Debates of April 7th, 2022

Finance

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

Order. Let us get through the question.

The hon. member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek may start again.

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that the NDP leader and members of the NDP elite were given insight into the upcoming budget. Meanwhile, this information was not even provided to Liberal members of Parliament.

Did the Minister of Finance provide the debt management plan of the Government of Canada or fiscal tables during her budget briefing with the NDP?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. members of the House that no such information was shared.

Let me share this. Canada's AAA credit rating is intact. We have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. We have the second-fastest growing economy in the world. Next year, we are on track to being the fastest-growing economy in the world. The economy grows, the Conservatives crow, and guess what? Canadians love it.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, sharing market-moving information could be illegal. When I look from the NDP to the Liberals and the Liberals to the NDP, it is already impossible to tell the difference. Maybe that is why the NDP leader got a budget update yesterday.

One of the most important parts of the budget is the projected revenues, so to the finance minister, did the leader of the NDP get an update on the projected revenues for the next six years?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the budget will be presented in the House of Commons today at 4:10 by the Deputy Prime Minister, at which time the House will understand exactly what is in budget 2022.

The economic fundamentals are sound. In 2021, we had the largest trading surplus since 2008. We will have the fastest growing economy in the G7 next year, and the second-fastest this year. It is such good news for Canadians. I do not know why the Conservatives do not want to share it.

Sport

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, the Minister of Sport announced the appointment of Canada's first sport integrity commissioner. The goal is to eliminate the abusive, inappropriate and unacceptable conduct that is too often part of Canadian sport.

Abuse has a significant negative impact on our athletes' development, and the appointment of a person of integrity like former athlete Sarah-Ève Pelletier will go a long way toward improving the situation. Can the minister explain how this new position will have a positive impact on young Canadian athletes?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and her excellent work in the riding of Saint-Laurent.

It it is vital that we protect our athletes, and that is what the new sport integrity commissioner will do. The appointment of Sarah-Ève Pelletier is a critical step in moving toward a sport system free of harassment, abuse, discrimination and maltreatment.

We will make this independent mechanism mandatory for all federally funded national sports organizations. These abuses must and will stop.

Innovation, Science and Industry

[Ryan Williams, Conservative, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has an intellectual property problem. Yearly, Canada produces $39 billion in intellectual property, the currency of innovation, while the U.S.A., in comparison, produces $6.6 trillion, or 169 times what Canada produces. What is worse, we are giving our IP away. This year the former Google chairman thanked Canada for IP that Canada had developed and which was commercialized in the U.S.

Will Canada, in this budget, have an intelligent budget to ensure Canada produces its own intellectual property, or are we going to continue to let the U.S.A. eat our IP for lunch?

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we introduced Canada's first ever intellectual property strategy in 2018 with investments of over $85 million, and we have built on those investments. Budget 2021 proposed to invest $90 million to create ElevateIP, a program to help accelerators and incubators provide start-ups with access to intellectual property expertise. Moreover, budget 2021 also proposed $75 million for the National Research Council's industrial research assistance program to provide high-growth client firms with access to expert intellectual property services.

The Economy

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, every day the Liberal government says, “We have got Canadians' backs”. Do they realize how insulting this sounds to people who are suffering? Work happy while people suffer—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Order. It works both ways folks.

The hon. member for Peterborough—Kawartha can start again.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, every day the Liberal government tells us how much money the Liberals have spent to help people. Do they know how insulting this sounds to people who are suffering, such as the 12,000 independent travel advisers, all women, who have been left out of financial supports? How does that sound to Diane, a senior who cannot afford her $430 propane bill? How does it sound to 30-year old Chelsea, who will never afford a home? What about Brian, who cannot afford to run his farm?

Will the government actually have Canadians' backs in today's budget, or will it just be more debt and “Justinflation”?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, since the fall, we have invested over $12 billion in tourism, the hardest-hit sector, so that every single tourism operator in this country can have a chance to get back on their feet. We have reduced the border restrictions. Tourism is now on the rise.

If the opposition, which is opportunistic and obstructionist, wants to help Canadians and focus on affordability, they can do the right thing, bring Bill C-8 to a vote, get us past 40 hours of debate and actually get affordability back on the table for Canadians.

Justice

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, imagine being a victim of Canada's worst ever mass shooting where 23 lives were senselessly taken, including that of a baby. The federal government has promised an advocate. For seven months the position of the federal ombudsman for the victims of crime remains unfilled. It has not been filled in due time as promised by the Minister of Justice. Despite the efforts of the Mass Casualty Commission, affected families have nowhere to turn because of this unfilled vacancy.

When will the minister do right by the families, all Nova Scotians and many others affected, and appoint a victims advocate?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I extend my support and condolences to all of those families affected. I can assure the hon. member, this House and all Canadians that the filling of that position is moving in due course according to the rules of fair hiring we have put in place, and I would expect that announcement will be made very soon.

We have invested in victims across Canada in a variety of programs. We will continue to do that. Victims remain at the centre of what we do—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

As a Nova Scotian, I want to hear the answer to this one.

If the hon. minister wants to take another 10 seconds, he can finish his comment.

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I was concluding by saying that we support victims. They are at the centre of all the reform we are doing, and we will make that announcement very soon.

Employment

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we know this government is committed to ensuring Canada's economic recovery continues at warp speed. In fact, the government has had such success that some sectors are facing labour shortages. One of the best ways to manage this is to welcome temporary foreign workers into Canada.

This week, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion announced a series of significant enhancements that will make the TFW program more flexible for employers while adding protections for employees. Could the minister share with us some of the changes outlined in the announcement?

[Carla Qualtrough, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Surrey Centre for his hard work on this file.

The TFW workforce solutions road map aims to improve the program for employers while strengthening worker protection without compromising Canadians' jobs. Canada has a low unemployment rate and an unmet demand in many sectors.

Stakeholders across the country have rallied in support of these measures. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce said the measures will fill job vacancies across our economy and support our postpandemic recovery and economic growth. We agree.

Transportation

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

Mr. Speaker, it has been almost a year since Greyhound ended its bus service in Canada. Last May, the minister told us that he would provide “safe, reliable and affordable transportation across the country.” One year later, rural communities are still waiting to hear the plan. Without reliable buses, people cannot get to work or access services, and here in northwest British Columbia on the Highway of Tears, it is particularly concerning for indigenous women and girls.

Will the minister tell us when rural communities will have bus service they can rely on?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I share my hon. colleague's concern about several communities in rural parts of our country that have been lacking access to intercity bus service. Our government is very much concerned with this reality. As I shared with my colleague, the issue is a provincial responsibility. We continue to work with our provincial partners to identify ideas of how we can move forward. I met with several bus operators. We are looking for ways to support them, ensuring that residents in rural areas have access to affordable, reliable and safe intercity bus service.

Climate Change

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, enough of the political games. The Minister of Environment and Climate Change today is responding to questions from the Bloc and the NDP citing his approval of Baie du Nord, when he knows he is setting a net-zero condition that will not worth the paper it is printed on if we emit up to 100 coal-fired power plants in the year before we even get to that point.

He cites the IPCC when he knows full well it has said that investing in projects like this is a moral and economic madness. Production would not even start until 2028. When will the government realize that being a climate leader means investing in a just transition for workers and not in caving to the oil and gas lobby?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the IPCC did not say what he just said. The secretary general of the United Nations said that. There is a big difference.

The IPCC said every country needs to reduce its emissions by 43% by 2030. That is exactly what we are doing. The IPCC said any fossil fuel that we will still be using needs to be abated. That is exactly what we are doing by putting in place mandatory measures for net zero by 2050. We will continue to do that.