Debates of Oct. 8th, 2024

Emergency Preparedness

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up. The latest revelation is that 50 firefighters and 20 fire trucks were turned away from Jasper National Park just before the town burned. These brave firefighters were ready, willing and able to fight these fires but were ordered to stand down. Now the only question that remains is this: Would the minister categorize the results of his leadership in this as incompetence or as negligence?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has heard from the minister for Parks Canada. The company in question was in the employ of the Government of Alberta and the matter was resolved.

I have been in regular contact with Mayor Ireland and his council, as have other members in this government, other ministers and other MPs. We are working with Mayor Ireland, his council and Jasperites every week to make sure Jasper comes back better than ever before, because that is what Albertans and Canadians expect of us.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, four years ago, Parks Canada put out a tweet that said it would be installing a sprinkler system to protect the Jasper townsite. Even the minister's own officials seem to know that water is better at stopping fires than his carbon tax, and yet there is no indication these sprinklers were ever installed, despite a tender notice being posted in 2021, three years before the devastating fire. Can the minister confirm how many permanent and mobile sprinklers were operational and deployed in Jasper to save homes and businesses? Give us just the number please, even if it rhymes with zero.

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

Mr. Speaker, instead of spreading disinformation and misinformation in the House, I actually went to Jasper, and the sprinkler system has been installed by Parks Canada in collaboration with the work we have been doing with the City of Jasper. I would be happy to show him where it is in the city.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, it is so important for members to only speak when they take the floor so we can hear the questions and answers, and I am also referring to the hon. member for Lakeland, please. It is important that we only take the time to speak when we have the microphone, so we can all hear, especially people who require the use of translation. It is being respectful of our colleagues to make sure they can hear the questions and the answers.

The hon. member for Kings—Hants.

Natural Resources

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Stephen Harper referred to Atlantic Canada as “a culture of defeat”. When the Conservatives were in government—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, the more time that I am spending up on my feet the less time we have for questions. I am going to ask members for quiet, please.

The hon. member for Kings—Hants, from the top, please.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Stephen Harper referred to Atlantic Canada as “a culture of defeat”. When the Conservative government amended the Atlantic accords, it put our region's interests in the back seat. Just ask Bill Casey.

As it relates to Bill C-49, our government has worked with the Government of Nova Scotia and with Newfoundland and Labrador because the legislation represents billions of dollars in economic opportunity. The Conservatives stood in the way every single time. Can the Minister of Housing provide an update to this House about why this bill matters for Nova Scotia?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his advocacy for the economy in Nova Scotia. There are a few reasons we got involved in politics; creating good jobs at home and protecting the environment are among them.

The behaviour of Conservative MPs from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador with respect to this file is absolutely ridiculous. We have to ask ourselves why they oppose good jobs at home. I expect it is because it protects the environment, too, and their leader has told them they are not allowed to talk about climate change unless it is to visit school kids and tell them carbon dioxide is just plant food and is nothing to worry about.

This legislation is going to make a meaningful difference, create well-paying jobs on the east coast and protect our environment. I wish Atlantic MPs on the Conservative side would get behind it.

Public Safety

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, on October 7, while burning the maple leaf, Samidoun terrorist sympathizers openly called for “Death to Canada. Death to the United States. And death to Israel”. After nine years of the Prime Minister, sadly, calls for death to Canada and our allies have now been normalized. Samidoun operates as an arm of a listed terrorist organization in Canada.

Will the Prime Minister protect Jewish Canadians from homegrown extremism and list Samidoun as a terrorist organization?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, if there is one thing the member and I will be able to agree on today, it is that we both condemn what happened yesterday on the streets of Vancouver. That is why we will always condemn any form of anti-Semitism. I am convinced that everybody in this House will condemn any form of anti-Semitism.

[Don Stewart, Conservative, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in March of this year, Samidoun paraded through my riding to intimidate our Jewish community. Now we see videos of Samidoun members in our streets calling for the death of Canada, shouting “Long live October 7” and calling Hamas terrorists their heroes while they burn the Canadian flag. The government has done nothing to put a stop to these pro-genocide, anti-Semitic, anti-Canadian mobs who threaten our Jewish communities nationwide.

Will the Prime Minister commit to protecting our Jewish communities and label Samidoun a terrorist organization?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the actions that have taken place in our streets are wrong. We condemn them, full stop. Any form of anti-Semitism is wrong. This is precisely why the Minister of Public Safety had already referred the listing of Samidoun to our national security advisers and asked for an urgent emergency review. We have already taken action, but we know this issue is not political, and it is a shame that Conservatives only stand up when they think it suits their political advantage.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, these are very important questions and very important answers. I am going to ask the hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton to please not speak out of turn and allow the questions and answers to occur uninterrupted.

The hon. member for Thornhill.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the government had taken action, it would have listed them already.

If burning a Canadian flag, calling for the death of Canadians, fomenting hate in this country and, most of all, being a front for an already-listed terrorist organization are not enough to put Samidoun on the list, then what the hell is it going to take for the government to ban it?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Very quickly, before we go to the answer, I would ask the hon. member to withdraw the unparliamentary language.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I withdraw.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to an issue as serious as this, we are not going to play politics with Canadian safety. When it comes to the listing of terrorist entities, the members opposite know full well it is not a political decision. It is based on the national security services of this country. It is precisely why the minister had already sent it for an urgent review, understanding that this hate is unacceptable in Canada.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, I have asked all hon. members to please not take the floor. I will ask the hon. member for Thornhill, who had an opportunity to speak and could also speak again, I am sure, to please not speak out of turn while other members have the floor.

The hon. member for Halifax West.

Natural Resources

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Parliament has passed Bill C‑49. It will create an offshore wind energy sector in my region, bringing jobs, investment and clean energy. Despite this, the Conservatives opposed Bill C‑49 and opposed renewable energy. They chose their ideology over the people of Canada.

Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change explain why we need to seize the economic opportunities of the energy transition?

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

Mr. Speaker, the energy transition means an additional 400,000 jobs in Canada by 2030. The offshore wind energy sector will be worth $1 trillion. Hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs will be created, but these jobs are not guaranteed. To get them, we need an ambitious climate plan. That is why we passed Bill C‑49, which will enable us to develop offshore wind energy in Canada. Unfortunately, the Bloc Québécois sided with the Conservatives to vote against renewable energy. Our government will fight to seize these economic opportunities and create these jobs even if the other parties turn their backs on the fight against climate change.

Labour

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, new data reveals that one in four Canadians is forced into precarious gig work, and under the Liberals, the cost of living has exploded while wages have fallen behind. More than ever, workers need and deserve more power, protection and pay, and joining a union is the best way to get that. While Liberals continue to undermine unions and Conservatives want to tear them down, New Democrats will always be Canada's only labour party.

Will the government support the NDP's plan for sectoral bargaining so that gig workers can benefit from a union card?