Chris Bittle

[Committees of the House, May 10th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the vote be deferred until Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the expiry of the time provided for oral questions.

[In the Soil Arts Festival, May 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, spring in downtown St. Catharines brings with it the In the Soil Arts Festival. This three-day festival brings together a wide range of Niagara artists, who provide an explosion of creativity and unique audience experiences. The festival nurtures the creation of new work, showcases talent, encourages innovation, and provides intimate and uncommon platforms for audiences to experience.

In the Soil is Niagara's homegrown arts festival that is working to make Niagara culturally distinct. This year, 2018, marks the festival's 10th anniversary, and I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible work of Annie Wilson, Deanna Lynn Jones, and all others in Niagara who have contributed to making “our little festival that could” an amazing success over the past decade.

In the Soil has been a labour of love and is an incredible celebration of the arts in Niagara. The festival planted its roots in downtown St. Catharines, and the community has grown alongside it over the past 10 years. Congratulations to the In the Soil team on a great decade of success.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, April 23rd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, my friend talked about the deficit. I wondered if he could point out in Hansard a time when he rose and condemned the Harper government for all those deficits it ran. It is probably zero.

The member also mentioned that he wanted to clean up the environment, that the Conservatives were behind that, but then he glossed over the fact that there was no plan. The Conservatives have offered nothing. They did nothing for 10 years. Could the member stand in the House and offer any type of plan as we are seeing the dramatic effects of climate change? Spoiler alert: it is probably zero again, but I would like him to have the opportunity to do so.

[Innovation and Economic Development, April 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, colleges play an essential role in training Canadians with the skills they need to succeed in today's economy, and in helping local businesses innovate and create new jobs.

In the Niagara region, through the community and college innovation program, small businesses partner with Niagara College's technology access centre on innovative research to help them stay competitive and expand their businesses. They also provide young Canadians with opportunities to gain hands-on training and job experience.

Can the minister tell this House how our government is supporting innovative research at colleges across the country?

[Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's Report, April 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. friend for his passionate speech about this issue. I know my other hon. friend, the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands, was quite excited to hear about John A. Macdonald during that speech, and that there should be more discussion of our former prime minister.

That being said, the hon. member rose on a point with respect to a pattern of behaviour. I had the opportunity to be at the public safety committee yesterday, where I witnessed again the members of the opposition question and undermine the motivation of a long-standing civil servant. It is a shameful activity and this pattern continues. This pattern is seen in this motion, which is telling an officer of Parliament how to do his or her job. I wonder if the hon. member could comment on this pattern of behaviour, what we are seeing, and how the Conservatives opposite are engaging in this debate.

[Fisheries Act, March 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, a few years back I was visiting Washington state. In Puget Sound, I had the opportunity to take a whale sightseeing tour. We followed a pod of orcas from Puget Sound all the way to within sight of Vancouver Island. It was impressive to watch these mammals travel this incredible distance.

In my part of the world, in Niagara, 20 minutes from my home, there is a place called Marineland, which has an orca in a very small tank. This piece of legislation speaks to that, and would prevent individuals from capturing whales like orcas for captivity. This is a practice that needs to end.

I wonder if the hon. member could comment on that practice and on what he and his party think about that.

[Fisheries Act, March 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend spoke about reconciliation with indigenous people. I know there is not very much time, but I was wondering if he could expand on their importance to the government, as well as what the previous government did on that particular subject.

[Firearms Act, March 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the member talks a lot about misinformation. Of course, we cannot accuse the Conservatives of blowing things way out of proportion. That would never happen. That is not something they would do.

However, a Belleville newspaper reporter spoke to Ben Harvey who is a gun store owner and said:

There’s a lot of moving parts in the proposed bill, but there’s not been a real big change on the actual aspect of logging the customer’s information and keeping on record what they’ve purchased. We already do it with ammunition, now they’re just asking us to do it with guns. By doing it with guns we’re going to give the police and the community the tool to begin to track where guns are purchased, how they’re being trafficked and how they’re being used, so that’s not a bad thing.

It seems Ben from Belleville who owns a gun shop thinks this is public safety legislation and is a good step forward. This is common sense gun control. Why are the Conservatives engaging in misleading Canadians on this issue?

[Firearms Act, March 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, for whatever reason, the hon. member did not mention the significant funding increases that the RCMP and CBSA have received under this government, after years of cuts by the previous government. However, I will not ask him about that.

I want to ask him about Ben Harvey. Ben Harvey is an owner of a gun shop in Belleville, High Falls Outfitters. He said:

There’s a lot of moving parts in the proposed bill, but there’s not been a real big change on the actual aspect of logging the customer’s information and keeping on record what they’ve purchased. We already do it with ammunition, now they’re just asking us to do it with guns. By doing it with guns we’re going to give the police and the community the tool to begin to track where guns are purchased, how they’re being trafficked and how they’re being used, so that’s not a bad thing.

Ben Harvey is a gun store owner. He knows that this is a public safety bill. Why does the hon. member not know that?

[Committees of the House, March 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to comment on the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development regarding Bill C-323.

The report is the result of the decision taken last year by this House to refer the bill to committee for further study. Bill C-323 proposes federal tax credits for investments in eligible projects to conserve privately owned heritage properties. During this period, the committee also undertook a robust study of heritage preservation and protection in Canada.

The committee's report, entitled “Preserving Canada's Heritage: The Foundation for Tomorrow”, urges the Government of Canada to better protect and conserve this country's built heritage. Among its 17 recommendations, the report calls for the introduction of financial measures, enhanced federal leadership, and greater collaboration with indigenous peoples.

The Government of Canada welcomes both reports, and I fully support the concurrence motion now before us.

While the end goal of promoting heritage conservation is certainly worthy, the mechanism proposed in Bill C-323 suffers from several significant shortcomings. These shortcomings make it impossible for the standing committee, or for me, to support the proposed legislation.

The standing committee properly points out that Canada must do more to protect its built heritage. As the committee noted, financial incentives that encourage investment in the rehabilitation of historic properties and heritage places have much to offer. The committee, however, identifies many of the fundamental weaknesses in the mechanism proposed in Bill C-323. One such weakness is inherent in any tax changes undertaken outside of the regular budget process. As my hon. colleagues recognize, these types of changes often lead to problems of consistency and coherence in federal fiscal management.

Furthermore, as presented, it is challenging to determine the impact of this bill on federal revenue. Then there are the added costs of administering the tax credit and requisite certification process, along with amending the Income Tax Act.

Other shortcomings of the bill include its lack of an adequate accountability mechanism, and its exclusion of important conservation partners, such as not-for-profit entities, indigenous governments, and municipalities. To me, this lack of inclusivity is serious because it fails to acknowledge a fundamental truth about heritage conservation in our country: it is necessary for it to be a collaborative undertaking.

Bill C-323 was not designed in collaboration with other jurisdictions and partners, and does not properly take into account current conservation tools and approaches. The standing committee emphasizes that for conservation efforts to succeed, they must involve broad collaboration and engagement with other jurisdictions, indigenous groups, stakeholders, and partners.

Our heritage assets are certainly worthy of conservation, and we can and must do a better job of protecting them. To achieve this goal necessarily requires thoughtful, strategic collaboration. Financial measures can be an effective way to support heritage conservation, but only when carefully integrated into a broader framework.

Bill C-323 does not meet this test and does not merit the support of this House. I thank the members of the standing committee for their efforts and fully support the concurrence motion now before us.