Debates of Nov. 23rd, 2023

Automotive Industry

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order. It is impossible, as members raise their voices directly into the Speaker's ear, to hear the response to judge whether it is related to the question.

I am going to ask the hon. minister to answer. I am going to ask hon. members to listen closely to the answer to the question that was posed by the member for South Shore—St. Margarets.

The hon. minister.

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

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are supporting Ukraine. Canadian businesses have asked for this agreement because they want to be a part of rebuilding Ukraine. I am disappointed, but I am not surprised, that the Conservatives have decided to abandon Ukraine. When someone shows who they are—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets for his second question.

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, they did not answer my first question. Apparently, the Liberals are afraid of the fact that they have decided to bring in foreign replacement workers to Stellantis, while the ministers are ignoring it.

Why are they ignoring it? It is because, on the government's own website, they are advertising for Stellantis jobs that say someone does not need to be a Canadian citizen and they do not even need a work permit. The ambassador for South Korea informed everyone in Windsor that 1,600 replacement workers from South Korea are coming.

I will ask again, since the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. If the Prime Minister and the government dispute those facts, will they release the contract and prove us wrong?

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious for Canadians watching at home how much the Conservatives do not want to talk about Ukraine. One thing I can say is that it is amazing to see to what extent the Conservatives will go to spread misinformation. Do members know what? Sometimes they get caught.

I will quote Brendan Sweeney of the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing: “I think those making the noise are hypocritical”. He also says, “What they’re saying is erroneous and factually incorrect. They don’t have the faintest knowledge of the industry”.

We will keep on fighting for Windsor, we will keep on fighting for the auto sector and we will keep on fighting for workers.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this Liberal government awarded a contract worth $15 billion in taxpayer money to finance a battery plant in Windsor. There is just one problem: The plant will be staffed by 1,600 temporary foreign workers, not by Canadian workers.

Quebeckers are wondering whether local jobs will be protected at the Northvolt plant in Quebec, which taxpayers funded to the tune of $5 billion. Did the Prime Minister ensure that jobs would go to Quebeckers, or does he plan to bring in even more taxpayer-funded foreign replacement workers?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me another opportunity to point out that Canada now ranks third in the world when it comes to attracting foreign investment. Not only are we securing record investments in the automotive industry, we also have investments in mining, biomanufacturing, aluminum and steel.

One thing should be perfectly clear: We have a plan for prosperity. We have a plan for Canada. We have a plan for growth.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if we are spreading misinformation as the Liberals claim, they should explain why the government is posting positions for candidates who are bilingual in English and Korean. My information comes directly from the Windsor police, which the South Korean ambassador visited to prepare for the arrival of 1,600 Korean workers. After eight years of this government, can they finally be transparent and make the contracts public?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have mastered the art of never letting the facts get in the way of their pretty stories.

As for Stellantis, the Conservatives are trying to undermine the 2,500 jobs that will be filled to operate the plant and the 2,300 jobs that will be created to build the plant. How many labour market impact assessments have been approved for Stellantis? The answer is a single agreement, a single position. Those are the facts.

Oil and Gas Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, COP28 begins next Thursday, and Canada is about to show up empty-handed. It is about to show up without a regulatory framework for capping emissions in the oil and gas sector, the biggest culprit when it comes to climate change. We have been waiting two years for this and have heard nothing but empty rhetoric for two years.

Climate Action Network was on the Hill today. All of the environment minister's old friends, people from Greenpeace and Equiterre, are calling on him to present a costed regulatory framework before going to COP. Obviously, the Bloc Québécois agrees. Will the minister do that?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her question and reassure her. Indeed, my former colleagues, who are still my friends, from the environmental community were on the Hill. I speak with them regularly.

Over the past few years, we have taken a number of steps to tackle pollution from the oil and gas sector, such as pollution pricing and methane emissions regulations. Furthermore, as the Prime Minister pledged to do in New York a few months ago, we will present a framework for capping greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector by the end of the year.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the International Energy Agency issued its report on emissions in the oil and gas sector. If we want to meet the Paris targets then emissions in the fossil fuel sector need to be reduced by 60% by 2030. That is tomorrow.

They need to be reduced by 60% and Canada does not even have a plan to simply cap them. Canada, the fifth-largest oil producer in the world, will be one of the biggest culprits if the world misses these targets. Before heading off to COP28, will the minister present a regulatory framework to at least cap emissions from oil companies?

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

Mr. Speaker, in addition to everything I said earlier, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that we have a plan to fight climate change that has been praised by Equiterre, Greenpeace, Environmental Defence and the David Suzuki Foundation, and we are the only country in the G20 that has ended fossil fuel subsidies, two years ahead of schedule no less. We are the only country in the G20 that is committed to ending its public support of fossil fuels. As I said, we are going to present our framework for capping greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas sector by the end of the year.

Public Services and Procurement

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the NDP-Liberal cover-up coalition blocked a Conservative motion to have a whistle-blower testify at the ethics committee. After eight years under the Prime Minister, it is hard not to feel disappointed in the government when every day there is a new scandal. It is easy to see that the Prime Minister is not worth the price.

The latest scandal is the billion-dollar green slush fund. Facing an Auditor General investigation and an Ethics Commissioner investigation, the CEO and the Liberal hand-picked board chair resigned in disgrace. Now they are blocking a whistle-blower from testifying. What are they trying to hide?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, nothing, because we are the ones who want to get to the bottom of this. That is the reality.

Let me bring some facts to this story. The fact is that, the moment there was an allegation, I called for an investigation. I called for an independent report. I demanded from management a plan to restore good governance. The CEO has resigned. I have accepted the resignation of the chair.

We are going to get to the bottom of this, restore governance and make sure that we can support Canadian businesses.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister is a bystander in this billion-dollar slush fund scandal.

Let us lay out the facts: He did absolutely nothing. Conservatives called for an investigation at committee. We wrote a letter to the Auditor General; she started an investigation. We wrote a letter to the Ethics Commissioner; he launched an investigation. We had the CEO and the board chair come to committee; they both resigned in disgrace following their appearances at committee. Now, we want a whistle-blower to come before committee, and what are they doing? Silencing whistle-blowers as a part of the cover-up coalition with the NDP.

What are they trying to hide?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, unlike my colleague, who is behind the game, I am the one who started the investigation. Once we had the allegations, that is what we did. The record speaks for itself, but I know that my Conservative friends want nothing to do with the facts. They like to have their story, but they are not entitled to their own facts.

We are going to get to the bottom of this. We are going to restore governance, and we are going to keep helping Canadian SMEs.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, while Conservatives are working overtime to expose Liberal corruption, Liberal and NDP backbenchers, and even a former minister, are doing everything they can at committee to cover up scandals, silence whistle-blowers and shut down investigations.

Can the Prime Minister tell us whether the coalition deal he signed behind closed doors, with the socialist NDP, includes requiring the NDP member for Hamilton Centre to vote to cover up the corruption we are seeing with the Prime Minister's billion-dollar green slush fund?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing is a pattern of very concerning behaviour and desperate behaviour from the Conservative Party of Canada.

Conservatives are hiding from Canadians why they are really not supporting the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. In fact, Ukraine came out and said there is no price on pollution. They are also hiding why the Leader of the Opposition will not tell the truth as to why he jumped to conclusions yesterday when we learned about what happened in Niagara Falls. Now, what we are hearing from them is false allegations. They know that committees are independent.

What are they trying to hide?

International Trade

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question has to do with Bill C‑57. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has cost thousands of people their lives, and it continues to jeopardize the stability of the entire region and the world.

Unfortunately, this week, the leader of the official opposition and the Conservative members voted against the free trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine. We are talking about an agreement that the President of Ukraine clearly indicated would serve as a basis for rebuilding Ukraine. The Conservatives have turned their backs on Ukraine and democracy; they have embraced Russian propaganda.

I would ask the Minister of Finance to reaffirm Canada's strong support for Ukraine.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Ukrainians are currently fighting for their freedom and ours on the battlefields of Ukraine. We have all seen them. I saw them in Ukraine. They were strong, courageous and ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. They approached us and asked us to negotiate a free trade agreement. We are the first G7 country to sign such an agreement with them. Voting against that free trade agreement, as the Conservatives did, means failing Ukrainians and supporting Russia.

Public Services and Procurement

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, the Prime Minister has done nothing but recklessly spend. Not only was $54 million rushed into the poorly functioning arrive scam app, but 11 million taxpayer dollars were given to a so-called consulting company, employing two people working out of their basement, who were doing absolutely no work. Talk about hitting the taxpayer lottery. It is beyond clear that the NDP-Liberal government is simply not worth the cost.

The question is simple: Which minister was responsible for this costly hiring?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to disappoint my colleague across the aisle, but no minister was responsible for those contracting practices. Those contracting practices were done by public servants.

We have said if committees want to look into these issues, we welcome that examination. When the Canada Border Services Agency uncovered irregularities, it called for an independent audit and referred the files to the appropriate authorities. That is what a responsible government does in spite of some of the silly questions from the other side.