Debates of March 6th, 2023

Community Volunteer and Sport Mentor

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to acknowledge an extraordinary woman named Shauna Bookal, whose impact on the sport community in Durham Region has been immense.

Shauna is an outstanding field hockey player and actively supports many sports initiatives throughout the community. She has been a prominent mentor in sports and has been recognized within the Black community for her dedication in developing future leaders. Shauna is a rising star and has received recognition for her years of volunteer service.

In 2019, she was inducted into the Toronto Sport Hall of Honour; in 2020, she received the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers from the Governor General of Canada; in 2021, she received the Ontario Volunteer Service Award; and in 2022, she was recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Black women to watch.

Members will please join me in acknowledging Shauna Bookal for her countless contributions to our community and for mentoring young people to realize their full potential, both as athletes and community leaders. I thank Shauna for all she does.

Ukraine

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on February 24, 2022, to the shock of the entire democratic world, Russian armed forces started an illegal bombing campaign of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in an attempt to overrun the entire country. An invasion that Vladimir Putin thought would be over in a matter of days has now endured for over one year. That is a testament to the people of Ukraine, the courage of their armed forces, the leadership of President Zelenskyy and the response of western allies, like Canada, that have stepped up with humanitarian aid, economic assistance, refuge and, most importantly, weapons to shore up Ukraine in this fight against naked Russian imperialism.

This war can only end with one outcome: a safe and secure Ukraine, which includes all of its territory, meaning Crimea and the Donbass. The resolve of the Ukrainian people in reaching this goal remains firm, and equally, Canada’s resolve in supporting Ukraine in its time of need remains unwavering.

Slava Ukraini.

Medical Assistance in Dying

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, life is precious and is a beautiful gift. With that in mind, I stand here in support of Canada's most vulnerable. Eight years ago, we warned the Liberal government that its assisted death legislation would create a slippery slope that would put at risk the lives of many vulnerable Canadians. We were right.

The Prime Minister has engineered an unprecedented expansion of Canada’s assisted suicide regime by including mentally ill persons and signalling he wants to include children as well. There is absolutely no consensus among Canadians that we should do this. My bill, the mental health protection act, would repeal the government's decision to extend assisted death to mentally ill persons.

Instead of inexorably moving toward a culture of death, let us celebrate and nurture a culture of life. Let us provide these vulnerable Canadians with the social and mental health supports they need to enjoy meaningful and joy-filled lives.

Fashion Detox Challenge

[Élisabeth Brière, Liberal, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this month people are going to take up the fashion detox challenge, which consists in abstaining from buying new clothes for one month.

The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. That is why we need to change our consumer habits and turn more toward thrift shops and buying local. Buying local stimulates the economy and supports entrepreneurs in Sherbrooke while thrift shops give new life to our clothing and other items.

Last week, I went to Comptoir familial, a second-hand clothing store in Sherbrooke. Guylaine Ruest and her amazing team of volunteers offer second-hand clothing and items at a low price at two locations. I invite everyone in Sherbrooke to check out the second-hand clothing store and maybe even find a treasure.

Our government is supporting our merchants and organizations and helping them deal with foreign corporations including by funding the buy local initiative. Let us continue to encourage organizations and businesses here at home.

The Economy

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government says it wants to triple the carbon tax up to $170 a tonne. Thanks to British Columbia's recently tabled budget, we know how much economic harm tripling the carbon tax may cause.

On April 1, the carbon tax goes up to $65 a tonne and may cost British Columbians an extra $600 million a year. It is estimated that with the Liberal plan to triple the cost, the cost may be as high as a staggering $5 billion in British Columbia by 2030. Even the province has said in its own budget that “rural communities may have higher indirect carbon tax burdens (e.g. through higher shipping costs resulting in a higher price for goods) and colder regions of the province may have higher carbon tax costs for home heating.”

However, we should hold British Columbia's beer, because the Prime Minister is not done yet. On April 1, this government is also hiking the excise tax on beer, wine and spirits by another 6.3%.

This is all made-in-Canada inflation from a Liberal government that is out of touch and does not care. After eight years of the Liberal government, many Canadians can no longer afford to pay their bills. They need leadership that helps keep life affordable, and under the Conservative leader, they will get it.

Freedoms in Canada

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian artists are succeeding on digital platforms with the support of fellow Canadians and from viewers around the world without Bill C-11.

The Liberals' plan is to regulate user content-generating websites, like YouTube, where hundreds of thousands of hours of video content are uploaded every minute. Canadian artists, legal experts and digital content producers are speaking out against Bill C-11, yet the Liberals are not listening. What we see and search online now is different from what we would have after the bill and after the Liberal gatekeepers put regulations in place that would change online algorithms.

Bill C-11 represents yet another example of the Liberals' waste of time and public resources in the name of demanding more control and power over Canadians. In a free and democratic country like Canada, the government should not tell us what we can and cannot see on the Internet. We need to kill Bill C-11.

Zahid Malik

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an important stakeholder in my community who lost the battle against cancer.

Zahid Malik was a young, dynamic and humble community worker who really represented the best qualities of our community and the people who strive to strengthen it every day. He leaves behind a legacy as an accomplished small business person, a dedicated philanthropist, a husband and a loving father of three. He was selfless and always ready to lend a helping hand to others without seeking anything in return.

For public servants, our constituents and stakeholders represent the core of our work and the motivation by which we carry out the work in this chamber. Zahid Malik was exactly that: an irreplaceable part of our community who made us all better as public servants and as people. He will be greatly missed by everybody who knew him. May he rest in peace.

Access to Addictions Treatment

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about an urgent matter related to the toxic substance crisis.

As we all know, this crisis has been devastating for communities, resulting in countless lives lost and families torn apart. More needs to be done to address this crisis, yet some in this House would rather use misinformation and score political points than care about the best interests of those struggling.

We know that solutions based on the advice of medical health experts save lives; these include safer supply and on-demand treatment for those who are struggling with addiction. Recovery without supports can become a revolving door, and relapses to street drugs are particularly dangerous.

Harm reduction has an important role to play in recovery. We need more examples of the collaborative work that is happening through events like the community dinner and dialogue that took place in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith just a few days ago. At this event, frontline workers, substance users and members of the community all came together to find a path forward.

The Liberal government must prioritize the health and safety of people. I urge all members of this House to work together and support these initiatives to save lives.

Denis Ringuette and Jacques Pellerin

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

Mr. Speaker, today I salute the courage, determination and dedication of two volunteer firefighters from Berthier—Maskinongé.

I want to pay tribute to Denis Ringuette, who is celebrating 50 years of service as a volunteer firefighter in Louiseville, as well as Jacques Pellerin of Yamachiche, who has completed 52 years of loyal service.

They have stepped up for over 50 years, always willing to risk their lives to save others and always ready to suddenly leave a family dinner or a child's party to run towards danger and protect their community. Conviction and a sense of duty spur them on.

Their dedication has kept their fellow citizens safe and protected all these years. Their outstanding discipline and sense of duty has no doubt brought their community peace of mind.

It is with great respect that I congratulate them for their diligence and perseverance.

I want to thank these gentlemen.

Beijing

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

Mr. Speaker, for years, CSIS has assessed that Beijing's foreign interference “can pose serious threats” to the security of Canada. CSIS tracked this interference and brought it to the attention of the Prime Minister, as have others, like Global Affairs Canada's G7 rapid response mechanism.

CSIS advised the Prime Minister that “Canada can make use of a policy that is grounded in transparency and sunlight in order to highlight the point that [foreign interference] should be exposed to the public” and that “Canada can counter [foreign interference] activities by building resilience.” To build resilience, Canadians, communities and all levels of government need to be aware of foreign interference threat activities.

The Prime Minister has ignored this advice. He needs to heed the advice of experts, treat Beijing's foreign interference as the serious threat it is and tell us and Canadians exactly what is going on.

Peter Herrndorf

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Peter Herrndorf, a giant in the Canadian arts and culture community and a beloved leader, who died on February 18. Peter spent a lifetime devoted to nurturing our artists, storytellers, journalists and administrators to tell the stories of Canada.

Among many accomplishments, Peter was instrumental in creating The Journal at the CBC and The Agenda at TVO. During his 19-year tenure as president and CEO of the National Arts Centre, he brought together artists and performers from across the country to make it the creative force it is today. He also developed the National Arts Centre's Indigenous Theatre, the first national indigenous theatre department in the world. His most recent role was as chair of Luminato.

Our deepest sympathies go to his wife, Eva Czigler; his children, Katherine and Matthew; and his entire family.

Peter was a passionate defender of public broadcasting and Canadian arts and culture. He will be deeply missed, but his contributions have left a lasting legacy and inspired a new generation of Canadian artists and talent.

Democratic Institutions

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, for the past 10 years, the authoritarian government in Beijing has been trying to give the Prime Minister a helping hand politically, starting with a $200,000 donation to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

Our intelligence services have since informed the Prime Minister that the Chinese government has interfered in two elections to help the Liberal Party, yet the PM has done absolutely nothing.

Will he finally allow a public independent investigation so Canadians can get the truth?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it will come as no surprise to you that I disagree with the opposition leader's false claims that the government did nothing. As soon as we came to power, we took action against foreign interference in our elections. Ours is the only government ever to have done so.

When my friend, the opposition leader, was the minister responsible for democratic institutions, he did nothing when intelligence agencies raised the issue over 10 years ago.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we did not have to, because the Communist dictatorship in Beijing was not helping the Conservative Party to get elected.

Contrary to that, for 10 years the Communist dictatorship in Beijing has been helping the Prime Minister. It gave $200,000 in donations to the Trudeau Foundation and interfered in two successive elections to help the Liberals win. Moreover, the Prime Minister knew about it. After numerous briefings to that effect, he has done absolutely nothing to stop it because he benefits from it.

Will the Prime Minister finally allow a public and truly independent investigation of it?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we take the issue of foreign interference in Canada's electoral system, any foreign interference, very seriously.

That is why when we formed government, we took a number of unprecedented steps that did not exist when my friend was a minister in the previous government. We created the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians precisely so that parliamentarians from all political parties could have access to classified information and published reports for Canadians. We set up an independent panel of senior public servants to follow exactly the issue of foreign interference in the elections, and we will continue to do more.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, all they have done is had the former CEO of the China-financed Trudeau Foundation write a report about it in which he unsurprisingly says, “Do not worry; be happy.”

We know why the Liberals want to cover this up: They benefited from Beijing's interference in two successive elections. The question is, why is the NDP not actually doing its job? New Democrats have been working against transparency by preventing top Liberal campaign operatives and PMO officials from testifying in committee.

Why will the NDP not stop its cover-up coalition and allow top-level officials to testify and answer questions?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition wants top-level officials to testify publicly before parliamentary committees.

The good news is that is exactly what they did last week, including the heads of our intelligence agencies, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, and the national security and intelligence advisor to the Prime Minister. I know my friend would be very excited to know that I am going to procedure and House affairs committee myself on Thursday, and I would be happy to answer any questions.

From the beginning we have said that we take this issue very seriously. We have put in place unprecedented steps to deal with foreign interference, and we will continue to do more.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we learned that the Prime Minister now has a big announcement to make at 5:00 p.m. today. This, after 10 years of having known that Beijing was interfering to support him with donations to the Trudeau Foundation and help in numerous federal election campaigns. Now he is announcing something.

We know that he is probably going to try to sweep this under the rug by naming a Liberal establishment insider to have a secretive process that would never bring about the truth. What we do not know for sure is whether the NDP is once again going to be a co-conspirator in making that happen.

Will we have a final and clear public investigation so that Canadians know the truth?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition was the minister responsible for democratic reform in the previous Conservative government.

In 2013, CSIS identified foreign interference as a challenge in the electoral context. Mr. Harper's former national security advisor raised this publicly in 2010, 13 years ago. When my hon. friend was the minister responsible for this very file, he did absolutely nothing to deal with the question of foreign interference.

I know he is frustrated that we have done so much. The good news is that we will continue to do more because we take this issue very seriously.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that member could have walked across the floor and let me know that the Trudeau foundation had received $200,000 from Beijing, let me know that the dictatorship in Beijing was planning to interfere in successive elections to help Liberals get elected. If they had been transparent about that back then, we would not be having this conversation now. Instead, we have had 10 years of cover-ups from the Prime Minister, who has benefited from the interference, known about it, been briefed on it and done nothing except to try to sweep it under the rug.

Will the NDP stop covering up for the Liberals and get top PMO and Liberal party officials to answer questions before our committee?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, just because the Leader of the Opposition keeps insisting on a falsehood does not make it real. He knows very well that our government took unprecedented steps to deal with this issue, because we take it seriously: a panel of senior public servants, chaired by the Clerk of the Privy Council; setting up in law the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, including representatives from all political parties.

We have taken this issue seriously. We have made senior officials available at parliamentary committees. We will continue to do everything we can to strengthen Canadian democratic institutions.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the revelations about Chinese interference reported in The Globe and Mail are cause for concern.

Whether the outcome of the last election would have been the same is not the issue. Any time the integrity of the democratic process is threatened, it is the responsibility of all of us in the House to defend that process. Public trust in our democratic system is at stake here. This goes far beyond partisan politics.

Will the Prime Minister create an independent commission of public inquiry on foreign interference in our elections?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague that this should be a non-partisan issue, because we all have an interest in protecting and strengthening our democratic institutions.

Our government has introduced a series of robust measures that were assessed by independent experts following the last two federal elections. The good news is that we are always looking for additional measures that we can bring in with the support, I hope, of all parliamentarians in order to strengthen our democratic system.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the experts. Jean-Pierre Kingsley, the former chief electoral officer, Gerald Butts, a former advisor to the Prime Minister, and even Morris Rosenberg, all agree that there needs to be a public inquiry on the integrity of our elections.

We can look all we want, but it seems that no one is opposed to shedding light on any threat to the functioning of our democratic system. There must be no doubts about the legitimacy of the presence of a member in the House. That is something we definitely do not want.

When will the government establish a public and independent inquiry on foreign interference in elections?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that our government has been very transparent about our efforts to counter foreign interference in our elections and our democratic system.

We look forward to working with all parliamentarians in the House of Commons and the Senate. That is exactly why we created, for example, a parliamentary committee to study these and other issues and to report to Canadians. We created intelligence review agencies to effectively ensure that our democratic institutions are protected, and we continue to look for other solutions at the same time.