Debates of June 6th, 2023

Government Response to Petitions

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate)]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to two petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Brenda Shanahan, Liberal, Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association respecting its bilateral visit to Dakar, Senegal, from November 5 to 10, 2022.

Science and Research

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Science and Research. This report is entitled “Pursuing a Canadian Moonshot Program”.

I would like to thank the clerk, the analysts, the translators and the people who supported our work, as well as the members for their excellent questions to the wonderful group of witnesses we had. I also thank the witnesses.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

Textile Waste Reduction Strategy Act

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-337, An Act to establish a national strategy on the reduction of textile waste.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to introduce the textile waste reduction strategy act, with thanks to the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith for seconding this bill.

Consumers are currently buying more clothes and wearing them for less time than ever before. This has caused a sharp increase in the pollution, waste and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the fashion industry in Canada. We send nearly 500 million kilograms of textile waste to landfills every year.

This legislation would help address the impacts of fast fashion by requiring the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to develop a national strategy to reduce, reuse and recycle textile waste.

This bill is the result of the vision of a bright highschool student from Vancouver Kingsway, Kaylee Chou, who attends Windermere Secondary School. Kaylee is this year's winner of my Create Your Canada contest, which invites highschool students to participate in our democracy and offer their ideas for a better country. I hope all parliamentarians will support her thoughtful and creative initiative.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

National Indigenous Teachers Day Act

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-338, National Indigenous Teachers Day Act.

Mr. Speaker, today, during Indigenous History Month, it is my great privilege to table this very important piece of legislation, the national indigenous teachers day act, which would designate February 22 of each year as national indigenous teachers day.

I want to thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for seconding this bill, but perhaps more importantly, I want to thank and acknowledge Theodore Anton, a grade 11 student from Old Scona Academic high school in Edmonton Strathcona, for the idea to recognize and celebrate the vital contributions and perspectives in education that indigenous educators bring to our schools. Theodore is the winner of my Create Your Canada contest, and he is in Ottawa with his parents to help me present this bill.

I thank Theodore and all the amazing young people who submitted ideas to make Canada a better place for everyone. I urge my fellow parliamentarians to support this bill, as it would mark an important step on the path toward reconciliation.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Canadian Women's Contributions to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Day Act

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-339, An Act to establish a national day to honour Canadian women’s contributions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak about this bill recognizing that Canadian women have made remarkable contributions to and achievements in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This bill would establish a national day to honour Canadian women's contributions to STEM.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

While I am on my feet, I move:

That the House do now proceed to orders of the day.

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

The question is on the motion.

If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division or wishes to request a recorded division, I invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we ask that it be carried on division.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, no.

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

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #349

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

I declare the motion carried.

Bill C-47—Time Allocation Motion

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

moved:

That in relation to Bill C-47, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023, not more than five further hours shall be allotted to the consideration of the report stage and not more than one sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration of the third reading stage of the said bill; and

That, at the expiry of the five hours provided for the consideration at report stage and fifteen minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on the day allotted to the consideration at the third reading stage of the said bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this order, and in turn every question necessary for the disposal of the said stage of the Bill then under consideration shall be put forthwith and successively without further debate or amendment.

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

Pursuant to Standing Order 67.1, there will now be a 30-minute question period. I invite members who wish to ask questions to rise in their places or use the “raise hand” function so the Chair can have some idea of the number of members who wish to participate in this question period.

The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is again a shame that we are moving to closure. We are undermining the parliamentary democracy we have, and the most shameful thing is that the government is being supported by the NDP, which is supposed to be an opposition party but is acting like it is a bunch of Liberals.

Throughout history, normally a government that moves closure can count on only maybe once or twice during a parliamentary session getting the support of any of the opposition parties to support a closure motion like we have right now, stymying debate. In fact, if we look back, since the time of Tommy Douglas under the NDP until Thomas Mulcair, the NDP supported closure only 14 times in the 17 Parliaments during that time span. However, here we are today, under the leadership of the NDP leader, the member for Burnaby South, and the NDP is going to support closure for the 35th time. What has happened to the NDP that it has squandered its principles under Tommy Douglas, of being an effective opposition, and is instead supporting the Liberals and undermining our constitutional right to debate all the bills they bring before the House?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, obviously I cannot speak for the NDP, but I do want to speak in response to the question from the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman. What I want to say is that I know he and I, and his party and mine, disagree about many things, but there are some things we agree on.

I notice he is wearing today a blue and yellow ribbon; I am wearing a blue and yellow bracelet, and I am glad we have cross-party support for Ukraine. Right now, that is particularly important and is relevant to this bill, because this bill includes measures that would help Canada support Ukraine. I do hope, and in fact am confident, that the member opposite knows and understands that. That is one reason everyone in the House should be supportive of this measure going through.

There is another element in this BIA that I would hazard a guess the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman should support, and that is doubling the deduction for tradespersons' tools. He represents working people, and I do too. It is a great measure in the bill that everyone in the House should be able to support.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I ask this question, my community is thick with smoke from the fires. I know the smoke from the fires is in Toronto and I know it is in Ottawa. Our country is on fire, and I have been watching the shenanigans in the House go on. We have work to do as parliamentarians.

My Conservative colleagues are talking about their rights. I support the rights of opposition, but we need to get legislation passed. I am very concerned about the ongoing efforts to obstruct the money needed to get support for critical minerals for clean energy. We know that the leader of the Conservative Party has ridiculed the investments in EV technology. He has been in my region ridiculing EV technology even though our communities are dependent on base metal mining and critical mineral mining.

I want to ask the Deputy Prime Minister not only about the willingness of the government to put money on the table to know we can get a clean energy economy moving as quickly as it needs to be in the face of the climate crisis, but also whether the government is willing to put the legislative tools in place so we can tell Canadian workers, and particularly energy workers in western Canada, that we have their backs, that there is a plan and that this Parliament actually can get something done that is beyond the circus antics we have witnessed.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Timmins—James Bay and I have, on many occasions, publicly disagreed, but he points to what is surely the heart of this bill and something all Canadians should support. As he rightly says, Canada is burning right now. Alberta has been burning. Right now Quebec and Atlantic Canada are burning. Here in Ottawa, it is hard to breathe. There can be no more powerful clarion call to action.

The good news is that this bill would put into action our clean economy plan. Not only would that help to reduce emissions but, as the member for Timmins—James Bay pointed out, but it would also create great jobs. I want to personally thank the member for Timmins—James Bay for the contribution he made to the labour conditions we have included in our clean economy tax credits. It is so important to us that these credits build a clean economy but that they do it by creating great-paying jobs with pensions and with benefits, at the union average wage.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate)]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the intervention from the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman saying that this is an affront on democracy. It is almost as though he did not even listen to his own leader yesterday saying in the media that Conservatives will pull out every procedural trick to prevent the budget from moving forward. Clearly there is a calculated effort, which we witnessed yesterday and Friday, to do whatever they feel necessary procedurally to prevent moving forward on these important initiatives for Canadians. Perhaps it is time for Conservatives to think about having a less partisan approach and a more collaborative one when it comes to this, in order to deliver for Canadians. I am wondering whether the minister would like to comment on that.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his really hard work in the House, getting the people's work done. It is absolutely essential. Speaking to his point, what I would like to say to us all is that the House is, by nature, partisan; that is how our Canadian parliamentary democracy works. I think all of us understand that and should embrace it.

I think it is also important for us to be responsible in getting the people's work done, in getting support to Canadians and also in showing Canadians that we take seriously the spirit of how parliamentary democracy is supposed to work. That is something that all of us have an interest in because all of us are MPs. All of us are parliamentarians.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am just trying to quickly tally up all the attacks on democracy that have happened since I was first elected in 2015.

I remember that, from 2015 to 2019, even with a majority, the government moved one closure motion after another. I cannot list every single one, but there was an awful lot. I also remember a back-to-work bill to end the postal strike during my first term.

During my second term, certain motions got majority support here in the House of Commons, including a Bloc Québécois motion to increase the disability benefit period to 50 weeks. It was adopted by the majority, but the government has done nothing.

Then there is Chinese interference. Three motions got majority support, but the government has done nothing. I do not agree with the Conservatives' strategy to block debate, but I also disagree with the government's string of closure motions. I would actually like the Liberals to tell me their definition of democracy.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I do not completely agree with my hon. colleague, and she does not fully agree with me.

However, I think that this bill contains important measures that she and her colleagues in the Bloc Québécois can support. For example, there is a measure aimed at cracking down on predatory lending by lowering the criminal rate of interest. I think that is a measure that everyone here, including my colleague across the aisle, must support.

The extension of the employment insurance program for seasonal workers is another important measure for Quebeckers. I hope that she will support that one as well. The measure doubling the tradespeople’s tool deduction is another one that everyone should support.

Lastly, there is the extremely important measure I just mentioned in response to the question from my NDP colleague: our clean tech tax credits to promote economic growth. This is a series of measures that are essential for the green transition, measures that the Premier of Quebec has strongly supported.

Once again, we need the bill we are discussing today to implement these measures that are so important to our green transition.

[Frank Caputo, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.

I listened to the member for Timmins—James Bay ask the Deputy Prime Minister about the need to pass this legislation urgently because of wildfires. I will remind the member, and I will also remind the Deputy Prime Minister, who referenced that question, that when I was knocking on doors during the 2021 election, B.C. was on fire when the government called an election. I take issue with this notion now being trumped up, when B.C. was, in fact, on fire.

The minister refused to appear at committee for two hours, when we are facing what are, quite possibly, the largest debt and deficit increases in Canadian history, yet here we hear that this is being obstructionist and anti-democratic on the Conservative side. Does the Deputy Prime Minister not see the hypocrisy in this position when she would not appear at committee for a simple two hours, and Canadians are being asked to fork over more and more when it comes to inflation, groceries, home heating and taxes?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo has reminded us that the last election, the one that brought us all to this House, was fought while B.C. was on fire. That may be why the member, and all the Conservative MPs, actually campaigned on a commitment to bring in a price on pollution.

In fact, the Conservative platform says, “Our plan will ensure that all Canadians can do their part to fight climate change, in the way that works best for them, and at a carbon price that is...increasing to $50/tonne”. It also says, “We will assess progress...[so] carbon prices [can be] on a path to $170/tonne”.

I believe the people of B.C. understand that climate change is real and that climate action is essential. I think they understood that when B.C. was on fire, and that is why the member opposite made that promise to the people who elected him.

I would call on the Conservatives to remember that they made that promise as so much of Canada is burning. Let us work together to fight climate change.