Debates of Nov. 4th, 2024

The Economy

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to hear the member opposite use the word “security” again. What the House should be preoccupied with, which all Canadians are preoccupied with, is the overwhelming question that the Conservatives cannot answer: Why will the Conservative leader not get his security clearance? It has been months and months that the House has been preoccupied with foreign interference, yet the Conservative leader will not step up and do the very basic thing that all other party leaders in this House have done, which is to get a security clearance and protect the country.

Justice

[Ron McKinnon, Liberal, Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our kids need help. The Internet is not a safe place for them right now. We need to hold online platforms accountable and put the safety of our children first by passing the online harms act. Unfortunately, we cannot debate this bill because all business in the House is stalled by a Conservative delay tactic. Amanda Todd's mother Carol, one of my constituents, recently spoke to The Globe and Mail and called for us to debate and pass Bill C-63.

Can the Minister of Justice and Attorney General explain why parents across the country, including Carol, are urging us to to pass the online harms act.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Carol Todd for her courage. Carol's daughter Amanda tragically died by suicide 12 years ago after being victimized online. Now Carol is calling on every parliamentarian to take action and pass the online harms act. Carol said, “The filibuster that is happening right now and holding everything up, it's so frustrating. It's just wasting time.... I've waited 12 years for this”.

The Conservatives have shown they will not prioritize children or protect them. I put it to the Bloc and the NDP that they have the power right now to stop this filibuster, protect kids and pass this bill. Will they?

Public Safety

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, two hardened criminals, a stolen car and a police chase are not from the plot of a blockbuster movie; it is daily life in Canada after nine years of the Prime Minister.

This weekend, Toronto police officers tried to arrest two car thieves, but not before the crooks injured a horse, rammed a bunch of vehicles, destroyed a business and put innocent shoppers in danger. We know that both offenders were out on bail thanks to the Liberal-NDP catch-and-release policy that has made this country more dangerous for victims and more lenient for criminals.

Why is the government putting police and the public at risk instead of putting criminals in jail where they belong?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the member talks a big game, but when it comes to GTA politics, let us assess what police officers are saying. The deputy chief of police in York Region has said that if we want to get tough on bail, we need to support the courts and the Crown and fix detention centres. Guess who has jurisdiction over all of that. The member for Thornhill should know that it is the province. If the Conservatives want to get tough on dealing with bail, let us have the province support criminal justice in this country and keep our communities safe.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

I know members are very passionate about many issues. I am going to ask the member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo and the member for Sarnia—Lambton to please not take the mic unless recognized by the Chair.

The hon. member for Thornhill.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that answer is offensive to every single police officer who puts their life on the line and offensive to every single Canadian who has been a victim of violent crime. Last year, eight police officers were killed in just seven months, and violent crime has gone up 30%. Scenes like the one in downtown Toronto are no longer extraordinary; they are becoming the norm under the minister's watch.

Provincial governments, municipalities and police associations all said they want change, but the minister responds with whatever that was. His recklessness is turning criminals out onto the streets and putting the public at risk. Why is he the only one who does not see it?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, let us listen to police officers. Here is the deputy police chief of York Region: “There’s just simply not enough court space to hold contested bail hearings.” Let us listen to the National Police Federation, which pointed out that, news flash, when we have JPs with no legal training, sometimes there may be some issues with their rendering of decisions and keeping our communities safe. Where do we train JPs legally before we appoint them? It is in Nova Scotia. Maybe that is a lesson Doug Ford could take. If the member needs it in a four-word slogan, here it is: Talk to the premier.

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

Mr. Speaker, in a column in the Journal de Montréal, Philippe Léger says that police concerns over Montreal's crime gangs are unsettling. Fady Dagher, chief of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, or SPVM, believes that Montreal is turning into an “incubator for crime”, like Marseille in France, where authorities have lost all control.

Mr. Léger states that “if the crime world has changed, our laws...have to change too, starting with minimum, aggravated sentences for all criminals who recruit 14-year-olds to commit a crime.”

Does the Prime Minister agree, or would he rather stick with his naive approach to criminals?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to keep working with police forces. My colleague mentioned the SPVM. We hold regular discussions with chief Fady Dagher, among others. I told him as recently as last week that we support their important work.

We also support the work of the RCMP and border services, which play a supportive role for municipal and provincial police forces. This is part of the work we are doing. It is work that the Conservatives forgot about. They made cuts to these organizations.

Dental Care

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, more than one million Canadians have received necessary dental care thanks to our government's Canadian dental care plan.

This is an historic investment that benefits Canadians. However, the Conservative members voted day after day against this program that benefits Canadians and Quebeckers. They keep saying they do not believe the program exists and that they intend to cut it.

Can the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard explain to us how this program helps Quebeckers receive the dental care that they need?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, more than one million Canadians, including nearly 325,000 Quebeckers, have already received care under our dental care program.

The Conservatives are playing games with the health of Canadians and seniors by offering them nothing but slogans and cuts to the programs they need. Canadians and Quebeckers deserve a government that takes care of their health. On our side, we know that the Conservatives are thinking only of making cuts no matter how many seniors are affected.

What is the Conservatives' hidden plan?

Labour

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the B.C. Maritime Employers Association imposed a bad-faith lockout on over 700 ILWU Local 514 workers at B.C. ports. This blatant attempt to manipulate the Liberal government into undermining workers' rights is an outrageous assault on free collective bargaining.

Will the Liberal minister categorically reject any intervention that would force these port workers to give up their collective bargaining rights, or will he bow to the employer?

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, I spoke with the BC MEA and the ILWU on the weekend and reminded them that it is their responsibility to their members, to each other, to Canadians, to farmers, to workers and to businesses to make a deal. It is their responsibility, and they need to do the work necessary to make an agreement.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, keeping track of the tens of billions of dollars the government gives to big oil's gamble on carbon capture is near impossible. However, for proven solutions such as public transit, there are no new funds until after the next election, which is a fraction of what carbon capture gets, and transit operations will not even be eligible. We could add $4 billion for public transit tomorrow by taxing the excess profits of the oil and gas industry.

When will the government put in place an excess profit tax on the oil and gas industry and put it towards reducing fares and improving service on public transit?

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

Mr. Speaker, first, the federal government is investing historic amounts in public transit, at $30 billion. There are more than 400 kilometres of subway lines being built in Canada right now because of federal investment.

Second, we are the only country in the G20 that has phased out subsidies to fossil fuels. We are the only ones who have done that, despite a commitment made under the previous government to do that, on which it did absolutely nothing. Liberals are there to help Canadians with transit, but we are also there to fight climate change.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

I would like to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of Ian Lafrenière, Minister Responsible for First Nations and Inuit Relations for the Province of Quebec.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Hon. Murray Sinclair

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

Following discussions among representatives of all parties in the House, I understand that there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence in memory of the Hon. Murray Sinclair.

I invite hon. members to rise.

[A moment of silence observed]

Government Response to Petitions

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 15 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Canada-People's Republic of China Relationship

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth interim report of the Special Committee on the Canada-People's Republic of China Relationship, entitled “The nexus between science and national security in Canada: the case of the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg”.

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

Environment and Sustainable Development

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I move that the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, presented on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, be concurred in.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to debate this report. I want to thank the people who supported me. The report dates back to 2022, but it remains very current. Let me begin by commending the committee members and the library staff for all their hard work. I also want to thank all the witnesses, the organizations involved in the studies, and the experts who contributed to the public debate on this matter by submitting their comments in the form of letters and briefs. I know some of them are watching us today.

Over the past few years, and especially since 2016, many grassroots environmental organizations, as well as many scientists and experts on radioactive waste management, have expressed their concerns about Canada's governance in this area. The Bloc Québécois believes that the recommendations in this report do not fulfill their own purpose, which is to guide the government and members of Parliament on the best path to take to advance public policy and solve the problems that need to be fixed. That is why we prepared a supplementary report.

It is telling that, of the 41 briefs received, 36 were submitted by individuals and organizations documenting their concerns, reporting questionable regulations or regulations containing irregularities or inconsistencies, as well as disturbing experiences during local consultations. By leaving so little space in this report for their testimony, it becomes disingenuous to claim how important it is to listen to the public and carry out public consultations, whether they are organized by the industry or by a House of Commons standing committee.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask you to stop the clock. A lot of people are talking and I find it very distracting.

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member raises a very good point. It is very important that only one person speak at a time during debate. That person is the one who has been recognized by the Chair.

If members are going to have conversations, I invite them to please have them either with their colleagues outside the chamber or next to the colleague so that we can hear the discussions that are going on. This includes the member for Don Valley East.

The hon. member for Repentigny has the floor.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, If there truly is political will to listen to the communities most directly affected by these issues, then they must be given the consideration they deserve.

If proponents of nuclear industry development want to earn social licence, we think it would serve their cause to improve their decision-making procedures and waste governance. With that in mind, we expected members of the government and the official opposition to look more closely at the challenges of developing the nuclear sector as they relate to the radioactive waste governance issue that such development entails.

First, there is an apparent conflict of interest between the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, or CNSC, and Natural Resources Canada. Earlier this year, the CNSC decided to authorize the proposed near surface disposal facility, or NSDF. In light of that decision, along with the irregularities that were identified and publicly condemned, it would have been advisable for the committee to take into account more of the concerns raised by witnesses and detailed in the briefs. Issues raised in most of the written submissions were an alleged lack of transparency on behalf of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, or NWMO, the Crown corporation Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, or AECL, and its supplier, privately owned Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, as well as the inadequate approach in the maintenance of national inventories, the lack of transparency in accessing these data, and the appearance of an alleged conflict of interest with the NWMO structure and between the CNSC and Department of Natural Resources.

There is still a lot of noise, Mr. Speaker.