Debates of May 11th, 2022

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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

Mr. Speaker, enough is enough with Roxham Road.

The Premier of Quebec wants the Prime Minister to close this loophole now. If things keep up, 36,000 irregular migrants will enter Quebec via Roxham Road this year. Quebeckers are the ones who have to foot that bill. We already take in 92% of the irregular migrants arriving in Canada.

Quebec simply does not have the capacity to provide services and housing to an extra 36,000 unexpected people every year.

The Prime Minister can unilaterally close Roxham Road. Will he just suspend the safe third country agreement?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are working closely with the relevant stakeholders on the Roxham Road situation.

Our government is working with its American counterparts on challenges around our shared border, including the safe third country agreement. We remain determined to modernize the agreement.

We will always ensure that our asylum system is robust and compassionate and that it protects Canadians and the people who are most in need of help.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can unilaterally suspend that agreement. He does not need anyone's permission. He needs to do his job.

He has another job to do, as well. He needs to pick up the tab. Asylum seekers are a federal responsibility. Right now, Quebec is being forced to invest $50 million in apartment buildings for irregular migrants. It is costing Quebeckers $72 million in last-resort assistance alone.

Will the Prime Minister suspend that agreement, shut down Roxham Road and compensate Quebec for costs incurred providing services to people for whom the federal government is responsible?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we believe in the strength of our asylum system and our immigration system.

We are working closely with relevant stakeholders on the situation at our border. Our government is working with its American counterparts on issues related to our shared border, including the safe third country agreement.

We will always respect our domestic and international obligations towards asylum seekers.

Natural Resources

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government has never met a single emission reduction target, and the commissioner of the environment has now told it how it has failed to meet another target. This is with respect to a just transition for coal workers, despite repeated promises that the government would be there for coal workers as it shifted away from coal. It was not. Coal workers were left out in the cold. Now the government talks about other transitions.

What are energy workers across the country supposed to think? Will the Prime Minister actually be there for them, or will he leave them out in the cold just like he did with coal workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our government's plan for the futures fund is clear. It will deliver comprehensive action, including through legislation. We are speaking with workers, unions, indigenous groups, stakeholders, provinces and territories on the best path forward. We are delivering strategic investments in skills and training, regional strategies and projects across Canada that create sustainable jobs. Achieving the economy of the future requires coordinated planning to make sure Canadians have sustainable jobs that will carry them from tomorrow into a sustainable future.

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, coal workers lost their jobs years ago and they got nothing. That answer gives them nothing. They do not have a trust fund. They do not have an expensive Mercedes. They are on EI or nothing, because the government did nothing. To listen to the Prime Minister talk about some future fund while coal workers are sitting there with nothing is an embarrassment.

Will the Prime Minister apologize for the deplorable treatment of coal workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative governments at the federal and provincial level have long denied that climate change is a reality and have long resisted taking action to support families and workers in the transition toward cleaner economies and a lowered reliance on fossil fuels. On this side of the aisle, we have recognized where the future is going and we have been there to support and transform communities and jobs for everyone. The Conservatives are continuing to ignore the science and the reality of climate change and are not taking the action that is necessary to support people, their careers and their communities into the future.

Automotive Industry

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government promised that by 2035, every car sold in Canada would be zero-emission.

RBC estimates that building the network of charging stations will require an annual investment of $25 billion. Officials have said in committee that the construction of this network has not even been costed yet.

Is the government choosing to stay in the dark or does it just not care that it is sending another bill to Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have been very clear about wanting more access to electric cars and zero-emission cars.

That is why our government has laid out an ambitious plan to ensure that Canadians have access to electric vehicles, with rebate programs, with investments in charging stations, and with mandates that will ensure that 20% of our cars will be electric by 2026, 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2035.

We will be there. We have confidence in the future we are building together.

Regional Economic Development

[Fayçal El-Khoury, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers want to know what the government is doing for them. Once again this week, we see that our Bloc colleagues are trying to find fault where there is none by claiming to defend the interests of Quebec.

On this side, there are 35 Liberals from Quebec who are working tirelessly to get things done for Quebec and Quebeckers.

Can the Prime Minister update the House on how this government is supporting Quebeckers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to thank the member for Laval—Les Îles for his question and hard work.

Our government is always there for Quebeckers. In Quebec, we recently announced $13.3 million for the PHI Foundation, in Montreal, so it can expand and continue to offer contemporary art experiences, $9.4 million for the construction of an innovation and advanced training centre in Rivière-du-Loup, $9.1 million to build a new arena in Magog, $2.2 million to build the Innofibre research centre in Trois‑Rivières, and many other investments.

We have been there to support the interests of Quebeckers and we will continue to be there for them.

Justice

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, exactly 14 months ago the Conservatives stood in this House and warned the government not to ignore Canadians with disabilities and mental health advocates and their very real concerns with the Liberals' medically assisted dying bill. Look where we are now. We have all read the horror stories over the last few months of medically assisted death being administered to people not because they were near death but because they were vulnerable.

Does the Prime Minister see any issues with how medically assisted death is now being misused in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, respecting the rights and the choice of all Canadians has always been a priority for this government and we will continue to stand up for Canadians' rights to make choices. At the same time, we need to make sure we are investing sufficiently and partnering with the provinces and territories to ensure quality health care for seniors, including with national standards, and quality palliative care, things that we are ready to work with the provinces on and invest in. We respect provincial areas of jurisdiction, but we will also always ensure that we are standing up for the fundamental rights of all Canadians.

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, that is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about the lives of vulnerable Canadians, yet the Liberals took months to reconstitute the committee to review this legislation after the Prime Minister put a stop to its work when he called his election.

Now we are learning of Canadians who see medically assisted death as an alternative to a lack of health care or a lack of safe housing. When it comes to this tragic misuse of medically assisted death, why does the Prime Minister continue to ignore the pleas of vulnerable Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the question of medical assistance in dying has always been a deeply personal one and a deeply important one for all Canadians. Getting the balance right between respecting people's fundamental freedoms to make their own choices about their life and the protection for the most vulnerable has always been the priority of this government. That is why we took a responsible, step-by-step approach on this and continue to be informed by data.

Obviously, we have heard extremely concerning stories about this. That is why we need to be there to continue to protect the vulnerable and to ensure top-quality health care right across the country, including palliative care and support for seniors.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there have been several well-documented cases of abuse and non-compliance under the Liberals' MAID regime. This has drawn rebuke from disabilities rights organizations and a UN special rapporteur, and now the RCMP has launched a criminal investigation into the questionable MAID death of a B.C. woman who suffered from depression, and until now there has not been a word of concern from the Prime Minister.

Will he admit that Canadians who are vulnerable are falling through the cracks and that there are serious abuses happening under the MAID regime?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning of this debate, this government has moved forward with a careful mindset of both upholding Canadians' fundamental rights and protecting the most vulnerable. That is what the Supreme Court decision demanded we do as a government, and that is what we have moved forward with in a responsible way: incrementally, with massive consultations and with the collection of data. We will continue to follow the evidence. We will continue to base ourselves in science, while the Conservatives continue to be wrapped up in ideology. We will respect Canadians' choices and protect the most vulnerable.

Women and Gender Equality

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

Mr. Speaker, we know that everyone in Canada deserves access to safe and affordable sexual and reproductive health care. It is vital to abortion rights and necessary for equitable and appropriate access to a full range of reproductive and sexual health services for vulnerable Canadians, women and girls, indigenous peoples, 2SLGBTQ2+ community and youth.

Could the Prime Minister tell this House how the government intends to support Canadians in need of such services?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to first thank the member for Saint-Laurent for her important question and her leadership on standing up for women's rights.

We firmly believe that all people in Canada, no matter their circumstances, should have access to a full suite of sexual and reproductive health care information and services that are safe and free of stigma. It is why we just announced four million dollars' worth of funding to projects under the sexual and reproductive health fund to develop resources and tools to support the 2SLGTBQI+ communities. It will help three national projects led by the Community-Based Research Centre, Egale Canada and Sherbourne Health.

We will continue to improve reproductive health services for people who experience the greatest barriers.

Indigenous Affairs

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week another report was released about the over-incarceration rate of indigenous women, who currently make up over half of the female population in Canada's federal prisons. The Liberal government is aware of this crisis and has chosen not to address it, in spite of the calls for justice in the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

It is time to stop making excuses. When will the Prime Minister implement the calls for justice and put an end to the systemic racism?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his passion on this file. It is something that we absolutely share.

That is why, since 2015, we have moved forward on the calls to justice, the calls to action. We have moved forward on the path of reconciliation. We recognize there is so much work to continue to be done, but the government is continuing to move forward in partnership with indigenous peoples to change the systemic discrimination and racism that continue to exist at all levels and institutions across Canada.

We continue to stand strong and move forward with indigenous peoples.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, my question for the Prime Minister is on the subject of single-use plastics, but first I really want to thank the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the foreign affairs minister for their recent trip to Ukraine.

Turning to single-use plastics, there are less thanks and more demands that we do something about the mounting amount of plastics in our environment, the microplastics that permeate almost all the water on Earth and the plastics that are found in the stomachs of animals that wash up dead.

The Prime Minister promised to eliminate single-use plastics by 2030. We do not have a plan. The regulations that are in draft form are completely inadequate. When will we see a plan to eliminate single-use plastics by 2030?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in 2018, when we hosted the G7 in Charlevoix, we moved forward with a historic ocean plastics charter, which moves forward on eliminating single-use plastics and on working with partners around the world to reduce the impact of plastics in the oceans and in our biosphere.

We will continue to work with science, experts, corporations and Canadians to make sure that we are eliminating toxic single-use plastics and continuing to protect our environment for future generations. I thank the leader of the Green Party for all her devotion to this and many other important issues.

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

That is all the time for question period today.