Debates of May 12th, 2023

Taxation

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I think the minister must still have her head in the clouds, because what Canadians are looking for are tangible solutions to the cost-of-living crisis. This government would rather raise taxes and watch Canadians starve.

“Canada's Food Price Report 2023” is very clear. A family of four will have to pay $1,065 more for food.

When will the government show some common sense and commit to not imposing new taxes?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know if my colleague heard, but last week, I announced a new call for proposals for the local food infrastructure fund. We are providing $10 million to help our food banks, community gardens, community greenhouses, youth centres, seniors' programs and more. All those working in our local and regional food systems can submit their projects right now to be fully funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is hard to follow the Liberals when it comes to the Century Initiative and their goal of increasing the Canadian population to 100 million people. They say they reject the initiative, and yet they refuse to support our motion to reject the initiative. They say they deny the initiative's target of 500,000 people per year, and yet their own target for 2025 is 500,000 people. The Liberals say they are shutting the door on the Century Initiative, but in reality they are keeping it wide open and doing exactly as it says.

Do they take Quebeckers for fools?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, let me be perfectly clear. The Century Initiative is not a government policy. The government does not endorse the findings of this independent group. The government does not have a goal of increasing Canada's population to 100 million people. We have announced our immigration thresholds for the next three years. These thresholds were set according to the needs of Canadians and Quebeckers.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to believe the Liberals when they say that they did not take a page from the Century Initiative, because their immigration targets are identical. However, we will give them the benefit of the doubt. We do not yet know the Liberal targets starting in 2026. Perhaps they will not copy the Century Initiative targets after 2025.

Can they promise Quebeckers that their target starting in 2026 will be lower than the Century Initiative target of 500,000 per year, or, on the contrary, will their silence be confirmation that they are indeed copying the Century Initiative?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we will say it one more time and the Bloc needs to hear it. The Century Initiative is not a government policy. First of all, the Bloc Québécois needs to stop scaring people.

Second, the Bloc Québécois knows very well that the federal government gives the most money to Quebec for the francization of immigrants. We are there with more than $700 million per year to work with the Quebec government and to ensure that immigrants who arrive in Quebec can speak French. Of course, on this side of the House, we will always be there to defend Quebec's interests.

Veterans Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, the poppy helps us commemorate the sacrifice and bravery of the women and men who served in the Canadian Armed Forces. Canadians are proud to wear their poppy in remembrance, but not Conservative premier, Danielle Smith. She is picking a fight with veterans to try to score political points for herself. It is shameful.

Will the minister stand up for veterans and condemn the remarks of Danielle Smith?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is so important that we pay respect to our veterans. We have, and we always will. What we have to do is pay respect to our veterans and make sure we support our veterans. I can assure the member, on both issues, that this is what the government is doing and will continue to do.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

I just want to remind folks to make sure that questions and comments are about federal government issues.

The hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona.

International Trade

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's corporate watchdog is responsible for ensuring that Canadian companies act ethically abroad, yet in five years, with an annual budget of millions of dollars, no investigations have been done to protect indigenous people, the environment or human rights. This failure allows bad companies to act with impunity. This harms Canada's reputation, and it makes Canadian companies complicit in rape, murder and the destruction of indigenous communities.

I put forward legislation that would strengthen corporate responsibility. When will the Liberals do what they always do, and copy the NDP work to fix the core?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, at the very heart of Canada's trade policy is an inclusive trade policy. At the very heart of our policy is responsible business conduct.

We, for the very first time, appointed an ombudsperson for corporate responsibility. She has set up shop, and she is doing her work. I look forward to working with my hon. colleague and all members to ensure that Canadian businesses operating anywhere around the world are operating with those high standards, led by Canadian values.

Passports

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, instead of addressing their passport and immigration backlogs, these Liberals are disrespecting our veterans and Canadian Armed Forces who protect our sovereignty and freedom. The government's useless and unnecessary passport redesign will erase the image of Vimy Ridge, the place where Canada came of age and first fought as a unified force. How do these Liberals explain to our veterans and Canadians who served our country that their sacrifice is not even worth one page on our passports?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, just for everyone to know, every 10 years the government updates its passports to protect Canadians from fraudsters and ensure it is hard to counterfeit the passports. This is not a partisan issue. This is about ensuring Canadians get the most secure and reliable passports that they can use around the world. The Conservatives just do not get that.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, that member does not get it that we get to sit in here because of the sacrifice made by our veterans. The brave Canadians who served at Vimy Ridge are not the only ones who are getting caught up in the Liberals' cancel culture. From Terry Fox to Nellie McClung, famous Canadians are being erased from our passports. With our rich history and culture, one would think that the iconic beaver might actually get a mention in the passport, but instead the government went with a squirrel holding a nut. Does the government really think that all Canada has to offer are under-represented rodents?

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

Mr. Speaker, when one of the greatest darknesses ever known to man began to cast its shadow over Europe, Canada responded in an unprecedented way, sending tens upon tens of thousands of men into harm's way. Every single one of us viscerally and deeply understands the sacrifices that they made at that point and that those in our Armed Forces make now on behalf of democracy. There is not a person in this House who is not seized by that. How we honour it and the ways in which we recognize it may differ, but let us never question our commitment to that cause.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, every year, Canadians of all stripes travel to France to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice at Vimy Ridge. I myself have made that trip to a place where Canada defined itself as a nation and a place that unites us all. That is why everyone was stunned, including veterans like me, that the government has decided that it needs to wipe it and other important symbols that define our nation from the new passport design. When will this minister reverse course and stop trying to erase Canadian history?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we understand the history and what took place when my hon. colleague's party was in power. In fact, it slashed 1,000 employees from Veterans Affairs. It slashed funding to Veterans Affairs. It slashed funding to commemorative programs. It slashed 17% from the commemorative program, which includes Vimy Ridge. I was at Vimy Ridge a few weeks ago and I announced $12 million to make sure that the commemorative program continues as it should. We have respected and always will respect veterans and make sure we attend to our veterans as properly as we possibly can.

[Fraser Tolmie, Conservative, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it was this Prime Minister who said veterans were asking for too much. The legion membership was disappointed, saying, “Removing that image was...a poor decision.”

The Vimy Foundation, whose mission is to teach Canadians' shared history, said its members were disappointed, especially with the decision coming just a month after the the 106th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Was the Minister of Veterans Affairs consulted on this change? Is he okay with his government's trying to erase the memory and sacrifices of Canadian veterans?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is this Prime Minister who decided we would reverse the track that the previous government was on in slashing veterans funds, closing veterans offices right across the country and slashing funds to commemorative programs in Europe. We have and this government has put $2 billion extra per year in the pockets of veterans. We have to make sure that we treat veterans properly because that is why we are able to say what we like in this House. We have supported and will continue to support veterans.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is once again giving itself every right to do whatever it pleases, this time by having the nerve to erase symbols that Canadians hold dear from the newest version of the Canadian passport.

Instead of respecting the men and women who fought for our freedom, why is the government opposite attacking them by sacrificing the images that represent freedom for thousands of Canadians?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, do we know what Conservatives are good at? They are good at pitting Canadians against each other through fear and divisive rhetoric.

We are updating the Canadian passport to protect Canadians against fraud, but the Conservatives are good at turning this issue into a cultural war. They are trying to bring a Trump-style war to Canada. We will not be swayed. We will continue to help our veterans, just as the minister said. Symbols will always be respected in Canada.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's chosen design, which replaces historical symbols with heritage illustrations, is unacceptable. It is an affront and profoundly disrespectful to veterans.

Could the government show some respect and good judgment and reconsider the so-called modern design of future Canadian passports?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as we are all keenly aware, a Canadian passport is one of the most reliable travel documents around. We can celebrate our history here in the House and across Canada in lots of ways, and we can also ensure that our passports are secure.

I think we might be losing sight of the main objective. Our passports have to be secure, which is exactly the task we set out to accomplish. We will keep commemorating Canada's history without compromising the safety and security of Canadian travellers.

Democratic Institutions

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claims that he was unaware of the threats against the member for Wellington—Halton Hills in 2021. No one believes that, but let us say that it is true.

This morning, The Globe and Mail reported that CSIS had a file as thick as a brick against the expelled Chinese diplomat: taking of photographs, tracking dissidents for the Chinese regime, interfering with the staff of Liberal ministers to distance them from pro-Taiwan movements.

According to the paper, Global Affairs Canada and the Prime Minister's Office knew all that since 2020. Why did they wait until Monday to expel this diplomat?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, of course we are taking the issue of foreign interference very seriously. Of course we will never accept any form of foreign interference in our democracy.

That is why, after much reflection and evaluation of all the different potential consequences, we decided to take action based on principle and pragmatism. After summoning the ambassador, we decided to expel the Chinese diplomat in question and that was the right decision.