Debates of March 31st, 2022

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Khrystyna was nine months pregnant when this war broke out and she had her baby in an underground bomb shelter. She now needs to make her way through a war zone to get biometrics in Poland, with a brand new baby and a toddler in tow.

Liberal red tape is delaying people fleeing war. Liberal red tape is keeping people in conflict zones. When will the government show compassion and allow visa-free travel for Khrystyna and the thousands just like her?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her compassion. As the parent of an infant child, I cannot even imagine the horrific circumstances someone like Khrystyna is dealing with as she flees this horrific war.

We put forward measures that are going to expedite arrivals, and so far we are seeing that this is one of the largest and fastest humanitarian efforts in the history of Canada. We are responding in real time to a crisis in a way that does not just get people here quickly, but gets people here in a way that we trust can be secure.

I am not worried about the security threat this particular individual provides, but about others who may try to come into the program, including people who have been fighting in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine over the last eight years. It is something we need to address. We are going to do this in a responsible way and bring as many people here as quickly as possible.

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Ukraine is attempting to negotiate peace with a cruel dictator, but Putin cannot be trusted. Ukraine needs military aid and it needs it now. President Zelenskyy has asked Canada and NATO for armoured personnel carriers and more missiles. While the Russians continue to wage war, Canada can give Ukraine our harpoon missiles for coastal defence. We can also give our light armoured vehicles that are being decommissioned right now, like our Coyotes, our Bisons and our M113s.

Will the Prime Minister immediately give Ukraine the lethal defensive equipment it needs so that it can win this war?

[Bryan May, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister has said many times, we are leaving no stone unturned to support our Ukrainian friends. We have announced six tranches of military aid, both lethal and non-lethal, to Ukraine since February alone. This represents well over $100 million in military aid to Ukraine. In addition, we have assisted our allies in delivering aid to Ukraine via 21 flights on the C-130s that Canada is providing for airlift support.

Rail Transportation

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on a cold winter day in 2019, Dylan Paradis, Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer and Andrew Dockrell climbed into a locomotive parked on a steep hill near Field, British Columbia. Minutes later, the brakes failed, the train ran away and the three men plunged to their deaths.

The Transportation Safety Board just released a scathing report on that accident, saying among other things that CP Rail did not listen to the safety concerns coming from its own workers. The government's hands-off approach to rail safety is killing railroaders.

When will it stand up to big rail corporations and protect workers' lives?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, our thoughts continue to be with the families and friends of those who lost their lives in that tragic accident. We thank the Transportation Safety Board of Canada for completing a thorough investigation. Its investigation report was released today. We are going to examine it, we are going to act upon it and we are going to build on the interim measures that we put in place immediately after the accident.

I want to assure my colleague, every member of this House and every Canadian that safety is our top priority, and we will continue to do everything we can to maintain the highest level of safety here in Canada.

National Defence

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were horrified to see General Vance walk away without consequence after allegations of sexual misconduct and obstruction. Women in the armed forces continue to wait for a real culture change in the face of sexual misconduct and assault, and yet, even though the Liberals have promised action for seven years, the minister has said they will wait again for yet another report. How many reports do they need?

Instead of delaying action when the solutions are known, will the government implement the Deschamps report so women get action now?

[Bryan May, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and we are committed to taking strong action on any allegation that is brought forward, no matter the rank, no matter the position. We are committed to supporting survivors, and that is why we have committed over $236 million through budget 2021 to eliminate sexual misconduct and gender-based violence in the CAF, transferred misconduct cases to the civilian system and passed the victims bill of rights, and that is only the beginning.

Small Business

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as Women's History Month comes to an end today, women still face systemic barriers to participate in our economy, and there is still a lot of work that needs to be done for women entrepreneurs, especially those who are under-represented. Women should be celebrated every day and have equal chances to prosper. In 2018, our government announced the first-ever women entrepreneurship strategy, and this program represents $6 billion in investments to advance women's economic empowerment.

Can the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development update us on the program and how the program contributes to advancing gender equality and women's participation in the economy?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from London West for her leadership and her hard work.

Our government continues to move the dial for women entrepreneurs and businesses by investing in their growth and in their success. Recently I announced a $55-million investment for women-owned businesses looking for loans under $50,000 and an additional $25 million to further build out an ecosystem of support focused on under-represented women, and, by the way, this ecosystem has already helped 5,000 women's businesses to grow and 7,000 to start their businesses. If we do not measure it, there will not be any improvement, so we also invested $4.2 million in the knowledge hub.

I want to thank the Canadian women entrepreneurs for all they are doing for the Canadian economy and helping to grow—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Unifor issued a news release on its meeting with the Minister of Fisheries that stated that the minister said her goal was to leave as many fish in the water as possible and that fishermen would need to sacrifice their jobs for climate change. In a statement responding to the release, the minister did not deny this.

Is the minister's actual goal to shut down the fishing industry?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, my goal is to grow the fish and seafood industry, and for that we need sustainable stocks.

I have been misquoted at times and I will make decisions when stocks are in very critical state. I will make decisions that enable us to protect and grow them so that we can have sustainable fish and seafood and a growing fish and seafood industry for the generations to come.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member's NDP dance partner loves that the minister trashed the Unifor union.

Yesterday, the minister shut down the Atlantic mackerel fishery. Mackerel is the—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Maybe the member could back up and take away that “trash” comment.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister shut down the Atlantic mackerel fishery. Mackerel is what we use for bait in the lobster fishery. Lobstermen in Maine used tons of carp this year for bait, yet the minister refuses to approve alternative bait methods over the concern that they may become invasive species. I have a news flash for the minister: Lobster bait is dead, rotting fish and cannot reproduce and is therefore not a threat.

Without other types of bait, there is no lobster fishery. Will the minister reverse this harmful decision?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I do recognize that this decision on mackerel fishing will have an impact on some harvesters. The mackerel stock has been in a very critical state for many, many years, and it needs a break so that it can recover and be there as bait for the lobster and crab fishers. That is why I gave almost two months' notice: It was so that the fishers and the harvesters could find those alternative sources of bait, which do exist and are available in their communities.

These stocks are important for other fish, such as cod, salmon and tuna, and I know the member wants to see those fish have something to eat too.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Mr. Speaker, mackerel harvesters and processors are in shock after the minister closed this year's Atlantic mackerel fishery. Last year, harvesters in my riding witnessed an excessive abundance of mackerel, but much later than usual. They have observed changes in migration and spawning patterns, yet DFO science has not evolved with the ecosystems. For years, harvesters have lobbied to become involved in mackerel research surveys, as they are in other north Atlantic countries.

Does the minister care about the economic impact of her decision or is she just concerned with pleasing environmental activists?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, as I already mentioned, the mackerel stocks have been in a very critical state for a decade, and the time has come to give them a chance to regenerate and rebound, because we need mackerel stock for our fishers for bait for the very lucrative crab and lobster fishery and also for the whole ecosystem.

I am sure the member opposite would not want to be presiding over the extinction of such an important fish. We are going to protect it and regenerate it for the generations to come.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after she was defeated in the last general election, the former minister of fisheries issued temporary moderate livelihood lobster licences to four first nations for the lobster season that ends in May. The former minister had the right and ability to impose conditions on the fishery in return for the issuing of these licences, which would sell in today's marketplace for over $1 million.

Did the former defeated minister put in place a condition that these licences were not to be fished outside the DFO's commercial regulated seasons for lobster fishing areas 33, 34 and 35, yes or no?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I know how important the lobster fishery and all fisheries are to the communities in Atlantic Canada as well as on the Pacific. I also know how important it is for reconciliation with indigenous peoples that they be able to satisfy their court-ordered or moderate livelihood fisheries rights.

With respect to the question, I am happy to look into it for the member. We do our very best to work with indigenous peoples to satisfy their rights and work with harvesters to make sure they are included in any changes of quota that will affect them.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, flights must be chartered to bring Ukrainian refugees to Canada.

According to Michael Shwec, president of the Quebec council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the organization thinks that would be a good thing. Imagine a mother who winds up in Poland with her two children. She has to book and pay for plane tickets herself, so that is a barrier. If the government can help, that is one huge obstacle out of the way for her.

That is what Ukrainians want in terms of help for exiled Ukrainian mothers and their children.

When will an airlift be arranged?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Canada must welcome many Ukrainians who are fleeing Vladimir Putin's unjust war.

We have been working very hard to make sure that we can get as many people here as quickly as possible. That is why we introduced new expedited programs, and I am pleased to share that more than 12,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada already this year, with another 12,000 who have been approved just in the past two weeks. Previous to the new program coming on, there were an additional number, more than 7,500.

We are going to continue to welcome tens of thousands of Ukrainians. We are having conversations with the private sector to see what we can do to bring people here as quickly as possible. Every day we are working to introduce new measures to not just get people here, but to support them after they arrive.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us come back to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which was asked yesterday what more the Canadian government could do to help. The answer was this: Relax the visa application process and help with travel. Send planes to bring these good people to Canada. Right now, they have to foot the bill and find their own way to Canada.

These people found a way to flee the war. The minister must now find a way to bring them to Canada. We have been saying for a month now that planes need to be sent in.

When is the minister going to wake up and charter flights?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that typically refugee resettlement programs take years to implement to welcome people in large numbers. Over the past number of weeks, we have implemented new programs to allow those in Canada to stay. We have waived fees for new applications. We have found every application by a Ukrainian national that is in our queue already and are processing those applications in a priority way.

We introduced a new program so that people could get here in two weeks. We just this week extended new settlement supports to make sure people have language training and that they have access to employment assistance. We are continuing to do everything we can to support people. We will not stop and we will continue to introduce new measures to make it easier for them to get here.