Debates of May 20th, 2022

Passport Canada

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, as I said, we recognize that Canadians are experiencing frustration right now with the incredible surge in demand when it comes to passports. We are experiencing unprecedented demand, the likes of which we have not seen since 2006, because over the past two years Canadians followed public health advice. They stayed home and did their part to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

We are working around the clock at Service Canada, including on evenings and weekends. We have added over 600 additional staff at this point to ensure that we can meet those processing times in a timely manner.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Speaker, the government was failing 81% of the time before the current surge.

The Service Fees Act requires government to develop service standards for government services that charge fees, such as for passports. It also requires the government to refund such fees if such standards are not met, under the directive on charging and special financial authorities.

The government has not been meeting its standard for passport application services, as we know, for well over 80% of people. Therefore, is the government refunding these Canadians, as is required under law?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, for in-person passport services, we are meeting standards about 98% of the time. These are within 10 days. It is the mail-in option that is experiencing delays. We continue to work around the clock.

Previous to the pandemic, the majority of passports were processed in person as opposed to the mail-in option. This has now shifted, so we are adjusting and shifting resources as necessary, but we will continue to examine and do everything we can to make sure that we are delivering these services in a timely manner for Canadians.

Taxation

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Madam Speaker, the luxury tax in the budget bill is flawed.

Rather than taxing billionaires who buy private jets, the government is taxing our aerospace industry and putting it at a disadvantage in relation to its foreign competitors. Everyone agrees on that.

The government is working hard to get us to pass Bill C‑19 as quickly as possible, but there is nothing to indicate that the government is working just as hard to remedy the problems with its luxury tax.

Will the government commit to making changes to Bill C‑19 to prevent it from undermining Quebec and its leading industry?

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

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

We know that the aerospace industry is vitally important to Quebec and to all of Canada as a result. That is why companies that sell aircraft for export are entitled to a tax rebate for this. We are working closely with the aerospace industry to ensure that this important measure, one that seeks to ensure that everyone pays their fair share, will not negatively affect our manufacturers.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Madam Speaker, that is not at all true. This has been going on for months. There is no communication, and it takes six months to get the rebate. Companies will be advancing the government hundreds of millions of dollars.

Management and unions are not often aligned, but they were yesterday at the Standing Committee on Finance. The aerospace industry and aerospace workers were united in saying that just a few little changes to this luxury tax would make it okay. Without these changes, however, it will miss the mark and hurt our businesses.

The government may well have bought itself a majority through its agreement with the NDP, but it is alone on this issue. The entire sector is opposed.

Will the government amend Bill C‑19?

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

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague once again. I know that he works hard on this issue at the Standing Committee on Finance.

I assure my hon. colleague that we are working very closely with the aerospace industry. Our measures are designed to ensure that everyone pays their fair share and that the wealthiest in Canada, the 1%, pay taxes on luxury jets, cars and yachts. These measures are important to our government.

I will work with my colleague to ensure that this does not hurt our manufacturers.

The Environment

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, the carbon capture tax credit included in this year's budget was not included in the budget implementation act. Why not?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Madam Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that carbon capture and storage is going to be critical to reach our 2030 as well as our 2050 goals. We need to use every tool in the tool box, as the Minister of Environment and Minister of Natural Resources have said. Again, this incentive is a critical tool to reduce our emissions, and this is an important technology to share with the world.

[Greg McLean, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, there are lots of tools in that box.

Carbon capture is widely viewed by all scientific input as the nearest-term solution to decarbonizing our energy needs. There is no path to environmental goals without it.

It has been over a year since the government rejected my tax credit on carbon capture because it needed to consult. After all that time, it was announced in this year's budget, yet there is still no action.

If the minister believes the climate crisis is the biggest challenge the world faces, why is he so slow in advancing the most obvious solution?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Madam Speaker, I hope the hon. member has had a very deep dive into our emissions reduction plan, which is a very ambitious sector-by-sector pathway to reach our 2030 emissions. Carbon capture, utilization and storage is going to play a very important role in that.

Not only that, in the ERP we have incentives for infrastructure, support for electric vehicles, and energy retrofits for greener homes and buildings. We are also going to reduce oil and gas emissions. We are going to work with the sector—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa.

The Economy

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Madam Speaker, a constituent named Sharon called me the other day to say that she cannot afford to drive to the city for groceries because gas prices are crazy. Many agree with Sharon, especially rural and low-income Canadians.

Last week, the average gas price was 85¢ less per litre in the United States compared with Canada. Why? Because the Liberals love taxing fuel.

Why has the government not provided any tax relief for Canadians at the pumps?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Madam Speaker, we know that a price on pollution is the best way to fight climate change, and that inflation is a global phenomenon.

We also know that the federal price on pollution is 11¢ per litre, and that it is the only fee collected on gas that is refunded to consumers, with eight of 10 families actually getting more money back.

Why is it the Conservatives oppose all of our affordability measures, such as child care, retirement security and the national housing strategy, but are always willing to make life more affordable for very profitable oil and gas companies?

Indigenous Affairs

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, friendship centres provide important culturally informed employment, youth and housing programs for indigenous people across the country. Friendship centres are important for indigenous and non-indigenous people to come together and learn from one another.

The Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre has been providing essential programs and services to indigenous people from across Nova Scotia from its downtown location in Halifax since 1972. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services inform the House on what this government is doing to support the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre?

[Vance Badawey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services]

Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the member for Kings—Hants for this very important question and his hard work on this file.

The Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre currently provides over 55 programs, including early childhood education, employment, and housing supports for culture and language, as well as harm reduction.

Yesterday, we announced $4.91 million in joint federal funding to contribute to the design and construction of this new facility. The funding will also support social and economic opportunities for indigenous entrepreneurs.

Building an improved, safe and accessible space that supports the delivery of high-quality culturally relevant—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Saskatoon—Grasswood.

Passport Canada

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Madam Speaker, Kristie from my riding submitted her passport renewal by mail, which was the only option in March. Still, three months later, she has not received her passport. When she heard from Passport Canada, she was given a phone number that spit out an automated message and then disconnected. When she wanted to file a complaint, guess what number Service Canada gave her? It was the same one.

How embarrassing. When will the backlog be cleared?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, there is a huge demand for passports at this point in time. I understand the situation that Kristie is in. I would invite the member opposite, and any members opposite if they also have urgent cases, to please get in touch with my office. We are happy to help them ensure that Canadians get their passports on time.

As I have explained recently, prepandemic the majority of passport delivery issuance was happening in Service Canada offices. That has switched to mail-ins. We are addressing this issue and allocating resources as necessary.

Public Safety

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Madam Speaker, two days ago the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety stated, in reference to the prison farm in Joyceville, “to my knowledge, there is no slaughterhouse.” This would appear to contradict the response given on April 8 to another MP by her minister, who stated that the existing slaughterhouse would remain in operation.

We are all a bit confused. Has the parliamentary secretary just announced that the slaughterhouse has been shut down and will not be reopened?

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

Madam Speaker, I applaud the hon. member for his new-found interest in corrections, and I have to ask where he was when the Conservative government was making mean-spirited cuts to corrections, including prison farms. We know that the rehabilitation of those who commit crimes is important for public safety, and that is why we reopened the prison farms. It is good for public safety, it is good for inmates and it is good for the community.

I would ask him to ask the Save Our Prison Farms folks what they think about the prison farms in their communities.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

There seem to be a lot of conversations going back and forth, including from parliamentary secretaries, so I would ask members to ensure that they hold on to their thoughts while other people are trying to answer questions.

The hon. member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound.

Taxation

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Madam Speaker, when the Canadian wine industry was targeted by Australia at the World Trade Organization, the Liberal government said that it had the industry's back. Canada's 1,100-plus wineries and cideries need the level of government support that the European, Australian and American wine and cider industries receive, not a big Liberal tax grab in the form of an excise duty.

Will the finance minister keep her promise to support the long-term interests of wineries and cideries, especially the smaller businesses like the cideries in my riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, or will she just continue to tax them into bankruptcy?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Madam Speaker, with respect to the wine industry, we stand firmly in favour of supporting this industry in terms of its growth in this country and in terms of its growth, economic development and ability to export.

The minister's work is taking her into different areas of the world. Right now, she is travelling to APEC to address the need for diversification in the Asia-Pacific. With our agreements and trade accords, what we are doing is ensuring the exportation of Canadian wine and other Canadian industries so they can meet the important targets we are setting.

CBC/Radio-Canada

[Chad Collins, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, Lib.]

Madam Speaker, a free and independent press is vital to democracy, and it is sustained by journalists' remarkable work. From everyday sacrifices to numerous risks, journalists face incredible hardships to inform the world. However, Putin's regime has decided to further damage these strong values by closing the CBC bureau in Moscow to silence journalists from reporting the facts.

What is the government's position on this deeply troubling authoritarian decision?