Damien Kurek

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, October 24th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, my apologies. There were 47.

That member has probably forgotten more about trade than most Liberals will ever know, but he asked an important question concerning the Ukrainian diaspora within my community. As is the case for many rural prairie MPs, there are significant Ukrainian roots. The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, which is a great place to visit for families, is located just north of my constituency. It speaks to that richness, especially when it comes to those roots in agriculture.

We need to make sure that we take seriously the fact that we established, in 2013, the first Ukrainian free trade agreement, and now we have the opportunity to build on that. I want to emphasize that we have to get it right. It is before this House. We need to make sure that it goes through the process to ensure that every section and every subsection of this bill are done right for the Ukrainian diaspora in our country, for all Canadians and for a country that is facing incredible circumstances. It has shown itself to be able to stand strong against this unjustified and illegal Russian invasion.

For both sides, we need to make sure that we get it right. That is why I hope all members of this place take seriously the responsibility that is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that that happens.

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, October 24th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I note the work my colleague from Abbotsford did in making sure that, under the previous Conservative governments, there were, I believe, 43 trade agreements with different countries from around—

[Petitions, October 24th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I too, along with many of my Conservative colleagues, rise today to present a petition related to the legal system in this country. Specifically, the petitioners draw to the attention of the Minister of Justice the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R. v. Bissonnette that struck down section 745.51 of the Criminal Code, which allowed parole ineligibility periods to be applied consecutively for mass murderers. As a result of this decision, many of Canada's most heinous killers are being let out of prison long before they should be.

Therefore, the undersigned petitioners from across Canada urge the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to invoke the notwithstanding clause and override this decision to ensure that justice is actually served within our justice system.

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, October 23rd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I did not hear a question there, so I will take it as a comment. I will simply emphasize and close my remarks with this: In 2014, a year after the process started with the initial free trade agreement, Stephen Harper led the world in a show of strength when he stood face to face with a dictator and despot, telling Vladimir Putin to “get out of Ukraine.” That is the leadership the Conservatives have shown continually and the leadership we will continue to show when the member for Carleton is prime minister.

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, October 23rd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, there are 43. It is so impressive that is the legacy of Canada's Conservatives.

We have before us a bill that addresses a host of things, but I would highlight a couple of concerns that have been highlighted to me.

One has to do with some of Canada's protected sectors, including chicken. I know that over the course of the conflict in Ukraine, we need to make sure the concerns of our domestic industries are being noted. It is unclear to me whether these concerns have been addressed.

Some of the other concerns could be of great benefit to both countries, like making sure that our defence infrastructures are brought into alignment and ensuring that we support Ukraine with the weapons and materials that it has to have in order to repel the illegal Russian invasion. There is also ensuring that the tools required for Ukrainian producers, and farmers specifically, are there. I often refer to the breadbasket of North America, which is part of the area that I represent, but many in this place will have learned in their high school textbooks about the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine, and the rich legacy it has in being able to produce high-quality agricultural goods, many of which have been put at risk because of Russia's illegal invasion.

We need to ensure that when we are negotiating free trade deals, including when it is with an ally facing circumstances like Ukraine is today, we are doing everything we can to ensure we get them right. Specifically, one segment here is so important that it cannot be emphasized enough, and that is the role that energy plays. I will make something very clear: Canadian energy, with the role it plays when prioritized, when promoted and when given the opportunity to displace dictator crude and despot gas, makes the world safer.

The unfortunate legacy of the last eight years under this costly Prime Minister and his coalition partners is that Canada has been restricted from being the peacemaker we should be. When it comes to any conversation around free trade, the more we can prioritize Canadian energy to be the common-sense displacement globally of dictator and despot crude and gas, the better our world is for it. Unfortunately, we have a legacy under the Liberal Prime Minister and his coalition partners that has been truly devastating to world peace.

Now, some might say that is a bit extreme, but when we look at the facts, we have a country facing war, Ukraine, which we are talking about now in terms of free trade, and its people are forced to purchase the very gas required to heat their homes and the very fuel required to fuel their vehicles and tanks. In some ways, they are forced to purchase it from none other than their aggressor. That is a shame, and it should be a moral imperative for every single one of us in this place to stand with Ukraine. That includes standing with Canadian energy so that we can get it to market and ensure that we displace the foreign dictator crude and despot gas that have been funding Putin's war machine. The best way to ensure there is peace and security is making sure there is energy security globally. That contributes to food security, and food security contributes directly to peace and security.

It is unfortunate that it is only the Conservatives who seem to see that reality here in our country. I can tell members that when it comes to making sure that Canada has free and fair trade agreements going forward, it will be a new Conservative prime minister, the member for Carleton, who will make sure that it is prioritized globally and that Canada can succeed and prosper. By doing so, the entire world will benefit.

When it comes to Bill C-57, there are so many unanswered questions. I would challenge any member from any other political party in this place to make sure they take the time to get it right, because if we get it right, we can help Canada's role in trade, Canada's role in providing energy and Canada's role in providing our expertise. We can be part of the solution. However, if we get it wrong, we could end up making it more difficult for our own people, and we could end up seeing significant challenges.

I look forward to answering questions on this as we continue to support trade and the people of Ukraine. In any discussion that we have in the House, let us make sure to get it right, because if we do not, the consequences will be dire.

[Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023, October 23rd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, as always, it is an honour to rise and debate the issues that are so important to my constituents and Canadians from coast to coast.

I will be splitting my time.

We are debating Bill C-57, the implementation of the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. It is a behemoth of a bill, more than 600 pages. The reason I bring this up is because I want to provide a little context. The Liberals' track record is that they stand in this place and say they have to pass something without delay or debate and anything that even resembles us doing our jobs in this place would be considered obstructionist. Those are things that the Liberals level often against members of His Majesty's loyal opposition, yet it is our duty to make sure that we comprehensively debate and discuss the issues that come before this place.

This is, indeed, the case when it comes to a 600-or-so page bill that has far-reaching implications, not only for us and our national economy, but also for one of our allies. I would emphasize how important this is for the economic success of Ukraine right now, which is facing something that most Canadians who have grown up in Canada have not faced, and that is conflict at home. Although Canada has about 1.3 or 1.4 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent, the fact is that Ukraine right now is embroiled in a conflict where Russia illegally invaded Ukraine sovereignty, so we have to get this right.

So often over the last four years I have had the honour of sitting in this place when the Liberals are quick to point to anything that would question any part of anything they do. That is pretty broadly speaking, but it rings very true. I am sure my colleagues would agree with me that when we try to do our jobs, they claim it is simply obstruction.

I remember in this place, shortly after I was elected, having to deal with the updated NAFTA, the CUSMA. The Liberal government, instead of releasing comprehensive numbers about the impact of the new trade agreement and some of the factors that would be in place, came with great gusto to a press conference and said that we either do not pass the CUSMA and there is economic devastation or we do pass it and we are okay. It did not outline the myriad of details that were included in what is an incredibly complex thing, and that is international trade negotiations.

When it comes to trade, it is the Conservative Party that has such a tremendous track record. It is the framework and the agreement that this trade agreement is replacing or being built upon, which is a better way to put it, that was started by the previous Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the international leadership that he showed in building free and fair trade with nations around the world. There have been numerous times, including CETA, where the Liberals almost dropped the ball. Virtually all that had to be done was for the agreement to be signed, yet the Liberals almost dropped the ball, which would have wrought economic devastation.

Then we saw more recently the Canada-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement. The Liberals claimed victory, yet it seems like they forgot to attend the briefings and certainly did not speak to many stakeholders when concerns should have been addressed in the process of trade negotiations. It is a shame, because it is during the negotiations process, when the details are being worked out and the 600 pages are being written, when there is a back and forth, a give and take, in trade negotiations.

I would just note that when I listened to my colleague from Abbotsford, he has probably forgotten more about free trade than most Liberals will ever know. I do not have the number off the top of my head, but there were negotiations with dozens and dozens of countries with which Canada has a positive, free and fair trading relationship because of his work and the work of the previous Conservative government.

[Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, October 19th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, the only thing being stolen from our country is the prosperity that should be given to Canadians. It is that member's disconnect with reality that is on full display here.

I can see windmills from my house. I drive by solar farms on a regular basis. For that member to somehow think that we have to pick one or the other shows an absolute disconnect with the reality of how we solve what is a developing global energy crisis.

Let us build in our country. Let us ensure there is clean tech. Let us ensure that when it comes to traditional energy, we continue to move toward that lower emissions path. Let us ensure that it is Canadians who lead the way as opposed to being held back like they are under that coalition.

[Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, October 19th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's concern for my health, but I can assure him that I, and so many Canadians, will sleep better when that Prime Minister and his coalition partners are drummed out of office. Then we will see a Canada that actually prospers again, whether that is in Quebec and the many industries that benefit from investment, all types of energy.

Why does the member not go and speak to the manufacturers? Some of their largest customers in probably his riding come from my province. The disconnect that exists from the ideology that is purported and supported by every other political party in the House and the reality that exists on the ground in Canada is so unbelievable.

The future is built on a clean economy, absolutely. How do we ensure that? We allow investment, prosperity and the ingenuity of Canadians to ensure that happens. The Conservatives are the only party that offers that.

[Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, October 19th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I am happy to address the member's question, because here is the reality. The only party in the country that supports clean, green sustainable jobs is the Conservative Party of Canada. We believe in an economy that allows for the prosperity of all industries. Whether that is mining in northern Ontario; or oil and gas in Alberta and across the Prairies; or tidal energy, which the Liberals have ensured is not affordable in the Maritimes; there is one party in our country that truly wants to see prosperity for all, lower emissions and a future that works for Canadians, and it is the Conservative Party.

Therefore, when that member spouts off the same tired talking points that have been tearing our country apart, he can be held accountable, as the Liberals not only fail on the environment but they fail on the economy, and Canadians are getting sick and tired of it.

[Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, October 19th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, the environment minister went to China and promoted all the great work the Communist dictatorship in Beijing was doing on the environment, yet that country is building coal-fired generation stations as we speak.

We could be displacing that coal with clean, green Canadian LNG. We could be exporting nuclear technology around the world to ensure we are displacing more emissions-intensive forms of energy. We could be displacing the Russian crude that is holding the European continent hostage. We could be ensuring that Canadian expertise and energy is solving the world's problems. However, under the Liberals, with their lack of an understanding of what is just in this world, we are being held back.

I would like to clarify one thing. The Liberals seem to think that somehow Conservatives do not support clean energy. That could not be further from the truth. I can say that definitively because I am a massive proponent of energy investment of all kinds. Whether that be new clean tech or traditional forums, we should be a world leader in all forums.

The difference is that the Liberal philosophy is to hold people down, hold them and drown out anything they do not agree with. That is what they believe. The Conservatives offer a clear alterative. We want to empower people to do what is best for them. We want to ensure that it is not the government that picks winners and losers, but that industry, innovators and, ultimately, Canadians to do what is best for themselves and for our country. When we are doing what is best for Canada, we are doing what is best for the world, and the entire planet would benefit from Canadian leadership.

Let us look at some of the facts. Bill C-50 could lead to as many as 170,000 jobs lost, including many of which would be in my consistency. I dare those Liberals to look my constituents in the eye and tell them why their jobs do not matter. We could see up to close to half a million indirect jobs lost. That is the whole spectrum. I am not sure if the Liberals realize this, but a lot of the clean tech jobs depend on affiliated industries that also do work in our traditional energy sector.

We also need to look at realistic outcomes to ensure that when we pass public policy in this place it will actually accomplish the objective. Nothing in this bill would benefit Canadians. Nothing in the bill would be just. Nothing in the bill would lower emissions. Nothing in the bill would lead to a prosperous future for Canadians. However, we see the government pushing forward, using manicured talking points that are somehow supposed to take the place of realistic and concrete solutions.

The facts speak for themselves. The only evidence that the Liberals could point to for even having an iota of success with emissions reductions is twofold. One is Alberta's leadership in reducing emissions, including in the energy sector. Two is the government pointing to COVID and the lockdowns associated with it as a reason why emissions went down.

It is truly shameful and a disgrace. The fact that if it were any other part of the country, we would not see Liberal members pursuing this sort of agenda. That leads me to my final point.

It should be the job of any prime minister, first and foremost, to ensure that there is national unity in our country, yet the Liberal Prime Minister and those corrupt Liberals are dividing our country. I hope it can be repaired. I believe it can be, but there are so many who are losing faith in the very foundations of our institutions, the very foundations of our country, because of an ideological agenda that is not only ineffective but is truly tearing the country apart.

The bill and the ideology need to be defeated. The members who support it need to be shown the door. When it comes to the future of our country, in every metric, this is the wrong direction. It is time for a government that can bring home a future for Canada that works.