Debates of May 28th, 2024

Mental Health and Addictions

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member well knows that, first and foremost, diversion is illegal in the country of any narcotics. It does not matter what they are for, such as ADHD methamphetamines or anything else of that sort. When it comes to prescribed alternatives, it is one tool of many to combat the overdose crisis in the country to save lives.

The Conservatives choose an either/or in a war on drug policy that will leave people dead in the streets rather than getting them to health care. Shame on them.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, the only thing that has dropped in price has been the price of hydromorphone, which, by the way, the street price has gone from $20 a pill to $2 a pill under the government's watch, because of the diversion it has allowed.

Police have sounded the alarm, sharing that 50% of the hydromorphone that they have seized has been from diverted taxpayer-funded drug trafficking schemes flooding the streets with potent drugs and fuelling new addiction.

The question is simple. When will the government put an end to this dangerous program?

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will say it again. Diversion is illegal in the country. Not only that, but the Conservatives are trying to portray the fiction of our streets rather than the reality. The RCMP has made it explicitly clear about what is happening with regard to diversion. The numbers the member quoted are simply not facts. The fact is that data shows there has been no increase of hydromorphone in the past decade from drug seizures across Canada.

We are talking about saving lives. Where are they?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Journal de Montréal reported that there are people doing drugs next to an elementary school in the Saint‑Henri neighbourhood of Montreal. Parents have to step over people who are shooting up in the street. They are traumatized. They are worried for their children.

Can the Prime Minister confirm that he will not accept the City of Montreal's request to legalize the use of hard drugs in public spaces?

[Ya'ara Saks, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, yet again, the Conservatives want to play games with the lives of people who need health care. It is shameful. Decriminalization is about personal possession. It has nothing to do with the control of substances in the country.

On this side of the House, we know that people need prevention and harm reduction, which the Conservatives refuse to acknowledge. They need health care. They should stop criminalizing our loved ones and get them into health services.

Regional Economic Development

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the regional economic development agencies of Quebec are very important. They contribute to the growth, productivity and innovation of Quebec companies.

That is why I was a bit upset with my Conservative colleague from New Brunswick Southwest, who said that these agencies were hurting the local economy.

Can the minister reassure Canadians, and can she also talk about how our government supports the economic development agencies of Quebec?

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

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Pontiac for her question. I am very anxious to know what the Quebec Conservatives are saying to their colleague from New Brunswick Southwest, who wants to wipe out the regional economic development agencies.

Every dollar they invest generates more than four dollars in investments. Unlike the Conservatives, we believe in investing in economic growth and job creation. They just want to make cuts. Even provincial Conservatives are terrified of their austerity plan.

Justice

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government, its catch-and-release policies have gotten so bad that it is allowing criminal organizations to operate freely in the streets. Even after a seven-month investigation involving 26 arrests and $33 million of stolen vehicles, at least 14 people are already out on bail. The police worked for months to catch these criminals, and days later a broken system lets them free.

When will the government finally do the right thing and keep career criminals in jail so that Canadians can keep their cars?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will start by saluting the impressive work of the Peel police force for cracking an organized criminal ring that is taking people's cars.

The second thing I want to underscore for the member and her entire caucus is that they cannot selectively listen to law enforcement. What law enforcement tells me and the Minister of Public Safety all the time is that the days of teenage joyrides are over. This is an international organized criminal effort. We need to deal with that and follow the money path.

How are we doing that? We are doing it with anti-money laundering offences and beefing up our strength on money laundering through the fall economic statement and the budget, two things Conservatives are voting against.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is that minister's policy that is working against the Peel police. This is coming from a guy who, in his ministry, had three cars stolen in three years. The evidence is right on his doorstep. The Liberal catch-and-release policies are not working.

After nine years of the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister, the GTA does not stand for “greater Toronto area”; it stands for “grand theft auto”. Forty cars are stolen a day in Toronto, 20 in Peel. How many more is it going to take for him to do something about it?

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

Mr. Speaker, in the last three months, we have held an auto theft summit. We have invested $170 million in addressing this issue through investments in law enforcement, through investments in CBSA scanners, through investing in information sharing through Interpol. We are working diligently to break up criminal networks.

We are not pursuing failed policies like the Conservatives' approach year after year under Stephen Harper, most of which were struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada.

[Arpan Khanna, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the Liberal-NDP government's soft-on-crime policies, extortions have more than tripled in Canada. They allow criminals to terrorize our communities and businesses, because when they get arrested, they are let out on bail the same day. The Liberals talk a very big game about fighting crime, but when it matters, they are missing in action.

Our common-sense Conservative bill would have put these criminals behind bars by strengthening our extortion laws. Why did the Liberals vote against Bill C-381 to fight extortion?

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

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are listening to people who are affected by extortion. We know that this is a pressing problem in parts of B.C. and in parts of my region in Ontario. What we are underscoring is that extortion is against the law. Extortion with—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I am going to ask the hon. member for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies to please to keep his comments to himself. I will also ask the hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands to please hold his comments until he has the floor.

I am going to ask the hon. minister to start from the top.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are listening constantly to communities that are being affected by extortion, particularly South Asians in the B.C. region and in the GTA. What we hear from them is that they need supports. We are providing those supports through aggressive responses under the Criminal Code. Extortion is against the law. Extortion with a weapon attracts a very significant penalty under Canadian criminal law.

What we also understand from them is that organized criminality, including foreign interference and organized crime, is behind these extortion attempts. That is why bills like Bill C-70 will make an important difference. So will the budget measures on money laundering and cracking down on organized crime.

Regional Economic Development

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

Mr. Speaker, with an energy grid that is 97% clean, a strong manufacturing and agricultural sector and a diverse population, Manitoba is a key economic driver for Canada.

In order to help realize our potential, we rely on the strengths of PrairiesCan, our regional development agency. Some members of the opposition have suggested that investments in PrairiesCan are not worthwhile.

Could the Minister for Prairies Economic Development please inform us of the important role that the agency plays in supporting the Prairie region?

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Minister of Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, no matter where I go in the Prairies, the great work done by PrairiesCan is greatly appreciated.

PrairiesCan created or maintained over 150,000 jobs in over 6,300 businesses. Whether it is better positioning hydrogen in Edmonton, supporting work done by the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon or helping New Flyer build net-zero buses in Winnipeg, PrairiesCan is making necessary investments in Prairie businesses to help grow our economy.

If Conservatives understood this important work, they would not be calling to abolish it. It is simply shameful.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, successive Liberal and Conservative governments have heavily relied on migrant workers to support Canada's economy. They are often underpaid and racialized. They can easily fall through the cracks, leaving them undocumented through no fault of their own. They live here and contribute to our communities and they pay their taxes, yet without permanent status, they are often subject to exploitation and abuse. The Liberals have been saying that they want to regularize them since 2021, but empty words will not protect workers.

Will the Prime Minister implement a broad, uncapped program to regularize undocumented workers so that their basic human rights are protected?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate and respect the member's passion in this matter, particularly for a set of people who indeed are in Canada and are subject to abuse at times. There should be regular pathways for people who are here irregularly.

I can confirm to the House that pursuant to the minister's mandate letter, we are looking at a number of options. I would say for all Canadians that there is no clear consensus as to the path forward. However, as this is work that is ongoing, I cannot comment any further.

The Environment

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, fire season is on us, and yet oil production in the tar sands has reached its highest peak ever. That is thanks to the Liberal government's $34 billion to the TMX pipeline.

Now we learn that big oil is planning a 400-kilometre pipeline along the Athabasca River and it wants to be exempt from a federal environmental assessment. The government has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Pathways Alliance to keep details of this project secret.

The planet is on fire. Why is the environment minister continuing to act like a sock puppet for big oil CEOs?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have been very clear that there will be no special pathway for the Pathways project. If that project is subject to the federal Impact Assessment Act, it will be evaluated as other federal projects are evaluated. There will be no special cases made for that project.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I wish to draw the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of Her Excellency Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Kosovo.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

The House resumed from May 27 consideration of the motion that Bill C-59, An Act to implement certain provisions of the fall economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 21, 2023 and certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023, be read the third time and passed, and of the amendment.