Debates of June 14th, 2023

Public Safety

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, CBC is reporting that the Minister of Public Safety's staff found out Paul Bernardo was going to be transferred to a medium-security institution three months before it happened.

However, neither the deputy minister nor senior officials knew about it. No one other than the minister's staff knew about it.

Can the minister tell us which staff member made the mistake and whether they have been fired?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I will be clear. I addressed today the mistakes made by my office. It is very important that, now, we focus on victims' rights.

Today, I am issuing new directives to the Correctional Service of Canada that will put victims' rights at the heart of our approach to decisions about transferring offenders. These directives will ensure that I, as Minister of Public Safety, will be briefed about such decisions going forward.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister admits that there has been a series of mistakes in his office.

We saw the same thing in January, when the minister said that the safe third country agreement was working very well at Roxham Road. Meanwhile, hundreds of illegal migrants were entering Canada.

Suddenly, two months later, President Biden and the Prime Minister announced that an agreement had been reached and that the road would finally be officially closed, even though the minister had said that closing the road would be impossible.

This points to a series of mistakes and incompetence in the minister's office. Will he do the right thing, fire these people and resign as minister?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, has a new agreement with the United States to accomplish two goals.

First, we want to protect the rights of refugees. This is very important. Second, we want to strengthen the integrity of our borders. That is exactly what we are doing with a new $450‑million investment in the CBSA.

We will always protect the rights of refugees. That is what this new agreement is all about.

Women and Gender Equality

[Viviane LaPointe, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party would have us believe that the abortion debate is closed, but it is taking every opportunity to reopen it.

The member for Yorkton—Melville introduced a bill to limit a woman's right to reproductive health services. We cannot take that right for granted.

Can the minister tell us what our government is doing to protect the right to choose?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Sudbury for her advocacy on this important issue.

I want to reassure my colleague and all Canadians that we will not allow the Conservatives to do through the back door what they cannot do openly, in other words, chip away at a woman's right to choose.

The Conservative leader is trying to win votes by attempting to reopen the abortion debate. In Canada, in 2023, it is shameful and unacceptable. A Liberal government will always stand up for women's rights.

Financial Institutions

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, at a time when Canadians are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table, the Prime Minister gave $200 million to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB.

Now, after resigning, the bank's communications director has revealed that the AIIB is controlled by Beijing, which intends to expand the Chinese empire worldwide using Canadian taxpayers' money.

Will the Prime Minister take back the money that he gave the AIIB and return it to Canadians?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the Deputy Prime Minister said earlier today in answer to this question, the Government of Canada will immediately halt all government-led activity at the bank.

Furthermore, she has instructed the Department of Finance to lead an immediate review of the allegations raised and of Canada's involvement in the AIIB. The Canadian government will also be discussing this issue with its allies and partners who are members of the bank.

The review announced today is to be undertaken expeditiously. No outcome is being ruled out following its completion.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, four years ago, Conservatives told the Prime Minister that he had no business sending over 200 million tax dollars to the Beijing-controlled Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to fund pipelines and roads and bridges over there while Canadians could not pay for groceries. Now we have been proven right by the head of communications for that very bank, who has resigned, saying that it is dominated by the Communist Party and is being used to build Beijing's empire around the world.

The government says it is going to cease operations now, but the question is this: Where is the $200 million of Canadians' money that he gave that bank?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said earlier today in response to this matter, the Government of Canada will immediately halt all government-led activity at the bank. The minister has instructed the Department of Finance to lead an immediate review of the allegations raised and of Canada's involvement at the AIIB.

The Canadian government will also be discussing this issue with allies and partners who are members of the bank. The review announced today is to be undertaken expeditiously. No outcome is being ruled out following its completion.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that was not the question. Conservatives agreed with Japan and the United States, which refused to give money to the Beijing-controlled Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. We pleaded with the Prime Minister not to throw our money away on this enterprise, which was designed to expand Beijing's empire around the world by building infrastructure in other countries.

However, 200 million Canadian tax dollars have gone into this bank, so I will ask for a third time: Where is our money and how will we get it back?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to repeat that the Government of Canada has halted all government-led activities at the AIIB. Our government has instructed the Department of Finance to lead an immediate review of the allegations to end Canada's involvement at the AIIB. This review is to be done expeditiously, and no outcome has been taken off the table.

The Environment

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Bill S‑5, the bill modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which had not had a major overhaul in more than 20 years, received royal assent yesterday.

More than 50 hours were spent on this bill in parliamentary committee. The newly strengthened legislation includes major advances in protecting the environment and human health.

Can the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change tell the House about the next steps in implementing the framework for ensuring the right to a healthy environment?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for all his work as chair of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, as well as all the members of the committee.

I would also like to thank the Senate, since Bill S‑5 was passed last night. For the first time ever in Canadian law, we have enshrined in law the right to a healthy environment for all Canadians. This is a first for our country.

We will be working hard over the coming months to determine how this right will be implemented in Canadian law.

Emergency Preparedness

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

Mr. Speaker, my riding is cut in half. Highway 4 has been closed for over a week because of wildfires. With the closure, local food banks are suffering, as people are trapped. This is impacting people who were already struggling with food insecurity. They are worried, and many do not know where their next meal will come from.

Will the federal government provide emergency funding to local food banks, small businesses and the community and provide emergency unemployment insurance to help people who are cut off by the wildfires?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for a very important question. I want to assure him that I will reach out today to the British Columbia government and ensure that there is close coordination between federal supports and the province's work to serve that community. We will work with him and those communities to ensure that the people who are impacted by those wildfires receive the supports that they require.

Climate Change

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, carbon capture and storage is unproven technology. In fact, it often emits more carbon than it captures, yet this government keeps—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am sorry, but I am having a hard time hearing the question. There is someone shouting over here. I am sure they do not want me to name them.

The hon. member for Kitchener Centre can continue from the top, please.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, carbon capture and storage is unproven technology. In fact, it often emits more carbon than it captures, yet this government keeps giving our money to big polluters to experiment with it, including $520 million in this year's budget alone, and now we know why: Oil and gas executives helped write our government's own strategy on carbon capture.

Will the government stop outsourcing the climate plan to the very industry most responsible for the crisis we are in?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, to my hon. colleague, I would certainly say that his technical assessment is simply wrong. I would be more than happy to sit down and have a conversation with him about carbon capture and storage technologies.

The development of thoughtful policy requires gathering input broadly, including environmental organizations, indigenous peoples, civil society and industry. When we were developing the carbon management strategy for Canada, 1,500 organizations and individuals provided input. The advisory group that was referenced by the hon. member included a whole range of people, including Ed Whittingham, the former executive director of the Pembina Institute, and—

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am afraid that is all the time we have today for question period.

I wish to draw the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Jon Reyes, Minister of Labour and Immigration for the Province of Manitoba.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We have other guests joining us today. Canadian Forces Day is an opportunity for Canadians across the country to recognize the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform make on our behalf.

It is my pleasure to draw the attention of the members to the presence in the gallery of six members of the Canadian Forces who are taking part in Canadian Armed Forces Day today: Captain Sigmund Sort, Captain Hilary Anderson, Sergeant Joshua Ballard, Master Corporal Jude Julien, Sailor 1 Charles Tucker and Corporal Mathieu Mageau-Martin.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!