foresight envisioned or ignored, with its own consequences.

There are many consequences, but for succinctness let us put three consequences briefly together. Higher costs for hydrocarbon energy is something that we in the west have been manipulating higher through government action for years, but higher costs suddenly will cause inflation, hardship and choices. There is also economic displacement. European factories will need to adjust and some will shut down as the cost of energy becomes prohibitive. Again, we in the western world have been offshoring our jobs for years to parts of the world with lower environmental standards and lower labour standards. On heating for homes, there is going to be some discomfort.

Let us compare these three hardships that I have just outlined here to what Luda is experiencing in Ukraine right now.

A country is being destroyed. There is no economy or jobs that will matter in the midst of a shelling war. Luda's home was destroyed by a Russian tank. The juxtaposition is stark and the world is soft-pedalling our response to Russia because we need its oil and gas. The irony is stark. Where do we draw the line here, after Ukraine, when Poland or Moldova is in Russia's sights? We need to collectively act now and ensure the entire world rejects Russian commodities. Such is the cost of tyranny, which we have been ignoring for years. The Canadian government has been a willing part of this abject shift. Dollars have flown to Russia because of the government's regard for Canada's resource industry.

In the last seven years, oil production in Russia has gone up by a million barrels a day. Gas exports have gone up 35% from Russia. Disdain for Canadian resources has led oil and gas exploration elsewhere, including the world majors. Shell and British Petroleum have just recently decided they would extract themselves from Russia, losing $20 billion and $25 billion respectively in the process. However, the largest beneficiary, particularly for the flow of capital, has been Russia, which has profited with hundreds of billions of dollars because of choices such as the ones the Liberal government has made.

These are choices. All of these choices have consequences, the consequences of curtailing Canadian oil and gas development through various ill-advised methods has led to the void being filled by less transparent regimes, primarily Russia. Our naive policies have put hundreds of billions of dollars into the pockets of a despotic regime. This week I asked the government to actually curtail oil imports into Canada from Russia, and it said we had not imported crude since 2019. Subsequently it recognized there is more to oil than crude and did suggest, on which I think it will follow through, cancelling all crude oil imports. I hope that happens immediately.

We have helped finance, through this transfer of money, a military buildup in Russia. Our military has shrunk. We do not meet our international obligations from a military perspective. I remember a song by a Canadian band from when I was young. The gist of it was that if we choose not to decide, we still have made a choice. This is a choice we have made without any eye on the consequences here. When I ran for Parliament going on two and a half years ago, it was to get pipelines built. There is no better infrastructure for helping the Canadian economy and the world environment than Canadian pipelines delivering Canadian product to markets.

Canadian natural gas production has gone down in the last seven years. Russia's has gone up by 35%, again a juxtaposition that is stark. The west coast had 14 LNG facilities in line to be built in Canada. Now there is one that is being built. In the U.S., in the meantime, seven have been fully built and five more are being built. Think about how we do not get things done in this country anymore, things that will help the world from an environmental perspective, from an economic perspective and, of course, from a democratic perspective.

One of the issues on natural gas is that it is not just a fuel. It is also an input to fertilizer. Feeding eight billion people in the world requires natural gas fertilizer and that is going to continue to be necessary to prevent a crisis at some point in time in the future. Therefore, getting that natural gas to where it is needed for fertilizer is essential.

I spoke last night for 20 minutes with a gentleman named Karil. He is a temporary foreign worker from the Ukraine working in Alberta's oil fields. He was pleaded with me, and he ended up shouting at me and apologizing to me. I felt awful because he should not be apologizing to me. He is from Kharkiv and he has seen his city destroyed. He has seen his family displaced. They are looking for places to stay, and I say I am sorry to him that we cannot act more forcefully here in getting this under control.

We need to act. We need to act quickly and decisively, as soon as we can. Slava Ukraini.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Madam Speaker, as I think we all know, President Zelensky of Ukraine has asked Canada for military aid; lethal and non-lethal weapons, which we have delivered; financial assistance, which we have delivered; and sanctions, which we have delivered. Every ask that President Zelensky made we have delivered on.

He has not asked us to build pipelines in Canada. Why is this the Conservative Party's priority? Is it an attempt to help Ukraine or is it a crass throwback to a 20th-century Conservative Party policy instead of a 21st-century solution to a problem we are facing today?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I remind members that, when somebody is asking a question, there is no sense in trying to answer for the hon. member who has the floor and will be answering. I am sure the hon. member for Calgary Centre is able to respond to the question.

The hon. member for Calgary Centre has the floor.