Debates of June 18th, 2024

Democratic Institutions

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we just passed Bill C-70 in the House, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, and sent it to the Senate for further study. This bill will allow for more rigorous and regular information sharing with the premiers of the provinces and territories on issues of foreign interference and national security that involve them.

We are working in a respectful and collaborative way to fight to protect our democracy together.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for three months, the Prime Minister has known about the serious allegations that parliamentarians are knowingly working with foreign governments to undermine our country, yet we do not know if he has had a single conversation with any member of his caucus. The Conservative Party leader does not even want to know about the serious allegations of foreign interference that directly impact his party. Why do both of these leaders put the interests of their parties ahead of the interests of our country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as all parliamentarians know—

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot knows that he should not be speaking at this time.

I would ask the right hon. Prime Minister to start from the top, please.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, all parliamentarians in the House know how important it is to protect our democracy from foreign interference. That is why we have been working together, whether it is on the national security committee of parliamentarians that we created over the objections of the Conservative Party, through strengthened mechanisms within our national security universe or through election interference monitoring by top public servants. We have taken more actions on preventing foreign interference than any other government, and we have continued to work with independent commissions, such as the public inquiry, to get to the bottom of it.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has known and has not taken action.

For three months, the Prime Minister has known about the allegations that parliamentarians are knowingly helping India and China. He thinks he is better than everyone else, but he has not taken action. As for the Conservative leader, he is hiding because he does not want to know the truth.

Why are these two leaders putting their own interests ahead of the national interest?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things we saw last week was that the leaders of the NDP and the Green Party obtained the security clearance to read the entire classified NSICOP report. That gave them a different perspective on this issue, from both sides of the coin.

The Conservative leader, on the other hand, chose ignorance. He does not want to get the security clearance that would give him access to classified information, because he would rather just make partisan attacks.

Diversity and Inclusion

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister divides to distract. He turns groups against each other. He fans the flames. He gave funds to an anti-Semitic Holocaust denier. Even before October 7, hate crimes were up 162%.

Since, we have seen the rise of Hamas-inspired hate camps at university campuses that intimidate Jewish students and promote genocide. Will the Prime Minister finally summon the courage to join with me and call for these hate camps to be shut down and closed up so that students can safely go back to school?

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

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the Leader of the Opposition recognizing the divisive rhetoric and the division that is occurring in Canadian society right now. We have a problem with hatred. We have to address that problem. We know that the statistics show that hate crimes are on the rise 130% in the last five years.

That is why I was proud to stand with CIJA when we tabled Bill C-63, the online harms legislation that would improve penalties for hate crimes, provide a definition of hatred and ensure that we are keeping Canadian communities safe. The special envoy on anti-Semitism supports the bill. CIJA supports the bill. I am just wondering why the Leader of the Opposition does not.

Foreign Affairs

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, he is worried about those hate camps, all while he allows 700 agents of the Iranian regime to openly operate in Canada four years after they killed 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents, and after they funded the brutal massacres of October 7. There have six years of excuses, and they did nothing, but with a by-election on Monday and the Prime Minister desperately needing to pad his margins, it turns out that there might be enough pressure for them to finally ban the IRGC terrorists, who they should have banned years ago before they set up shop here to terrorize our communities

Why does the Prime Minister always put himself ahead of the safety of Canadians?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, our government has taken a series of measures to hold the murderous Iranian regime to account. We have consistently set and taken measures, including under immigration legislation. We have listed the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force as being a terrorist entity. We take advice from national security agencies in listings, and we think that hon. members should allow that process to take place. When we have some news, we will be making an announcement appropriately.

Forestry Industry

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is not for nothing that people are saying that the Minister of Environment needs to step down. Once again, he is going after forestry workers. He is jeopardizing thousands of jobs in Saguenay, even though Quebec has the largest network of protected areas for woodland caribou.

He wants to go ahead and impose his decree without understanding the social and economic impacts. A minister who lives in Montreal will never understand our regional issues. It feels like they want to shut down the regions.

When will the Minister of Environment stop punishing forestry workers, who are just trying to do their job and earn a living?

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

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to remind my colleague that I was born and raised in the very beautiful town of La Tuque, just south of Lac‑Saint‑Jean, in the very beautiful riding of my friend, the Minister of Industry.

Second, Quebec itself has been promising to present a caribou recovery plan since 2016. In a joint letter between the federal government and the Government of Quebec in 2022, the Government of Quebec once again promised to put forward a caribou protection strategy and to protect at least 65% of the species' habitat.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, how many times has the environment minister come to Saguenay to meet with forestry industry representatives? Once? Twice? No, it is zero times. He cannot even be bothered to leave Montreal.

The forestry industry is crucial for us. He does not seem to understand that. He needs to stop being so stubborn and scrap his decree. Thousands of jobs are at stake, and that represents thousands of families. The Conservatives will always protect forestry workers' paycheques.

Can the minister respect Quebec's jurisdictions once and for all and leave forestry workers alone?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, a little guy from La Tuque and a little guy from Shawinigan are definitely not going to take lessons from the Conservatives on how to develop our regions and protect them.

On our side of the House, we know how to balance the economy with our environmental obligations. We have always invested in the forestry industry, and we will always invest in the forestry industry.

Workers watching at home know that on our side of the House, we will always do what it takes to stand up for them, build a stronger Canada and make sure there are jobs for this generation and generations to come.

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

Mr. Speaker, nine years of this Liberal government is nine years of interference in Quebec's jurisdictions. The Minister of Environment wants to impose an emergency decree that will restrict the activities of forestry workers and jeopardize thousands of jobs in this sector in Quebec.

Only a Conservative government will protect forestry workers' jobs. Strangely enough, the member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia supports this Minister of Environment, saying that he can interfere in provincial jurisdictions.

When will this minister stop interfering in Quebec's jurisdictions with his radical ideas?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we understand that the forest is part of the DNA of our country and that the forestry workers who have worked in this industry are important.

Not only are we investing in the industry, but we are in the process of considering and developing new technologies because we want to help the forestry industry. We want it to have a future not only in the 20th century, but also in the 21st century. We are working with our international partners and with innovative companies.

The people watching us know that we will always be there for workers in the forestry industry.

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

Mr. Speaker, after nine years in office, this Liberal government still does not know its place.

It continues to impose its incompetence on the provinces. It wants to adopt an emergency decree to protect the boreal caribou and trample all over the jurisdictions of the Government of Quebec, which is trying to protect jobs, nature and the economy. For some reason, the Bloc Québécois is helping the Liberals at every turn.

Will the Minister of Environment set aside his radical ideas, mind his own business and let Quebec look after its own affairs?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have been here for nine years. They are waking up. Today is Groundhog Day. The Conservatives are waking up.

We have been there for the forestry industry from the start. We have been there for years, we are there today and we will be there in the future. What we are doing is protecting the jobs of today and tomorrow. Forestry workers understand that.

On this side of the House, we will continue to work, and we will let the Conservatives talk.

Seniors

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the age well at home initiative is a perfect example of the federal government's heartlessness. Since 2022, the Government of Quebec has been asking Ottawa to send it the funds, given that the initiative concerns a Quebec jurisdiction, while Ottawa keeps trying to impose conditions.

Today, the federal government would rather stop sending cheques to seniors than reach an agreement with Quebec. Clearly, this government's priority is not to help people, but to make all the decisions and then try to look good by handing out cheques with maple leaves on them.

When is this government going to transfer the money instead of abandoning seniors?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

The age well at home initiative is a national program designed to help seniors age safely and with dignity. Our government has invested $90 million across the country so that community organizations can submit projects. Some organizations in Quebec have submitted projects, and we are going to work hard with the Government of Quebec to ensure that they receive their funding.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is definitely a problem. This government had already created two classes of seniors. The government refuses to increase old age security for seniors aged 65 to 74, but seniors aged 75 and over are getting an increase.

With its age well at home program, Ottawa is again creating two new classes of seniors, specifically seniors in Quebec and those in Canada. Seniors in Quebec will not receive assistance from Ottawa under the program, which helps them stay in their own homes and supports community organizations, but seniors in Canada will.

What is the government waiting for to transfer the money? Why is it holding Quebec seniors hostage?

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

Mr. Speaker, community organizations have been working hard to present and develop projects under this national program. Seniors need these projects, which involve things like delivering meals and helping with transportation.

We are working on solutions with Quebec because we want to make sure that community organizations get the money they need to help seniors. There are not two classes of seniors; there is only one, and this government will be there to help them all.

Employment

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, training is the way to address the labour shortage. That is what guarantees a skilled workforce across all economic sectors. Everyone agrees. There is consensus among workers, employers and the government.

However, Ottawa is cutting transfers and now there is a shortfall of $145 million. We know the government is tired, but it needs to wake up. Will it reconsider its decision to cut workforce training transfers?