Debates of Feb. 15th, 2024

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's French language commissioner released a report that may shock the immigration minister, but does not surprise anyone in Quebec.

Temporary immigration is setting French back in Quebec. According to the commissioner, it would cost between $10.5 billion and $13 billion to teach French to all newcomers. Needless to say, that is unsustainable.

One of the commissioner's recommendations targets the federal government directly. Will the minister finally ensure that every province welcomes asylum seekers instead of contributing to the decline of French?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to point out that we are already transferring $5.2 billion to the Quebec government, partly for French-language instruction.

I hope the member opposite is not saying that he wants to deport people who do not speak French in Canada. That would be an illegal, immoral and inhumane thing to do.

We are well aware that more work needs to be done to share the burden that is falling on Quebec. We will continue to do so with the province of Quebec.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, these answers are no longer credible, but that is okay. I will continue.

Quebec's French language commissioner goes further. He proposes that the federal government ensure that asylum seekers are spread out among the provinces, taking language into account. Ottawa could encourage people who have knowledge of French to stay in Quebec or, as the Bloc Québécois proposes, go to franco-Canadian communities. As far as anglophones are concerned, Ottawa could encourage them to go to an anglophone province. That would make it easier for them to access the labour market and it would reduce the cost of linguistic integration.

Does the minister not think this is an excellent idea?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, obviously all of our initiatives to send asylum seekers to other provinces need to be done humanely and consensually.

The language criterion is one of many, but should not be the main criterion. We all need to make an extra effort. The federal government has a role to play; Ontario, Quebec and all the provinces do as well.

Official Languages

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps French is in decline at the federal level because never before have the Liberals appointed so few francophones to decision-making positions.

Francophones were appointed to only 21% of the key departmental positions that are supposed to be bilingual. That is the worst record since 2015. When Liberal ministers make political appointments, they appoint only unilingual anglophones. No wonder French is disappearing at the federal level.

Will the Liberal ministers stop setting the example that it is okay to undermine French?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, defending and promoting French is a priority for all Liberal members from both inside and outside Quebec. When making appointments, we did a lot to ensure greater representation of women, under-represented communities and indigenous people, and we did even more to ensure French representation. We will do more to appoint francophones because that is important to us.

While the Bloc Québécois is pouting, complaining and picking fights, we are doing what we need to do, and that is appointing more francophones.

Public Services and Procurement

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister stated that his arrive scam app would cost taxpayers $80,000, but in fact it is 750 times more, over $60 million and climbing.

Now, the committee studying this scam has heard evidence of forgery, fraud, obstruction of justice and breach of trust by government officials. The arrive scam is just like the Prime Minister, not worth the cost, not worth the corruption.

Will the Prime Minister finally stop the cover-up and join us to call on the RCMP to expand the investigation?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, the member is correct to point to the important work of parliamentary committees, which are called to do valuable work to support that of the government in making sure that even in times of crisis, like the pandemic, proper rules are followed, known and monitored by all public servants, including those at the CBSA.

[Larry Brock, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what a completely insincere answer. It is a fraud on Canadians.

Since the Prime Minister took office, over $250 million has been given to GC Strategies, two guys working in their basement, $20 million alone for the arrive scam. Criminality is rampant with evidence the committee has recently heard.

The arrive scam is just like the Prime Minister, not worth the cost, not worth the corruption. Fleeced taxpayers want an honest answer.

Will the Prime Minister finally call on the RCMP to expand the investigation? Yes or no.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, the member pointed out, again, correctly, the importance of investigations.

The good news is that there was an investigation by the Auditor General just a few weeks and months ago. There was an important report tabled on Monday with findings that are totally unacceptable, even in the context of the worst pandemic that we have seen in over a century, the worst economic crisis that we have seen since the 1930s.

The findings are unacceptable, and that is why we are going to keep implementing all the recommendations in the Auditor General's report.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years, this government is not worth the cost or the corruption. It awarded the ArriveCAN contract to GC Strategies, a four-employee company that does not even do IT work, for an app that was supposed to cost $80,000 but, according to the Auditor General, may have cost more than $60 million, or 750 times as much. That is what I call gross incompetence.

Politically, who is going to take responsibility for this incompetence? Will we ever get back the money lost due to this incompetence?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned the word responsibility. In times of crisis, a responsible government has two responsibilities. First, it must protect people's health and ensure their safety. That included the lives of tens of thousands of Quebeckers and Canadians during the pandemic. Second, it must ensure that transportation, in this case within Canada as well as across-the-border transportation, goes smoothly so that medication and personal protective equipment get through, and so that international trade, worth billions of dollars every week, can continue flowing in an efficient and useful manner.

Infrastructure

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, when the Minister of Environment and Climate Change said the government would stop investing in new road infrastructure, he made it very clear that he never considered northern communities.

Many indigenous communities still lack all-weather roads. In fact, most of the communities in my riding are still using dust roads. For years, they have been calling on the government to invest in road infrastructure.

I have a simple question. Why is the minister against Nunavut getting their roads paved?

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

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank the member for what she brings to the House. I know her advocacy on a range of issues matters and does make a difference.

On this side, Liberal MPs, since 2015, have ensured that this government invests in infrastructure and invests in roads and highways. I will give examples of northern infrastructure investments. We are talking about $10.5 million for the Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway rehabilitation in Northwest Territories, $10.5 million for active transportation projects in Whitehorse and Watson Lake in Yukon, and projects in Nunavut as well.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Environment's recent comments that the Liberals have stopped investing in new road infrastructure and that the current system is perfectly adequate to respond to Canadians' needs is anti-northern and anti-indigenous. It is a death knell to isolated communities like Wasagamack, St. Theresa Point and others that have been forced to call states of emergency because climate change has made their ice roads unreliable. Other Liberals have been actively engaged in finding solutions on this front.

Will the Minister of Environment retract his comments, work with his colleagues and first nations to build the all-weather road access they desperately need?

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

Mr. Speaker, we know that infrastructure investment is absolutely vital to economic growth. As part of our infrastructure policy, we are talking about almost 400 road and highway projects that have been invested in at the federal level. That is just one example of a fund that is at work. I have mentioned already northern examples.

Let me give the example, of course, of the Gordie Howe Bridge, which that side, the Conservatives, opposed. There were $6 billion for Gordie Howe Bridge, and $153 million to enhance the Trans-Canada Highway in Newfoundland to make sure there are improvements there, the twinning of the highway to be specific, and we will continue.

Tourism Industry

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for 70 years, since 1954, the Carnaval de Québec has been delighting thousands of people in the Quebec City region, from throughout Quebec and around the world. It is an opportunity for people of all ages to make new memories and experience a sense of wonder, from the kids who meet the living snowman for the first time and discover his majestic palace, to their grandparents who rediscover him through their eyes.

It is an event that makes winter more enjoyable, or at least more tolerable, not to mention that it provides major economic benefits.

Can the Minister of Tourism tell us what our government is doing to ensure the growth of the Carnaval de Québec?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, like the member for Louis-Hébert, our government understands that the economic benefits from the Carnaval de Québec contribute directly to business growth in the region. Unlike the Conservatives, who want to cut programs that fund festivals and refuse to take action against climate change, we are investing $8 million for the tourism experience of the carnival and we are fighting climate change.

On this side of the House, we want to ensure that the ice castle does not melt and that the Bonhomme Carnaval does not lose his job.

Infrastructure

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's radical environment minister is launching a war on cars. He said that his government had decided to stop investing in new road infrastructure. The radical minister did not clarify his remarks. Rather, he went even further, adding that those Liberals planned to block big projects, for example, the Highway 6 south expansion, which is so critical to the safety of people in my community.

Why are those Liberals attacking commuters in the GTHA, who are just trying to get to work?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is a bit rich to continue to hear the Conservatives talk about road infrastructure in particular, but infrastructure in general, which they continued to cut in their time in office and would do the same if they were back in power.

In the GTA, and I will give examples, there are $2.3 billion to build the Scarborough subway extension; $1.9 billion to build the Eglinton cross-town west extension; over $2 billion to build the Yonge north subway extension; $4 billion to build the Ontario Line; and there are other examples from the GTA.

I thank the Liberal members of this caucus for advocating for all of this.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the previous Conservative government invested significantly in roads and highways in the GTA, Ontario and Canada, so that non-answer does not cut it.

Canadians already pay plenty of taxes, sending their money to Ottawa and expecting the government to build roads and infrastructure, yet the Prime Minister and his radical minister would endanger the lives of Hamiltonians by not supporting projects like the Highway 6 south expansion.

Will the Prime Minister stand up for Canadians and reject his radical environment minister?

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

Mr. Speaker, there are almost 3,000 road and bridge projects in Ontario. That is just one example.

I remember when, in this House of Commons, the government moved forward on talking with Windsor and engaging with Governor Rick Snyder in the state of Michigan. This was done years ago to make sure the Gordie Howe bridge would be a reality, and they were against it. We have put in $6 billion to make sure it is a reality. It is happening, and this government stands by that decision. The Conservatives have let down the people of Windsor.

I thank the member for Windsor—Tecumseh for being there for his constituents.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister appointed a radical activist to be the environment minister, we knew that the Liberal government would be implementing extreme and divisive policies, but this latest Liberal announcement takes the cake. This may be the first time that any government anywhere, at any time, has promised to stop building roads. However, that is exactly what the Liberals have done. This extreme new policy means that the Liberals are against adding more lanes to the Trans-Canada Highway between Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

Why do the Liberals want to kill these projects, which will help end gridlock and get people to work?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is very interesting. The member should have checked the record. It is stunning. As a B.C. MP, he voted against over $1 million for the 100 Mile House Horse Lake Road Bridge replacement in that province. It is an example of Conservative hypocrisy on the other side. On the one hand, they want to stand for infrastructure investment and support roads. On the other, any time the current government attempts to do that, they vote against it.

We will continue to work with provinces and municipalities to make that a reality.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the radical minister made it very clear that the Liberal government will no longer allow funding to go toward building roads, and it is no surprise that a guy who scaled the CN Tower or climbed on top of a premier's roof would come up with an extreme policy such as building no more roads in this country. We need a strong road network to move our goods, to get our kids to school and to get our workers to their jobs.

When will the Prime Minister condemn this radical policy from his extremist environment minister and stop punishing Canadians, who need to drive their cars to live their lives?