Debates of Feb. 7th, 2023

Disaster Assistance

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to all those affected by the devastating earthquake. Our initial response of $10 million is a start. We are conducing a needs assessment to look at more. Yes, we are looking at a matching fund as well.

I was just speaking with the head of UN OCHA regarding our response and we are looking at all avenues of support. We will have more to say on this.

Marine Transportation

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this Friday marks two years since the tugboat Ingenika sank near Kitimat, killing Troy Pearson and Charlie Cragg.

Yesterday, the owner of that boat was charged with eight counts of negligence. However, holding a single company accountable is not enough to protect the mariners who work up and down the B.C. coast. For years workers have been calling for stronger regulations, for mandatory inspections and for proper enforcement.

Two years, two workers dead, and yet the minister has not strengthened a single safety measure. Why?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his ongoing advocacy on behalf of this issue. He and I have talked about it on numerous occasions. I want to keep reassuring him that Transport Canada is working with him and other stakeholders on identifying other opportunities for improving our regulations. Safety is paramount. There is an ongoing review of these regulations, but we are committed to having the highest level of safety in Canada.

Labour

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government has supported Canadian workers with significant investments to defend and expand their rights, implementing legislation such as 10 days of paid sick leave for employees under federal jurisdiction and soon a ban on replacement workers.

Unlike the Conservatives, who have relentlessly attacked unions, their members and Canadian workers through their years in government, we protect Canadians' rights by repealing their anti-worker laws and putting the interests of Canadians first in everything we do.

Could the Minister of Labour update the House on what last week's ratification of the convention on the prevention of harassment and violence in the workplace means for Canadian workers and their right to a safe and respectful workplace?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member for Mississauga—Streetsville is a hard worker.

We want to end workplace violence and harassment in Canada and around the world. That is the aim of the International Labour Organization Convention 190. I am proud to say that last week that convention was ratified by Canada.

We believe in the workers in our country. We stand up for the workers of our country. We put into force paid sick leave. We have introduced legislation to ban replacement workers. In fact, one of the first things we did was repeal two of the most anti-worker, union-bashing bills our country had ever seen, both Conservative bills.

I am proud to say that this government is leading the fight for—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Edmonton Mill Woods.

Carbon Pricing

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, Canadians are struggling to afford the most basic necessities: groceries to feed their families, to pay their rent and mortgages, and, of course, to heat their homes to stay warm this winter.

Mandeep Kaur in my riding says that she has to get a second job just to pay the bills. Now the Prime Minister is going to make everything even more expensive by tripling the carbon tax.

On this side of the House, we are going to stand and fight for Canadians like Mandeep Kaur. We will ensure that the Liberals turn off the carbon tax so Canadians can continue to heat their homes.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the Conservative record on taxes. Our government cut taxes on middle-class Canadians twice and the Conservatives voted against. We cut taxes on the hardest-working class Canadians three times and the Conservatives voted against. We reduced taxes on small businesses and, true to form, the Conservatives voted against.

The record in the House on who supports Canadians with reducing taxes is clear: It is us. The Conservatives keep opposing; we keep delivering.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton Mill Woods, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that instead of standing up for Canadians, the Liberals continue to defend their failed policies. The fact is that throughout the carbon tax, they have not met any environmental standard or target that they set themselves.

The Bank of Canada governor admitted that the Prime Minister's carbon tax actually contributed to the inflation crisis that we are in right now. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says that households will pay more in carbon tax than they will get back in rebates.

The Liberals continue to push these failed policies about the carbon tax, which does not even work, while they fight with us. We are going to continue to fight until they turn off that carbon tax so Canadians can—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

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

Mr. Speaker, I guess the question many Canadians are wrestling with is which Conservatives they should believe. Is it the Conservatives who, during the last election campaign, said they believed in climate change, and they believed in climate change so much they would put in place a price on pollution, or the Conservatives today who say they do not believe in either climate change or doing anything about it, let alone putting a price on pollution?

That is the question many Canadians are struggling with.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, Canadians can no longer afford to eat, to heat and to house themselves. We can take, for example, Phyllis, who lives just outside of Springhill, Nova Scotia. She turns the heat on in her trailer in the morning. She spends most of her day in bed with her clothes on to stay warm, and she gives herself a bit of heat in the evening before turning in for the night. Conservatives will continue to keep the heat on and take the tax off.

When will the Liberal government stop blaming everyone else, take some responsibility and axe the destructive carbon tax?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member represents communities that are very much similar in kind to the ones that are in my backyard, and the reality is that the policies we have introduced over the last seven years in government are making a meaningful difference. We can look at the Canada child benefit, which puts more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families. We changed that program, so we would stop sending cheques to millionaires, as the Conservatives had. We can look at the middle class tax cut. We raised taxes on the wealthiest 1% and cut them for the middle class. We increased the guaranteed income supplement. We continue to improve the Canada pension plan.

Every step of the way, we are focused on low- and middle-income families to better support them. Every step of the way the Conservatives voted against them, and I am happy to take that message to the polls next time.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely fascinating, because my office receives hundreds of emails, phone calls and letters outlining the extreme difficulties people are having with their finances because of the Liberal government's terrible carbon tax and its terrible inflationist policies. They are the worst in 40 years. Even the premier of Nova Scotia, Tim Houston, has put forward a comprehensive plan to reduce emissions and actually save Nova Scotians money, where that minister lives. How can he vote against such craziness? This makes no sense.

When will the Liberal government allow Canadians to keep the heat on and axe the tax?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, it baffles the House that the Conservatives continue to undermine the fact that climate change is real. It baffles the House and all Canadians that Conservatives continue to vote against measures that are actually supporting Canadians. Time and time again, when we have put forward measures that are helping low- and middle-income Canadians, the Conservatives have voted against them. Not only do they have no plan, but they obstruct, deny, deflect and make it harder for Canadians to get the supports they need.

We are going to be there. Conservatives—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Thérèse-De Blainville.

Labour

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, hundreds of Canadian Labour Congress workers are on Parliament Hill today. Among them are the United Steelworkers members employed by Océan Remorquage in Sorel‑Tracy. They are here because the federal government supports the use of scabs in their labour dispute. Even today, Quebec workers are still being replaced by scabs who are paid three times their wages because the federal government is 50 years behind the times.

The minister has held his consultations. There are no more excuses for failing to take action. Will he immediately introduce an anti-scab bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, in my mandate letter, I committed to further restrict the use of replacement workers. We held consultations, and the bill that the government will introduce in the House by the end of the year will reflect the results of those consultations.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

What is the minister waiting for, Mr. Speaker?

Quebec has had anti-scab legislation since 1977. This government is 50 years behind the times. It is consulting, thinking and putting things off. As a result, the Océan Remorquage labour dispute is still dragging on because of the use of replacement workers. Real workers with real needs are here today because the minister's inaction is harming their families and the free right to collective bargaining.

What is he waiting for to introduce—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Minister of Labour.

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

Mr. Speaker, a ban on replacement workers would be the most significant progress that we have seen for workers in this country. It is something that unions and labour leaders, for years, have been asking for. We on this side of the House will make sure that we get it right.

Far from inaction, we have just finished thorough consultations with employers and with labour unions, and on this side of the House, on such an important piece of legislation that has been asked for by labour for decades, we will get it right.

Public Services and Procurement

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal government, business is skyrocketing at the high-priced consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The government has given McKinsey & Company over $100 million in contracts, including $1.4 million from the Canada Infrastructure Bank, an organization that is chalk full of former McKinsey strategists.

Why is the government so hell-bent on giving $100 million to close Liberal insider friends while average Canadians are just struggling to get by?

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as I explained to the government operations committee yesterday, there has been absolutely no political interference in the award of contracts to McKinsey. We are, of course, looking very carefully to ensure that all processes, rules and policies have been followed by the department, by PSPC. I know that my colleague, the President of the Treasury Board, will also be examining the policies in that department as well.

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

Mr. Speaker, in other words, the government's approach to the Liberal-McKinsey scandal is to ask the minister to investigate herself. However, we found out yesterday at the government operations committee that she lacks a basic understanding of the record and experience of this company, including its relationship with Purdue Pharma.

Conservatives have said Liberals investigating themselves is not good enough, which is why we need an independent investigation by Canada's Auditor General, an Auditor General, by the way, who has been disparaged by the Minister of National Revenue.

With so many Canadians struggling, will the government support our call today for an independent investigation by the Auditor General into why over $100 million of contracts went to—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. government House leader.