Debates of April 24th, 2023

Climate Change

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the world just marked Earth Day and Canadians understand that climate change is an existential crisis. However, our actions have not met our aspirations or the urgency required. We must significantly reduce our fossil fuel usage.

A clear majority of Canadians want the oil and gas sector to do its fair share. Oil and gas accounts for just 5% of our economy, yet is responsible for 26% of Canada's emissions. That is more than any other sector.

To meet our targets, Canada must reduce emissions 60% below 2005 levels by 2030. Done right, this transition will lower household energy costs, create more sustainable jobs and allow us to reach our climate targets for the first time in history. To do so requires a hard legislated cap on oil and gas emissions in Canada.

I urge the government to hold the oil and gas sector to these necessary and urgent targets. Our planet's health and that of all species living on it depend on it.

Armenian Genocide

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on April 21, 2004, the Bloc Québécois member for the riding of Laval Centre, Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, moved Motion No. 380, which recognized the 1915 Armenian genocide as a crime against humanity.

Twenty years earlier, as early as 1980, the government of René Levesque was one of the first to recognize the unspeakable tragedy of the massacre of 1.5 million people, or two-thirds of the Armenian population.

Every year, April 24 marks the day we commemorate that genocide. Men, women and children were murdered in cold blood. It was a genocide, the crime of all crimes.

Today, I stand before you to once again repeat the word “genocide”. It is a difficult word to hear, but out of a duty to remember, we must say the word for those who are still victims of genocide today, so we never forget.

Public Service

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the Public Service Alliance of Canada strike vote, over 700 CAF members at CFB Petawawa are left without hot water or heat because the workers manning those utilities are not considered essential.

This is absurd. Supporting the men and women who keep us safe in an increasingly volatile world is among the most essential of jobs. The government needs to either declare these workers essential or end the strike as soon as possible and turn the heat and water back on at CFB Petawawa.

Sikh Heritage Month

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey—Newton, BC]

[Member spoke in Punjabi]

[English]

Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday, in my riding of Surrey—Newton, over half a million people from all backgrounds came together to celebrate the birth of Khalsa in one of the largest Khalsa Day and Vaisakhi parades in the entire world. Championed by Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar, this annual event showcased the strength and diversity of our great nation.

With April being Sikh Heritage Month, I also want to recognize the contributions and accomplishments that Sikh Canadians have made to our country. I urge all members to join me in thanking the organizers and countless volunteers of the Surrey Khalsa Day Vaisakhi Parade and to thank Sikh Canadians across our country, who, over the past 125 years, have helped build Canada into the country it is today.

[Member spoke in Punjabi]

Labour

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's incompetence is off the charts.

He spent an additional $20 billion on federal bureaucracy all while causing the worst public service strike in 40 years. As a result, 700 soldiers went without heat for three days.

We have a minister who is telling Canadians not to submit a passport application, not to even try to get one here in Canada.

How much will Canadians have to pay to end the strike that the Prime Minister caused?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, public servants from the PSAC provide important services to Canadians and the government values their work.

We are committed to reaching agreements that are fair and reasonable for Canadians, and that is what we are doing. We will continue to do so until we reach an agreement that is fair and reasonable.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it would be one thing to increase the cost of the bureaucracy by 50%, or $20 billion a year, and it would be another to have a strike. However, to do both of those things at once takes a special, unique kind of incompetence that only the Prime Minister could pull off.

The consequences are that 700 soldiers have been without heat and warm water. Canadians are now being told that they are not even to apply for passports, let alone get one, meaning that they will miss international weddings.

Our veterans, our seniors, our small business owners and our taxpayers are all being ripped off. Now, how much will they have to pay to bring an end to the Prime Minister-caused strike?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, public servants from PSAC provide important services to Canadians and the government values their work. We are committed to reaching agreements that are fair for employees and reasonable to Canadians.

There is a competitive deal on the table, but PSAC continues to insist on demands that are unaffordable and would severely impact our ability to deliver services to Canadians. Canadians can expect both parties to bargain in good faith and find compromise. That is what we are focusing on.

Ethics

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister is unaffordable. Maybe if he were not spending $21 billion on consultants every year, he would not have the biggest public service strike in modern memory.

He expects us also to believe that he has no direct or indirect involvement with the Trudeau Foundation, even though its donors pay for his vacations, he chose two of its former directors to head up investigations into foreign interference, and the Trudeau Foundation received Beijing-based donations, which his brother processed. Now we have learned that the Trudeau Foundation is holding meetings in his office. Did he not know about that either?

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

Mr. Speaker, the meeting that took place was between public servants in a government building. It was not with the Prime Minister.

However, I could understand that the Leader of the Opposition, as usual, is looking to swing a wide stick and does not seem to care what he hits. There is a constant array of attacks and mis-characterization of information. His interest again and again is to disrupt and be partisan rather than provide productive solutions to the issues that face this country right now.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let us get this straight. The Trudeau Foundation's donors paid for the Prime Minister's vacation, but he did not know about that. The Trudeau Foundation supplied the two independent investigators to look into the interference by Beijing, and he did not know about that either. The Trudeau Foundation received donations from Beijing, organized and orchestrated by his brother, but he did not know about that.

Now we know that there were meetings in the Prime Minister's office with his top officials and the Trudeau Foundation. Once again, are the Liberals really expecting Canadians to be dumb enough to believe that he did not know about that either?

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

Mr. Speaker, sometimes I stay up at night, and I wonder how the Leader of the Opposition got to the position of recommending to people to opt out of inflation by recommending cryptocurrency as a solution, and now I understand why. Listening—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I just want to wait until everybody is ready so we can get on with question period.

The hon. government House leader may please proceed.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we listen to the convoluted mess the Leader of the Opposition tossed out there, and it is completely nonsensical. I will just take one point.

Yes, the Prime Minister, as I have said on many occasions, took a vacation with his family over Christmas and stayed at a friend's house. By the way, that friend has been his family friend his entire life. He had been at that residence when he was one year old. The mis-characterizations continue.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants Canadians to believe that the Trudeau Foundation's donors paid for his vacation, but that he did not know about it. He would have us believe that the Trudeau Foundation received donations from Beijing, organized by his brother, but that he did not know about it. Finally, he wants us to believe that the two investigators into foreign interference are from the Trudeau Foundation, but that he did not know about it.

Now there were meetings that took place in the Prime Minister's office with his top officials and the Trudeau Foundation, but he did not know about them either.

Does the Prime Minister really think Canadians are that dumb?

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

Mr. Speaker, clearly, the member opposite desperately wants to create a link between the Trudeau Foundation and the Prime Minister.

There is no link. There has been no direct or indirect link between the foundation and the Prime Minister for over 10 years. That is clear.

Unfortunately, the leader of the official opposition cares more about playing partisan games and sowing division than he does about the facts.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we were wondering why China was trying so hard to cozy up to the Trudeau Foundation. This morning, La Presse gave us the answer.

In 2016, at the same time that China was writing it a big cheque, the Trudeau Foundation was at a meeting, in the Prime Minister's own office, with not one, not two, not three, but five deputy ministers. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister keeps endlessly repeating that he has had no involvement with the foundation for 10 years.

Does he really think Quebeckers are stupid enough to believe that he does not know what goes on in his own office?

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

Mr. Speaker, an independent meeting took place between public servants and the foundation. The Prime Minister had no stake in the meeting and no information about it.

I totally reject the premise of that question. It is absolutely ridiculous to claim that China or any other country has influence over our government or any other member. All members of the House are loyal to Canada. That is clear.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Trudeau Foundation has unfettered access to those in power.

The vast majority of Liberal MPs across the aisle can only dream of having such privileged access to the Prime Minister's Office, with five deputy ministers as an added bonus. That is why China wanted to cozy up to the foundation, and that is why the Prime Minister cannot be trusted to shed light on China's interference in our institutions.

Every time he has had the opportunity to shed light on this issue, for transparency's sake, the Prime Minister instead tells us the opposite of the truth. When will there be an independent public inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has repeatedly stated, there is no direct or indirect relationship with the Trudeau Foundation. That is clear. I can repeat it, again and again.

We need to rely on facts in the House. A story or a novel is something entirely different. Perhaps there is another career awaiting members on the other side; maybe they can be novelists. Facts, however, are something else altogether.

Labour

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is day six of the public service strike. This government is far from reaching a good agreement at the bargaining table.

It even seems as though the President of the Treasury Board is not taking this seriously. She is giving interviews with a big smile on her face. She is showing no respect for the workers who were there for us. It is time the minister was there for them.

Will the minister stop with the public relations job, start doing her real job and find a solution?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, right now, our team is working long and hard to negotiate new collective agreements that are fair, competitive and reasonable.

This round of negotiations has been very difficult. The union came to the table with 570 demands. I am proud to say that there are only a handful left on the table.

We need to find a balance between what is fair for employees and what is reasonable for Canadians. That is what we are currently doing with the offer that is on the table.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, workers deserve to be treated with respect.

Canada's public service workers have been without a contract for two years. Now they are out in the rain fighting for their rights, and the minister is nowhere to be found. Because the government has failed to get a fair deal for the workers, Canadians across the country are feeling the impacts of the PSAC strike.

It is time for the minister to show that she is going to walk the walk on labour rights, or will the minister continue to ignore these workers' rights?

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, our team has been working around the clock to negotiate new collective agreements that are fair, competitive and reasonable. This round of negotiations has been a heavy lift. The union came to the table with 570 demands, and I am proud to say that only a handful remain on the table.

We need to find a balance between what is fair for employees and what is reasonable for Canadians, which is what the deal on the table at this time is.