Debates of June 8th, 2022

Public Safety

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. The hon. member for Sturgeon River—Parkland asked a question and I think he wants to hear the answer.

The hon. minister.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to give an answer by refreshing his memory and the memory of all members in this chamber that, last winter, we experienced an unprecedented public order emergency in the opinion of law enforcement, which is why, prior to invoking the Emergencies Act, we sought their advice on the powers that were needed to restore public safety.

Let me quote from Commissioner Lucki's testimony before the committee when she said—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am going to interrupt the hon. minister. I want to make sure we can hear that quote.

The hon. minister.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was just about to say that Commissioner Lucki said the following: “the Emergencies Act did give us the tools that we needed to get the job done quickly.” We invoked the Emergencies Act to restore public safety. It was the right and responsible thing to do.

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

Mr. Speaker, our memories are very clear on this side of the House. The minister repeatedly stated that police recommended that the government invoke the Emergencies Act. However, now we know that not a single police force in this country made that recommendation. The minister has had multiple opportunities to clarify, but he stood by his statement. Now his deputy minister is saying that the minister was misunderstood.

Who is telling the truth? The public safety minister or his most senior public servant?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be absolutely clear that last winter when we saw an unprecedented public order emergency in the opinion of law enforcement, we filled the gaps that existed within authorities that were not effective at the time to restore public safety.

Prior to invoking the Emergencies Act, we sought advice, as any responsible government would do, prior to invoking the act. We heard Commissioner Lucki say that we needed, for example, power to compel tow trucks as a result of protesters who would not leave. I wonder why they would not leave. They would not leave because Conservatives were egging them on to stay. That was wrong and we invoked it to protect Canadians.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety knows the severity of invoking the Emergencies Act, the historical significance and the impact on due process and charter rights. The details of why and how the government invoked the act are key. It will set a precedent in Canada on government powers. I am sure the minister would agree there is no room for being misunderstood when setting a historical precedent. There is also no room for hiding cabinet documents from Justice Rouleau's inquiry.

Will the Liberal government waive cabinet confidence and release the documents to Justice Rouleau?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said all along, the government will co-operate with Justice Rouleau. We will co-operate with the joint parliamentary committee to be transparent because I agree with my colleague that we need to scrutinize the invocation of the Emergencies Act.

My point is that the facts are very clear. We were in the midst and in the throes of an unprecedented public order emergency in the opinion of non-partisan, professional law enforcement. When we sought their advice about which powers were needed to restore public safety, we listened to them and we invoked to restore public safety.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is being a bit vague answering my question on whether his government is going to release the documents. The question of cabinet confidence is critical to the Rouleau inquiry as argued by a former clerk of the Privy Council who said cabinet confidence “should not be utilized to impede the search for the truth where the validity of government action is seriously contested and the law demands that it be reviewed, as is the case with the recent declaration of emergency in response to the trucker convoy protests and blockades.”

In other words, this is a really big deal. Will the Liberals respect Justice Rouleau's request and hand over the cabinet documents, yes or no?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, when we invoked the Emergencies Act, we did it to restore public safety after we sought the advice of law enforcement. Following that, we commenced the public inquiry giving—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am sure the hon. member for Kildonan—St. Paul missed the first part.

Please start right from the top, minister.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we invoked the Emergencies Act to restore public safety. We did it following the conversations and consultations we had with law enforcement, including on which powers were needed to restore public safety. At the conclusion of it, we revoked the Emergencies Act and, as part of that, we are now participating in an exercise of transparency, including with Justice Rouleau, who has the power to compel witnesses and documents, including classified information.

Of course, the government will co-operate because we agree that the act should be scrutinized so that it is never abused. We will always follow that principle.

Official Languages

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a record number of complaints were filed with the Commissioner of Official Languages this year. He received 5,409 complaints, which is triple the number filed last year.

The main reason for this barrage of complaints is the Prime Minister's decision to appoint people who do not speak French, particularly the Governor General. The Prime Minister is personally responsible for one-quarter of these complaints.

Will the minister remind her boss that French is not a second-class language?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

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

I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Théberge, the Commissioner of Official Languages, for his work and his report.

The House of Commons is still studying the bill to modernize the Official Languages Act. This is a very important bill because we want to do everything we can to protect and promote the beautiful French language. I hope that the Bloc Québécois will work with us to pass this bill as quickly as possible.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the commissioner also courageously denounced the slippery slope that the federal government is on. He feels that French is seen as “an impediment to embracing diversity and advancing true reconciliation with Indigenous peoples”. He also said: “I believe that official languages and diversity are complementary, because they are both ways to be more inclusive.”

When will the federal government understand that the French language and diversity are two compatible assets and that it is not being inclusive when it undervalues French proficiency in the appointment process?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear that protecting and promoting the French language is a priority.

I am not here to pick a fight with the Bloc either. Quite the opposite, in fact. I want to work closely with the Bloc and ensure that Bill C‑13 gets adopted, because it will make a difference in the lives of Canadians.

What we saw this week in committee was members wasting time. I hope that the Bloc Québécois and all of the opposition members will really work with us to pass Bill C‑13 as soon as possible and to hear from the witnesses who have important information to share that will help us pass a good bill.

The Economy

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the President of the Unites States has ordered the release of their strategic reserve to help struggling families with record high gas prices at the pumps. There is an idea for our jet-setting Prime Minister for his meeting in Los Angeles. We know he likes to import American cultural problems to paper over his lack of leadership.

Could he instead import good ideas from our neighbours to the south, like taking action on high gas prices, instead of this habitual dividing of Canadians, or does he want to maintain his reputation as Canada's divider-in-chief?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the same question as yesterday.

We certainly recognize the current impact that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is having on global energy prices around the world. That is something that is of concern to all countries, all democratic countries. It is something that we are working actively on with our partners in the United States and in Europe to address. We have announced that we will be increasing oil and gas production by 300,000 barrels a day by the end of the year, alongside our American friends who are doing likewise. We are working to stabilize energy prices.

Here at home, we are working to ensure affordability for Canadians on an ongoing basis.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, he is the divider-in-chief and ditherer-in-chief.

Canadians have long appreciated that most groceries are exempt from GST. This keeps groceries affordable for families. Yesterday, when the Conservative opposition voted to temporarily do the same by suspending GST on gas and diesel to help Canadians with out-of-control prices at the pumps the speNDP-Liberals voted against it.

When will the Prime Minister put affordability ahead of Liberal tax-and-spend ideology?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, from day one, this government has put affordability at the forefront. The opposition voted against middle-class tax cuts. They voted against the day care program to ensure affordability for Canadians. They have voted against affordability measures since 2015 and they continue to do so.

Here we are working on practical solutions to address the energy crisis that is facing the world. We are working to ensure that we are increasing our production, working with our partners around the world to address this issue, to stabilize energy prices and to ensure affordability for Canadians going forward.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the price of gas and diesel is hitting a record high across Canada, making it more expensive for Canadians to live their everyday lives. The Liberal government keeps blaming our oil and gas companies but it is the Liberal energy policies that have put us in this place. Energy workers build our communities, help the disadvantaged and provide billions of dollars to national programs.

When will the Prime Minister stop blaming our natural resources sector, take responsibility and suspend the GST on gas and diesel?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the important role that energy workers play in this country. I have spent much of my time, since being appointed to this post, in Calgary working with the energy sector.

I would actually suggest to my colleagues across the way that they perhaps meet with some of the energy sector workers to understand that they are focused, very much, on ensuring that we are doing what we need to do to address energy security issues, to address affordability issues and, yes, to fight climate change.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is determined to phase out Canada's oil and gas sector, and now our labour minister is surprised that we do not have enough workers in this industry to keep up with demand. As prices for gas and diesel keep climbing, the Liberal government knows its policies have put us here. Its years of industry-killing legislation and laying off thousands of workers are ruining families and lives.

When will the government take responsibility for this cost-of-living crisis and provide Canadians with some relief?