Alaina Lockhart

[Housing, April 4th, 2019]

Madam Speaker, the member for Saskatoon West points out some of the housing challenges that Canada faces. These challenges are well known to our government, which is why, from day one of our mandate, we made it a top priority to ensure that more Canadians have a safe, affordable place to call home. We began funding solutions to these problems from our very first budget in 2016.

Canadians do not have to wait for results. We have invested $5.7 billion to date and have improved housing for close to one million families. This includes young families, seniors, women and children fleeing domestic violence, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons with mental health and addiction issues, veterans and young adults. At the same time as we were responding to immediate housing needs, we have begun delivering a comprehensive long-term plan, Canada's first-ever national housing strategy.

Many of the main initiatives of this 10-year, $40-billion plan were rolled out last spring. New homes and shelters are already being built and existing homes are being repaired and renovated.

We have launched an updated and expanded homelessness strategy with dedicated funding for indigenous homelessness and more flexibility for communities to develop solutions that meet their needs. We are also investing in better data to get a clearer picture of the issues across Canada and to develop innovative solutions.

We are working in close collaboration with the provinces and territories, with seven bilateral agreements in place and others well under way. These agreements are unlocking further investments for housing, like direct benefits for low-income Canadians and funding to stabilize community housing.

Finally, I want to take a moment to specifically address my colleague's comments regarding indigenous housing. In February, we announced $638 million in investments to ensure that indigenous peoples living in urban, rural and northern communities have better housing outcomes now and for generations to come.

One-third of this funding will be delivered through the Canada community housing initiative as part of the bilateral agreements. It will help preserve and improve the condition of community housing units for urban indigenous families living in cities or urban centres across the country. Two-thirds of the funding will address indigenous homelessness. This represents an increase of almost 70% in dedicated indigenous funding for homelessness. The funds will be delivered through Canada's new homelessness strategy, “Reaching Home”, which I mentioned earlier.

A part of this funding will also flow through the national housing co-investment fund, which will lead to more indigenous housing projects, new and renovations, whether they are projects to create new homes or to repair and modernize existing ones.

Finally, we are also working closely with our indigenous partners to finalize distinction-based housing strategies. These first nations, Inuit and Métis strategies will address the unique needs of their communities and they are backed by a significant investment of $1.5 billion.

I am extremely proud of the work that we have achieved, but we know that there is much more work to be done. To keep that momentum strong, we need to keep housing on the agenda for the long term. That is why we will soon be tabling legislation to protect the national housing strategy.

The legislation will include measures to ensure accountability and to ensure that those most affected by Canada's housing challenges continue to have a strong voice in solutions going forward. It has strong support from Canadians across the country.

I hope we can also count on the support of members from both sides of the House for the legislation. We have an opportunity to make a lasting change for housing in Canada, a change that will create a strong economy and strong communities, where everyone in Canada has a safe and affordable place to call home.

[Official Languages, April 4th, 2019]

Madam Speaker, with the funding for the Francophone Hub of Knowledge and Innovation, we hope that the preliminary work for creating the university will continue until at least 2020. We want to publicly reiterate to the Government of Ontario that we are fully prepared to help fund this project.

Let us be clear. The responsibility to carry out this project lies with the Government of Ontario. That being said, the Franco-Ontarian community will always be able to count on the Government of Canada's unwavering support as a partner in this project and to help ensure the vitality of the Francophone community in Ontario and across Canada.

[Official Languages, April 4th, 2019]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour of being in the House tonight to speak about Canada's official languages.

I would like to remind my colleague, the member for Drummond, that education is the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. That is why, for almost 50 years, the Government of Canada has worked closely with the provinces and territories to support minority education and second language education.

Our government recognizes the crucial role played by institutions to ensure the rights of Ontario's citizens according to the French Language Services Act. That is why we are supporting the Franco-Ontarian community as an official language minority community.

As part of the action plan for official languages, we approved $1.9 million in funding to enable the team working on Ontario's French-language university to continue its efforts until January 2020. Clearly, the ball is in the Government of Ontario's court.

It is incumbent on the Government of Ontario to apply for federal funding, not the reverse. On several occasions, from November 2018 to January 2019, our government contacted the Government of Ontario to gauge its intentions and to urge it to apply for funding under the current call for projects. Unfortunately, the province confirmed that this was not its intent at this point.

The communications of the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie with her Ontario counterparts were clear. In a first letter dated November 16, 2018, she expressed her disappointment with the Ontario government's decisions to cancel the proposed French-language university and to abolish the position of French language services commissioner for the province. In her second letter dated January 13, 2019, she reiterated the federal government's commitment to contribute up to 50% of the total cost of Ontario's French-language university if the Ontario government were to apply for funding.

We should note that the Government of Canada has received a request for one-time funding directly from the team that is developing the Université de l'Ontario français project, concerning preliminary work to be done for the establishment of the Francophone knowledge and innovation hub in Toronto. This unifying project could host the Université de l'Ontario français once established.

The Government of Canada worked with the provinces and territories to help build post-secondary infrastructure in Ontario and other areas of the country, and we plan to continue that work with Ontario's French-language university.

[Official Languages, April 2nd, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, on January 13, the minister wrote to ministers Mulroney and Fullerton to reiterate her commitment to provide support for the Université de l'Ontario français project, should the Government of Ontario submit a formal request.

Meanwhile our government announced $1.9 million in funding to the project to ensure start-up costs are covered until January 2020.

In March 2018, our government announced an investment of $2.7 billion over five years, including $500 million in new funding through the action plan for official languages. It is the first substantial investment in official languages since 2003.

[Official Languages, April 2nd, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the member for Drummond, for his question. It is still a highly relevant topic, given the Ontario government's decisions about Ontario's Francophonie.

Our country has built an identity that is based on diversity, reconciliation with indigenous peoples, and linguistic duality. Today, our two official languages, French and English, are an asset and a source of pride.

Our government recognizes the crucial role played by Ontario's French language services commissioner, who ensures that the rights of Ontario citizens and the obligations of government and government agencies are respected according to the French Language Services Act, and has acted as a champion for Franco-Ontarians.

With the elimination of the French language services commission, Franco-Ontarians are losing a key support and our government is questioning how the rights of Franco-Ontarians will be respected and ensured with the elimination of this important watchdog role.

Our government is also disappointed in the decision to scrap the French-language university in Ontario. This university would have given young people and adults access to post-secondary studies in their language.

We have repeatedly heard of the need for French-speaking paramedics, nurses and teachers, but these people need to access high-quality French language university programs to develop the professional skills to serve francophone minority communities.

Our government is committed to enhancing the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities across the country according to the Official Languages Act, and we firmly believe in defending those language rights in Canada.

We are proud to have announced the return of the federal government's court challenges program, which is now up and running.

Furthermore, our government has started reviewing the official languages regulations. The new regulations were introduced in Parliament on October 25, 2018. This review is part of our commitment to ensuring that Canadians have access to federal services in the official language of their choice.

Under part VII of the Official Languages Act, the government is committed to showing leadership in all matters pertaining to the vitality of our official languages, all while respecting the priorities of the provincial and territorial governments.

[The Environment, February 19th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, Canada will continue to take a leadership role to tackle climate change and grow a cleaner economy. We understand the huge economic opportunity of clean growth, and we want to leave a cleaner, healthier planet for our kids and our grandkids.

At COP24, Canada did play a leading role in negotiations to secure robust guidance for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which sets the foundation for raising global ambition on climate change for generations to come. The Paris Agreement will ensure that all countries take greater, more transparent action on climate change in order to limit global temperature increases and adapt to the impact of climate change.

[The Environment, February 19th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by emphasizing that our government does know the importance of taking concrete measures to reduce emissions and combat climate change. In fact, our plan includes over 50 concrete measures from policies to regulations, standards and investments to achieve our goal.

Last year, the intergovernmental panel on climate change released its special report on the 1.5-degree temperature increase. The report makes it clear that we are the last generation to be able to prevent the worst climate change impacts.

The Paris Agreement is key to global efforts to limit warming to 1.5° Celsius. That is why, immediately following Paris, the government established the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change to position Canada to meet our Paris Agreement greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.

A landmark achievement of the pan-Canadian framework is the first climate change plan in Canada's history to include joint and individual commitments by federal, provincial and territorial governments, and to have been developed with input from indigenous peoples, businesses, civil society and Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

As I mentioned, the pan-Canadian framework outlines over 50 concrete measures to reduce carbon pollution, help us adapt to and become more resilient to the impacts of a changing climate, foster clean technology solutions and create good jobs that contribute to a stronger economy.

I am pleased to say that we have covered a lot of ground since launching the framework, and we are starting to see the results. To date, we have developed a pan-Canadian approach to pricing carbon pollution, as well as new policies, programs and regulations to reduce emissions in every sector of the economy, including regulations for coal- and natural gas-fired electricity generation, regulations to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector, measures to increase the use of low-carbon fuels and funding for clean technology and energy efficiency.

As reported in Canada's most recent greenhouse gas emissions projections from December 2018, Canada's GHG emissions in 2030 are expected to be 223 million tonnes lower than projected prior to the adoption and implementation of Canada's climate plan. This improvement in Canada's emissions outlook reflects the breadth and depth of the pan-Canadian framework.

Additional reductions will come from measures such as investments in green infrastructure, public transit, clean technology and innovation, as well as future actions by federal, provincial and territorial governments. Full implementation of the policies and programs under the pan-Canadian framework will allow Canada to meet its 2030 target and position Canada to set and achieve deeper emission reduction targets beyond 2030, as required by the Paris Agreement.

As the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands knows, Canada remains steadfast in its commitment to the Paris Agreement, including its full implementation. She saw it first-hand as part of the Canadian delegation to COP24 in December, alongside the hon. members for Repentigny, Edmonton—Wetaskiwin, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, Parkdale—High Park, and Vancouver Quadra.

[Carbon Pricing, February 19th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by directing the member opposite to look at the costs of inaction on climate change.

Our government is demonstrating leadership by putting a price on pollution. The clean growth and innovation spurred by pricing carbon pollution will help position Canada for success in the economy of the 21st century. Pricing carbon pollution will reduce our impact on the environment, at the lowest costs for consumers and businesses, for the sake of future generations.

Canadians want to take advantage of the significant economic opportunities of the low-carbon economy. Analysis by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate estimates that transitioning to a low-carbon economy will deliver a direct economic gain of $26 trillion U.S. and generate 65 million new jobs worldwide by 2030.

Our approach to tackling climate change will create new jobs in the clean economy and leave families better off.

[Carbon Pricing, February 19th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, our government knows that it is possible to have a strong economy that also promotes and preserves a clean and healthy environment. We also know that pricing pollution is the most efficient way to reduce our emissions at the lowest cost to the economy. By pricing pollution, we can invest in a cleaner tomorrow for our kids, our grandkids and help Canada compete in an emerging global low-carbon economy. In fact, in 2017, the provinces with a price on carbon pollution also led the country in economic growth.

Experts similarly agree that pricing pollution is the most effective way to reduce our emissions. The 2018 Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences was awarded to William Nordhaus for his groundbreaking work on pollution pricing.

Proceeds from the federal system will be returned to the province or territory they came from. For provinces that have not committed to pricing carbon pollution, the federal government will return the majority of direct proceeds from the charge on fuel in the form of climate action incentive payments that will go directly to individuals and families in the province of origin. This will make life more affordable for families in provinces without their own provincial system in place, including Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and my home province of New Brunswick.

Proceeds from pricing carbon pollution can be used to support Canadians, grow the economy and protect the environment. We have seen that already in B.C., Alberta and Quebec. B.C. has reduced income and business taxes and provided northern and rural homeowners a benefit of up to $200 annually. Alberta provides rebates to low and middle-income households.

The costs of pricing carbon pollution for Canadians will be modest. We are talking about a few cents on a litre of gasoline in 2019, plus most households will get back more than they pay. For example, in Ontario, the estimated average cost impact for a household in 2019 is $244. That is less than the average climate action incentive payment of $307.

Under the federal system, the average cost impact for a household in New Brunswick is $202 in 2019, which is less than the corresponding average for climate action incentive payments, which is $248. What this demonstrates is that we can take concrete action to reduce our emissions and leave families better off.

A growing number of countries around the world are addressing climate change by putting a price on climate pollution. According to the World Bank, as of 2018, 70 jurisdictions, representing about half the global economy and more than a quarter of global GHG emissions, have implemented or are scheduled to implement carbon pollution pricing.

Carbon pricing is just one part of the national plan to tackle climate change and grow the economy. Our plan includes over 50 concrete measures, from policies, regulations, standards and investments, to achieve our goal.

In addition to putting a price on carbon pollution, the plan also includes complementary measures to reduce emissions, like regulations for electricity, vehicles and fuels. It also includes financial support, such as the low-carbon economy fund, which supports emissions-reduction projects across Canada.

[Veterans, February 19th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, last week, I delivered for Valentines for Vets and met merchant navy veteran John Stevenson, who shared with me his stories of service and memories of lost comrades at sea. He asked me to share this poem with the House and all Canadians in remembrance:

In ocean wastes no poppies blow,
No crosses stand in ordered row,
There young hearts sleep...beneath the wave...
The spirited, the good, the brave,
But stars a constant vigil keep,
For them who lie beneath the deep.
'Tis true you cannot kneel in prayer
On certain spot and think “He's there.”
But you can to the ocean go...
See whitecaps marching row on row;
Know one for him will always ride...
In and out...with every tide.
And when your span of life is passed,
He'll meet you at the “Captain's Mast.”
And they who mourn on distant shore
For sailors who'll come home no more,
Can dry their tears and pray for these
Who rest beneath the heaving seas...
For stars that shine and winds that blow
And whitecaps marching row on row.
And they can never lonely be
For when they lived...they chose the sea.

Lest we forget.