Debates of June 3rd, 2024

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of this government, there can be no denying that the Prime Minister and the Bloc Québécois are not worth the cost.

Violence in our prisons is getting worse and is spreading. An article in Le Quotidien newspaper reports that prison guards in Roberval are threatened and intimidated on a daily basis. Instead of protecting them, the Bloc Québécois is making the situation worse by fully supporting the Prime Minister's policies, which have caused chaos across the country.

When will the Liberals, backed by the Bloc, listen to us and protect Canadians instead letting violence run rampant?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I will use the example raised by my colleague. Contrary to what he says, we are working with correctional services specifically to protect the safety of people who work in our correctional institutions.

Along with my colleague, the hon. Minister of Public Services and Procurement, I had the privilege of visiting a model correctional institution precisely to talk with employees about improvements we can make to keep them safe at all times.

I met with the union representing correctional officers. We are going to keep doing what is necessary.

Climate Change

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives continue to deny the reality, but also the impact of climate change, and they have no plan to deal with this crisis, we are making the necessary investments to guarantee a green and prosperous future for our children and a healthy environment.

Can the Minister of Environment tell us the exact nature of these investments that are going to protect our environment and guarantee a future for our children?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question, but also for her advocacy on these issues.

Making our communities more sustainable and more resilient when it comes to climate change is a priority to our government to help plan the cities and communities of the future.

That is why, this morning, together with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, we announced a $530‑million fund, the first fund in the history of Canada devoted to climate change adaptation and resilience. This fund will help serve 1,400 communities across the country to better prepare us and better prepare our communities for the impacts of climate change.

Public Services and Procurement

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the Auditor General will table her report on McKinsey. Now, the Liberals will try to hide their preferential treatment of McKinsey, but the procurement watchdog already said that the government creates criteria specifically designed for McKinsey. The Minister of Procurement also signed a $5.7-million sole-source contract, despite her officials asking her not to, for McKinsey.

At a time when Canadians cannot even take a summer vacation, why is the government so hell-bent on giving $116 million to McKinsey?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to answer that question. My colleague is well aware that the Auditor General's work is not only very important, but very much appreciated by the Canadian government.

We look forward to her report tomorrow, of course. We already know that it will continue to assist us further in the important work that we all need to do to ensure the proper and timely delivery of public services to Canadians, including the Canadian dental care plan, which is working very well across the country, especially in Quebec.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, corruption, abuse, resignations, multiple investigations and at least $150 million tax dollars illegally given out by Liberal insiders to other Liberal insiders and to themselves, that is Sustainable Development Technology Canada. After nine years of the NDP-Liberal government, and the Prime Minister who is just not worth the cost, the Auditor General is set to release a damning report on SDTC tomorrow.

Will the Prime Minister shut down the billion-dollar slush fund? Will he commit to getting Canadians their money back? Will he guarantee Canadians that none of these corrupt executives will get a dollar of severance?

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

Mr. Speaker, as members well know, from the moment we received the allegation, we started an investigation in order to make sure that we would uncover the truth and that we would restore governance. We suspended funding for the organization. We got a report. The chairwoman resigned. The CEO of the organization resigned. We welcome the findings of the Auditor General. We proactively work with the Auditor General.

One thing I can reassure all Canadians of is that we will restore governance and that we will restore funding to this organization that is helping thousands of Canadian companies in this country.

Official Languages

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, first, the member for Saint-Laurent denied the decline of French in Quebec. Then, a Franco-Ontarian member said that witnesses who appeared before the Standing Committee on Official Languages were full of you-know-what. Now, the Quebec member for Alfred-Pellan is saying that, in order to be stronger, Quebec should be bilingual.

We are now seeing the Liberal caucus's true colours. The Liberals have neither the desire, nor the intention to protect French and stop its decline.

Will the Prime Minister act now to support French in Quebec and call his members to order?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, someone pinch me. I heard my colleague opposite comment on French. However, the Conservative Party and francophones from Quebec have accused me of speaking too much French here in the House. Now they are all up in arms.

At some point, they need to decide which side they are really on.

Emergency Preparedness

[Wilson Miao, Liberal, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as we have entered into June, and summer is just around the corner, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre has already reported that over 300,000 hectares of forest have been burned down. Climate change continues to impact communities in my home province of British Columbia and across Canada at a disproportional—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

I am having great trouble hearing, from both sides, the question from the hon. member for Richmond Centre.

I encourage members who want to have conversations to do so behind the curtains.

The hon. member for Richmond Centre has the floor. I will invite him to start from the top, please.

[Wilson Miao, Liberal, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as we have entered into June, and summer is just around the corner, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre has already reported that over 300,000 hectares of forest have been burned down. Climate change continues to impact communities in my home province of British Columbia and across Canada at a disproportional rate. Drought and warmer-than-normal temperatures are persisting, fuelling the severity of wildfires and posing significant risks to our communities.

Can the Minister of Emergency Preparedness share with Canadians what work our federal government is doing to help communities be better prepared?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, extreme weather events are increasing the frequency and severity of natural disasters, but often, I hear my colleagues across the floor downplay or even deny the reality of climate change and its effects on Canadians. They would rather claim that wildfires are caused by arson. Last year, 59% of Canada's wildfires were the result of lightning strikes. We owe it to the Canadians who were impacted and to the thousands who were already displaced this year to acknowledge the reality of climate change.

Our government has invested more than $10 billion to help communities better prepare and adapt to climate change, and we are proudly continuing our work to limit our emissions.

Oil and Gas Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, corporations should not be allowed to lie about the threats that are posed by their products, which is a no-brainer, unless of course we are talking about big oil. Last week, a front group for the oil and gas industry was found guilty of running a massive disinformation campaign on the supposed benefits of burning even more fossil fuels.

The planet is on fire. People are getting sick, yet this Liberal government has never taken on the lies and the greenwashing of big oil. To the Minister of Environment, what is it going to take to end this massively funded disinformation campaign by the fossil fuel industry?

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

Mr. Speaker, we obviously expect the highest level of governance from corporations that are operating in Canada. However, this gives me the opportunity to remind Canadians of the investments we have seen in the green supply chain in this country. As we said before, this country has received a record number of investments in the green industry. Even Bloomberg ranked Canada first in the world for the battery ecosystem, ahead of China.

We should all be proud of these investments, which are generational. They are creating jobs. They are creating prosperity, and they are putting Canada ahead of every nation, when it comes to building EVs, in the world.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alain Rayes, Independent, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada sets the average processing times for applications.

However, here is the reality. One of my constituents was begging my office to check the status of his visitor record application, which was submitted on March 4. The official told us that it was still being processed and that the average wait time was 77 days, which brought us to May 20. We called back on May 21 only to be told that the wait time was now 84 days, which meant May 27. We called back on May 28 only to be told that it would take until June 1, which is more than 89 days.

How can the department operate with rules like that?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I will be pleased to pass it on to my colleague, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, so that he can answer our colleague.

The House resumed from May 30 consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Summer Tax Break

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

It being 3:14 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of the member for Carleton relating to the business of supply.

Call in the members.

Before the Clerk announced the results of the vote:

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if I am not mistaken, the member for Ajax voted, but we did not see his photo.

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

His vote will be withdrawn.

(The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)

Vote #793

Business of Supply

[The Speaker, Greg Fergus]

I declare the motion lost.