Brian Masse

[Points of Order, June 7th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I will make this simple. If that is the conduct of the minister in a situation like this, I do not want an apology.

[Church Attack in Nigeria, June 7th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I believe there were consultations, but that is another story.

I have a document from Caldwell First Nation, in both official languages, that I would like to table for the benefit of all members, seeing as the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations did not rise to answer my question.

[The Environment, June 7th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow members of all parties will have a chance to send Bill C-248, regarding Ojibway national urban park, to committee. It has the support of Windsor and, most importantly, members of the Caldwell First Nation. It is their territory, and their voices need to be heard.

Caldwell has waited for years for this park to become a reality, and Chief Duckworth has written a letter to every MP requesting that this bill move forward. The government is putting up needless obstacles.

Will the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations stand up for Caldwell First Nation, or will he side with petty politics and shut it out?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1, June 6th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, one of the things the budget does have is its EV vehicle incentive extensions of $5,000 per vehicle. My concern is that the United States is offering $7,500, so we are out of sync regarding that type of incentive. This is also at a time when the Liberals had originally left Canadian vehicles off the list. I wonder if she has any thoughts on that.

We want to see that increase so we can do what we normally do in the auto industry, which is to merge the standards and harmonization closer together, because right now Joe Biden is providing more of an incentive to buy Canadian vehicles than our own Prime Minister. What I would rather see is an opening for used vehicles for battery and a lower entry into the market so more people can access this based upon income.

[Income Tax Act, June 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak today on this bill, Bill C-241. I want to thank the member for Essex for putting this forward. I would also like to thank him for reaching out to me about my private member's bill and his private member's bill. I have been here for a while, but at the same time, it was really nice to have the member take the initiative. He deserves a lot of credit for that because we all get busy here in our own little worlds, and it was nice to get the reminder with a conversation. His bill is really exciting, and I believe my bill is really exciting, and the fact that two members who are such close neighbours got pulled in the first top 10 of the PMBs is something I have not seen in my years here. We are actually going to have the votes on the same day as well.

His bill is very important for workers not only in Essex but also in Windsor, Windsor—Tecumseh, a number of different municipalities in our general region and across this country. What excites me about this is that our former member Chris Charlton from the NDP in the Hamilton area had introduced this bill originally, and there have been others. Most recently, the member for Hamilton Mountain introduced this bill, which had a bit of a variation to it. He proposed 80 kilometres with respect to travel distance for skilled trades getting a tax deduction. This bill proposes 120 kilometres, so there is a minor difference between the two that can be worked out at committee.

I do not understand how members cannot support the bill going to committee. It blows my mind. I am in the same boat with my bill, Bill C-248, which proposes to create a national urban park for the constituents of Windsor and Essex County, and to protect 130 endangered species for all of Canada. To find reasons not to support this bill is kind of twisted and bizarre, quite frankly, because these things can be sent to committee to be identified and examined. In the past, the Liberals have supported some of this legislation, so I would be shocked if they did not do it here.

I think the member for Essex deserves credit for doing this in very much a complementary way with respect to what we want to see this Parliament work toward in the next number of years. If it stays together and goes together, this is a bill that can get passed.

What is important is that the skilled trades people who the member is trying to help are men, women and sometimes new Canadians who need to get the support that businesses already receive. Some of the largest corporations can write off all kinds of things, from sports, entertainment and booze, basically anything they want. What we are talking about here is helping people in the skilled trades, which we have a shortage of, with travel costs to get across our country. This also indirectly helps build the bonds of this country.

I know that when Windsor had high unemployment rates, many of the skilled tradespeople would fly out every single day to Alberta and Saskatchewan where they were needed, which built bonds among Canadians. The extra stress, the pain of the loss of contact with their families and the loss of income with the things they are doing should be identified. There are small but significant gestures for those workers.

I would suggest as well, when we look at this issue, that we are trying to get more women involved in skilled trades, so this small tax deduction would help them and their families, especially as they primarily raise the children. That would be another thing to look at with respect to this bill, so the people who we want to fill the void and the ever-increasing gap would actually get a bit of benefit here.

The member for Essex has a bill that has been lurking around the House for a bit here and there in different ways. He has presented it in a way that builds co-operation and support. He has done so in a way that also connects his local community and the rest of the country, and it is about more than just those individuals getting something. It is also about nation-building.

The timing for the member's bill could not be better, knowing that right now we have to fight to keep and retain employees in Canada. I can tell members that, for all the studies at the industry and international trade committees that I sit on, we have heard testimony after testimony about Canadians getting poached internationally. That is something that is taking place right now, so this is a very good step, because it shows those workers that their country needs and wants them.

It also shows new entrants who are getting into this business that they are going to get some extra financial support because they often have to purchase their own equipment, tools and training. These are all things that continue in these professions, and it is very important to have those skills in our community. That is why I think the bill is also about the community because it is better to have these skilled trades.

Who did not go around in their neighbourhood and try to get help from a skilled tradesperson to do their deck, to help them on the driveway, to get a home renovation evaluated as they go through building permits, and have family and friends pitching in for all kinds of different things and doing all the right work? That community capacity building is part of having skilled trades there. Bricklayers are needed everywhere. There are all kinds of metalworkers who are necessary. It goes on and on. Carpenters are needed. We have seen that all those organizations, whether independent or unionized, want to support this type of legislation.

When a member of Parliament puts forth a private member's bill, if they can do one that connects priorities in their community with the rest of the country, it is an important thing to do. I have seen other members present bills in here with no hope of actually pushing them forward, just kind of pushing buttons on things to try to get people excited. They know their bill is doomed to failure but present it because they want to make a point. However, this is a bill we should be fast-tracking because of its history and the way that it is being presented to us in the House of Commons. Also, we can move it toward the Senate.

I know that the government has been doing some work on skilled trades or some things that look like they are pretty good, but they are taking a while to wind themselves through the system. Here is something controllable that we have right here, and that is why I really like this bill. It is because it does not try to solve everything that we have to do all at once. It looks at a policy that has been advocated by professionals and those in the system, so it has been around and it has that type of support. It is just going to elevate that issue more quickly and it will be one of the boxes we can check off right away.

This bill should actually get unanimous consent to go to committee at the very least. It is one that has been around the table many times in different ways, and I was glad to see it presented here because my people in Windsor and Essex County, as I mentioned before, have had to travel to other places for work and may have to do so again. We are booming in many respects right now. We have some good developments that have taken place because we have worked really hard and laid the foundation. Part of that is because of the quality of labour and skill sets that we have. We are actually winning jobs and contracts because the quality of the people we have living in the Windsor, Essex and Tecumseh area is attracting not only domestic investment but foreign investment.

That is another thing that the member for Essex needs to be supported on here. If we can build up the skilled trades in this country, other communities are going to receive better investments, because the shortages of skilled trades are not just here in Windsor and Essex County and the rest of Canada but across the globe, so that is critically important.

As well, Windsor West is the fourth most diverse community among urban cities in Canada. A lot of our history is tied to skilled trades coming into this country. My grandfather, Fred Attwood, served in the Ark Royal in the Royal Navy and in the merchant marine. Then he worked for Hiram Walker. I am lucky to have in my garage his tools from Hiram Walker from when he retired there. They did a nice thing for him, as a gift, and presented it in a box and everything.

I look through the tools once in a while. I can see that he had to buy all those different things. I would go over to his house every Sunday and cut the lawn and hang out and listen to the stories of the Second World War and do gardening and a number of different projects with him, and I did not realize until later on that he had doubles and triples of different tools because he used them at work and at home, and that was a considerable expense.

We know, as members of Parliament, that when people are travelling, often they have to buy a second or third toothbrush because they did not remember to bring things with them and they are racing to get to the airport or a job or an event or whatever it might be. It is no different for some of these men and women who are in the skilled trades, because it is also very important for them to get to emergency situations as well. This is how this bill is very appropriate. It would help to take care of some of those things that otherwise would be a burden on the family. In reducing stress and giving more support, especially as the industry is transitioning for the future, this bill meets all of those check boxes, so I want to thank the member for Essex.

I was very happy to be able to be here in person to speak to this bill today. One of the reasons I stayed to do so is that the member for Essex showed courtesy and respect by reaching out to me to work on our legislation together, and he should be commended for that.

[The Environment, June 2nd, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, welcome back.

Establishing the Ojibway national urban park has been a decade in the making and is the work of Bill C-248. The City of Windsor and Caldwell first nation have written all members of Parliament, urging them to support this specific legislation. During yesterday's debate, all parties made their support known loud and clear, except for the Liberals, who are opposed. It is unbelievable.

The people of Windsor and Essex County are in favour of this. Indigenous communities are in favour of this. Environmentalists, unions and businesses are all in favour of Bill C-248. Why is the government attempting to create problems on a project that is good for climate change, the economy and tourism? It should unite Parliament, not tear it apart.

[Canada National Parks Act, June 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues and you for being part of this. Bill C-248 is really from the community. It is not my idea. It is something that we have been fighting for, and for a long period of time.

As a member who has been here for 20-plus years now, it is exciting to me when we can actually bring unity to the House and work on projects that can help define our country and our communities.

I have a list of people to thank, and some of them I am going to have to abandon because I do not have enough time.

First and foremost, I want to start by thanking Janet and Dave from the Wildlands League. They were part of this process from the beginning and helped give inspiration. They understand the park system's green spaces connectivity and have been very special and very positive going through this. On top of that, I want to also thank Chief Mary Duckworth. Chief Duckworth was here in the House of Commons, outside this chamber with me, to push this issue before.

For this to be made up as some type of thing that is circumventing first nations is unbelievable to hear. It is terribly disrespectful. I brought Caldwell First Nation people down to this site as they were deciding about where they were setting up their reserve. Now it is actually closer to Point Pelee, which ironically is the place that they should have had historically. It is one of the most beautiful stories that we have of reconciliation taking place, and it is amazing.

Chief Duckworth and all of the energy there are supporting this, and they explicitly asked to go to committee to tell the story of why they support this. This is part of their heritage, and they want to share it through the vision of a national urban park for all. It is a terrific story in itself because of the tragedy of the way it started, but also it is where they are going in the future.

It has been interesting, because Mayor Dilkens and the city council have been working on trying to get this land on the Ojibway shoreline protected for a number of years. It was going to be bulldozed and cut down. Finally, during this process, after seven years, I was told that they could not transfer it to Environment Canada. A few weeks ago, they finally transferred it to Environment Canada.

We are happy for that. They wanted the city of Windsor residents, at one point, to pay millions of dollars and then give it back to the federal government. How absurd is that? How absurd is what the Liberals wanted to do with that? I am thankful that they finally reversed their position on that.

The reason this bill is necessary is that every national park has its own legislation. Every national park is secured in that way. What we have done is put the pieces of property together, and there has been consultation constantly. Most importantly, there has been consultation with the children, the youth, the advocates, the environmental people, the unions and the companies, all in Windsor for several different years. That is why we actually have the defined geography in the bill to start with.

I do not understand the Liberals who are opposing this. Why not send it to committee? Why is there resentment from some, maybe not all, members of the Liberal government over actually sending this bill to committee to bring up concerns?

The Conservatives had some concerns about private property being involved; we did not include that. In the case of the Bloc, we want to make sure this is a special thing because the Bloc members have some very legitimate questions about the province. Those things have been taken care of as well.

The province right now is going through an election, but provincial officials have been talking about this and supporting it. The local member of the provincial parliament, Lisa Gretzky, is in favour of it, and of course the City of Windsor. We are looking now at getting this to committee to define those areas and have a chance to speak and to showcase why this is so important.

I do not understand. I have been here for a while. I have been trying to work, especially when we were sent back to Parliament, in a constructive way, and that is why I chose this bill. I chose it because it should survive the test of mettle to get to committee at least. How could they want to shut down this beautiful process, which has been grassroots every single step along the way, without even allowing people from Windsor and Essex to have their voice?

I will conclude with this. There have been so many people. Some of them even passed away during this process. It is going to be right next to the Gordie Howe international bridge.

I had my first public meeting for a new border crossing back in 1998 at Marlborough Public School as a city councillor. We are finally getting a bill. We do not need another 20 years to do the obvious. This should be done. It is grassroots and, most importantly, it defines us on the doorstep of America.

[Public Safety, May 20th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, the delay of the Huawei decision compromised our intelligence sharing with allies and compromised the competitiveness of our domestic telecom industry. Canadians deserve a real answer about why their national security and privacy were put at risk. It took three years to announce a ban, and Huawei is still operating in Canada. The government wasted precious time, and now it asks us to wait even longer for legislation that will finally protect Canadians and close this embarrassing chapter for our country.

Why is the government failing to prioritize the national security and privacy of Canadians?

[Arab Heritage Month Act, May 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to speak today on Bill C-232. I thank the critic from Edmonton Griesbach for his thoughts and his previous intervention on this. I also thank the member for Ottawa South for bringing this critical legislation forward. I served with him on the Canada-US parliamentary association for a number of years.

I am speaking from Windsor, Ontario, which is approximately a 15-minute drive to the United States, and Dearborn, Michigan, has the largest Arab community outside of the Middle East. It has been part of our heritage here for hundreds of years, and it is something I am really proud about.

It is also important to note this bill would harmonize April as Arab heritage month, similar to what was done in the United States in 2021. This bill will not be in place this year, but hopefully it will be next year. I have learned over time that sometimes the simplest and most straightforward things can see complications in Ottawa, but this one enjoys large public and parliamentary support.

It is a worthy cause because there is no doubt that the Arab population, not only in Windsor but across Canada and the world, has contributed quite significantly and continues to do so despite some recent challenges with Islamophobia and other types of sensitive issues over the years. The community deserves this type of positive recognition, especially when we consider its economic, social and cultural contributions, which continue in our neighbourhoods.

When I think about the regeneration of the auto industry taking place with electric vehicles, there have been some good announcements in Windsor West recently. We are finally at a point where we are fighting back for an industry that, at one point, we were number two in the world in assembly. That has dropped down significantly, but we are starting to get battery plants and modernization.

Right now, there are many Arab Canadians who are participating in that industry, which is really interesting. I say that because, in the early 1900s, they helped build the auto industry in this community and for this country. We have seen influxes over a number of different years, and I am very proud we have a lot of young and also established people who are contributing quite significantly.

When I travel to the mosques, or other places such as churches, I hear stories from the Arab population. I hear the stories of people working in engineering, design and development, mould making and tool and die, OEMs and a whole series of exciting opportunities for young people to be involved in.

Often they have been travelling along the border between Canada and the United States, and there have been challenges of racial profiling at times, under different presidents. We have needed to deal with those issues on a regular basis in my office, but at the same time, they have helped rebuild even Detroit's industry, which is exciting.

In my community, Wyandotte Street East is being redeveloped. It has been phenomenal to see the Arab population come together. There are food shops, barber shops, fashion boutiques and other types of industries that have come in to rejuvenate and create a brand that is exciting. It shows a lot of pride.

Until recently, I shared an office with a person named Alan, who came from Iraq and rebuilt his operations here. Sadly, we had to move out of that constituency office to a new one. Alan has also moved, but we became like family in many ways.

We look at issues of representation. I have been on doorsteps, and I have heard negative things. At the same time, I reminded constituents that when they need to go to the hospital to see a doctor, or they need the police or the fire department to come, they do not ask where somebody came from, but rather how they are going to help.

The contributions by the Arab community has been highly diverse when it comes to its participation in the workforce. It has been led by pioneers who have made international contributions.

The Jamil family founded the Holiday Juice Company in Windsor, which was eventually taken over by a multinational. We are right on the border here, which as we have seen is the busiest border crossing in North America. We have had owners of a small hotel, the Blue Bell Motel, opened by Alex Abraham, who helped lead many of the developments and contributions in this area. We also have Dr. George, a pioneer in the 1930s and a family doctor who was involved as well. There was, as I mentioned earlier, my friend Alan. We also had Mr. Brissony, a local barber, who was very well known in the community and became a city councillor and warden in the early days of development here.

In our community, we have people from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Sudan and Lebanon. I will send a special shout-out to the NDP lobby and Anthony Salloum of our team, who is of Lebanese heritage. In our community, we also have people from Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and U.A.E. We get to know them and celebrate them.

There are not only their groups and organizations, but the people have also founded and been part of groups that represent the Catholic Orthodox, the Protestants and many Shia and Sunni mosques in my community. The groups are all connected together and interfaith. We have seen that come to light many times when there have been tragedies with individuals and families, or a number of different discrimination issues or things we have had to face that are very serious. We have also had this community come together and rally to help others.

Most recently, just before COVID, and now it is opening up a bit with a commitment from the community, I was working together with them to look at the situation with the Uighurs in China and the genocide and discrimination. It was led, again, by our local associations. There have been other times when there have been world tragedies when it is not uncommon to have the mosque or other organizations and interfaith groups come together to raise funds for earthquake victims or victims of other types of natural disasters that have taken place. This has been kind of the DNA of Windsor and Essex County, but it plays itself out to the world.

This is what is really important about this bill. It brings us together in a way that we have seen with some really good measures in the past, especially with some of the other months that have been designated, such as Black History Month and others. That is one of the things that we can build upon because there is the educational element and the necessary celebrations that bind communities together and show how much we can actually learn and understand where we came from. Some people do not understand that even though we have some great moments, there have been some challenges in the past. Therefore, we need recognize that, reconcile those and work toward celebrating what we can further accomplish.

That is why I tied in the strengths of what is taking place from the microcommunity aspect, such as Wyandotte Street, which I mentioned earlier, and the rehabilitation and great work that is happening there. Also, we have seen some exciting announcements in the auto sector. The renewal that is taking place is very diversified.

I will conclude with this: One of the things we are struggling with now is our Canada–U.S. relations for lots of different complications. Aside from the politics and the politicians, the binding of our citizens on both sides of the border, to be effective in our business, social and cultural relationships, really shines through with our Arab populations. It is families who are united. It is families who are growing together. It is about strengthening our regions together, and that is going to make us stronger economically, socially and culturally. This is very special and unique.

As I conclude here I will say again that I am so close to the largest population outside of the Middle East. We like to say in Windsor that Detroit is actually a suburb of Windsor. The reality is that there are so many people in the area, but our ties are so strong and clear. They are fiercely proud as Canadians, but also fiercely proud that their families are so close together.

[Telecommunications, May 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Competition Bureau filed to block the Rogers-Shaw merger. This merger would eliminate competition, hurt business growth and increase consumer prices. Canadians pay some of the highest cellphone fees in the world. We pay close to double what the U.S. does for data alone. Now another telecom giant, Quebecor, is using this disastrous merger to try to acquire Freedom Mobile. This will only lead to more price gouging for Canadians.

Will the government finally do its job, just as the Competition Bureau has, and stop this outrageous fleecing of Canadians by blocking this merger? Where is the accountability?