Debates of June 14th, 2022

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, I would invite my colleague to read the entire Globe and Mail article, and not just the headline, because two experts are quoted who believe that what the oil industry is being asked to do is indeed ambitious. What Canada hopes to do is ambitious.

I would have expected the Bloc Québécois to support an ambitious approach in the fight against climate change.

This plan focuses on the lives of over 30,000 Canadians. It has been applauded by organizations such as the Pembina Institute, the World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defence, Équiterre and the David Suzuki Foundation.

Our government will ensure that this plan is implemented so that Canada can meet its targets.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister keeps saying that the increased production of oil will not affect his plan, but his own department warned him that such is not the case.

What is worse, the minister does not even include the extra barrels in his calculation. When he approved the Bay du Nord project, they were talking about 300 million barrels. That figure rose to 500 million last week and is now expected to go as high as one billion barrels.

The minister, however, keeps saying that everything is fine, that no matter how many barrels are produced, it will all be net-zero.

I could not even make this up. Is the notion of green oil a matter of wishful thinking or is it just incorrect?

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

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my hon. colleague to read the latest report from Canada’s official greenhouse gas inventory, which showed that, although oil production in Canada increased by 700,000 barrels in 2019 compared to 2018, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced in 2019 and in 2020. This all shows that our plan is working.

We have decided to tackle pollution. We will reduce our methane emissions by nearly 45% in the oil and gas sector by 2025. Our objective is to increase that figure to 75% by 2030, which is the most ambitious objective in the world.

Public Safety

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on multiple occasions, the Minister of Public Safety said that police forces had requested the Emergencies Act. We now know that was not true. Even worse, the minister doubled down on his false claims on multiple occasions in the House, in committee and in the media. He even sent his deputy minister to committee to try to clean up his mess, saying he was misunderstood.

There is no misunderstanding here. He knows exactly what he did. He misled Canadians and he knows there must be consequences.

Will he do the honourable thing, the right thing, and announce his resignation today?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to double down on the truth, which is on this side of the House.

The truth of the matter is that an unprecedented moment occurred last winter when we saw blockades at ports of entry. We saw people put out of work. We saw families hurt. We saw lives endangered. We took the decision that was necessary, as informed by the consultation and advice we got from police services and as we heard the commissioner of the RCMP say at committee.

I do not understand why, to this moment, the Conservatives have refused to accept their egregious role in extending the danger that was put on public safety as a result of comments made during that unprecedented moment. They should apologize.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what is critical here is getting to the truth, because the truth is critical for the parliamentary committee investigating the invocation of the act. The truth is also critical for the judicial inquiry charged with investigating the rationale for invoking the act.

What is known is that the truth has been corrupted by the Minister of Public Safety. He knows his words matter. Making false claims in trying to justify invoking the Emergencies Act matters. It matters a lot.

Will the minister do the right thing, the honourable thing, and resign?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the only honourable thing is for the member to look to the interim Conservative Party leader of Canada and ask her to resile from the comments she made during the illegal blockade, which put at risk public safety. It is an absolutely egregious thing to have done. On this side, we were working 24-7 with law enforcement to protect Canadians. It was the Conservatives who put their safety at risk. That was wrong and they should apologize.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about things being egregious and unprecedented, and what is unprecedented is the lengths the minister will go to spread his disinformation and continue to try to divide and stigmatize people the government disagrees with. It is the Liberals' pattern to try to punish Canadians who disagree with them.

On April 26, he said it was the advice of law enforcement that he followed to invoke the Emergencies Act, but we know that is not true. We heard it directly from police.

Will the minister come clean with Canadians, tell them that invoking emergency powers was actually a Liberal power grab and resign today?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, it is astonishing to hear the member ask that question when I have repeatedly cited law enforcement community leaders who said they needed the Emergencies Act, that it helped to restore public safety and that it helped to fill in existing gaps among authorities, which were ineffective at restoring public safety.

The member should be looking right down the aisle at his interim Conservative Party leader, who undermined public safety as a result of comments by trying to make this a political problem for the Prime Minister. That was fundamentally wrong.

They are soft on crime, they are weak on law and order and they should apologize.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's answers are not credible. It was unsafe, yet they continued to let all parliamentarians and all staff come into the precinct. The minister has lost absolutely all credibility—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I have to interrupt the hon. member. I am hearing shouting back and forth and I am having a hard time hearing the question.

Go ahead, from the top, please.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has lost all credibility. He says it was unsafe, but they continued to let all parliamentarians, ministers, the Prime Minister and residents of downtown Ottawa come down here.

The risk Canadians have is a minister and cabinet who are spreading misinformation. We have a minister who refuses to take accountability and instead divides and stigmatizes Canadians, looking to pit neighbour against neighbour and government against Canadians if they do not agree with him.

Will the minister do the honourable thing, stand before the House and deliver to the Prime Minister his resignation today?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, it is June 14 and the Conservatives have still buried their heads in the sand about what is necessary to protect the health and safety of Canadians. That is why we invoked the Emergencies Act. We sought and consulted with police forces before we took that decision, and it is the Conservatives who undermined public safety. What they should do is take a mirror and take a hard look at themselves for the way they contributed to the undermining of public safety. It was wrong and there should be an apology today.

The Environment

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, internal documents show that the government knew the Prime Minister's net-zero reduction plan had net-zero chance of meeting its emissions targets. Well, what a surprise. I remember when the Prime Minister went to COP26 and promised the world that he was bringing in an emissions cap. Then he came back to Canada and promoted massive oil increases through Bay du Nord and TMX.

The planet is on fire and generations of Canadians will pay the price for his inability to deliver a credible plan on a just transition or the emissions cap. Does the Prime Minister not understand this?

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

Mr. Speaker, what strikes me is that the member does not seem to have read the 2030 emissions reduction plan, because it is a plan to reduce our emissions by 40% to 45%. There is a plan for net zero by 2050, and that plan is coming.

If he had read the 2030 plan, the member opposite would see that we have, for the first time in the history of this country, shown how we get to our 2030 targets per sector. That has been validated by a number of experts, including the ex-leader of the B.C. Green Party, IPCC scientists and a number of other experts across the country.

Public Safety

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are facing a disaster at the border. Preventable staff shortages are causing endless delays at our land crossings. Small businesses are suffering and Canadians cannot travel. The NDP has called for a safe border task force since the beginning of the pandemic that would work with all sectors to relieve this pressure, but the Liberals have refused and it has led to confusion and frustration. These problems are not going away.

Will the government finally put together a safe border task force that will help Canadian travellers and businesses?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for raising this important issue. I know that he speaks on behalf of his constituents, who are in a border community that I am very familiar with. Of course, the government is committed to collaborating with my hon. colleague to set up this task force and to use other existing platforms to ensure we have a smooth flow of commercial goods and manufacturing goods, while at the same time protecting the integrity of our borders.

I want to thank my colleague for his advocacy during the illegal blockades. He, unlike the Conservatives, understood that there was an unprecedented act of civil disobedience. It was thanks to his collaboration, and that of all members on this side of the House, that we were able to restore public safety, no thanks to the Conservatives.

Emergency Preparedness

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as always, many Canadians are looking forward to summer, one of the best times of the year to be outdoors with family and friends. However, as firefighters in many of our communities are warning us, we are also entering wildfire season. Thanks to the impacts of climate change, Canadians are at a greater risk than ever before.

Can the Minister of Emergency Preparedness explain to this chamber what the federal government is doing to help communities at risk?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for this very important question.

Our government shares the concern we all share about the increasing severity and frequency of wildfires and all natural disasters. That is why we have invested, through budget 2022, over $515 million to help provinces, territories and indigenous communities mitigate and respond to wildfires that threaten our communities. This includes equipment for firefighters and training that specifically incorporates indigenous traditional knowledge in fire management.

Throughout the coming fire season, we will continue to work with our provincial and territorial partners. We are prepared to act in response to any request for assistance.

Public Safety

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote what Andrew Coyne wrote in The Globe and Mail: “If the Liberals were trying to convince people they had something to hide with regard to the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, they could hardly do a better job.”

The situation is serious. The Minister of Public Safety misled Canadians. He must resign. When will he step down?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we, on this side of the House, have nothing to hide. We are very proud of the work this government did during the illegal blockades. It was an unprecedented situation. We sought the advice of police when making decisions. The Conservatives are the ones who endangered public safety with the comments of the interim leader of the Conservative Party. They need to give us some answers right now. This has gone on far too long.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Andrew Coyne also wrote, and I quote, “well, there is a penalty for this sort of thing. And the penalty, in the conventions of Westminster-style parliaments, is resignation.” The minister basically misled Canadians.

When Jody Wilson‑Raybould was minister, she acted according to her principles. The Minister of Public Safety has no principles. When will he resign?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House did the necessary work in an unprecedented situation. We sought advice from police forces when deciding whether to invoke the Emergencies Act. The Conservatives were the ones who posed a threat during these illegal blockades. They need to look in the mirror and apologize for their remarks at that time.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on April 26, the Minister of Public Safety said, with regard to emergency measures, “I don't want to speak for every last serving member of law enforcement, but there was a very strong consensus that we needed to invoke the act.”

We now know that there was no such consensus at any time. He has misled Canadians. He no longer deserves the confidence of the House.

Will the minister do the only honourable thing left to do: apologize and resign?