Debates of April 18th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the minister should do something because he has never met an emissions target.

Another day and another billionaire island boondoggle. This time, the Prime Minister jets off to Jamaica and costs the Canadian taxpayers over $160,000. Of course, he stays with a friend who has donated to the Trudeau Foundation because he is so independent from that foundation. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Canadians cannot afford a vacation. They cannot afford to eat and heat.

Will the Prime Minister end this double standard of living and axe the carbon tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to remind the hon. member that Conservatives never met any target that they had set on climate change.

The national inventory report—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am not even sure if it is heckling anymore or just people talking to each other. Members should try to whisper if they are going to talk to each other.

The hon. Minister of Environment, from the top, please.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that the Conservatives never met any target that they set.

Last week, Canada published a national inventory report, which shows that between 2019 and 2021, we cut carbon pollution in Canada by 53 million tonnes. That is the equivalent of removing 11 million cars from our roads. Our plan is working, and we are getting the job done.

International Trade

[Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada-Chile trade agreement was modernized over five years ago, and the two countries have had diplomatic relations for over 80 years. Canada is the largest investor in Chile, and developing this relationship could prove crucial, particularly in the areas of clean energy and technology.

Can the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development tell us about her recent trip to Chile and its results?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the environment and the economy go hand in hand. I saw this first-hand during a trade mission with 25 clean technology companies from Chile last week.

Consider, for example, the Quebec company Oneka, which uses ocean waves to create energy and desalinate seawater, or Summit Nanotech, a woman-led company that extracts lithium sustainably. That is why budget 2023 invests in the clean economy of tomorrow.

Democratic Institutions

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the FBI arrested two suspected Chinese agents yesterday morning for allegedly operating a police station in New York City.

In Quebec, the RCMP recently informed the public that Chinese authorities were running covert police stations in the Montreal area.

While the United States proactively dismantles Beijing-operated police stations, Canada sits idly by doing nothing. What is the government waiting for?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the government takes foreign interference very seriously. The RCMP handled the situation by taking concrete action and shutting down the alleged Chinese-run foreign police station.

We will keep investing and allocating resources in the field to respond as needed to protect our institutions, our communities and Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the FBI arrested two individuals connected to the PRC's foreign interference threat activities. The FBI said that one of the individuals was connected to the illegal police stations that the PRC established in Canada.

Why does it take the FBI to take action to protect Canadian sovereignty on Canadian soil?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, with great respect, I think my colleague got the initials wrong. It was the RCMP that shut down the so-called police stations in Canada, and it will continue to take decisive, concrete action against those forms and all forms of foreign interference.

I would encourage the colleagues across the way in the Conservative Party to support the budget, which was advanced by the Minister of Finance, the Deputy Prime Minister, which puts more resources into the RCMP to protect our communities and to protect all Canadians from foreign interference.

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

All that has happened, Mr. Speaker, to this point is that the RCMP has parked police cars at these illegal stations, and that is not good enough.

The government has had years to counter what CSIS has called a serious national threat to the security of Canada, but nothing has happened: no prosecution of anyone involved with these illegal foreign interference activities; no prosecution of anyone for these illegal police stations; no legislation introduced to counter Beijing's agents; no diplomats expelled.

Why does it take the U.S.A. to protect Canadians and Canadian sovereignty on Canadian soil?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague can continue to bury his head in the sand on the concrete actions that the RCMP and all agencies within the national security community are taking to protect our institutions. However, the fact of the matter is that this government has done more than any other in the history of our country when it comes to putting in place the people, the resources, the authorities and, yes, the transparency to shine a light on the way we will continue to protect all our democratic institutions, and, most important, Canadians.

Indigenous Affairs

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the First Nations Health Authority recently marked its 10-year anniversary as the gold standard for indigenous health transformation based on self-determination. The First Nations Health Authority has worked to improve indigenous health in a way that is respectful of distinct cultural practices and responsive to unique community needs.

Could the Minister of Indigenous Services Canada please tell the House what she is doing to further support and improve first nations-led health care across British Columbia?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his unwavering advocacy. We were so excited last week to sign another 10-year agreement with the First Nations Health Authority. I want to thank the First Nations Health Authority and leadership council for their incredible vision of the next 10 years, providing self-determined health care services to indigenous peoples across B.C. This is transformational.

Health

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we need real action to tackle the toxic drug crisis. I am glad to see the Minister of Mental Health recently call out the leader of the official opposition for his misleading tweets on substance use and crime, which create more harm.

The minister says that we need to invest in our communities and provide care to those who use substances by providing support and empathy, but where is it? This is a national health crisis.

The Liberals' incremental approach in this budget simply will not cut it. Therefore, when are the Liberals finally going to deliver a full-scale response outlined by their own experts?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his ongoing advocacy. He is so right. The toxic drug and overdose crisis continues to take a tragic toll on families, loved ones and communities. Our government will continue to use every tool at our disposal to work with our partners to end this national public health crisis.

Since 2017, we have committed more than a billion dollars to address the overdose crisis, and we are taking concrete steps to divert people who use drugs away from the criminal justice system. Approving B.C.'s decriminalization proposal for personal possession was an important first step, and we have supported 31 projects—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for London—Fanshawe has the floor.

National Defence

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since October, Canadian Armed Forces have been in Poland to train their Ukrainian counterparts to fight against Putin's horrific invasion, but, once again, the federal government has cut corners at their expense. Instead of sending military cooks to Poland, it tried to save a few bucks by telling troops to foot the bill. Military families have been forced to dip into savings to send money for food and some are still waiting to be reimbursed by the government.

Will the Minister of National Defence commit today to stop the cuts and ensure our forces have what they need to eat?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased that the member opposite brought up the very point of Canadians assisting the Ukrainian armed forces in their time of need. Not only have we trained 36,000 members of the Ukrainian armed forces, we are in England, we are in Poland; we are in Latvia continuing to support Ukraine in its time of need. We will always stand up for the Canadian Armed Forces here at home and abroad, ensuring that they have what they need to protect and defend this country.

2020 Shootings in Nova Scotia

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I understand that there have been discussions among representatives of all parties in the House and that there is agreement to observe a moment of silence.

I now invite the House to rise and observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the tragic event that happened three years ago in Nova Scotia.

[A moment of silence observed]

The House resumed consideration of the motion that this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government, and of the amendment.

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, I was at a trade show in my riding on the weekend, and the Liberal Party actually had a booth there. They had, in big letters, “Enter a draw, win a race car test drive”. Many people were excited. They thought it was a race car, and they realized it was actually a test drive. Unfortunately, this is the approach of the government's programs in many ways. They are promising the moon, and they are not delivering. They are promising giveaways with money that is borrowed, and that we cannot afford, and programs that are not sustainable.

Why is the Liberal Party in my riding, and the Liberal Party here in the House, continuing to over-promise and under-deliver?

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think we over-promise; we encourage people. We are encouraging them. We have lots of EV credits coming up. We are encouraging the issue of climate change so that we can get people actually test-driving EV vehicles and seeing how smooth that drive is. Sometimes we encourage people through a mechanism, like a raffle or whatever mechanism possible, to get them to actually try out different things. I think the government is looking for innovative ways to promote all of the great things we have in the 2023 budget.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I apologize to the hon. member, because I know she did not touch on this in her speech, but I have been trying to get an answer to it for some time. If she does not know the answer offhand, perhaps she can help me find the answer.

On page 117 of the budget, there is a reference to “Future Arctic Offshore Oil and Gas Development”. I have been pursuing this and trying to find out why there is $7 million for future Arctic offshore oil and gas development when a moratorium was announced under the Western Arctic - Tariuq (Offshore) Accord. It is supposed to be a moratorium, but that moratorium expired December 2022, and now in the budget we have this so-called “Future Arctic Offshore Oil and Gas Development”.

Are we to conclude that the government is ending the moratorium and opening the Arctic to offshore oil and gas development? The budget puts forward a very clear statement on future Arctic offshore oil and gas development, which has not been announced as government policy. Perhaps the hon. member can help me understand this part of the budget.