Debates of March 23rd, 2023

Climate Change

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been moving in the right direction, but it must show a lot more ambition to really make a difference, and to really help Canadians and Canadian municipalities adapt to these extreme weather events. I will be watching next Tuesday's budget closely to see where the government will be acting and how much priority it will be putting into climate adaptation.

I know it is always hard for governments to make big investments that might not pay off in the current election cycle, but that is what Canada needs from the federal government now. We need these dedicated funds for adaptation projects in every community. It will save money. It will save livelihoods, and it will save lives.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would just add that, as the member said, climate change is affecting communities throughout our country. It is important that we work with our provincial, territorial and indigenous partners as we develop strategies for this.

The member pointed out in the first half of his speech that he has seen investment in his community from the federal government and the provincial government. In my community, I have seen investment in shoreline reconstruction along Lake Ontario as a result of increased weather patterns and weather effects.

This is something that the government is seized with. We will continue to work on it, and I look forward, as he does, to future announcements that the government will make, perhaps next week with its budget for 2023.

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are at a critical moment. This week, the IPCC issued a final report, a final warning. It says, in no uncertain terms, that we must act now or it will be too late.

One of the report's authors noted, “The message in terms of urgency...is stop burning fossil fuels as fast as humanly possible.” They explain that we are at a crisis point, not because we are lacking some important technology or some important information but because “the sense of urgency has been lacking in the places where the important decisions are made”.

In Canada, that place where important decisions are made is here, in the House of Commons. The government lacks the urgency. It lacks the commitment and it lacks the courage to take the action we need.

The Liberals say they are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, yet they continue to subsidize the fossil fuel industry. They are handing over billions of dollars to rich oil and gas executives.

I continue to call on the government to end subsidies to oil and gas, and instead invest those billions into clean energy, into climate solutions.

In the United States, the Biden administration has committed to spending $60 billion on clean energy manufacturing. This goes directly into building solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. These are proven solutions.

Climate scientists agree that renewable energies are the best tools we have for reducing our emissions, yet the Liberals are instead giving massive tax breaks to oil and gas companies for unproven technologies that keep the fantasy of increasing oil and gas production alive.

The reality is that the current carbon capture projects in Canada capture only less than 1% of our emissions. The Liberals say that carbon capture technology is one of the many solutions they will use when it comes to fighting the climate crisis, but it happens to be the oil and gas industry's favourite solution. The Liberals' friends at McKinsey have published multiple articles touting CCS as a low-risk piece of the decarbonization puzzle, but according to the IPCC, carbon capture is one of the most expensive and least effective tools.

In fact, the report names wind and solar energy as the most effective solutions for reducing our emissions. If we want to meet our 2030 targets, there is a logical way forward: invest our tax dollars in renewable energy and make the oil and gas industry pay for its own carbon capture and storage.

Experts are already warning that the Liberals' tax credit on carbon capture and storage will be a fossil fuel subsidy, more handouts to an industry making record-breaking profits.

In a report on fossil fuel subsidies, Canada and Saudi Arabia were named the worst performers, handing out the most money to these companies as they make more profit than they have ever made before.

We have now learned that Saudi Arabia lobbied to elevate the role of carbon removal in the latest UN climate science summary report. We also know that Canada lobbied to emphasize the importance of carbon capture in the last IPCC summary report, which begs the question, why is the Liberal government acting like a petrostate when Canada has a diversified economy?

Why are the Liberals doing the oil and gas lobby's dirty work? Why are they making Canadians pay billions to clean up the oil and gas industry's emissions?

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate)]

Mr. Speaker, the member should know the countless number of initiatives the government has taken with respect to climate change and reducing our carbon footprint. The member should also know that the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change talked about a portion of that being specifically about carbon capture.

I will read to her the exact quote. It says, “A net-zero energy system...can only be achieved with a broad suite of technologies. Carbon capture, utilisation and storage...is only a group of technologies that contributes to both reducing emissions in key sectors directly and removing CO2 to balance emissions that are challenging to avoid—a critical part of 'net' zero goals.” That is from the report, specifically.

The member should also know, and it is interesting because this did come up in the debate earlier today, that the finance committee did make a recommendation to the government to do exactly what she was saying, which is to reduce the fossil fuel subsidies and to put that money into renewable transition, specifically as it relates to a cleaner environment and a cleaner energy supply.

When it comes to reducing the fossil fuel subsidies specifically, it might not be as quickly as we would like to see it. In my personal opinion, I might agree with the member more than she thinks, but the reality is that the government has been reducing the amount of fossil fuel subsidies over the year. The problem is that when the NDP members talk about this, they specifically include, in that calculation, money that is being used for abandoned or orphaned wells. The reality of the situation is that, although I would have loved to see the companies that abandoned those wells deal with them, they have not. A lot of them have left, so it becomes society's responsibility to deal with those wells, despite the fact that we let those companies get away with it in years and decades gone by.

When we talk about fossil fuel subsidies, I think it is disingenuous to do what the NDP does and include the money that is being used to deal with orphaned wells in that as a subsidy. If we exclude that, it clearly shows that the subsidies have been declining year after year and are on target to meet what the minister and the department have been proposing for the last number of years.

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, even without the orphaned well cleanup, there are billions of dollars being handed out to profitable oil and gas companies every year. The member did not answer my question about why the government is doing the oil and gas lobby's dirty work. Perhaps, since I have the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader here, I will ask another question on another topic.

The recent allegations about foreign interference are incredibly serious. They further erode confidence in our electoral systems, and the Liberals, today, voted against a public inquiry. They do not seem to see the damage they are doing to individuals and also to communities that are at risk of being stigmatized. We need a transparent, independent public inquiry. At this point, it is the only way to get to the bottom of this.

Will the member commit to pushing for a transparent, independent public inquiry?

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

I know there have been a couple of instances where members have brought in issues and then asked different issues as they come here. We have ruled that we would rather members stick to what they have booked, so I will leave it to the discretion of the hon. parliamentary secretary to answer or not.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have no problem answering that question. Notwithstanding that, I appreciate the ruling.

I have been very clear. I said in a speech earlier today in the House that when the issue first came to light, being on the procedure and House affairs committee, I initially asked myself why we are not having a public inquiry. It makes the most sense. However, expert after expert and witness after witness who came before the committee told us the best place to deal with highly classified information is not in the public domain. They full-on said they cannot provide any more information to a public inquiry than they can to that committee because of the sensitivity of the information. It is not the answer I was hoping to hear, but it is an answer that makes sense, and it is an answer that I think warrants consideration.

Having said all of that, the Prime Minister has appointed a special expert, the former governor general David Johnston, to look specifically at this issue. If the former governor general, the expert looking at this, determines the best way forward is a public inquiry, the Prime Minister and this government have said that they will accept that recommendation. We will leave it in the hands of an expert, in the incredibly well-deserved position that the former governor general was given, to make that determination.

Democratic Institutions

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is time for the current government to stop the delays and its unexplained reluctance to shine a spotlight on foreign interference. Foreign operatives have been interfering in Canada's political system, in party nomination processes and in election campaigns to place Chinese Communist sympathizers in the provincial legislature and the House of Commons. Media have seen reports indicating that Liberal Party officials and elected representatives have been involved. We are also aware of reports that have involved a member of the federal cabinet.

The situation is not new. The Prime Minister, various cabinet ministers and senior members in the PMO were briefed about foreign actors and individuals who are complicit in illegal activities. However, the response from the Prime Minister has been to deflect this serious issue and delay doing anything.

Now, he has finally taken some action by appointing a special rapporteur to investigate foreign interference. However, it is not exactly clear what investigatory powers have been given to Mr. Johnston. While an individual of impeccable character, perhaps with the exception of his bad choice of charitable boards, Mr. Johnston will be handcuffed and saran-wrapped if unable to investigate the inner activities of the Liberal Party's elected and non-elected members. It would be unimaginable for the special rapporteur to have no authority to fully investigate the stated primary beneficiary of foreign interference: the Liberal Party of Canada. Why, then, has there been such reluctance by the Prime Minister to have a full independent public inquiry?

In other countries, there would not be a special rapporteur. There would be a special prosecutor who would have full investigatory powers, including interviewing political party members, subpoena powers and powers to examine documents.

Why is the government allowing Canada to become a doormat for foreign powers? Why is it extending protection to those who have deliberately interfered in our country's democratic processes? How is it possible for the Prime Minister to turn a blind eye to thugs who have intimidated and threatened Canadian citizens of Chinese heritage in the greater Vancouver and greater Toronto areas? How can the government ignore shady and undeclared financial contributors and buses of instant just-add-water Liberal nomination supporters and paid volunteers to assist China's chosen candidates to get nominated and elected to all levels of government?

The goals of the foreign operatives are simple: Their first goal is to infiltrate political parties, assisting selected candidates to obtain elected positions from which they could support Beijing's interests. Their second goal is to defeat opposition nomination candidates and/or elected representatives who are not favourable to Communist China, or prevent them from being elected.

Is the Prime Minister's continuing reluctance to do something in the face of such mounting evidence a result of being worried about what may come out of a full inquiry? Perhaps he is troubled by the growing suspicions being cast on cabinet, caucus and party members. What is worrying our Prime Minister? What has made him turn a long blind eye? Would not the mounting evidence and allegations of foreign interference provide valid concerns to the Prime Minister? Is he worried about political fallout from the interference and his reluctance to do something? Is he worried that others in his party will be implicated?

Obviously, one must protect Canada's intelligence service networks and their methods of acquiring information, but when the network starts leaking information to the media about foreign interference, it kind of suggests they have lost faith in their political masters and their ability to do something about foreign interference.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate)]

Mr. Speaker, the member should try to educate himself on the difference between evidence and allegations.

The member used the term “mounting evidence”. Those were his words. There is no evidence to date. As a matter of fact, the RCMP has said that it does not have any active investigations ongoing. What there have been are allegations. If the member is unaware of the difference between allegations, information and intelligence versus evidence, he should really take the time to educate himself on that.

What I think is even more remarkable about the member's speech is the massive misunderstanding of the reality of the situation when he opened his speech by saying that the government has done virtually nothing. That is categorically false. As a matter of fact, this government is the only government that has ever done anything on this issue.

I will inform the member what we have done since 2015. We introduced Bill C-76, which was a bill that tightened up financing rules and tightened up on opportunities for foreign interference specifically. The Conservatives, who this member seems to be cozying up a lot to lately, actually voted against that.

The other thing we did was install a special panel of experts who have the ability to monitor, in real time, what is going on during a writ period. They have the opportunity to assess, make decisions, inform parties, gather intelligence from political parties and take action when necessary. That is a panel that never existed before. Most importantly, after the election is over, a third party prepares a report based on the panel's information. That third party concluded, both after the 2019 and 2021 election, that the elections were done in a free, fair, open and transparent manner and were not influenced by foreign interference.

Finally, on the member's issue about the public inquiry. Perhaps the member did not hear my answer to the impromptu question from the NDP member just before him, but I laid it out very clearly. On the experts that the member gave a lot of credit to in his speech, and he sang the praises of CSIS saying that we have to respect its processes, I can tell him that CSIS came to the PROC committee and specifically told us that the place to do this is not in a public inquiry. We have the established organizations, such as NSICOP, which is another thing this government put together, that specifically looks at, and has the ability for parliamentarian oversight over, highly classified information. That is the best place that we were told it should go.

However, notwithstanding that, and understanding the incredible position and incredible attention that Canadians are seized with on this issue, the Prime Minister went a step further and said that even though our experts were telling us that a public inquiry is not the best place, we understand that we need to put this in a non-partisan environment and will allow a special expert, the former governor general David Johnston, to determine what the best path forward is. As I said to the previous member, if it is determined that the best way forward is through a public inquiry, the Prime Minister has already said that we will accept that recommendation and proceed with it based on his advice.

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is a party line being towed here. The problem is, what party line, the Liberal Party's or the Communist Party of China's?

I call upon the government to step up and provide strong investigatory powers through the special rapporteur so that Mr. Johnston can unearth names and evidence of foreign interference in Canada, especially in Vancouver and Toronto during the last two elections.

Canadians deserve and demand to know what is going on. They want to see concrete action taken to protect our political and democratic processes and institutions from foreign manipulation.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if I understood that member correctly, he just questioned whether I was towing a Liberal Party line or a Communist Party of China line.

My response to that member is this: Let us go outside and he can say that to me in public where he does not have the parliamentary privilege he has in this room.

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, pursuant to order made on Friday, March 10, the House stands adjourned until Monday next at 11 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:32 p.m.)

Address

of

The Honourable Joe Biden

President of the United States of America

to

Both Houses of Parliament

in the

House of Commons Chamber,

Ottawa

on Friday, March 24, 2023

The Honourable Joe Biden was welcomed by the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, by the Honourable George J. Furey, Speaker of the Senate, and by the Honourable Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House of Commons.

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Speaker of the House of Commons]

Mr. President, Dr. Biden, welcome to Canada and the House of Commons.

Prime Minister, Speaker Furey, party leaders, honourable parliamentarians, Your Excellencies and dear guests, allow me to welcome you to this extraordinary event.

On behalf of my colleagues, we are honoured by your visit. As we come together under one roof, we take a moment to celebrate the friendship and the shared values of our countries. We celebrate our people and the history of co-operation between Canada and the United States.

A prime example of this co-operation can be seen in my hometown, North Bay, in the riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming, where Canadian and American military personnel work side by side at NORAD to ensure our safety by patrolling the skies of North America. NORAD is proof that when Canadians and Americans venture to undertake a mission together, we accomplish great things and, more importantly, our great friendship grows. This visit reminds us all that we must never take our friendship, this co-operation and these shared values for granted.

I would now like to invite the right hon. Prime Minister to say a few words.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Today, we welcome to our Parliament the 46th President of the United States of America, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Mr. President, you are a true friend to Canada, and that matters more than ever in this consequential moment. Make no mistake: These are serious times. When the consequences of a warming planet are intersecting with the aftermath of a global pandemic, when an unjustifiable war in Europe has shocked the conscience of the world and exposed the vulnerability of energy markets and supply chains, when families are facing the pressures of inflation and struggling with affordability, when citizens around the world feel anxious about their future and their kids' futures, Mr. President, as it should be, our two nations stand united in this moment, finding solutions side by side.

We will continue to work together to create jobs, and build healthier and more sustainable economies. The economy, the environment and security are interwoven, and that has never been more clear.

It has never been more clear that everything is interwoven: economic policy is climate policy is security policy. People need us to think strategically and act with urgency, and that is exactly what brings us together today.

Mr. President, throughout our history, Canada and the United States, as friends and allies, have faced many challenges together: pandemics, recessions and wars. Here in the House, in September 1939, members of Parliament debated going to war. A few years later, Canadian and American soldiers were fighting against fascism, shoulder to shoulder. There are battlefields around the world where our soldiers lay in cemeteries, shoulder to shoulder.

War has now returned to Europe. As you well know, Mr. President, Canada will continue to stand strong with Ukraine with whatever it takes. Together, both of us are partners that Ukraine and the world can count on. Since Putin launched his brutal invasion, like you, Canada has provided significant military support. In our case, artillery, ammunition, armour and tanks. From 2015 to today, with Operation Unifier, the Canadian Armed Forces trained the brave members of the Ukrainian military, about 35,000 of them, and counting.

With partners and allies, we have both used sanctions and punitive economic measures to continue to deplete the Kremlin's war chest. After a terrifying spring, a violent summer and fall, and an exhausting winter, Ukraine still stands.

One year ago, our friend President Zelenskyy addressed this House to thank us for having supported him from the start. Today, together, we reiterate our message to President Zelenskyy and to Ukrainians: We remain by your side.

We will ensure the security of Canadians and Americans by defending democracies and the international rules-based order. Vladimir Putin underestimated the determination of Europe and NATO allies. He underestimated the strength and courage of Ukrainians and their will to defend their language, culture and homeland.

Mr. President, today I want to introduce you to Natalia, who I met just last week. Natalia arrived in Canada from Ukraine more than 10 years ago. She is safe here with her family, but she still has a lot of loved ones in Ukraine. Every time she hangs up after speaking with a cousin or a friend, she feels a twinge in her heart wondering if this conversation might be their last.

Mr. President, we cannot and will not let Natalia's loved ones down. The Ukrainian people are counting on us. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine with as much as it takes, for as long as it takes. I bring up Natalia now, not just because of what is happening over in Ukraine as we speak, but also because she is key to what we are building here today and tomorrow.

I met Natalia last week in Nova Scotia where she currently lives near Bridgewater, a small town of 9,000 people. For over 50 years now, the Michelin tire factory in Bridgewater has been one of the most productive in the world. Thanks to the strength of its workers, Michelin has just announced major investments to modernize its facilities to meet the growing need for electric vehicles. Good, stable jobs like the ones in this factory are really important for people like Natalia and her family. They are also important for our communities, be they large or small.

When I was in Nova Scotia, meeting with Natalia and others, I met third-generation tire workers at that Michelin plant, and because of the work we are doing together and the investments we are making for the future, that community will have jobs for generations more to come. That does not just impact them in Bridgewater; it means there will continue to be vans delivering food to grocery stores in California and trucks delivering medical supplies to hospitals in Pennsylvania that roll on tires made in Nova Scotia, as it should be.

Mr. President, in 1987, Ronald Reagan addressed this House in a final big push toward the first Canada-U.S. free trade agreement. He pointed out that the U.S.-Canada border was a meeting place, rather than a dividing line. More than 30 years later, our border is no longer just the place where we meet each other; it is the place where we will meet the moment. It is the place where we will meet the future, a future not only with good jobs, but good, stable careers for generations to come.

We are also joined today by steelworkers from Dofasco in Hamilton. One of them is Neil. Neil's mother worked at Dofasco in the seventies. His father worked in the finishing steel area for 37 years. Now, with the investments we have made to help Dofasco phase out coal-fired steelmaking in favour of electric arc, Neil's kids, grandkids and great-grandkids will be able to choose careers making the clean steel the world needs to build EVs, buildings and bridges. Clean steel will be the backbone for manufacturing in the future, and workers like Neil, from generations past to generations future, will continue to be at the heart of the economy we are building for the middle class.

Economic policy is climate policy is security policy. With growing competition, including from an increasingly assertive China, there is no doubt why it matters that we turn to each other now to build up a North American market on everything from semiconductors to solar panel batteries.

Mr. President, with the Inflation Reduction Act, you are creating the jobs of today and tomorrow for the middle class in America. This also means more clients for Canadian critical minerals processors, for our clean-energy innovators, for our integrated auto workers, for our farmers, growers and producers, and so many others. It is an example of how we can make progress at home and as partners.

To support good jobs in the economy of the future, Canada has one of the cleanest electricity grids in the world. Approximately 83% of our electricity is already carbon neutral, and we are on track to reach 100% by 2035. To achieve that goal, we are working with local communities, including on indigenous-led projects across the country, be it for solar panels or wind turbines. All of our clean energy exports go to the United States. Across the globe, we need to accelerate our transition to renewable energy.

This week, the United Nations panel on climate change published a new report indicating that our planet will hit a critical global warming threshold in the next decade. This means more heat waves, more droughts, more floods and more endangered species.

When I think of the families I met on the Atlantic coast last fall who saw their houses being torn to pieces by hurricane Fiona, when I think of the people who live in B.C. whose town burned because of the wildfire during a record-breaking heat wave, I know that responsible leadership means doing more to fight climate change and more to protect families. Climate policy is economic policy is security policy.

As leaders, keeping people safe is our priority. Not only do we need to continue our work, but we need to more and to do it faster.

I know that you agree, Mr. President. I remember the discussion that you and I had in 2016 on the fight against climate change, during your visit to Canada as vice president. You had met with the premiers of the provinces and territories, as well as with indigenous leaders. That same day, during the first ministers' meeting, our government adopted the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, the cornerstone of which was pollution pricing across the country. I am very pleased, then, to welcome you back today, knowing that environmental protection remains one of your top priorities.

Mr. President, what makes this such a moment of consequence is that our world, our way of living, is facing multiple threats at the same time. That is why security policy is climate policy is economic policy, because climate change, inflation, war, energy shortages but also foreign interference, misinformation and disinformation, and constant attacks on our values and institutions all compound.

Democracies like ours, just like democracies around the world, did not happen by accident and will not continue without effort.

We need to be there for each other. We must continue to stand up against authoritarian threats, both at home and abroad, and continue to defend what is just.

This is not a moment to compromise on our values. This is a moment to double down on them. We must continue to show resilience, perseverance and strength.

Resilience, perseverance and strength, these are words that perfectly describe two men who are here with us today, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

Mr. President, when the plane transporting the two Michaels landed on Canadian soil after their more than 1,000 days of arbitrary detention in China, Canadians proved that resilience, perseverance and strength are more than just lofty ideals. They are commitments that drive our actions and shape our character.

Canada got the two Michaels home, and we did it the right way, not just by respecting the rule of law but by anchoring ourselves to it. When under great pressure to undermine our commitment to our agreements and treaties, and to the rule of law, we did not capitulate. We did not abandon our values. We doubled down and we rallied our allies against arbitrary detention, and through that, with your support and your leadership, Mr. President, the rule of law prevailed and the Michaels came home.

With our allies and partners, Canadians and Americans must remain a source of inspiration to the rest of the world, but, above all, we must continue our work. We need to make the necessary efforts every day to build a better future for people like Neil and Natalia, and for their children and their grandchildren.

We must and we will meet this moment.

Mr. President, in your most recent powerful state of the union address, you encouraged the American people to stay optimistic, hopeful and forward-looking. This is a vision that Canadians share too. Therefore, let us keep working hard, and together, let us continue to build a better future for our people.

Welcome to Canada, my friend.

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden.

[Joseph Biden, Jr., President of the United States of America]

Good afternoon. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Bonjour, Canada. I must tell you that I took four years of French in school. The first time I attempted to make a speech in French, I was laughed at, so that is as good as I can get. Seriously, thank you very, very much.

Speaker of the House of Commons, Speaker of the Senate, members of Parliament, thank you for the very kind welcome to my wife and me.

Prime Minister Trudeau, you were my first meeting with a foreign leader just one month after my presidency, during the hardest days of COVID-19. We had to make the visit virtual, but since then we have been all over the world taking on some of the toughest issues our nations have faced in a very long time. I want to thank you for your partnership and for your personal friendship. I thank you very much. Jill and I are grateful for the hospitality you and Sophie have shown us.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to have the opportunity to hold on to a tradition, carried out by so many of my predecessors, of addressing the hallowed halls of the Canadian democracy, although this is a different hall. You have done a hell of a job. This is really very beautiful.

This is a custom that speaks to the closeness of our relationship. Americans and Canadians are two people, two countries, in my view, sharing one heart. It is a personal connection. No two nations on earth are bound by such close ties of friendship, family, commerce and culture. Our labour unions cross borders, as do our sports leagues: baseball, basketball, hockey.

Listen to this: hockey. I have to say I like your teams, except the Leafs. I will tell you why. They beat the Flyers back in January, and that is why. I married a Philly girl. If I did not say that, I would be sleeping alone, and fellows, I like you, but not that much.

It can be easy to take a partnership between Canada and the United States as a given, but when you stop to think about it, it is really a wonder. It is a 5,552-mile-long border, more than 8,800 kilometres, defined by peaceful commerce and trading relationships that measure more than $2.5 billion a day. Every day, hundreds of thousands of people cross the borders going to the north and south to work or just to visit, knowing they will find a warm welcome on the other side of the border.

Americans love Canadians, and that is not hyperbole. It is a data-driven fact. Earlier this week, the Gallup poll did a new poll showing American opinions on different countries in the world. This is a fact: Canada ranked at the very top, with an 88% favourable rating among Americans, up from 87% the year before. I take credit for that one point.

I suspect every politician in this room would do a hell of a lot to get those kinds of numbers. However, there is a reason for it. The same fundamental aspirations reverberate across both our nations, from the Atlantic to the Pacific: to live in freedom, and not just freedom but to live in freedom with dignity; to relentlessly pursue the possibilities of tomorrow; and to leave our children and our grandchildren a future that is better because of our efforts, those of the people in this room and in a similar room in the United States.

President Kennedy said, when he spoke here in 1961, “ours is the unity of equal and independent nations, co-tenants of the same continent, heirs of the same legacy, and fully sovereign associates in the same historic endeavor: to preserve freedom for ourselves and all who wish it.” Through more than a century of that historic endeavour, Canada and the United States have had each other's backs. In war and in peace, we have been a stronghold of liberty and a safeguard of the fundamental freedoms that literally give our lives meaning. We have gladly stepped into the responsibilities of global leadership, because we understand all that is at risk for Canadians and Americans alike when freedom is under attack anywhere in the world.

Today, our destinies are intertwined and are inseparable, not because of the inevitability of geography, but because it is a choice we have made again and again. The United States chooses to link its future with Canada because we know we will find no better partner, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, no more reliable ally and no more steady friend, and today I say to you and to all the people of Canada that you will always be able to count on the United States of America. I guarantee it.

Together, we have built a partnership that is an incredible advantage to both our nations. That does not mean we never disagree, as any two countries will do from time to time, but when we disagree, we solve our differences in friendship and goodwill because we both understand our interests are fundamentally aligned.

We stand at this inflection point in history. I had a professor who once explained an inflection point. When you are going down the highway at 60 miles an hour and rapidly turn in one direction five degrees, you never get back on the same path again, but you're on a different course. The decisions we make in the coming years will determine the course of our world for decades to come. It happens every five or six generations, but we are at that point. Nothing gives me greater confidence in the future than knowing Canada and the United States stand together still.

Today, I would like to speak a bit about the future, if I may, a future that is ours to seize. I get criticized at home sometimes for saying that. President Obama used to always kid me, because I would always say to him in our private meetings that a country is never more optimistic than its president or its leaders. I have never been more optimistic in my life about our prospects, and I really mean this from the bottom of my heart. We are so well positioned for a future built around our shared responsibilities, prosperity, security and values.

First, it is a future built on shared prosperity, where Canada and the United States continue to anchor the most competitive, prosperous and resilient economic region in the world. That is a fact. Our supply chains are secure and reliable from end to end because we are creating value at every step right here in North America. We are mining critical minerals, manufacturing and packaging the most advanced semiconductors in the world and producing electric vehicles and clean energy technology together. It is a future where we understand that economic success is not in conflict with the rights and dignity of workers or meeting our responsibilities of investing in the climate crisis, but rather that those things depend on us doing that, factually.

Since becoming President, I have been laser-focused on rebuilding the U.S. economy from the bottom up and the middle out. Not a whole lot trickled down from the top down at my dad's kitchen table. By the way, when the middle class does well, the wealthy do very well. No one gets hurt.

The United States made historic and, to the chagrin of some of our critics in the press, bipartisan investments in infrastructure and innovation that are already bringing together and delivering concrete benefits to the American people. As we implement these legislative achievements, there are enormous opportunities for Canada and the United States to work even more closely together to create good-paying jobs in both our countries.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which was not bipartisan but nonetheless all of a sudden I am finding we have more adherence, represents the single largest commitment in tackling climate change in our history, as a matter of fact, the single largest investment in all of human history, and it is going to spur clean energy investments all over the world. It explicitly includes tax credits for electric vehicles assembled in Canada, recognizing how interconnected our auto industries and our workers are. I am the most pro-union president America has ever had, and I speak to a hell of a lot of Canadian union members. This is a model for future co-operation, with both our nations investing at home to increase the strength of our industrial bases, making sure not only that the products manufactured in North America are manufactured, but that they are the best in the world. We are going to amplify our shared commitment to climate action while growing our economies.

I will just stop for a second to say that when I announced for president, I was always known as one of those kind of green Democrats, and Republicans used to be the same. Well, guess what? I did not announce my environmental plan, and I was getting beat up: “Why is Biden all of a sudden changing?” The reason is that I brought all the unions together and I brought them into the White House, not a joke, because they all said they were going to lose their jobs. I pointed out that every single solitary initiative required to do with the environment creates union jobs, creates thousands of jobs.

For example, I met with the IBEW and pointed out that we were going to build 5,500 electric charging stations. Guess who builds them? It is union workers. We are coordinating a stand for new electric vehicles and charging stations so that Americans and Canadians can continue to easily cross the border without ever hitting a snag in their American- or Canadian-built zero-emissions vehicles. Moreover, we are going to build batteries and technologies that go into those vehicles together.

We have learned the hard way during the pandemic that when we rely on just-in-time supply chains that circle the globe, there are significant vulnerabilities due to disruptions and delays, and it drives up costs here at home, both in Canada and in the United States. However, there is a better way. Our nations are blessed with incredible natural resources. Canada, in particular, has large quantities of critical minerals that are essential for our clean energy future, for the world's clean energy future. I believe we have an incredible opportunity to work together so that Canada and the United States can source and supply, here in North America, everything we need for reliable and resilient supply chains.

Folks, to make our critical mineral supply chain the envy of the world, the United States is making funding available under the Defense Production Act to incentivize American and Canadian companies to responsibly mine and process critical minerals needed for electric vehicles and stationary storage batteries. We are also building integrated supply chains for semiconductors, a critical computer chip that I know was invented in America and we lost control of it; not only control of it, we lost producing them and the power in so much of our daily lives.

The IBM plant in Bromont, Quebec, is the largest semiconductor packaging and testing facility in North America. Chips made in Vermont and upstate New York are shipped to Bromont to be packaged into electronic components, but now Bromont is expanding with the support of the Canadian government.

There is going to be a lot more work to do. Thanks to the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act that I signed into law last year, companies are breaking ground for new semiconductor plants across the United States, representing billions of dollars in new investments in American high-tech manufacturing: $12 billion from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company in Arizona; $20 billion and counting for Intel in Ohio; and $100 billion in New York, the single largest investment of its kind ever in the world.

When the chips begin to roll off of these new production lines in America, a lot of them are going to be coming to Canada to be packaged. That is a lot of jobs, good-paying jobs. Today, I am also making available, through the Defense Production Act, $50 million to incentivize more U.S. and Canadian companies to invest in packaging semiconductors and printed circuit boards.

That brings me to a second pillar of our future, because our shared prosperity is deeply connected to our shared security. The past years have proven that Canada and the United States are not insulated from the challenges that impact the rest of the world. The world needs Canada and the United States working together with our partners around the world to rally strong and effective global action. Nowhere is that more obvious than our united response to Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine. We have stood together to defend sovereignty, to defend democracy, to defend freedom for ourselves and all who wish it. As I told President Zelenskyy when I visited with him in Kyiv last month, people all over the world are with the brave people of Ukraine. Are you not amazed at the personal bravery they are showing? It is incredible.

I know there is a large Ukrainian diaspora here in Canada, not just the lovely lady we were all introduced to a moment ago, who feel the same way. Canada and the United States, together with a coalition of 50 nations we jointly worked to put together, are making sure Ukraine can defend itself. We are supplying air defence systems, artillery systems, ammunition, armoured vehicles, tanks and so much more. It is tens of billions of dollars so far. Together with our G7 partners, we are imposing a significant cost on Russia as well, denying Russia critical inputs to its war machine. We are independently holding Russia accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that Russia is committing and continues to commit as I speak today.

Canada and America alike have opened their arms to Ukrainian refugees. Our people know well the high price of freedom. Your Peace Tower stands as a testament to the sacrifices of the more than 60,000 brave Canadians who perished in World War I, forever making this nation a champion of liberty. The words of a Canadian poem by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae still call to us from Flanders Fields, echoing their charge through the ages:

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.

Today, let us once more affirm that we are going to keep that torch of liberty burning brightly and support the Ukrainian people. We will not waiver.

Putin was certain that he would have been able to break NATO by now. He was certain of that, but guess what. His lust for land and power has failed thus far. The Ukrainian people's love of their country is going to prevail. In the face of President Putin's aggression against Ukraine, Canada and the United States are also making clear our commitment to our NATO allies. We will keep our alliance strong and united. We will defend every inch of NATO territory. An attack against one is an attack against all.

As we look forward to the 75th anniversary of NATO next year, Canada and the United States share a responsibility and a commitment to make sure NATO can deter any threat and defend against any aggression from anyone. That is the bedrock of the security of both our nations.

Canada and the United States are not only partners in transatlantic security. We are Pacific nations as well. Earlier this month, the U.S. and Canada held our first Indo-Pacific dialogue to deepen our co-operation in that vital region and promote an Indo-Pacific region that is free and open, prosperous and secure.

We are also an Arctic nation. We both recognize the critical importance of this region to our collective security, and the interests of other nations, all of a sudden, in the Arctic. We are working in close coordination to steward and protect the northern-most reaches of our world. We are American nations, deeply invested in ensuring that the western hemisphere is peaceful, prosperous, democratic and secure. That starts with our commitment to defending our people and our own sovereign territory.

NORAD is the only binational military command in the world, which is yet another way in which our partnership is exceptional. It is an incredible symbol of the faith we have in one another and the trust we place in each other's capabilities. Soon NORAD will have a new next-generation, over-the-horizon radar to enhance our early warning capacity; upgraded undersea surveillance systems; and modernized infrastructure, which is necessary to host the most advanced aircraft. I am looking forward to continuing to work in close partnership with Canada, as we deliver on these needs so that our people can continue to rest soundly knowing NORAD is on the watch.

We are also coordinating closely to take on the human security challenge throughout the region. We are working in partnership with the people of Haiti to try to find ways to provide security and humanitarian assistance, and to help strengthen Haiti's stability.

We are tackling the scourge of synthetic drugs that are devastating Canada and American communities, particularly our young people. Fentanyl is a killer. Almost everyone knows someone who has been affected by this, lost a child or lost a friend. Canada and the United States are working closely with our partner Mexico to attack this problem at every stage, from the precursor chemicals shipped from overseas to the powder, the pills and the traffickers moving into all of our countries. We all know the synthetic opioid epidemic has its roots around the globe, not just here, so today we are announcing a commitment to build a new global coalition of like-minded countries, led by Canada and the United States, to tackle this crisis. This is about public health, our economic futures and our national security.

We are also working together to address the record levels of migration in the hemisphere. The Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, which the United States and Canada, along with 19 other nations, signed last June, represents an integrated new approach to the migration challenge, which is real. It is an approach that unites humane policies that both secure borders and support people. In the United States, we are expanding legal pathways for migration to seek safety on a humanitarian basis, while discouraging unlawful migration that feeds exploitation and human trafficking.

Today, I applaud Canada for stepping up with similar programs, opening new legal pathways for 1,500 migrants to come to Canada from countries in the western hemisphere. At the same time, the United States and Canada will work together to discourage unlawful border crossings and fully implement the updated safe third country agreement. Finally, as we advance our shared prosperity and security, we must never lose sight of our shared values, because our values are literally the linchpin holding everything else together.

Welcoming refugees and asylum seekers is a part of who Canadians and Americans are. In fact, the United States recently launched a new private sponsorship program for refugees. We call it welcome corps, which draws on Canadians' decades of leadership in refugee resettlement, where both countries built upon the nation-to-nation relationship with Native Americans and first nations.

We have both been influenced and strengthened by the contributions of generations of immigrants. We believe to our core that every single person deserves to live in dignity and safety, and to rise as high as their dreams can carry them. We strive to defend human rights, to advance equality and gender equality, to pursue justice and to uphold the rule of law.

I want to note the outstanding work Canada has done to build a coalition of nearly 70 countries endorsing the Declaration against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations. It is not only a statement of value. Our citizens are not bargaining chips. They are not diplomatic leverage. They are human beings with lives and families who must be respected.

I am very glad to see the two Michaels, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, are safely back with their families after more than 1,000 days in detention. If my mother were here, she would say, “God bless you both.” Thank you for joining us today, and thank you for the opportunity to meet you earlier.

The incredible diversity that defines each of our nations is our strength. Prime Minister Trudeau, I know this is a belief that you and I share. We both built administrations that look like America and look like Canada. I am very proud both of us have cabinets that are 50% women for the first time in history.

We took the lesson from you because the bottom line is this: If we make it easier for historically under-represented communities to dream, create and succeed, we build a better future for all our people, so let us continue the work. Where there are no barriers, things look better. Where there are barriers to equal opportunity, we need to tear them down. Where inequity stifles potential, where we unleash the full power of our people, where injustice holds sway, let us insist on justice being done. Those are the shared values that imbue all of our efforts, our very democracy, our vitality and our vibrancy.

It is what seems to drive us all. Some places and some persons are kind of forgetting what the essence of democracy is. It is what allows to reach beyond the horizon.

Let me close with this. The year after President Kennedy spoke in Canada's Parliament, he delivered a famous speech at Rice University. He issued a challenge for Americans to go to the moon in a decade's time. Remember what he said, and you probably do, because we had to learn it when we were in school:

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard...because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.

That speech tapped into something deep in America's character, something powerful, a belief that we can do big things. Just think about it. Turn on the television in the last two years, whether it is in your country or mine, and after two years of COVID, people are beginning to wonder if we can still do big things. We sure in hell can.

That confidence, I believe with every fibre in my being, can make the most audacious dreams reality. Less than seven years after Kennedy's speech, the entire world watched humanity leave its first footprints on those further shores. It inspired a generation and spurred much of the technology advancement that now enriches our daily lives.

Today, our world once more stands at the cusp of breakthroughs and possibilities that have never before even been dreamt of.

Canada and the United States are leading and will continue to lead the way. In just a few days, NASA is going to announce an international team of astronauts who will crew the Artemis II mission, the first human voyage to the moon since the Apollo mission ended more than 50 years ago. It will consist of three Americans and one Canadian.

We choose to return to the moon together. Together, we will return to the moon and from there, we look forward to Mars and to the limitless possibilities that lie beyond. Here on earth, our children who watch that flight are going to learn the names of those new pioneers. They will be the ones who carry us into the future we hope to build: the Artemis generation.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are living in an age of possibilities.

Xi Jinping asked me on the Tibetan plateau if I could define America. I could have said the same thing if he had asked about Canada. I said, yes, one word, and I mean it, one word: possibilities.

Nothing is beyond our capacity. We can do anything. We must never forget that. We must never doubt our capacity. Canada and the United States can do big things and stand together, do them together, rise together. We are going to write the future together, I promise you.

God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Applause]

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Thank you, Mr. President.

Now I invite the Hon. George Furey, Speaker of the Senate, to say a few words.

[George J. Furey, Speaker of the Senate]

President Biden, Dr. Biden, Prime Minister Trudeau, Madame Grégoire Trudeau, distinguished guests, fellow parliamentarians.

On behalf of all the parliamentarians and all the guests present in the Chamber, I have the great honour, Mr. President, to thank you for your presence and for your address to the Parliament of Canada.

It is an honour to have you with us here in our Parliament. On behalf of all parliamentarians, and indeed on behalf of all Canadians, I would like to express our gratitude for the very powerful words you have shared with us here today.

I say, Mr. President, with no small measure of confidence, that your words have touched Canadians everywhere. Your message of hope, unity and partnership is one that reflects the shared values and ideals that unite us.

In May 1961, when former president Kennedy spoke to our joint session of Parliament, he said, “Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends.” Your visit today, Mr. President, continues this very strong testament to the firm bond between our two countries, and it is a cherished reminder of our deep friendships.

With the return of war in Europe, with the rising global assault on the very foundations of democracy and with increased threats to the rules-based international order, we find ourselves living in a time of great strength, a time when the world looks to great leaders such as you, Mr. President, to restore calm, to strengthen the principles of democracy that unite us and to ensure that the world is a better place for our children and our children's children. I know I speak on behalf of all of us when I say that your call for renewed collaboration and co-operation on global security, on climate change and on economic recovery will not go unheeded.

Your lifetime, Mr. President, of dedication to public service, performed with a profound sense of duty as senator, as vice-president and now as President, is an inspiration for all of us who strive every day to reflect, with honesty and pride, the diverse views of those we represent. Today, more than ever, we must shine a light on the darkness of conflict, chaos and despair. We must all, despite our differing views and despite our diverging ideologies, come together for the betterment of our people.

I believe you expressed it best, Mr. President, when you wrote in your book Promises to Keep, “If you do politics the right way, you can actually make people's lives better.” To make people's lives better is indeed a path that we must all follow in public life. It is right and fitting that we take this journey together as Canada and the United States of America, for the great task before all of us is to make this world a more peaceful and more prosperous place for everyone.

Thank you, Mr. President.

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Mr. President, Dr. Biden, whether from the Oval Office, the Senate chamber or inside the classroom, you have given yourselves to public service, to bringing people together for common good and to lifting others up in a shared sense of purpose.

It has been said, Mr. President, that empathy is your biggest superpower, and what a superpower that is.

You have used it to help people set commons goals and set aside their differences.

You embody the words of one of your illustrious predecessors, former president Jimmy Carter, who said, “What is needed now, more than ever, is leadership that steers us away from fear and fosters greater confidence in the inherent goodness and ingenuity of humanity.”

I would like to take a moment to say that our thoughts and prayers are with President Carter and his family during this difficult time.

Mr. President, Dr. Biden, you have both shown to the world that devotion to family and country are not mutually exclusive. The events of your lives, some heartbreakingly tragic, stand testament to how a life of dedication to family nourishes and strengthens us so that we may better serve others.

Indeed, Mr. President, you have shown, through example indeed, the transformative power of leadership from the heart. For this, we thank you very much.

Thank you for being with us today.

[Applause]