Debates of June 7th, 2022

Agriculture and Agri-food

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030. Farmers are on the front lines of climate change and their efforts are essential to achieve Canada's climate goals.

Could the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food inform the House of the most recent initiatives that will make a real difference in helping farmers reduce their GHG emissions?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The agricultural sector must be an important partner in our fight against climate change. That is why I was very pleased to recently announce 47 projects totalling $15 million under the agricultural clean technology program.

These projects will provide subsidies for the purchase of energy efficient equipment, for precision agriculture and for reducing emissions. They will also include investments in research and innovation.

Ethics

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to ethics violations, the Liberal government has already reached the super elite status. Whether it is a $1-billion sweetheart deal with WE Charity or SNC-Lavalin bullying, clam scam nepotism or the $200,000 illegal vacation by the Prime Minister, it is as though the Liberals are competing for who can be the most unethical.

Now the Minister of International Trade knew Amanda Alvaro was a close friend who ran her election campaign, and yet she awarded her a $17,000 contract anyway. When will the minister quit blaming her own department officials and take ownership of and responsibility for her own scandal?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. This contract was proactively disclosed to the public over two years ago. I was not involved in the awarding of it, and this contract was reviewed by the civil service to ensure compliance with the rules.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is being investigated by the Ethics Commissioner because she advanced the personal interests of her friend. Now we understand the Liberals need to pay a premium for spin doctors, given all their scandals. The Minister of International Trade is being investigated because she gave a $17,000 sole-sourced contract to a CBC pundit who is her dear personal friend and former campaign organizer. This is ridiculous.

Will the minister apologize for her unethical behaviour and hand over all records on this contract to the Ethics Commissioner immediately?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, all information related to this contract was disclosed proactively two years ago.

I might remind the hon. member that at the height of this pandemic, it was critical to ensure that our small businesses and our workers knew what was available to them. I think our record speaks for itself. Five million jobs were—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. minister will start from the top, please.

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, all of the information related to this contract was proactively disclosed over two years ago.

Let us remember that at the height of this pandemic, it was really critical that small businesses, workers and Canadians understood what was available to them in support. Now the record speaks for itself. Over five million jobs were saved as a result of the wage subsidy, and over 900,000 businesses got small business loans as a result of CEBA.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the contracting authority must not issue multiple contracts against a single requirement or back-to-back contracts to the same supplier in order to avoid obtaining the approval required by statute. These are Treasury Board contracting rules, yet the government has refused to address the rampant splitting of contracts that benefit government insiders.

Internal government documents show several hundred of these violations of the law. Will the President of the Treasury Board commit to the law or commit, instead, to Liberal insiders?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, all TBS contracts are issued in accordance with government contract regulations and Treasury Board contracting policy, guidelines and procedures.

One of the fundamental principles of federal contracting is openness in providing suppliers with opportunities to submit bids for government contracts. When departments choose a non-competitive procurement strategy, it must be fully justified and recorded. From the perspective of value for money, the cost of awarding a contract outweighs any economic advantage associated with competing for goods under $25,000 and services in construction contracts under $40,000.

Indigenous Affairs

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in the 42nd Parliament, I introduced Bill C-374, an act to amend the Historic Sites and Monuments Act. That bill responded directly to call to action 79, which calls for the development of “a reconciliation framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration”. It would also help to promote recognition and understanding of the history of indigenous peoples, including their significant ongoing contributions to Canada. This ensures representation for indigenous peoples on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Could the Minister of Environment and Climate Change tell the House how we are advancing on call to action 79?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Cloverdale—Langley City for the important work he did on advancing this very important issue.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plays a central role in our country's official historic designations. Ensuring representation for indigenous peoples on the board is an important step in responding to call to action 79.

Today, I introduced Bill C-23. The strong legislative framework, the first of its kind in Canada, would help ensure that Canada's treasured historic places are protected. The proposed legislation not only strengthens indigenous voices at the table, but also provides flexibility to adapt and reuse historic places as sustainable ways of addressing the climate change crisis.

Health

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, experts are clear that we will not control COVID until the world is vaccinated, yet only 10% of people in low-income countries have received a vaccine, compared to 77% in high-income nations. The Liberals promised to send 200 million doses to COVAX, but fewer than 15 million have been delivered to date.

Last year, the WHO said we stood “on the brink of a catastrophic...failure”. Today, Doctors Without Borders says that we have fallen off the cliff.

Why are the Liberals failing to deliver for Canadians and the world?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has stepped up to vaccinate the world. In fact, the 200 million doses we promised we have actually been delivering to multiple countries around the world.

In fact, tomorrow I have another meeting with multiple nations to discuss the next steps. This is also a supply chain issue. We are making sure we provide the appropriate therapeutics, but we also need to make sure the misinformation that is in our own country does not spread and prevent the acceptance of vaccines around the world.

The Environment

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow members of all parties will have a chance to send Bill C-248, regarding Ojibway national urban park, to committee. It has the support of Windsor and, most importantly, members of the Caldwell First Nation. It is their territory, and their voices need to be heard.

Caldwell has waited for years for this park to become a reality, and Chief Duckworth has written a letter to every MP requesting that this bill move forward. The government is putting up needless obstacles.

Will the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations stand up for Caldwell First Nation, or will he side with petty politics and shut it out?

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

Mr. Speaker, in fact, I stood in this House to announce that we were moving ahead with this very project. I would hope that the member would be happy about that, as we are on this side of the House. We have worked and we will continue to work with indigenous people to build and co-manage national parks in this country.

Church Attack in Nigeria

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Following discussions among representatives of all parties in the House, I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the church attack in Nigeria.

I now invite hon. members to rise.

[A moment of silence observed]

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Edmonton Griesbach is rising on a point of order.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties, and if you seek it, I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, in the opinion of the House, the government should recognize that (a) young people, particularly indigenous, Black, racialized, disabled and 2SLGBTQQI+ youth, face the most significant and severe impacts of climate change, yet are left out of the decision-making spaces and (b) it, along with the House, has an opportunity to build inclusive and intergenerational decision-making processes around the climate crisis and ensure young people are integral decision-makers by making immediate investments in training young people and equipping them with the skills and resources to lead climate solutions, including, but not limited to, employment opportunities, finances, mentorship, educational grants and scholarships for climate-related fields and equitable access to opportunities and training for youth in remote areas.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member's moving the motion will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I would like to remind hon. members, if they are seeking unanimous consent, to please consult the other parties before bringing motions to the chamber, just to make sure there is unanimous consent. We will have a lot more positive outcomes.

The hon. member for Windsor West.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I believe there were consultations, but that is another story.

I have a document from Caldwell First Nation, in both official languages, that I would like to table for the benefit of all members, seeing as the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations did not rise to answer my question.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member's moving the motion will please say nay.