Debates of Sept. 25th, 2023

Guests in the House of Commons

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

Mr. Speaker, Ukraine has survived multiple genocides at the hands of both the Soviets and the Nazis: the Holodomor, the Holocaust and the Sürgünlik of Crimean Tatars, so it is shocking that a self-professed Nazi was allowed into the chamber by the Liberals and officially recognized by the Speaker during the state visit of the president of Ukraine. The Liberals abdicated their duty-of-care responsibilities to President Zelenskyy during his state visit.

Will the Prime Minister officially apologize to President Zelenskyy for his incompetence and, indeed, apologize to all the people of Ukraine?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated, I think the episode on Friday was one of profound embarrassment for parliamentarians and for all Canadians.

As has been stated clearly, the Parliamentary Protective Service did all of the required security protocols to ensure the security of the event. However, neither the government nor the Ukrainian delegation was aware that this individual would be present in the gallery nor that he would be recognized, until such a time as the Speaker did that. The Speaker has made that public and clear, and we were owed and received an apology—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is more than an embarrassment. It is disgusting. Zelenskyy is Jewish and lost family in the Holocaust. The Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov is a Muslim Crimean Tatar who was born in the gulags.

I am angry that this Liberal incompetence is playing right into the hands of Russian disinformation. Due to the Liberals' negligence, the government is eroding support for Ukraine against Russia's illegal invasion.

Will the Prime Minister accept responsibility for embarrassing Canada and undermining Ukraine on the world stage?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as a descendant of a Jewish Holocaust survivor, this is something that is profoundly disturbing and upsetting to me, as it is to everyone in Canada whose family has been impacted by the Holocaust and, indeed, to everyone around the world.

It is not lost on me that the President of Ukraine is Jewish and has also suffered the same way my family did, but I will reiterate to the member opposite that this was not the government's decision, and it had no prior knowledge of this. It was a decision made by the Speaker of the House. He has apologized. We were all owed that apology because it was profoundly embarrassing—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Edmonton Griesbach.

Housing

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in Edmonton, over 33,000 households pay more in rent than they can afford. Meanwhile, corporate landlords like Boardwalk and MainStreet are jacking up rents right across our city and forcing people out onto the streets. The Liberals' and the Conservatives' plan is to buddy up and cosy up with big real estate CEOs. The NDP's plan is to build more homes that people can actually afford.

Will the government commit to building non-market homes and stopping renovictions so Canadians can keep a roof over their head?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I would point out that there is actually quite a bit that my hon. colleague and I may agree on. We are going to continue to make the kinds of investments that are going to support low-income families, including in his city of Edmonton and across the country. It is important that we also advance measures that are going to help increase the supply for middle-class households in this country. When we add more supply to the market, we can actually bring down the cost of homes across the country, resulting in homes that people can afford.

I am pleased to work with the hon. member on non-market housing solutions, and we are going to continue to advance measures that will build homes for middle-class families as well.

Health

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian children have been going to school hungry for years. Skyrocketing grocery bills are making things worse, yet Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program. New Democrats have been calling for one for years. Despite their promises, the Liberals have only delayed action and disappointed families. Children are going hungry on the Liberals' watch.

Why is the government not delivering a national school food program to help our kids learn?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, while we have taken historic action to reduce child poverty and see child poverty at one of its lowest levels, with hundreds of thousands of children being lifted out of poverty since Stephen Harper's government.

It is not enough. The reality is that making sure that every child has a good meal is something we want to work with provinces and territories on. That is why we are actively developing a national food policy, working in collaboration with provinces and territories. We are taking action on marketing to kids. We are taking action on front-of-pack labelling. We are making sure we are doing everything we can to put the nutrition of our children first.

Foreign Affairs

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the core responsibilities of any government is to keep Canadians safe, to represent their best interests on the global stage.

While here at home we see the government acting on Canadians' priorities, on things like the affordable housing and grocery act, which we are debating today, there is also a need to work with global partners to act against existential threats like climate change, the weaponization of information and the threat to democracy by a growing authoritarianism.

Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs outline the work done by her and her colleagues at the UN General Assembly last week to demonstrate Canadian leadership on tackling these critical issues?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that more than ever, what is happening in the world has an impact on their day-to-day lives, and Canada is definitely stepping up on the world stage. Last week at the UN, I co-hosted, along with Secretary Blinken and Michael Kovrig, an arbitrary detention summit. At this point, the declaration on arbitrary detention has now been signed by 75 countries. We also launched a new declaration along with the Netherlands to fight disinformation by states, signed by the U.K. and the U.S. This is global leadership.

Guests in the House of Commons

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as the chief opposition whip, my office was required to provide a list of names and contact information in advance of President Zelenskyy's address. That information was shared with the protocol office and the Parliamentary Protective Service, which report directly to the RCMP and the Minister of Public Safety on operational matters.

Does the Prime Minister expect Canadians to believe he invited a world leader currently at war to our Parliament and did not vet the list?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the government House leader has made clear the government's disappointment with the events of Friday. All parliamentarians were taken by surprise with this particular individual's being invited to the gallery. The opposition whip knows very well that the Parliamentary Protective Service reports to the two Speakers, the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons. To pretend otherwise is simply to distance oneself from the facts.

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am dealing with facts, and those are not the facts. The Liberals do not get it. The Prime Minister either knew or ought to have known who was invited to attend. He embarrassed a foreign leader of a country at war and every parliamentarian here. With the resources of the RCMP and CSIS at his fingertips, basic due diligence was ignored.

Will the Prime Minister take responsibility and explain to Canadians why a Nazi was given a hero's introduction in the House under his watch?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows, because she heard it from you this morning and from me several times today, that it was not the Prime Minister who either invited this individual or recognized him. She acknowledged that he was recognized during the Speaker's remarks, because the facts of the matter are that this individual was invited by the Speaker of the House and was recognized by the Speaker of the House, who did this without informing either the Government of Canada or the Ukrainian delegation. This is profoundly embarrassing to us all, and we all need to take this seriously.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday a Nazi was given not only a seat in the chamber, but also a very warm and honouring welcome. This never should have happened. In fact, a list of all guests was given to the government well ahead of time and was thoroughly vetted, yet somehow this individual was celebrated.

Does the Liberal government truly expect Canadians to believe that it really had no clue?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I have clearly laid the facts on the table several times today. In fact, the only person who invited this individual and decided to recognize him was the Speaker of the House. The Parliamentary Protective Service followed all security protocols to ensure the security of the event.

However, I agree with the member opposite that this should never have happened. It is profoundly embarrassing and disappointing to all members of the House and to all Canadians. To that end, we stand with all Canadian communities that are impacted, and of course with Ukraine.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there is no way this is correct. We have a world leader whose country is at war. He came to Parliament as a state guest. He was granted some of the strictest security that has ever been granted to a world leader prior to him, yet he was here with a Nazi in his presence. The government would like me and other Canadians to believe that somehow that individual was not thoroughly vetted, that somehow the list was not viewed by the Prime Minister's Office. That is what that side of the House and the Prime Minister would like—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. government House leader.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the Speaker has already clarified and expressed that this was his decision alone, that he did not inform the government or the Ukrainian delegation, that this was entirely his decision.

I cannot force Conservative members to believe what the facts are. I can only put them on the table as they are. They have been clearly outlined, and we will continue to stand by them, because that is the truth.

Climate Change

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of the Environment was gallivanting around New York and had the nerve to lecture Quebec about the fight against climate change, his government did more than just pay lip service. Yes, it took action.

What did his government do? What did the Liberals do during the UN summit on climate ambition? They made thousands of additional kilometres of marine environments available for oil exploration projects. Protecting biodiversity and addressing the climate emergency will not stop this government from selling oil, no, sir.

When will the government take the planet's future seriously?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

I was honoured to accompany the Prime Minister last week at the UN Secretary General's Climate Ambition Summit, especially since Canada was the only major oil-producing country that was invited.

Why is that? It is because, between 2019 and 2021, we had the best performance in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Our reduction was the equivalent of taking 11 million cars off the road.

We are also the only G20 country to have eliminated fossil fuel subsidies two years earlier than planned. We are the only major oil-producing country to put a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

That is why we were invited to New York.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am certain the champagne glasses were full at the World Petroleum Congress in Alberta. It is such wonderful news that Canada intends to double Newfoundland's oil production by 2030. That is 200 million barrels a year.

The Minister of Environment knew it. His government has decided to be the undisputed leader in fossil fuel expansion; meanwhile, the planet burns. They are dangerously close to shifting from irresponsibility to intentional harm.

How can the minister, a former leader of Greenpeace and Equiterre, look in the mirror and agree to be at the oil companies' beck and call?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would invite my colleague to read the speech given by my colleague and friend the Minister of Natural Resources, who went to tell the oil companies that, according to International Energy Agency scenarios, if we want to fight climate change, we need to go from a world that consumes 100 million barrels a day to a carbon-neutral world in 2050 where we will consume only 25 million.

We need to work together to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. That is exactly what we are doing in Canada, in collaboration with our partners around the globe.