Debates of Dec. 7th, 2023

Public Safety

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have just learned that the RCMP plans to cut staff at the Quebec border even though we know that Mexican cartels are becoming increasingly active, that illegal weapons are flowing freely across the border into the hands of dangerous criminals, and that more and more people are dying of drug overdoses. One RCMP officer noted that criminals are not stupid and they do monitor what is going on, adding that the border is said to be a priority, but that is simply not the reality on the ground.

Will the Minister of Public Safety outsmart the criminals and maintain the number of RCMP officers at the border in order to protect Quebeckers and Canadians?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I have obviously had a number of discussions with senior RCMP officials about the importance of strengthening our position at the border. The integrity of our borders is obviously an issue that the government takes very seriously. I have discussed this with my American counterpart, Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas.

I can assure my colleague that the number of RCMP officers, for example in his province, Quebec, who are dedicated to organized crime and border security will not decrease.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, China's economic cold war of taking over strategic industries in Canada has claimed another victim. After eight years, the NDP-Liberal government has turned a blind eye to this national security threat. First, China got the Prime Minister to fast-track its acquisition of Neo Lithium and three other lithium companies. Now China is trying to buy Canada's only rare earth mining company, Vital Metals. China will take all the product to China, leaving Canadian firms without a supply.

Will the Prime Minister invoke the Investment Canada Act now, review this deal and protect Canadian resources?

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, our government will always stand up for Canadian workers in Canadian industries.

Our government has been clear from day one that we will always welcome foreign investment and trade that encourage economic growth, innovation and employment opportunities in Canada. We know that economic security is national security. Bill C-34 would implement the ICA and bring forward improvements so our government can act more quickly when required.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians are out of money and the Prime Minister is out of touch. At a time when energy security is crucial, this makes life harder for Canadians and our allies. An emissions cap would destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in exports and would make life more unaffordable for Canadians.

Instead of supporting powerful paycheques for our people, the Prime Minister supports dollars for dictators. When will the Liberals' costly coalition stop supporting dirty dictator oil and make Canada export the resources the world so desperately needs?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I will start by noting that the importation of oil is at half the level now than it was under Stephen Harper, so maybe he wants to check some of his facts.

A cap on oil and gas production is about reducing emissions in line with what science tells us we must, but doing so in a manner that will enhance the economic competitiveness of the sector while ensuring that we are decarbonizing the industry such that the barrels of oil and natural gas that Canada will sell to the world will have the lowest carbon content in barrels of gas.

I would point to the successes recently of an $11.5-billion Dow facility, a net-zero petrochemical facility in Alberta and many others.

Labour

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian workers built this country and it is Canadian workers who will meet the challenges of our time. We believe that workers do not just need a seat at the table where decisions are made; they should lead it.

This is the idea behind the sustainable jobs act. It is why we tabled Bill C-58 to ban replacement workers and why we launched the union-led advisory table this week. Of course, the Conservatives continue to oppose every effort to bring workers to the table, because they are scared of workers.

Can the Minister of Labour share how our government continues to bring workers to the table to find solutions to the challenges of our time despite Conservative obstruction?

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we brought together labour leaders from all across the country at our new union-led advisory table, which will advise the government on some major macroeconomic issues that have real kitchen-table consequences on a lot of workers in this country, namely the energy transition, climate change and the housing crisis.

We will do that at this table in the same way we will with Bill C-50, an 11-page bill that the opposition has found 20,000 reasons to oppose to prevent workers from having a say at the table. What are they so afraid of? Why are they so afraid of workers?

Diversity and Inclusion

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, anti-2SLGBTQI+ hate crimes in Canada are up 80%. What my community needs right now is action to help keep people safe, especially the most marginalized. Thousands of Canadians have already called on the government to implement the recommendations in the “White Paper on the Status of Trans and Gender Diverse People”, but trans and gender-diverse organizations need resources now.

Will the Minister for Women and Gender Equality commit to stable funding for trans and gender diverse-led organizations to make sure they can push back against hate and violence?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his work on the white paper and for all he does for the community.

Yes, we will always support trans communities; we will always support queer communities across this country. This is why we have a $100-million plan, a 2SLGBTQI action plan, that puts money in the hands of those on the front lines who are helping those communities. On this side of the House, we will always be on the side of those communities.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has been two years since the PM promised an oil and gas cap; today we learned what big oil's 2,000 meetings with the government got it. It got a so-called cap that will allow oil and gas production to go up; carve-outs for big oil to buy its way into compliance using the excess profits it has gouged from Canadians; and a weaker oil and gas target than even the insufficient one that the government had previously set. When will the current government put our children's future ahead of big oil's greed?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, today was an important day for the environment and the economy. Canada became the first country to put a cap on oil and gas emissions, with a trajectory to produce net-zero emissions by 2050. I would also say that we released the emissions reduction progress report today. What it shows is that we are well beyond the initial target we had when we were elected, which is 30% reduction; we will more than achieve the 2026 interim milestone, and we are on track to achieve our 40% reduction by 2030.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of: The Hon. Jeremy Harper, Speaker of the Yukon Legislative Assembly.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I hope that you will find there is unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House (a) recall that Radio-Canada had 29% of the audience share in Quebec in 2022 and 2023—

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am sorry, but I have already heard some “no”s. The hon. member does not have unanimous consent.

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

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies seems to have shown the continual Conservative pattern of ignorance when it comes to indigenous peoples. There has been decades of work, years of work, to make sure that Canada—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would ask the hon. member to quickly raise the point of order so the Chair can understand it.

The hon. member for Nunavut.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, the point of order is based on a question that was raised by the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies. The level of ignorance by the Conservative Party about indigenous peoples, first nation—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am just going to ask the member to please get straight to the point. The Chair would like to recognize her for the final time.

Can the hon. member for Nunavut please raise the point of order she wants to raise?

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies was misleading this House about the existence of first nations in Nunavut. I would like the party to realize that there are three—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

This is veering into debate. I have shown great patience with the hon. member.

The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, she was raising a legitimate point of order. There was misinformation provided by the member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies.

I would appreciate, and I think all members of the House would appreciate, her being able to complete her point of order.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. When a representative of the Inuit people tries to speak in the House, she is shouted down by a bunch of white guys on the Conservative backbench, and it is supported by the behaviour in the House. That is unacceptable.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member for Timmins—James Bay frequently tries to shout down the indigenous woman in our caucus, the member for Lakeland, at the natural resources committee—