Debates of May 13th, 2022

Indigenous Affairs

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member for her work on this issue. It is indeed a pleasure to work with her to ensure that all the calls for justice are implemented, in particular when it comes to the RCMP.

I want to thank the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action for the report it put out reaffirming gender-based violence within the RCMP.

We are calling for accelerated programs, with a more autonomous Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution. We are also investing in first nations policing and taking steps that will ensure indigenous women are safe in our country.

Emergency Preparedness

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Peguis and communities across Manitoba are being devastated by unprecedented flooding, with homes destroyed, roads washed out and livelihoods gone. More rain is in the forecast. This is climate change.

Peguis has been pushing for long-term mitigation work for over a decade. The federal government has not lived up to its commitments. There is no time to waste. These investments are about the survival of communities.

Instead of padding the pockets of corporate Canada at the Infrastructure Bank, when will the federal government get serious about climate change mitigation and adaptation infrastructure? It is time to stand up for Peguis.

[Yasir Naqvi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for this very important question.

The flooding in Peguis First Nation is of great concern, and the health and safety of residents is a top priority for our government. We are in constant communication with Chief Hudson and local partners, and are taking immediate action to ensure that Peguis receives the supports required in this emergency situation.

In direct response to the community's requests, Indigenous Services Canada has activated the Canadian Red Cross, ensuring the evacuation of residents and the provision of mental health and emergency services. We will continue to work with the community to make sure that residents are safe.

Health

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Yellowknife-based organization, FOXY, received urgently needed federal funding from the mental health promotion innovation fund to continue and expand its culturally safe and northern-focused mental health advocacy. The $1.3-million investment will help it use the arts to focus on cultural identity and to develop social, emotional and coping skills while processing trauma.

Can the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions update the House on how this fund is supporting community-based youth mental health programs across Canada?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question and also for his tireless advocacy for his territory and this issue.

The mental health promotion innovation fund supports community-led solutions to promote mental health and address the root causes of poor mental health and mental illness, especially for indigenous youth. The funding announced last week is part of the program's second phase of funding that supports 10 projects across Canada, for a total investment of $12.2 million.

Our government will continue to support projects with a holistic approach to healing by supporting individuals, families and communities.

Public Safety

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this Liberal government likes to brag about its investments to combat gun violence, but an access-to-information disclosure reveals a different story. This Liberal government failed to spend $325 million budgeted to combat gun and gang violence. In fact, only $140 million of the promised funding since 2017 has been spent. Meanwhile, gun violence explodes across the country, and now the government is planning to spend another billion dollars to buy back guns from law-abiding gun owners.

Why is this government wasting money going after law-abiding gun owners and cutting funds used to fight gangs and violent criminals?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I wish that hon. members on the other side were interested in actually developing solutions instead of trying to portray this issue in a simple fashion. It is complicated, and that is why we are taking multiple steps to deal with gang violence, including investing in communities and investing millions of dollars to ensure that we are combatting gang violence.

Let us work together on this issue. Let us find solutions that actually keep Canadians safe.

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

Mr. Speaker, well, the Liberals' gun buyback program is doomed from the start. Gun crime in Canada is largely committed using illegal guns, but the Liberals want to use more taxpayer dollars to buy back guns from law-abiding gun owners.

Can the minister explain why they are punishing law-abiding citizens instead of criminals and driving up debt while doing so?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I will remind hon. members that assault-style firearms have no place in Canada. Through the mandatory buyback program, we will remove the threat that these deadly firearms pose to our communities from coast to coast to coast.

I would also remind hon. members that over 75% of Canadians who die by firearms are dying by suicide, and that women die because of gender-based violence. Let us not forget the people who are dying by firearms, with the majority related to a mental health issue.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, accountability means taking responsibility when one fails, but the government would rather blame Canadians. The Minister of Transport blames Canadian families wanting to vacation for passport delays and long lines at airports. The Minister of Public Safety blames Canadians for his failure to tackle gang violence on law-abiding Canadians.

What is next: blaming inflation on taxpayers, who are paying more for everything? It is unbelievable. When will the government stop its persecution of law-abiding Canadians and go after the real menace: the dangerous criminals and the illegal cross-border firearms trade?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we are acting on illegal trade across the border. In fact, we have invested in CBSA. I do not have the numbers in front of me, but we have confiscated firearms at the border in unprecedented numbers. Why are we doing that? It is because we reinvested in CBSA, unlike the Conservatives, who actually made cuts to the border. Under their cuts, we could not stop firearms from coming into the country in the same way we can now.

[Chris Lewis, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, although the legal firearms community is not surprised, it is once again disappointed by the NDP-Liberal government. Its gun registry 2.0 will not impact criminals and gangs responsible for gun violence. There are 2,300 businesses like Ellwood Epps that will be forced to hire more folks, which is yet another administrative burden, to do the government's work. Canada has a red tape law. I expect the minister to make the cuts.

Why do these businesses have to keep records for 20 years when Canadians have to keep tax returns for only seven years?

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to respond to that question. Businesses kept records about firearms purchases for many years, for decades, prior to the Harper government coming in and cutting that requirement. We know it is not a gun registry. We know police can use this tool. I remind hon. members of the amendment the Conservative Party put into Bill C-71 that says this is not a long-gun registry. It is in the bill, which the regulations have implemented.

Agriculture and Agri‑Food

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is firmly in favour of sanctions against Russia and stands with the Ukrainian people, but the sanctions need to punish the Russians, not Quebeckers.

Our farmers are being hit with a 35% surtax on fertilizer they bought from Russia and paid for before the war. It is costing our farmers an extra 35%, but it is costing Russia nothing. This measure is not penalizing Moscow. It is penalizing our farming villages.

Will the government give our farmers an exemption for orders placed before the war?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, together with our allies, we are ensuring Russia's actions do not go unpunished. We announced strong tranches of sanctions against nearly 1,000 individuals and entities from Russia and Belarus, including Putin, his inner circle, Russian banks and members of the Russian Security Council. We have ended all export permits to Russia and we are removing Russian banks from the SWIFT system. We will continue to call on Russia to reverse course, withdraw its forces and choose diplomacy.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I think he grabbed the wrong sheet of talking points for his response.

We agree with the sanctions. What we are asking for is a no-brainer. The bill for the fertilizer the farmers bought predates the conflict. The federal government needs to exempt the farmers from the 35% surtax. It is as simple as that. It is not complicated.

Farmers also stand with the Ukrainian people, but they should not be penalized for orders they placed before the war, when no one could imagine the horrors that would unfold in Europe in 2022.

Can the government at least tell the farmers that they will not have to pay for this?

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question and his work at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.

We are of course working closely with the industry. We must first ensure that we are not providing companies with any incentives to continue doing business with Russia, in light of the illegal war on Ukraine started by President Putin.

We also want to ensure that farmers have access to fertilizer at a fair price. We will continue to work with the industry to find a good solution.

Small Business

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

Mr. Speaker, recently I spent time in Springhill. All the businesses had concerns about the state of our economy. They need workers, both unskilled and skilled. They need regulatory changes for their products. They need relief from extreme inflation. They need answers, not talking points about the United States or the rest of the world, and they need the government's hand out of their back pocket.

How will the government create good policy, not more handouts, and let small businesses flourish?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we have been there for our small businesses throughout the pandemic and we continue to be there today. If the member opposite would like examples, let him read the budget. Inside the budget he will find that what we are doing is increasing access to one of the lowest small business tax rates in the G7. We have a 9% small business tax rate in this country, and now even more businesses will be able to enjoy and have access to it.

I think that all small businesses appreciate the health of our economy right now. Our economy is doing extraordinarily well at the moment. We have the highest growth in the G7, and our entrepreneurs are thankful for that.

Public Service of Canada

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, government documents have revealed the Liberals paid out tens and tens of millions in bonuses to public service executives last year: 89% of executives got bonuses, despite the departmental result report showing overall departments missed over half of their targets. There is no clean drinking water on reserves: bonus. There is no fix to the Phoenix pay system: bonus. Vital PPE is thrown in the trash: bonus.

Why is the government so hell-bent on paying taxpayers' money to reward failure?

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has, of course, one of the finest public services in the world. We have professionals who have been able to help support Canadians throughout the troubling times that we have had during the pandemic. We are very proud of our public service. Of course, we want to make sure that public servants are compensated fairly and if they have a compensation system that if they do meet their targets, of course, they are being compensated appropriately. We are very lucky to have such a professional public service.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, guess what? The same government documents show that only 5% of regular public servants, non-executives, got bonuses despite being the ones who are doing all the work. The Liberals paid out millions in bonuses to the government executives who failed to meet over half their goals. The only other place we could find people getting rewarded so well for such failure is in the Liberal cabinet.

Why is the government rewarding so much failure with so many taxpayers' dollars?

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I am just trying to understand my hon. colleague who knows the many issues regarding Canada's public service. Is he suggesting that we should compensate folks who do not meet their targets? I am certain that is not what he suggested.

What we are really talking about is our fabulous public service that has worked very hard and has helped Canadians through very tough times. We are certainly making sure that they are continuing to do the proper work that they do to serve Canadians and serve all of us here.

Health

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, we are celebrating National Nursing Week from May 9 to 15.

This week gives us an opportunity to recognize and show our gratitude to nurses, who make enormous sacrifices to protect us. Canadians working in the health care field constantly demonstrate dedication. They put themselves and their families at risk by working very long hours, often in difficult conditions, to help Canadians get through the worst of the pandemic.

Can the Minister of Health tell us more about the crucial role that nurses play in our health care system and how the government is supporting them?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my wonderful colleague from Fredericton for the excellent work that she does.

I also want to thank all nurses. It is very important to acknowledge the work that they do during National Nursing Week and during every week of the year.

I also want to acknowledge Linda Silas, the president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, and her entire team. I thank them for giving me the opportunity to speak with them just a few days ago.

I must also mention that on top of thanking nurses, we need to support the work that they do. That is why we are creating a new position of chief nursing officer, a position that the former Conservative government unfortunately abolished, and are increasing the amount of student loan forgiveness for nurses in rural areas by 50%.