Debates of Nov. 22nd, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition and his party do not even have a climate plan. In this day and age that is certainly very reckless.

Last Monday, I had the privilege of dealing with Lisa Thompson, the Minister of Agriculture for Ontario, and we announced a $25-million plan to deal with climate change and deal with innovation.

I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that, one, he needs a climate plan, and two, this government will continue to support our farmers to make sure they stay on the cutting edge and become more profitable. If we do not deal with climate change, we will add to the price of food.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' idea of helping farmers is putting an $11,000 tax on one farm for one month. Now they want to quadruple the tax on Canada's farmers. That will do nothing except send food production to more polluting foreign countries and force us to burn more diesel to transport it all the way back to Canada. Why do they not bring home food production and axe the tax on farmers?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, number one, we have a climate plan, and we will continue to deal with the climate plan. If we do not deal with climate, we will increasingly put up the price of food.

We have invested in farmers right across this country. We are going to make sure farmers and ranchers stay on the cutting edge. We deal with climate change because if we do not deal with climate change, like every country in the world is, we will continue to raise prices in the world.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, they still do not have a plan to fight climate change. What they have is a plan to quadruple a tax that has failed to fight climate change, giving Canada the 58th ranking out of 63 countries, missing every target but one in eight years and on track to missing their targets in 2030. They should stop distracting from the real agenda here, which is to take money away from farmers, from food and from the necessities of Canadian life.

Will they, yes or no, announce their support for the Senate passing the common-sense Conservative bill, Bill C-234, to take the tax off the farmers who feed us?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, who knows a thing or two about farming and climate change? It is the farmers who work in the breadbasket of the world, Ukrainian farmers. Who asked Canadian parliamentarians to vote for the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement? Ukrainian farmers did, and so did the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and President Zelenskyy himself.

Ukrainian farmers are betrayed by this federal government. They are the people who grow—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian farmers are betrayed by the Conservatives. My apologies for the misstep.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Scarborough—Agincourt.

Indigenous Affairs

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, economic reconciliation is a major part of the federal government's work to build a strong and sustainable economy. Yesterday, the government announced its fall economic statement.

Can the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations inform the House on measures that support economic reconciliation?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Scarborough—Agincourt for her tireless advocacy and her hard work.

The number of major projects with potential for indigenous equity ownership is anticipated to grow significantly over the next decade, and we are working with indigenous partners to increase access to the affordable capital that indigenous communities will require to make these opportunities a reality. This will make projects more economically feasible for indigenous communities by decreasing the cost of capital. The indigenous loan guarantee program is a step in the right direction by the federal government on the path to economic reconciliation.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, in the fall economic statement, the Liberals showed that they are ending critical programs and services that indigenous peoples rely on. These decisions will keep indigenous peoples in poverty. This is at a time when the first nations infrastructure gap stands at $350 billion.

When will the government use the empathy it expresses and reconcile that with the funding so desperately needed to lift indigenous peoples out of poverty?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate the advocacy of the member opposite to continue our work to close the infrastructure gap and to seek true reconciliation with indigenous people. That is a journey we have been on since 2015. In fact, services for indigenous people were flatlined for over a decade with the previous Conservative government. We have seen an increase of 168% in investments in indigenous communities, and we are not going to stop.

Emergency Preparedness

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, imagine the horror, the nightmare of leaving home with a crying newborn in the back seat, making a way through smoke, hardly being able to see and trying to find an evacuation route from fires. This was the situation for thousands of people in the Northwest Territories this summer, yet through climate inaction and through a failure to fund essential infrastructure in the north, Canadian communities will experience this more often.

When will the Prime Minister follow through on commitments for essential infrastructure, especially for evacuation and fire preparedness in our north?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the devastating wildfires in the Northwest Territories caused an extremely large evacuation and impacted many homes. I visited the area. I am speaking with my counterpart on what the actual needs are. I also visited indigenous communities. Infrastructure, including roads and even telecommunications lines, is the topic we are currently discussing. We will make sure that the north gets the support it needs.

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

That brings an end to question period.

I see that there are a number of members rising on points of order.

The hon. minister.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, during question period, I heard in one of the questions from the Leader of the Opposition his reckless use of the word “crazy” as a pejorative for one of our cabinet ministers. The use of the word “crazy” is offensive and stigmatizing and, for so many Canadians—

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

I thank the minister for raising this issue. The Speaker already made a statement regarding this and the importance of, when we are referring to individual members, treating all members with respect and dignity.

Also on a point of order, I recognize the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I seek the unanimous consent of the House to adopt the following motion, which is supported by the members for Mirabel and Louis-Saint-Laurent:

Given that the construction of the Mirabel airport led to the expropriation of thousands of families in 1969; that the families who lost their home, their land and their community following this expropriation are traumatized by this unspeakable pain; and that, with the end of commercial flights, the Mirabel airport is now closed to the public; that this House officially apologize to the residents of Mirabel who were expropriated in 1969.

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

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

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:

That the House, in view of the joint statement by the respective Premiers of Quebec and Ontario, dated November 7, 2023, regarding the federal government's public procurement of the CP‑140 Aurora replacement, call on the government to formally proceed by notice of tender before awarding any procurement contract for the new Canadian multi-mission aircraft.

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

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

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, just in response to the point of order from the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North, I do want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that on February 23, 2016, that member used the same word in quite the same context.