Debates of Sept. 27th, 2024

Fisheries and Oceans

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Speaker, owner-operator rules for Canada's Atlantic fisheries are a bedrock institution as they once were for the west coast before the Conservative Party eliminated them in favour of big corporate fishing fleets. These rules protect independent fishers and the livelihoods of fishing families.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard inform this House and fishers on the government's commitment to protecting the owner-operator policy from those in this chamber who would gut this policy?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend for his advocacy for protecting owner-operator policies in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.

Our government remains firmly committed to strengthening Canada's owner-operator rules as part of the mandatory review of the Fisheries Act. This week, the Conservatives struck at this review and left us wondering whether they have a secret plan for gutting owner-operator once and for all.

Let us be clear. We will not stand for that. We will not let schemes, scams and hidden plans work. The Conservatives are out of time on this one.

Housing

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years of the NDP-Liberals, taxes are up, costs are up, crime is up and time is up. The federal housing agency's latest report proved again that the Liberal photo op housing policy is not building homes. The report shows that housing starts are declining in major cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. We see it with more tent encampments and more people sleeping on the streets.

On Tuesday, the NDP-Liberals must end their costly coalition with the Prime Minister. Will they?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the member ought to look at the CMHC report that she just referenced a bit more closely. In major cities, like Montreal, for example, rental construction is up by 106%. I would also point out that the reason for that is the waiving of GST on the costs for rental construction. That is, as we speak, putting more supply into the market. In order to bring costs down, we need more supply, but the Conservatives are not in favour of that measure.

The member talked about encampments. The Conservatives oppose everything this government has done to lower the number of encampments in this country.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the NDP voted to declare a housing crisis and, yet, the NDP continues to vote confidence in the Liberals. After nine years, housing costs have doubled. It now takes 30 years to save for the average home. There are thousands of tent encampments. Chronic homelessness has increased 38% since 2018 and veterans are living on the streets. There is nowhere near the number of homes being built to bring back housing affordability to Canadians.

Next Tuesday, will the NDP-Liberals let Canadians decide on a carbon tax election?

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, the member talks about increasing supply of housing. I point out that the housing accelerator fund, which is the signature program of this government to increase supply, incents zoning changes at the local level. Restrictive zoning is the single-biggest impediment to getting more supply on the market.

What did this government do? We have put forward funding for housing and infrastructure. In exchange, communities need to make zoning changes. Almost 200 have done exactly that. That member voted against it, not just in general terms, but for her own community of Kelowna. On top of that, she has voted against homelessness funding for her community in Kelowna. She is not serious.

Forestry Industry

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 280 forestry workers learned yesterday that they will be losing their jobs a few days before Christmas. They include 160 workers in the Mauricie region and 120 in the Outaouais. Our thoughts are with the families who are being so brutally tested by this financial and social tragedy.

In the meantime, what is happening here in Ottawa? We have a Liberal government that is being honoured with the confidence of the Bloc Québécois but is still insisting on its threat of issuing a forestry order.

Is there a minister here who can stand up and say it is a good idea to issue an order when the industry is suffering right now?

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to anyone who loses their job. We are extremely disappointed that the U.S. Department of Commerce has significantly increased its unfair and unjustified duties on softwood lumber from Canada. These unfair and unfounded U.S. duties on softwood lumber unjustifiably harm consumers and producers on both sides of the border. This latest measure will have a negative impact on workers and their communities.

We will always stand up for the lumber industry here in Canada and Quebec.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

He says they are standing up, Mr. Speaker, but what has that accomplished? What are the results?

I cannot believe that the Bloc Québécois is renewing its confidence in the government again this week, and probably will next week. It is even giving the government the benefit of the doubt. Will it ever realize that the government is running straight into a wall, and that forestry workers are the ones suffering right now? There are 1,400 people at risk of losing their jobs because of the Liberal's forestry order.

Is there anyone in the House who thinks it would be a good idea to pass this order when Quebec's forestry industry is hurting?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is asking the Bloc Québécois why it hesitates to support the Conservative Party. It is obvious. Most Quebeckers, at least those in my riding, dislike the Conservative Leader's insults, contempt and cuts approach to politics. They want none of it.

My colleague, the member, will have to explain to the Bloc Québécois why it should join forces with a party that lets people travel around the world to undermine women's rights, that denies climate change, and that questions the importance of supporting the middle class with housing and child care, for example, during difficult times.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the distribution of asylum seekers has been the subject of a lot of political games recently. Everyone needs to get their act together on this.

Quebec has exceeded its integration capacity. Our public services are overwhelmed. More and more asylum seekers are living in inhumane, precarious conditions every day. Any government that refuses to do its part to help with the distribution of newcomers is contributing to the humanitarian crisis. The federal government promised that it and the provinces would do their fair share.

What is Ottawa going to do immediately to resolve the impasse?

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

Mr. Speaker, immigration requires collaboration and co-operation. We live in Canada. We carry Canadian passports. Clearly, the Canadian government must play a collaborative role in immigration.

The good news is that things are going well and getting better. We urge Mr. Legault to get his act together. He was too quick to speak out in the past few days, saying that no measures had been taken in recent weeks, which is not true. Three announcements were made in less than a month. A letter was sent to his minister, Mr. Roberge, with all the details on the progress that has been made and the collaborative work that remains to be done.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while everyone is passing the buck, Quebec continues to add tens of thousands of asylum seekers every month to its overloaded system.

While the federal government lacks leadership and the provinces lack humanity, in Quebec the problems are getting worse. For years Quebec has been welcoming a disproportionate share of asylum seekers in Canada, while Canada completely dodges its responsibilities. Quebeckers are sick of being the only ones making a contribution.

When will Canada get to it?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is an example of something that needs to be corrected.

First, the volume of asylum claims from Mexico dropped by 75% in the span of a few months. Second, the number of asylum claims at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport has dropped by 70% since February. Third, the number of asylum claims in Quebec has dropped by 42% since February. Fourth, the share of asylum seekers in Quebec compared to the rest of the country has gone from 40% to 29% since February 2024.

Those are the types of statistics that everyone must absolutely know.

Emergency Preparedness

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal government has failed Canadians when it comes to wildfire mitigation. In Jasper, a third of the town went up in flames. Thousands are now left homeless with close to a billion dollars in devastation. Even with that result, the radical environment minister had the audacity to call it a success. People in Jasper are demanding answers for how this happened under the minister's authority.

Was it negligence, incompetence or both?

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, we are seeing that Canada is warming five times faster than other countries. The damage from extreme weather events in Canada is more than $175 million per year, but our environmental plan reduces emissions and puts more money in the hands of eight out of 10 Canadians. Climate change is real, and the Conservatives do not have a plan. It is shameful.

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I guess blaming climate change is easier than admitting to incompetence. In 2017, the former MP for Yellowhead gave warnings. For years, the mayor and forestry experts warned that a devastating wildfire in Jasper was inevitable without action. The radical environment minister knew it was coming and still chose to do nothing. Now, a third of the town is gone, thousands are homeless and there is nearly a billion dollars in damage.

Will the minister personally apologize to the people of Jasper for his failure?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, not only, as my colleague said, does Canada actually have a comprehensive plan to address and mitigate carbon emissions that cause climate change, but we have also invested significantly in climate adaptation to ensure that we are taking the steps to do what we can to prevent significant impacts from the climate change that is already with us. Certainly, Parks Canada has been a part of that. It is a leader in the context of managing parks on a climate adaptation basis.

I think it is just reprehensible that the member is throwing the officials from Parks Canada under the bus.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Mr. Speaker, an email obtained from the environment minister's department revealed a senior official was questioning the political optics of forest management practices that prevent wildfires. The email stated, “At what point do we make the organizational decision to cancel planned prescribed burns in Western Canada?” “...political perception may become more important than actual prescription windows.”

Why were the political optics more important than forest management to the minister months before the Jasper wildfires?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, what the members opposite are doing is absolutely shameful. As the Minister of Environment explained to this House yesterday, they are taking an email out of context, and now that official is facing death threats.

What happened in Jasper is a national tragedy, but it is a result of climate change. If the members opposite want to get to the bottom of this, they should start by recognizing that climate change is real.

Tourism Industry

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, not only is tourism a driving force of economic development, but it is also a matter of pride, pride in sharing our beautiful and magnificent country with the entire world. Tourism exists in every community in the country. It is therefore not surprising that it contributes $43 billion per year to our GDP, while creating two million jobs.

Can the Minister of Tourism tell us how our government is encouraging tourism in order to support those who work in the industry?

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

Mr. Speaker, World Tourism Day is an opportunity to—

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

I must interrupt the minister.

We were doing really well up to that point, and we are only a few questions away from the end of question period.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

I am standing up. When I am standing up, hon. members are supposed to be listening to the Chair.

The hon. Minister of Tourism.