Debates of April 10th, 2024

International Trade

[Ben Carr, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been unwavering in its support for our ally, Ukraine. With the values of all democracies threatened by Russia's illegal invasion, we have been there every step of the way, doing our part to ensure a Ukrainian victory.

My riding of Winnipeg South Centre is home to thousands of Canadians of Ukrainian descent, and in recent months we have welcomed thousands more who are fleeing the war back home.

Earlier this year, the House passed the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. Unfortunately, the Conservative opposition prevented Parliament from signalling unanimous support. There is good news, however. Can the Minister of International Trade inform the House of important developments related to this critical and—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. Minister for International Trade.

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Minister of Export Promotion]

Mr. Speaker, I want to inform Canadians and the House that, in Ukraine, Ukraine's Parliament has passed the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. Despite Conservative opposition, Ukraine's Parliament unanimously passed this agreement and has called this agreement one of the most modern, high-standard agreements in the world.

I am looking forward to putting this Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement to use, because I want to take a business delegation to Ukraine so that we can work on its rebuilding.

Indigenous Affairs

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, first nations in B.C. have suffered enormous loss throughout their 200-year history of colonization, including the devastating loss of language and culture. Although nations continue to make tremendous progress revitalizing their languages, the Liberals' new formula on funding means a 60% cut to language programs in B.C. Preserving and revitalizing indigenous languages is an essential step to reconciliation.

Will the government remember its most important relationship with first nations and act with urgency to ensure sustained and long-term funding for language programs in British Columbia?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, let me first say that I fully agree with the member opposite about the need to preserve indigenous languages and restore them when they have been so cruelly ripped away from first nations communities for decades.

Indeed, in my own riding, Matawa tribal council provides first nation language training and support for first nations communities all through northern Ontario, supported by the federal government. I am very proud of the work they are doing, and we will continue to work on this preservation with first nations across the country.

National Defence

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government's defence policy, “Our North, Strong and Free”, is the latest in Liberal smoke and mirrors. It rightfully abbreviates into “NSF”, which Canadians know means “not sufficient funds”. Spread out 20 years, it has insufficient funds, and by “insufficient”, I mean zero dollars this year. There is nothing for tactical helicopters, maritime sensors and military housing.

With CAF members using food stamps and sleeping in tents, the Liberals provided nothing for housing in 2024 and 2025. Is the Prime Minister aware that his facade policy will keep CAF personnel and their families in tents for years?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps I should send a copy of our new policy update for defence to the member opposite because it is quite clear he has not read it.

What I can tell the House is that this is a historic investment in new capabilities, in maintaining the equipment and in ensuring that we can not only support the members of the Canadian Armed Forces but also grow our numbers. There is money for housing. There is money for other supports. There is a new focus for the Canadian Armed Forces in the defence of Canada that will make us strong at home to help us be strong around the world.

The Member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:

That the House:

(a) recognize that the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel became, on April 3, 2024, the longest-serving and undefeated elected representative in the history of the Canadian Parliament on his 14,457th day in office, for a total of 39 years, 6 months and 29 days;

(b) salute the dedication that he must have shown to the constituents of Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel in order to be worthy of their trust since 1984 in twelve federal elections;

(c) thank the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, the dean of the House, for his record-setting length of public service over four historic decades devoted to standing up for the people of Quebec; and

(d) pay tribute to the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel immediately following the adoption of this order to allow members to make brief statements, in the following order: a member of the Bloc Québécois, followed by a member of each recognized party, a member of the Green Party, and the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I cannot presume to know the decision of the House, so I am going to ask the question.

All those opposed to the hon. member's moving the motion will please say nay.

It is agreed.

The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

(Motion agreed to)

Accordingly, the House will now hear tributes to the hon. member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel.

The honourable member for Beloeil—Chambly.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we could, very carefully, despite his sense of humour, touch a little on the member's age. Now, we are mainly talking about the length of his reign as MP for this wonderful constituency. In theory, we should be talking about wisdom. We should be talking about the great wisdom of the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, but no.

The member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel has not acquired, after all these years, what one might call wisdom. He is still quite a rascal. He is a man of consummate humour. He is an inexhaustible source of anecdotes. He is generous and deeply endearing.

When I started thinking about trying to fill the position I now hold, one of the first people I consulted was the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel. I took his advice. I think I did the right thing.

Although I will need to bend the rules a bit, I speak for everyone when I say: Thank you, Louis.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, it is my turn to recognize the dean of the House, the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, for his impressive public service longevity record. Over the past four decades, day after day, my Bloc Québécois colleague has done an excellent job of promoting, defending and representing his constituents.

I have to quickly mention our former colleague, Herb Gray, who held that record until now. However, on April 3, the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel became the longest continuously serving elected member in the history of the Parliament of Canada. Clearly, my colleague should be extremely proud of that achievement. His constituents have placed their trust in him since 1984, making him the envy of us all. He has been consecutively re-elected since 1984. That is what I call a great batting average.

He has also shown us that we can politely agree to disagree in the House. The fact that he has been a member for 44 years should inspire us all to emulate his qualities and perhaps be here for as many years as he has. I must also point out how important institutions, even federal institutions, are to him. He and I are working together on the restoration of Centre Block, our crown jewel, the seat of our democracy in Canada. I also appreciate the great commitment the member has shown to our institutions and to what is perhaps the ultimate federal democratic institution. I thank him for that.

Once again, I would like to congratulate our dean, the dean of the House, a member who is present, proactive and greatly appreciated, not only by his colleagues, but also by his constituents, as his record shows.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, of course, our party joins our colleagues in saluting the longevity of our colleague from Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel. I would also like to point out that our colleague started out as a Conservative. All joking aside, I think we need to emphasize what a demanding job it is to be a member of Parliament, to hold public office and serve the public, in terms of time, self-sacrifice and selflessness.

I will have been doing this for 20 years in about two years' time, and I know how difficult and how time-consuming it can be. Our colleague has been doing it twice as long, for nearly 40 years. That is a lot of self-sacrifice. That is a lot of sacrifice on his part, of course, but also on the part of his family. That is why we also need to acknowledge his family today, including everyone who has stood by him and supported him over the years.

Obviously, we are all taking notes, because we would all like to achieve such a record of longevity. However, it does not happen as often as we would like. In the Quebec National Assembly, which is where I came from and where I sat for nearly 15 years, it was said at the time that the average lifespan of a member was about six years. That just goes to show how much the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel has defied the statistics. I congratulate him on behalf of all my colleagues.

I will close with this: After all these years, I bet the Bloc Québécois member knows Canada's national anthem by heart.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to pay tribute to the longevity and hard work of the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, who has been elected 12 consecutive times without ever losing his riding. It is absolutely amazing.

He was first elected in 1984 as part of the same Progressive Conservative wave as the late Mr. Mulroney. I wonder where I was in 1984. I was 11 years old, finishing elementary school, and I was younger than my youngest child is now. That gives members some idea. The hon. member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel has a great sense of humour. He is always witty and sometimes has a tendency to tease us. I cannot resist pointing out that Wikipedia says he acted as interim Speaker of the House of Commons for six days last fall. For six days, the Bloc Québécois member was theoretically reporting directly to Charles III, King of England. He served him conscientiously for those six days.

More importantly, he has served his constituents conscientiously for over 14,000 consecutive days. That shows the depth of his local roots, his on-the-ground knowledge, and his grassroots connections. It also shows the power of local democracy.

On behalf of the NDP, I congratulate the member.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I think it says a lot when we see someone who has his own personal preferences but always respects institutions. I commend the member.

The hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to join my colleagues in paying tribute to our dear colleague and friend, the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel.

When I was elected in 2011, I was here on my own, as the only Green Party member, but I worked with the four Bloc Québécois members, including my dear colleague. We worked together, almost invisibly, but I think we worked as a small Bloc-Green coalition.

It is a great honour to work with my dear colleague, who is now the dean of the House and who has served in several Parliaments, with various prime ministers and members, always in a collaborative and friendly manner. He has a sense of humour, and I appreciate him.

I thank him.

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what can I say after all those kind words? I would like to thank the five speakers from the various political parties who spoke so kindly of me.

I have served in the governing party, I have served as an independent, I have served in the official opposition, and I have served as a member of the third party. I have known just about every trend and experienced all the highs and lows.

I would like to thank my constituents for supporting me in 12 elections with handsome majorities. The one in 2011 was harder because of the orange wave, but four of us got elected, including me.

I would like to thank all the people who helped me get elected, including the organizers, my riding executive, and my 1,000 members who renew their cards every year and who are also starting to get older too. I would like to thank my loyal and long-serving office staff as well. I would also like to thank the research and communications teams that support the parties and members. They are invaluable in helping us better serve our constituents and give them the answers they are looking for.

I thank my family and my children for understanding why I had to be away so much. I thank my partner Manon, who has been courageously battling cancer for two years. Despite her many treatments, she encourages me to continue my work here to help my constituents. She is very supportive.

Many people here in this beautiful chamber will no doubt break my record, since many of them were elected at a very young age. However, I would like to warn them right now that I hope I still have two or three more terms to serve. That is my intention. This time, it will be within the same party; there will be no changes.

I have often enjoyed hearing O Canada because, as Gilles Vigneault once said, I have always loved hearing foreign national anthems. What I like about O Canada is that it was sung for the first time at a separatist gathering in Quebec. We sang O Canada because we did not want to sing God Save the Queen. However, one day, Canada decided to adopt it so that it could have its own national anthem. That was a bit of history, but I will stop there.

Once again, I thank all my colleagues for their kind words. I am not sure I have been that worthy of them, but I look forward to continuing my work.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Colleagues, it is my turn to rise and pay tribute to our very dear colleague, my predecessor as Speaker, the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel.

We have known each other for a very long time. In 1988, when I first came to the House of Commons as a page, the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel already had four years of experience under his belt. I had the pleasure of bringing him water and messages. He was a gentleman and an upstanding man; he still is. He has set a record for years of service, but he has also set records for kindness, wisdom and, of course, sense of humour. He is known among MPs for his sage advice. For example, if someone announces that they are running for a leadership position, the member will whisper back that they have his support, but not to tell anyone. I am certain he made an exception for me when I ran for Speaker. It is that kind of practical and far from cynical approach that has enabled him to spend 40 years in this place.

The people of Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel are very well served by this gentleman. He is dedicated to working for them. His success among voters boils down simple mathematics, a subject he taught before becoming an MP. He follows a simple formula: He talks to at least 10 people a day in his riding, five days a week. At the end of the year, that adds up to 2,500 people who have had direct contact with him, or 2,500 people who know their MP. If we keep going with the math, we see that our colleague has had 100,000 personal contacts over the past 40 years. The lesson to be learned here is to never forget our roots and the reason we serve in this place.

I thank the hon. member for his outstanding service and congratulate him on 40 incredible years.

I see the member for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston rising on a point of order.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say a few words about our colleague from Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, who has served our country and the people of his riding for 40 years.

It is a matter of coincidence that the man whose record the member is breaking is a man named John Graham Haggart, who was a Conservative member of Parliament elected in Canada's second election, in 1871, and who served until his death in 1913 under every prime minister from Sir John A. Macdonald to Sir Robert Borden.

By coincidence, John Graham Haggart served in the ancestor of my own riding, and by an even more extraordinary coincidence, he lived in the same house that I now live in. Therefore I feel I am better qualified than anybody else to channel his ghost, so on behalf of the man whom he is bettering today, John Graham Haggart, let me just say “well done” to our colleague.

I congratulate him.

May he serve much longer indeed, and do so as nobly as he has done in the past.

The House resumed from April 9 consideration of the motion, and of the amendment.

Opposition Motion—Carbon Tax Emergency Meeting

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

It being 3:40 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the amendment to the motion of the member for Carleton relating to the business of supply.

Call in the members.

The question is on the amendment. May I dispense?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

[Chair read text of amendment to House]

(The House divided on the amendment, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #683

Business of Supply

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I declare the amendment carried.

The next question is on the main motion, as amended.

Shall I dispense?

[Some hon. members]

No.