House of Commons Hansard #65 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was quebec.

Topics

HealthOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont

We were doing really well there. Let us have a respectful answer.

The hon. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

HealthOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's, ON

Mr. Speaker, the word was “collaboration”.

I want to say that on mental health, we think there is collaboration across the whole of the House, as we go forward with investing the $5 billion that was in the 2017 budget and move forward to the federal transfer eventually, once we have a strategy.

HealthOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Mike Lake Conservative Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, AB

Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about the 2022 budget, and several things are very clear. During the election, many parties made substantial commitments on mental health. The cornerstone of the Liberal commitment was the Canada mental health transfer, beginning with $250 million for 2021-22. The Liberals made an agreement with the NDP, and many elements of that agreement remain highly secret. Subsequently, the Canada mental health transfer has been shelved.

Canadians deserve to know this: What other Liberal platform commitments have been negotiated away in the deal with the NDP?

HealthOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Toronto—St. Paul's Ontario

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett LiberalMinister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I usually respect the questions from the member, but I find this quite annoying. Everything in mental health and addiction is being built up; there is nothing being traded away. This is a high priority in our government, and I really think that was a despicable question.

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

3 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Denis Garon Bloc Mirabel, QC

Mr. Speaker, we are very concerned by what the The Globe and Mail has revealed about the Canada Revenue Agency. Half the employees of a division responsible for making multinational companies pay their fair share of taxes stated they were victims of bullying last year. The employees felt they were under inappropriate pressure to approve what they saw as a multi-million dollar sweetheart deal for one company.

Bullying in the workplace is always unacceptable. That said, does the minister not see anything wrong with her own employees being bullied to recover less money, rather than more?

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

3 p.m.

Gaspésie—Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Québec

Liberal

Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, having been a social worker who worked with victims of violence and bullying, I can say that I strongly condemn any form of bullying. I want to reassure my colleague that all matters have been verified by an independent third party and everything is in order. The Minister of National Revenue cannot interfere in the administration of the CRA.

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

3 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Denis Garon Bloc Mirabel, QC

Mr. Speaker, we know that the minister never gives an answer.

I do not want to call the third-party review into question today, but the agreement was at the very least somewhat contentious. Half the employees said they were victims of bullying. The Canada Revenue Agency is supposed to be the taxpayers' watchdog, but in this case, the dog has turned on the family and is trying to bite.

Is it standard practice at the Canada Revenue Agency to bully companies into approving such controversial requests?

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

3 p.m.

Gaspésie—Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Québec

Liberal

Diane Lebouthillier LiberalMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, there should be no problems as I am a good watchdog.

What I can say is that the Bloc Québécois will never serve as the opposition. It should at least try to be well informed, because that is its only job.

Service CanadaOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB

Mr. Speaker, the government's failure to plan has prevented Canadians from being able to access basic government services. People cannot get through by phone or in person to Service Canada. In fact, the delays in passport processing have effectively ground Service Canada locations all across the country to a halt. It has become so dire that some people are charging upwards of $15 an hour to stand in line for people desperate to get an in-person appointment.

The Harper government introduced a 10-year passport. Has the Liberal government decided to introduce a 10-year wait-list?

Service CanadaOral Questions

3 p.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, as I said before in the House, there is unprecedented demand when it comes to accessing passports. We have put a number of initiatives in place to help deal with this. We have a simplified process to replace expired passports. We have opened more client counters in passport offices. We have operated extended hours and used overtime in passport offices and processing and call centres. We have created three additional application processing centres, expanded passport intake in 303 Service Canada centres, hired 500 additional staff, continue to hire and train more and opened 12 offices over the weekend in the busiest centres around the country. We will continue to work really hard to ensure we are serving Canadians.

Service CanadaOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

Brad Redekopp Conservative Saskatoon West, SK

Mr. Speaker, despite all that, the horrors of the out-of-service Service Canada office in Saskatoon continue.

Margaret is 86 years old and the nicest lady you can find. She was struggling to get through on the phone, so she went to the Saskatoon office in person. The staff refused to meet with her for not having booked an online appointment. Our seniors, and indeed all Canadians, deserve better than this.

Does the minister even have an ounce of compassion for Margaret and all the people being mistreated in Saskatoon because of the minister's lack of planning?

Service CanadaOral Questions

3 p.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, of course I have compassion for everyone across the country, because there is an unprecedented demand in accessing these services. I was in Saskatoon on Friday, in fact, and visited the Service Canada centre there. I spoke with the employees, who are working around the clock to address this unprecedented demand. They are working evenings, they are working weekends and they are doing everything they can to serve Canadians, but right now there are more Canadians than at any time ever before looking to renew their passports because they want to travel. We are going to do everything we can to serve them as best as possible.

Service CanadaOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC

Mr. Speaker, a constituent of mine from Kelowna—Lake Country did the right thing. She applied for a passport renewal in person at a passport office and was told by Service Canada staff that doing so two months before travelling was plenty of time. The passports never arrived and she will likely have to cancel her family trip at great cost and disappointment.

Service Canada told MPs that it expects lengthy passport delays. This is another mess from the government.

When will the minister provide clarity to my constituent and Canadians on passport processing?

Service CanadaOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Karina Gould LiberalMinister of Families

Mr. Speaker, I understand that this is a frustrating process for many Canadians, but over the past two years many passports have expired, and with the lifting of restrictions many Canadians want to travel at the same time.

We are doing everything we can, and Service Canada employees are helping them. If there is an urgent request, they should make that known when they arrive at a Service Canada centre. They are ensuring that transfers happen. If there is an issue, they can call the call centre. Of course, MPs have access to a special regional inquiries unit that they can call, and Service Canada will assist as best as possible.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC

Mr. Speaker, early 2022 was fraught with uncertainty for many farmers and they have faced many challenges in planning their operations.

Some of those challenges include increased drought and flooding, as well as outbreaks of livestock diseases, such as the avian flu.

Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food tell the House what is being done to help farmers manage these major risks?

Agriculture and Agri-FoodOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Compton—Stanstead Québec

Liberal

Marie-Claude Bibeau LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her support for the agricultural industry.

This spring was especially difficult for our farmers. In order to help them deal with the avian flu, in particular, we recently extended the AgriStability enrolment deadline from April 30 to June 30, which will enable more farmers to enrol in this important risk management program and ensure that they receive a minimum income in these uncertain times.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Fraser Tolmie Conservative Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK

Mr. Speaker, with global supply chains struggling and a war in Ukraine, Canadian agriculture is more important than ever. Farmers in my riding are concerned that the Liberals want to meddle with the Pest Control Products Act, adding more red tape for them to deal with and favouring activism over science-based decisions. Our farmers have always been tremendous stewards of the environment.

What makes the NDP-Liberal government, or coalition, think that it has any expertise or right to tell our farmers how to feed the world?

Agriculture and Agri-FoodOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Compton—Stanstead Québec

Liberal

Marie-Claude Bibeau LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague that we certainly do recognize that our farmers are firmly committed to taking care of our environment. Their land is their most precious possession.

We committed to reviewing the overall framework within which the Pest Management Regulatory Agency operates to make sure that it meets consumers' expectations, while recognizing that our farmers also need tools to ensure a good yield.

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

Mr. Speaker, business owners from such sectors as manufacturing, agriculture or tourism are struggling to address the labour shortage. It is even worse for francophone business owners. On top of all of the red tape, they are having to wait up to 30 months, which is two and a half years.

Does the Minister of Immigration realize how much irremediable damage this is doing to our economy? What will he do right now to address this issue and show respect for our francophone entrepreneurs?

Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Orléans Ontario

Liberal

Marie-France Lalonde LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

This is a very important question, because immigration is key to addressing the labour shortage. Once again, I would like to inform my colleague and the House that during the first quarter of 2022 we processed more than 100,000 work permits, which is nearly double the number of applications processed during that same period in 2021.

We will continue to ensure that employers in Quebec and Canada have access to the workers they need to participate in Canada's economic recovery.

EthicsOral Questions

May 5th, 2022 / 3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Marty Morantz Conservative Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB

Mr. Speaker, just last year, the NDP voted with the Conservatives, not just once but four times, for the production of the Winnipeg microbiology lab documents, which the Liberals have still failed to provide. Just last week in the foreign affairs committee, the NDP flip-flopped and voted with the Liberals to shut down the committee's inquiry, blocking production of those very same documents. What did the minister promise the NDP, to make it complicit in yet another Liberal cover-up?

EthicsOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Ajax Ontario

Liberal

Mark Holland LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, of course, those documents were made available through NSICOP. The Conservatives said they did not want to see them, so then we created a new process, through an MOU, to have an independent panel of jurists who would determine what could be made public and what could not, to protect national security. Did the Conservatives decide to participate? No, they did not, so I am confused. Do they want to see the documents or do they not? We have had two processes and two offers for them to see them. They continue to say no. It leads one to believe that they just want to play a partisan game and that it is all a big joke.

Regional Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON

Mr. Speaker, my riding of Guelph continues to see significant growth in green technology and agriculture, sectors that we know are vital to Canada's economic prosperity, through organizations like Innovation Guelph and Bioenterprise. Can the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario inform the House about the measures our government is taking to support the economic growth in these sectors while enhancing the lives of those living in Guelph and Wellington County?

Regional Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Markham—Stouffville Ontario

Liberal

Helena Jaczek LiberalMinister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from the riding of Guelph for his commitment to supporting job creation and economic growth in his riding.

I was pleased to visit Guelph last Friday to announce $10 million for green technology development through six regional innovation centres, as well as over $2.6 million in support for community revitalization and tourism projects for the people of Guelph and Wellington County. Our government will continue to make investments like these that grow our economy and improve the lives of Canadians.

Regional Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont

I am hearing a lot of chatter here. I do not know what has been going on between questions. There is some friendly banter going on here, so maybe call it off.

The hon. member for Nunavut.