Chrystia Freeland

[U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Products, November 26th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Edmonton Griesbach for his hard work and his commitment to his community and to working people.

I was very glad today to have a meeting with Bea Bruske, the head of the CLC. We talked about how important our union leaders will be, playing as part of team Canada, in the work we will be doing with our U.S. neighbours. I really want to thank her and labour leaders across Canada for the work they did playing for team Canada with the previous Trump administration. I know Canada can count on them because we recognize that trade and industry are central to the jobs of Canadian workers.

I want to say to Canadian workers that we will stand up for you.

[U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Products, November 26th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, that is a very good question.

We agree that our European allies and partners are very important to us. We are proud that our government was the one to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union. It is important for diversifying our international trade. We are very closely allied with our partners in the European Union. Of course, we have always worked with our European partners and we will continue to do so.

About team Canada, I would like to point out that, yesterday, the Prime Minister had a very good conversation with Premier Legault of Quebec.

[U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Products, November 26th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I know what happened at the negotiating table for the new NAFTA because I was there.

Let me say that the outcome Canada achieved by playing as a united team Canada was exceptional. It was very strong and it is the foundation of Canada's economic security and of our relationship with the United States today. We achieved a new NAFTA, supported by the incoming Trump administration, which has guaranteed the trade between our two countries and fair labour standards for Canadian and U.S. workers, which is bringing jobs back to Canada and is at the heart of the renaissance of Canada's auto sector.

[U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Products, November 26th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, before I begin, will say that I would like to split my time with the member for Brampton East.

I am really pleased to rise and to speak to tonight's very important debate. Canada and the United States have one of the strongest and closest relationships in the world, particularly when it comes to trade and to our shared border and border security. Canada places the highest priority on border security and on the integrity of our shared border.

Yesterday evening, the Prime Minister spoke with President-elect Donald Trump. He had the opportunity to point out that the economic relationship between Canada and the United States is balanced and mutually beneficial, particularly for American workers. The fact is that we need them and they also need us.

Canada is the largest export market for the United States in the world. It is larger than China, Japan, the United Kingdom and France combined. It is also the case that the things we sell to the United States are the things it really needs. We sell the United States oil, electricity and critical minerals and metals.

Canada is essential to the United States' domestic energy supply. Last year, 60% of U.S. crude oil imports originated in Canada, and the energy the United States imports from Canada is more important today than ever, at a time when we see how hungry AI is for energy and how important AI is in the economic vision of the new U.S. administration. Canada's critical minerals and metals are absolutely essential as well, as we in North America seek to develop supply chains which are resilient and secure, and critically, supply chains that do not make us dependent on China.

Our government is committed to a team Canada approach. Tomorrow the Prime Minister will be meeting with the first ministers of provinces and territories. We have been working and will continue to work with business and labour leaders from coast to coast to coast.

Specifically, in the days since the U.S. election, I have met with labour leaders, leaders from the steel industry, leaders from the car sector, leaders of Canada's major pension funds, leaders from the oil and gas sector, leaders from the nuclear sector, leaders from the aluminum sector, leaders from the electricity sector, leaders of our major banks, Canada's AI leaders, and Canada's leading innovators. This is team Canada.

Yesterday, we held the fourth meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. relations, which I chair. Much of our work has focused and continues to focus on the border and trade relations between our two countries.

When it comes to the border, let me be clear both to Canadians and to our American neighbours: Law enforcement agencies from our two countries, the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, work together every single day to disrupt the scourge of fentanyl coming from China and other countries. In addition, the CBSA is continuously strengthening its ability to detect opioids through enhanced inspections at ports of entry, with detector dogs and emerging technologies.

Canada and Canadians have the right and the need to have total control over who enters our country. Our American neighbours likewise have the right and the need to totally control who enters their country. Canada is absolutely committed to working with our American neighbours to ensure that their northern border is fully secure, even as we work to ensure that our southern border is fully secure.

Of course, we are going to continue to discuss these issues with the new administration.

This is a moment when Canada needs to be united. We need to be strong. We need to be smart. We all know that we face significant challenges. We also know that there are real opportunities. We know that by working together, by playing as a united team Canada, Canada can and will be successful.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 25th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), the Department of Finance continues to engage closely with international partners to hold Russia to account for its illegal invasion of Ukraine, including through the Russian elites, proxies, and oligarchs task force, REPO, whose members include Australia, Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. REPO members have collectively immobilized around $280 billion U.S. in Russian sovereign assets.

With regard to part (b), on the basis of these consultations, the Department of Finance understands that approximately 8% of the immobilized assets held by Euroclear are denominated in Canadian dollars. These assets are held in the form of cash or near cash, that is, highly liquid assets such as short-term treasury securities or certificates of deposit. The Department of Finance has sought details on the nature of these assets and their owner or owners. That information remains a commercial confidence of Euroclear.

With regard to part (c), Canada has led work in concert with the EU and other G7 countries on ways to use immobilized Russian sovereign assets to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine, the restoration of peace and security, and the compensation of victims of the conflict. In June 2024, G7 leaders confirmed their intention to provide financing that will be serviced and repaid by future flows of extraordinary revenues stemming from the immobilization of Russian sovereign assets held in the EU and other relevant jurisdictions. The Prime Minister announced in June 2024 that Canada is ready to contribute $5 billion to G7 extraordinary revenue acceleration loans for Ukraine, which aim to bring forward future revenues from frozen Russian sovereign assets in order to provide Ukraine with approximately $69 billion Canadian or $50 billion U.S.

[The Economy, November 25th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, I really urge the member opposite and all Conservatives to consult those GDP revisions, including their impact on GDP per capita. They will see that we have had a strong economic recovery, with inflation down and interest rates down. That is why now is the time to give Canadians a little bit of extra help with a GST break over the holidays and a rebate for working Canadians. That is what the Conservatives should support us in offering to Canadians. It is really astonishing to me that they refuse to do that.

[The Economy, November 25th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I would urge the member opposite to take a look at the GDP revisions from StatsCan. Those were revisions upward that showed the real strength of the Canadian economy in our recovery from the COVID recession. I would also like to urge him and everyone in this House to stop talking Canada down. Inflation has been within the Bank of Canada's target range for 10 months. Interest rates have come down four times in a row and we have the lowest debt and deficit in the G7. Now is the time to help Canadians a little bit, and the Conservatives can do that by voting—

[Taxation, November 25th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I would really like to thank my colleague for her hard work for her constituents and the people of Canada. We believe that when Canadians need a helping hand, the government should be there. That is why, last week, we announced that we are giving Canadians across the country a tax break. That means that essentials like groceries, snacks, kids' clothing and diapers will be tax-free, and that working Canadians will get some cash back with the working Canadians rebate. This will help Canadians across the country, including Canadians in St. John's East and across the great province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

[The Economy, November 25th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for the MP for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, and that is why I would like to ask her and all of her colleagues, who I believe sincerely do care about Canadian families, to join us in supporting Canadian families. Here is how they can do it: Vote for a GST rebate over the holidays.

That would mean no GST on diapers, no GST on kids' clothes and no GST on that prepared food, maybe a rotisserie chicken that a hard-working mom wants to pick up after work to feed her kids. That is real support we can all deliver in a couple of weeks.

[Seniors, November 25th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we agree with the leader of the Bloc Québécois and all members in the House who think that we should help the most vulnerable and seniors. We completely agree. That is why our government significantly increased the support we are giving to the oldest and most vulnerable seniors.

That is the right thing to do and we are doing it.