Blake Desjarlais

[Indigenous Affairs, March 10th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, in Alberta, indigenous communities are pushing back on megacorporations, like Imperial Oil, that are polluting our land and jeopardizing our health, but the Liberals turn a blind eye, and Premier Smith rewards them with billions of dollars. Seepage of toxic water from Imperial's oil sands facility poisoned indigenous lands and waters. The government is allowing these corporations to continue with just a slap on the wrist. Delaying justice is denying justice.

When will the Liberals take indigenous rights seriously by closing the environmental loopholes?

[Online Streaming Act, March 9th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for highlighting some of the important organizations.

I want to mention that corporations, particularly American-owned corporations like Disney+, Netflix and some of the other major producers and streaming services, would seek to ensure that they are not regulated and would not have to contribute to our existing art scene here in Canada. However, this legislation would give that regulation to ensure that Canadian content is present on those services. It is an important piece of Canadiana. It something we see on our cable television, something that is required for our radio, but it is not something that is required on our streaming services. We also see Conservatives continuously defend these corporations, which otherwise would see finances derived from their profits go to the small producers and artists across the country.

Could the member speak to how important it is to support artists on the ground, grassroots artists, and to ensure that they have the financial ability to do that?

[Online Streaming Act, March 9th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Nunavut, who is good friend, colleague and strong member of the New Democratic Party. I want to thank her for her tremendous work in ensuring that the digital kind of media, both audio and visual work, of indigenous people is valued, heard in this place and truly funded, governed and regulated in such a way that it brings to light the incredible contributions of indigenous artists.

Would the member like to highlight some of the remarkable artists in her riding of Nunavut who are contributing to the arts in phenomenal ways?

[Online Streaming Act, March 9th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, every single day in this House the Conservatives are playing defence for megacorporations that seek to dodge the payments that Canadians deserve. This bill would level the playing field for indigenous, Black and other minority groups in Canada that need to ensure the productions they create, whether they are stories, art or music, can actually have a chance to succeed in this country.

Conservatives continue to defend Netflix, Disney+ and these megacorporations that would seek to take money out of our economy to ensure these companies have the ability to continue to flood our market. Why do they continue to play defence for them every single day?

[Petitions, March 8th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition on behalf of over 17,000 Canadians who are demanding economic justice and ensuring that profiteering in the grocery sector is truly held to account.

The petitioners say that Loblaws currently owns a grocery store within 10 kilometres of 90% of all Canadians, has posted record profits while Canadians struggle to eat, has monopolized the basic necessities that Canadians rely on and has introduced a price freeze but has failed to live up to that promise. The petitioners note that the price of food is rising in Canada and more Canadians are relying on food banks to get food for their families, and that in the middle of the pandemic, Loblaws cut its pandemic pay for workers.

Therefore, the undersigned 17,000 Canadians are asking that we open a parliamentary investigation into Loblaws for its pandemic profiteering, greedflation and continued price gouging of Canadians; open an investigation into the monopolization of Canadian grocery stores; and create legislation to prevent this from occurring again.

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, March 7th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, it is an important piece to talk about. Megacorporations, in particular those corporations that utilize AI and other digital tools, have been doing something nefarious, which is putting in these long, giant legal descriptions. Many people just scroll to the bottom of these and accept them. However, many people do not know how complicated those arrangements are that they are coming into.

I wonder if the member would talk about how dangerous it is to have such complicated agreements that regular folks are signing on to, while not knowing the explicit dangers and damages that come along with agreeing to those terms and conditions, like the ones we are talking about today and like the ones that are harvesting data. Would the member expand on that, please?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 6th, 2023]

With regard to government policies on funding directed towards First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, broken down by department since fiscal year 2015-16: (a) what policies, processes, and protocols exist to validate claims of Indigenous ancestry or Indigenous community; (b) what reviews or audits have been conducted to ensure that government funding has not been delivered to individuals, organizations, or companies that falsely claim an Indigenous identity; (c) is the government aware of any funding that has been allocated to individuals, organizations, or companies that falsely claimed an Indigenous identity; and (d) for each funding allocation in (c), how much funding has been recalled on the basis of false claims of Indigenous identity?

[Housing, February 16th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, that answer was not the one expected by the member for Nunavut.

The member asked for $500 million, and $200 million is not even close. In my riding, it is no better. It is Edmonton Griesbach's worst problem. We have indigenous people who are living on the streets and enduring the housing crisis; they have been let down by the Prime Minister and the premier of Alberta. Too many are paying more than they can afford. They are living in overcrowded homes or have no homes at all.

Will the government stop the rhetoric and start investing in indigenous housing, for indigenous and by indigenous, now?

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, that is precisely why we are here today. As a matter of fact, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs is in my home province of Alberta right now, in Calgary, meeting with the Province of Alberta. I call on the government to make a phone call, demand that we ensure publicly administered, publicly accessible health care is in that deal and make sure Danielle Smith follows it.

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I sleep very well at night knowing that New Democrats are in this place fighting for regular Canadians while the Bloc continues to stop support for even the people of Quebec. Shame.

I also want to note that the Conservatives will not rise once to ask about this issue, because they know exactly what is happening in provinces run by Conservatives.

To better answer the question of the member, I believe in a universally administered, publicly accessible health care system right across the country, and he does not even have to look too far to actually get that answer. The member could have done some homework and looked at the country's track record on ensuring we had universally administered and publicly accessible health care. He could refer to the 1965 royal commission on this issue. If he looked at that, it calls for a national health care program. Even those in Quebec agreed to those things, and now they are getting mad because they realize they are wrong.