Debates of Feb. 5th, 2024

Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fact that the debate was hijacked, basically kidnapped by people in the Conservative Party who wanted to turn it into a debate on the carbon tax is deplorable. It is truly unacceptable.

We are talking about helping a country at war through a free trade agreement that we are revising. However, we have done everything but that. Frankly, they found problems where none exist, and I completely agree with the member that it is time to take action. Even if the action is minimal, we have to do it.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from Trois-Rivières said, the only amendment made to the bill was our own. It aims to make the agreement a little less about appearances and a little more about obligation.

It is all well and good to include several chapters on responsible business conduct, but if there is no real follow-up mechanism, we are left with fine principles. That is why I am quite pleased that the amendment we brought forward in committee was the only one accepted.

I was against all of the Conservative amendments because I think it is extremely dangerous to include arms sales in a trade agreement. It is nonsense, in my opinion. Nevertheless, I always voted when it was time to accept their admissibility, because I do not think it makes any sense for us to always be presented with a done deal when it comes to trade agreements.

My colleague was apparently an ethicist in a former life. I have read his biography. Does he think it is ethical to have such a lack of transparency or such a lack of control in a so-called house of democracy when it comes to something as important as a huge agreement between countries?

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague's questions are always straight to the point and quite brilliant.

What enables trust in a given environment? I would say that it is the ability to understand. If people want to understand, they need to be informed.

Certainly, being presented with a bill, law, or treaty that is essentially a done deal does not allow us to engage with each other and make it our own. We can assess it, but we do not really own it. I believe that our aim here, in the house of democracy, must be to build trust. To do this, we need to be better at sharing information.

The risk is quite simple: If we do not build trust, we breed mistrust. If we do not address mistrust, we end up with non-confidence.

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

Is the House ready for the question?

[Some hon. members]

Question.

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

The question is on the motion.

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

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

I would request a recorded division.

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

Pursuant to Standing Order 45, a recorded division stands deferred until Tuesday, February 6 at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

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

Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at 6:54 p.m., so that we can start Adjournment Proceedings.

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

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

The Environment

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, a youth climate corps is an invitation to the youth in Canada to mobilize and confront today's gravest threat, the climate emergency.

On December 5 I presented a motion calling on the government to establish a youth climate corps, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to explain what the youth climate corps is, but also to talk about how it has an essential role in fighting the climate crisis, building a better future and uplifting Canadian youth.

I have spoken to young people across the country, who have told me they are scared about their future. They know that the climate crisis is real. According to one study, 84% of youth aged 16 to 25 report being worried about climate change. Almost half of them said that their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning. This is extremely concerning, but it also makes sense. It seems like every summer we are facing unprecedented wildfires, extreme weather, heat domes and flooding. Every few months there are grim scientific reports published, saying that our elected leaders are not doing enough.

In the face of the climate emergency and government inaction, it is hard to have hope, but we owe it to future generations to give them tangible solutions and ways to engage in what is the existential crisis of our time. We can build a better future, with clean jobs and climate-resilient communities, and a youth climate corps could be one critical piece of making that a reality. The program would provide jobs and training in emergency response to climate disasters, in the clean energy sector, in green building and in reducing emissions, as well as in building climate-resilient infrastructure and restoring ecosystems.

This past fall, U.S. President Biden announced an American climate corps, which will employ 20,000 youth and set these young people on the path to good-paying union jobs, but here in Canada, Canadian youth are being left behind. We need a federally funded job training and placement program that offers a good, green job to any young person who wants one.

The Climate Emergency Unit has outlined how a youth climate corps could be implemented in Canada. It would be a large-scale, national program aimed at young people that would provide paid opportunities to work on projects that protect the environment, restore ecosystems, reduce our emissions, make communities more resilient and build the new climate infrastructure that they need. Then, when they complete their service, they would be able to access free post-secondary education or training in the sustainable jobs of the future.

A recent poll showed that two-thirds of young people in Canada would consider enrolling in a youth climate corps. That is 1.3 million young people. If the Liberal government supports my motion and implements a youth climate corps, the next generation of young people, aged 17 to 35, would receive on-the-job training to participate in projects to fight the climate crisis and natural disasters and to build a better future for Canada and the planet. This program would not only provide employment for thousands of young people but also reduce our carbon emissions, incorporate environmental justice and set our youth on a path for success.

Will the government implement a large-scale youth climate corps program with the urgency and ambition that we need to fight the climate crisis?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to be up this evening in Adjournment Proceedings. It is always nice to chat with my friend and colleague from Victoria with respect to an area of mutual interest and enthusiasm. That is how we fight climate change in this country.

I often say that it is refreshing to stand in the House and talk about how we fight climate change and all the great ideas out there that Canadians have for ways to lower our emissions and bring more attention to the issue of the climate crisis in Canada. Certainly, I would like to acknowledge that my colleague from Victoria is a leader in this way. Frankly, it is disappointing that the vast majority of the questions that we receive on environmental issues are based on misinformation with respect to how we price carbon and reduce our emissions; those are always from the Conservatives.

First, I would like to take my friend and colleague up on her offer. The last time I was up in the House talking to the member for Victoria, we discussed my personal involvement in the youth climate corps initiative, in March. There is going to be a meeting with members from, I hope, all parties; I am happy to let the member know that I will be the representative from the Liberal Party, and we are going to make this happen. Moreover, we are going to do it together. Good politicians find ways to work together, put our differences aside occasionally and work towards common goals. Fighting climate change is a mutual goal of the Liberal Party and the NDP and, I would say, some other members in this House too. Sadly, we do not see that same enthusiasm for fighting climate change from the Conservatives.

It is true: Young people are worried about the future, and they absolutely want to be part of solutions. I have witnessed their innovation, passion and dedication to combatting climate change. They are involved, and they have shown incredible climate leadership time and time again. Young Canadians are essential to helping Canadians build the green economy of the future. Right across Canada, young people want to be part of the solution; indeed, they already are. It is critical to amplify and elevate those voices.

Unlike what the member is suggesting, our government has not only listened to our future leaders but also worked with them to ensure their participation and collaboration. We want to make sure that they thrive in the world that we leave to them. We inherited a vibrant and economically strong country from our grandparents, and I want to make sure that the country that we leave behind is even stronger from an environmental and climate resilience perspective.

The Government of Canada has policies, programs and funding in place specifically for youth and specifically to fight climate change. I can think of personal ways in Milton that I am able to direct some discretionary funding through the Canada summer jobs program to environmental initiatives and to organizations such as Conservation Halton, which finds ways to gather science, plant trees, fight climate change, educate young people and develop this environmental enthusiasm and a love of the natural environment. This would not necessarily exist if young people spent all day staring at their phones, as politicians do, rather than going outside, getting dirty and playing in creeks, rivers and valleys as we all did before cellphones took over our lives. The government's overarching youth policy reflects the values of young Canadians, and it represents a whole-of-government approach to improve youth outcomes and involve young people in federal decision-making.

On the point of a youth climate corps, I have the great privilege to announce that the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association is now accepting applications, via Parks Canada, to support a two-year green jobs program for youth. This is very similar to what my colleague has recommended, and I hope that we can continue to work on that. Through the CPRA, this program will provide direct financial support via wage subsidies to local governments, municipalities, indigenous communities and other sector organizations, reaching nearly 280 jobs over the next two years, at 140 jobs per year. They are going to focus on all sorts of green career-related activities.

The goals of the green jobs initiative are to provide opportunities and learning experiences for over 280 youth to build skills and become successful in the workplace, and it is going to generate much-needed support to local governments and other sector organizations to hire those young people. I am happy to elaborate on the CPRA's green jobs initiative in my follow-up.

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to the member for his willingness to engage in this conversation.

I urge my Liberal colleagues to listen to young people and to address the climate crisis with the appropriate urgency and at the scale that matches it. I just have to say that this is 280 jobs; we have 1.3 million young people who would consider joining a youth climate corps.

Young people are relying on us. They are relying on the current government, and they have not seen the bold climate action required to keep temperatures below 1.5°C. Therefore, a youth climate corps could be a transformative program that gives young people a pathway to meet this moment. Will the government do the right thing and implement a large-scale youth climate corps?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think it actually speaks such volumes to our climate action initiatives that I cannot get through all of them in just a short response in an adjournment debate.

It certainly does not stop the Canada summer jobs initiative or the green jobs initiative with the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association. I hope to sit down with the CPRA and talk more about how those 280 jobs are going to improve climate literacy, and about action being taken by municipal governments and indigenous-serving organizations right across the country.

There is also the climate action awareness fund, which is investing over $206 million over five years to support youth climate awareness and community-based climate action. It does not stop there; I simply do not have enough time to talk about all the great initiatives the government is undertaking to support youth and climate action.

Public Services and Procurement

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister and his NDP-Liberal government, it is so distressing to see the state of disrespect the government has fostered for Canadians who have fallen on hard times. Canadians are lining up at food banks in record numbers; there are two million a month, and a third of food bank users are children.

The government is fighting in full defence of its $54-million arrive scam. This is the scandal, of course, that saw the two-person shop, GC Strategies, pull in $11 million with its operation that did no IT work, pocketing millions of dollars. They did it at a time of crisis in our country. A global pandemic had been declared, and there were a couple of yoyos in a basement forging the resumes of contractors to try to land a government contract. More than two-thirds, 70%, of the subcontractors they said they were going to use did no work on this $54-million government boondoggle.

The scandal of the ArriveCAN app had senior government officials lying before a parliamentary committee. Contractors who worked on the ArriveCAN app are under RCMP investigation. We know that, in less than a week's time, the Auditor General will be releasing her findings on the ArriveCAN app. A parliamentary secretary in the House previously was talking about the tens of thousands of lives that were saved by this app. This was later admitted to be pure conjecture based not on fact but just on emotion and to defend the indefensible. The app wrongly quarantined and put people under house arrest, did not properly safeguard the biometric health data of Canadians, and, of course, did nothing to safeguard Canadian tax dollars.

The government spends wildly and blindly. The costs to Canadians are incredible, and the effects of those costs are devastating. The government is going to spend tens of billions of dollars more just on servicing the debt this year than it does on the underfunded Canadian Armed Forces.

Canadians are rightly outraged by the scandal, and it is incomprehensible why the NDP-Liberal government continues to try to defend this. We know that the chief information officer for the government may have destroyed four years' worth of relevant information, seven gigabytes of data and 1,700 emails. It was not until Conservatives forced the issue to be studied at the government operations committee that we finally saw real action taken and real attention paid to this.

We want answers from the Auditor General. We want an apology from the government. When are we going to get back the money that the government misappropriated?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the gravity of the recent allegations, and the need to respond transparently and to uphold the highest standards of ethics and accountability. That is precisely why there is currently an ongoing RCMP investigation into the case.

I would like to clarify that there are also two separate matters at stake here. It is just not as simple as the member would like to suggest.

The first is the ArriveCAN app. I wish to remind the member, the House and all Canadians of the unique circumstances leading to its development. After the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic in March 2020, there was a need to replace the previous labour-intensive, paper-based processes in order to quickly pass information to provinces and territories so they could carry out enforcement activities. At the request of the Public Health Agency of Canada, the CBSA developed and launched a digital app as quickly as possible on an emergency basis during an unprecedented time.

ArriveCAN was a fast, secure and easy way to confirm that travellers met all public health requirements when crossing the border. It was a necessary and effective tool to support the government's efforts and reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Simply said, the ArriveCAN app was essential at the time, and it met its intended objectives.

This type of technology modernizes our border and ensures the flow of people and goods in a safe, secure manner. Currently, travellers can make their customs and immigration declaration using advanced declaration in the ArriveCAN app before flying in to one of Canada's participating airports. This saves a lot of time, up to 30% for some travellers.

This brings me to the current state of affairs and issues surrounding the ongoing examination of ArriveCAN and the procurement practices, which, as we know, are fairly complex. What I can say is that a study is under way at the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. We look forward to hearing its findings and its recommendations. In addition to that, CBSA and the Public Health Agency of Canada have been engaged with the offices of the Auditor General on a performance audit of ArriveCAN. We await the Auditor General's findings and recommendations and will take all necessary steps to respond appropriately.

However, I have been noticing lately, from the Conservatives, attempts to distract from current affairs and issues that are really affecting Canadians. The member opposite prefaced his question by talking about the affordability crisis and how difficult it is for Canadians right now. I would like to point out that I meet with food security experts, food bank representatives, poverty reduction researchers and folks who are committed to finding strategies and ways to support the country's poorest, most vulnerable and lowest-income families. Not one of them has suggested that cutting a carbon tax, or “axing the tax”, as Conservative members continue to parrot in the House of Commons, would have even a marginal impact on affordability.

In fact, what they say is that it is actually an affordability measure because the lowest-income families in Canada receive far more back from the carbon price than they pay, because the lowest-income families in Canada do not drive bigger cars and heat bigger homes. We are making the biggest polluters in Canada pay, and a little bit of that money goes back to families so they can support a green transition, pay for groceries and support their families.

It is a tax-free benefit that comes out four times a year, but one will never hear the Conservative members acknowledge that there is a Canada carbon rebate. They do not want to talk about how we are actually supporting affordability for Canadian families. They just want to keep saying the exact same lines: “after eight years”, “carbon tax this” and “carbon tax that”.

They have not provided the House or Canadians with any reassurance that they have a plan for the future. In fact, all they are really doing is continuing to distract from the reality and to lobby on behalf of the very companies that are making life difficult for so many Canadians, from an affordability perspective. It was revealed this week that the deputy leader of the Conservative Party, the member for Thornhill, is lobbying for Walmart and that the campaign director for the Conservative Party has been lobbying for Loblaws.

The Conservative Party does not want to talk about problems in provinces and territories in Canada; it just wants to say the same line over and over again to drive up anxiety, to get Canadians all mad and to blame something simple like a carbon price, which actually sends more money back to families than it costs.

The Conservative Party is completely devoid of ideas and suggestions for affordability for Canadians, and it has just stayed on the exact same three or four topics for the last two years.

[Michael Barrett, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot to unpack there, but I will give a couple of quick numbers: 10,200 people wrongly and illegally quarantined by the broken app, which cost $54 million, an absolutely failure not worth defence.

We are not going to take any lessons on lobbying from a government that has a minister, the hon. member for Oakville, whose husband worked for a company that received tens of millions of dollars while she sat in cabinet. We have seen the current government reward Liberal insiders for eight years on the backs of Canadians.

I have not heard a single Canadian in any of my meetings say, “Tax me harder.” That is what the Liberal government seems to think: “We meet with everyone. Taxes are fine.” That is absolutely preposterous.

Removing the carbon tax would help restore affordability to food prices and energy prices. People need to be able to heat their home and feed their family. That is why we are going to axe the tax, focus on technology and cut the Liberals.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, again, it is just slogans with no solutions. It is actually astonishing to see people who believe themselves to be a government in waiting come forward with absolutely no policy recommendations or ideas, just to get rid of something that is actually working.

Our emissions in Canada are down. It is absolutely the case that emissions in Canada are down and that a third of the emissions reductions are attributable to pricing carbon.

It was not even two and a half years ago that all of these Conservative members went door to door to profess to their constituents that they cared about climate change under the auspices of Erin O'Toole, and they had a carbon price plan, some sort of Zellers catalogue called “the more you burn, the more you earn” or something like that. These Conservatives are out of touch. They are not talking to regular Canadians. They repeat their slogans over and over again. They have no ideas to meet the affordability concerns of our neighbours.

Labour

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, across the country, close to 600 PSAC workers are on strike.

The Non-Public Funds workers have actually been on strike for 22 days. They are the too often unrecognized figures, the workers within our defence community. The employees of the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services serve those who serve. They staff our Canex stores, feed our soldiers and support them with financial services and countless other essential supports.

At a time of unprecedented cost of living increases facing military families, we cannot forget that 40% of CFMWS workers are military family members. Those military family members have faced unnecessary burdens from the Liberal government. They are often underpaid and under-employed. They have dipped into their own pockets so many times to support our women and men in uniform, and they are proud to do so. They are proud to do this work.

Many are facing a rent spike this year to on-base housing. When military family members join the workforce, they are in a precarious position. Relocation and, at times, remote postings severely limit their employment opportunities. They need to be protected from employers that seek to take advantage of them.

However, that is not what they get from the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services. These workers are paid drastically less than their public servant counterparts. They are not being offered a national pay grid. They face serious workplace safety concerns as well. At the bargaining table, they are not asking for much: basic protections, a national pay grid and recognition of their essential role in our national defence.

I joined these workers on the picket line last week, and I heard from members that are struggling to make ends meet. When I asked the Minister of Defence about the strike last week, he said, “We support a resolution of this labour dispute at the table, and we will continue to support both sides coming back to the table.”

It is this minister’s department that has left the bargaining table and refused to return. Shortly after I was at the picket line, the employer served a trespassing notice to striking workers on the line. During the winter months, the employer has now demanded that workers remove the trailer they have on site by tomorrow. This trailer is being used for its washroom facilities and for workers to go back and get warm. It is February. It is cold out. This trailer helps to keep them safe. As an employer, the government should be aware of and concerned about that. Instead, the employer has said that, if they do not get rid of the trailer by tomorrow, the government would get rid of it at the workers' expense.

These workers are tired of the minister’s lack of awareness of not only their issues, but also their basic function under his mandate. When workers wrote to their local Liberal MPs asking for support, they were told that the minister does not believe they are even within his mandate.

The minister cannot plead ignorance here much longer. Long before this strike, I told the minister, over and over again, about the plight of the Non-Public Funds workers. When he was first nominated to this post, I told him about their concerns. I outlined them for him. When he and his department officials appeared before the Standing Committee on National Defence, I repeatedly told them about the concerns facing the Non-Public Funds workers.

I want to give the government one more opportunity here. Will it tell the employer to get back to the table, bargain in good faith and support the workers who serve those who serve?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the important speech by my colleague. It was a real honour to join the veterans committee earlier today. I appreciate highlighting this very important issue and cause.

Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services, or CFMWS, provides many vital programs and services in support of the Canadian Armed Forces. This includes deployment support, retail and financial services and fitness testing in classes. Employees of the CFMWS ensure that CAF members are ready to take on the crucial tasks we ask of them, both physically and mentally. We are so grateful that they are able to achieve those things for our freedom and peace.

As we all know, some of this organization's staff have been on strike recently. Between November 20 and December 14, 2023, bargaining units of the Staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces, or SNPFCF, in Kingston, Petawawa, Ottawa, Valcartier, Montreal, Saint-Jean and Bagotville voted in favour of strike action. They have been on the picket lines since January 15.

During this time, work has been done to minimize the impact of the strike on military members wherever possible. Each base has an operational committee responsible for ensuring minimal disruptions to key operations and protecting personnel, as well as property and facilities.

Plans have also been put in place to continue providing certain services and lessen the impact on other services through reduced facility opening hours and scheduling non-essential events wherever needed.

While it is unfortunate that a settlement has not yet been reached, the Government of Canada acknowledges the importance of legal strikes as part of the collective bargaining process and respects the rights of employees to strike. The Minister of National Defence takes this strike and the bargaining very seriously, and I want the hon. member to know that our government does too, as I do personally, as we support collective bargaining rights.

There are no positions within the SNPFCF paid below the minimum wage rate. In April of last year, non-unionized positions of the SNPFCF received a cost of living increase to ensure that salaries are at a living wage and equivalent to other organizations. Some unionized staff also received wage increases because of the increase to the federal minimum wage, which are in line with the CFMWS collective agreements.

We will continue working toward a fair contract with the members of the SNPFCF bargaining units. It is the minister's hope for both sides to come to a negotiated settlement as soon as possible. We hope the parties can reach a negotiated agreement at the table, and we remain dedicated to the collective bargaining efforts to achieve a fair contract for SNPFCF workers.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, although the hon. parliamentary secretary is not on this file, I appreciate his words, saying that the government is grateful to these workers. However, the government has to show it, not just say it. Why will it not get back to the table? Why would the employer threaten to remove their trailer when they need it in these winter months? Why, during the strike, would a government that stated it was so proud to introduce Bill C-58, the ban on replacement workers, now use Canadian Armed Forces as scab labour to do the work of the people of the SNPFCF? Why is it using scab labour in this situation? What is the explanation for that?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services provides vital support to members of the Canadian Armed Forces every single day.

While it is unfortunate that a settlement has not been reached, we still respect the right of employees to strike. We are always seeking to ensure employees are paid fair wages. That is why no positions within the Staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces are paid below the minimum wage. Some unionized staff of the SNPFCF received a cost of living increase in April of last year; some also received wage increases.

Since the strike began, in collaboration with the local chain of command, CFMWS have taken steps to minimize the effects of the strike on members of the Canadian Armed Forces. This work is essential; quite frankly, I would refute calling any member of the Canadian Armed Forces “scab labour”. They are all heroes.

We remain hopeful that a fair contract for SNPFCF workers will be reached at the table as soon as possible.

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

The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6:34 p.m.)