Debates of Feb. 13th, 2023

Public Safety

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we are strengthening the system to support victims. We have made significant investments to protect victims in many cases. What is the best thing for victims? It is a judicial system that works, does not have backlogs and is more efficient.

We are in the process of allocating resources for the most serious crimes to eliminate backlogs in the system and help victims. We will continue in that vein while the opposition continues to pick fights.

Taxation

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are doing everything right, but they are still having to stretch their budgets to keep up with rising food costs. All the while, grocery companies are making billions. The math is not adding up. All parties agreed with the NDP to initiate a greedflation study, but the Liberals have continued to stand by while CEOs are raking in record profits.

People want the government to hold grocery chains accountable for their role in food prices. Why do the Liberals let grocery CEOs off the hook, letting them wriggle out of their responsibilities and refusing to charge a windfall profits tax?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our government absolutely believes that, in Canada, everyone should pay their fair share. That is why we introduced a 2% tax on share buybacks. In the United States, the tax it introduced was a 1% tax on share buybacks. We have also introduced a tax on luxury yachts, cars and planes and a 15% COVID recovery dividend tax on banks and insurance companies.

Foreign Affairs

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, with everything from illegal police stations to election fraud and attempts to spy in our airspace, Canadians are rightly concerned about foreign interference by the Chinese government and others. It is up to the government to defend Canadians from threats to our democracy. Right now, they are letting Canadians down by not following the lead of other nations. We need better contact points for Canadians being threatened and intimidated, more support for our institutions and greater protections from foreign spies.

When will the government stop dragging its feet and take action to protect Canadians from foreign interference and spying?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, foreign interference is a persistent, ongoing threat that we take extremely seriously. Since day one of being elected, we have implemented several measures to help national security and protect our institutions through things such as creating the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, the critical election task force, and the SITE committee, which provided national security training for campaigns.

There is more to do, but on this side of the House, we have always taken national security seriously and we have implemented measures to strengthen our democracy.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, over the past 20 years, Prince Edward Island has become an important hub in the bioscience sector with 60 companies and more than 2,300 skilled workers now calling our province home. With leadership from the P.E.I. BioAlliance, and investments from the province and the Government of Canada, the sector has enjoyed dynamic growth, which has diversified the economy of P.E.I.

Last week, the Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency made a major announcement in Charlottetown to build on this success. Could she update the House on this fantastic news?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his tireless advocacy for the bioscience sector. I was pleased to be in Charlottetown last Friday to announce an investment of more than $25 million toward the design and construction a BioAccelerator, a new biomanufacturing facility in Prince Edward Island. This new 75,000-square-foot facility will help spur new product development, increase skills and training, and support bioscience companies in that area. This is just one example of how ACOA continues to help communities and the economic situation in Atlantic Canada.

National Defence

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend's military incidents in the skies over the Canadian Arctic concern us all as Canadians.

We know two things for sure. First, for eight years, this government has shown zero interest in asserting Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.

Second, for eight years, this government has been playing a petty little partisan political game to delay buying F‑35s, which are essential to our national defence.

Will the Prime Minister own the sad fact that he has been playing political games for eight years instead of adequately funding our military equipment?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, no matter the threat, we have acted and will continue to act swiftly to protect Canada's safety and sovereignty.

Over the past week, we have seen NORAD doing what it does best, our two countries working together seamlessly and transparently to ensure continental security.

We are continuing to monitor the situation, conduct recovery operations and take whatever action is necessary.

I want to take a moment to thank the women and men who serve within NORAD for their service.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the violations of our airspace and sovereignty over the past couple weeks should be a wake-up call. Over the last eight years, the government has had ample warning from our intelligence agencies and our military, and despite these warnings, Canada is vulnerable. It is vulnerable because the government has failed to counter foreign interference, stop funding of Beijing's military research, upgrade NORAD's early warning system and acquire modern fighter jets.

Does the government now understand how vulnerable this country is?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I will begin by assuring my colleague and all members in the chamber that Canada has acted and will continue to act swiftly and decisively to protect our safety and our sovereignty. Over the past week, we have seen NORAD doing what it does best, with our two countries working seamlessly together to ensure continental security. We are continuing to monitor the situation. We are conducting recovery operations, and we will take whatever action is necessary.

I do want to take a moment to thank the women and men who serve NORAD to protect Canadians and our sovereignty every day.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are struggling to afford to feed themselves, all the while the Prime Minister is treating himself to $6000-per-night luxury hotel rooms and having Canadians pick up the tab. Now we know that he had his officials cover it up.

After eight years of the Prime Minister, Liberals are out of touch, and Canadians are out of money. Will the Prime Minister repay Canadians the $6,000-per-night he spent on the luxury suite that Canadians had to pay for?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the government, as in all things that it does, ensures that we are present at international events, that we are there for Canadians domestically and internationally. That will continue to be the case.

I appreciate the member's interest in this item, but I would say that there is an opportunity right now to discuss many issues that are in front of the nation. I know they have a particular preoccupation with the Prime Minister, with him personally, for their own reasons, but there are major issues facing the nation right now, and I look forward to those questions.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, the media reports have told us that a former Liberal minister, Michael Chan, is on a CSIS watch-list due to his ties to the Chinese communist regime and suspected spies. Chan was hired by the Liberal trade minister to work on her campaign. This is the same trade minister who was just found guilty of breaking ethics laws.

After eight years of this Prime Minister, Canadians have come to expect that the Liberals will, of course, break ethics rules, but why is the trade minister ignoring the advice of Canada's intelligence services?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member would of course know that all members, every single one of us, are committed to the national security of this country. Every single member in the House is concerned with the issue of foreign interference, and every single member of the House comports themself that way.

I am sure that the member would be making no assertion to the contrary.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the next generation of farmers is under threat at a time when the price of land has spiked by 248% in 10 years. The House passed Bill C‑208 some time ago to make it easier to transfer a farm between members of the same family, but no one is benefiting from that because Ottawa keeps promising to amend the legislation without ever actually doing it.

If they sell their farm to their family, as permitted under law, farmers are afraid they will be hit with a tax bill if the federal government changes the rules mid-year.

Can the minister confirm that they will not be retroactively penalized?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question. We understand the importance of intergenerational transfers, especially for farmers. We truly want to help families transfer their farms from one generation to the next and that is precisely what we are doing.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this needs to be clarified. The La Presse article reports that farmers are no longer able to own farmland and that the seigneurial system is coming back. That is a huge step backwards.

Meanwhile, the federal government is still impeding the intergenerational transfer of farm businesses by maintaining tax uncertainty.

Can the Minister of Finance once and for all clarify her position, reassure farmers and allow the next generation to exist?

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is very familiar with this file. Obviously, the law is the law, and it is the current law that applies. Existing tax law is being enforced across Canada.

Obviously, the transfer of farmland is a concern for our government. It is important for the next generation of farmers across Quebec and Canada.

Public Services and Procurement

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know this government's relationship with McKinsey is unclear, so it came as no surprise when we learned that Roch Huppé, the Comptroller General of Canada, instructed his subordinates to be careful what they write about McKinsey.

The Prime Minister is still refusing to disclose the substance of the McKinsey contracts. His ministers apparently have no idea what is going on. Now the Comptroller General seems to be nervous about information that could be made public.

What does the PM have to hide?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that, when the government awards contracts, the process is independent. Decisions are made by the public service. This is done to the highest standards in the world every time. That is how it is now and how it will continue to be.

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

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal Prime Minister, Canadians are struggling, but their Liberal friends at McKinsey have never had it so good.

McKinsey worked for ICE in the United States, where it advised the Trump administration to cut food and medical supplies for immigrant detainees. These are the same people that the Liberals then turned to for advice on immigration, even when the public service said that it could do the work itself.

Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for bringing McKinsey into our immigration system, or will he step aside so we can fix what he broke?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member across is an hon. member, and he has been in the House for some period of time. He would know that the contracts engaged in by the public service are not to have political interference, and his suggestion just a moment ago that his government would influence the decision of that contract is extremely concerning.

The reality is that, as has been clearly identified at committee, this process is independent. The contracts are used to expand the ability of the public service to do its job so that it does not permanently increase staffing, which allows flexibility in the system.

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, it has spent over $100 million on McKinsey & Company, and that includes $24.5 million from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to create policy, which public servants should have created. Civil servants have even said that McKinsey & Company created the immigration targets.

Why does the minister not just take responsibility for the mess that he created and stop giving pricey contracts to McKinsey & Company?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as I already indicated, the contracts that are engaged in are done so at arm's length. They are conducted by the federal public service. I am sure the opposition is not inferring that, if it were in government, it would politically interfere, because that would be entirely inappropriate.

What we can say is the contracts are engaged by the federal public service to expand its ability to give services to Canadians.

Conservatives have tried many times to raise nefarious conspiracies at committee. I am sorry to say they have not been successful. They will not be successful there, and they will not be successful here.