David Anderson

[Customs Act, May 9th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, the minister said the bill would help protect taxpayers' dollars by reducing fraud and abuse of certain federal programs with residency requirements and by establishing when people leave Canada we will be able to better determine who is and is not eligible for certain benefits.

The bill gives CBSA the discretion to follow up on this information. If that information reveals that a permanent resident or citizen is living abroad avoiding taxes and only returning to use social services and benefits, what penalties is the government going to be applying to them because it now refuses to revoke citizenship?

[Petitions, April 30th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the petitioners draw the Prime Minister's attention to the following: That section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms identifies freedom of conscience, thought, and belief as fundamental freedoms. The Government of Canada needs to defend the rights of all Canadians whether they agree with them individually or not, and they believe that the current Liberal government's proposed attestation for Canada summer jobs contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They are calling on the Prime Minister to defend the freedom of conscience, thought, belief, and to withdraw the attestation requirements which apply to the Canada summer jobs program.

[Iran, April 30th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the start of Iran Accountability Week. The week has become an annual tradition on Parliament Hill. It is an opportunity to educate Canadians about the Iranian regime's complete disregard for the human rights of its citizens, its proxy campaigns of hatred and division, and its implicit support of international terrorism.

The cradle-to-grave persecution of the Baha'i religious minority continues unabated. Six of the Baha'i Seven have served out their 10-year sentences for nothing but living out their faith within their communities. One remains in prison. I join international voices calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Afif Naeimi.

The Iranian regime's hatred for the Baha'i extends beyond its borders. Directed by the regime, Houthi rebels in Yemen have intensified the rhetoric of Baha'i discrimination and genocide. Iran must cease its support of this inflammatory speech.

This week, I encourage Canadians across the country to join us in examining the ugly reality of the regime for Iran's people and persecuted minorities around the world.

[The Environment, April 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, this is no opportunity. This Liberal carbon tax punishes farmers in rural communities. APAS president Todd Lewis said, “Carbon taxes do not work”, and “producers cannot pass along” the increased costs. The federal government has no idea about this basic economic reality.

Saskatchewan is unique. It has a climate change strategy that will work for us, and it will work for agriculture. We should not have to go to court to protect that.

The Liberals are running roughshod over the provinces where the economy is still working. How can the Minister of Public Safety look his constituents in the face as his government's carbon tax drives them right out of business?

[Oceans Act, April 25th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, earlier I asked the previous speaker a question. We had a project in my area, when our government was in power, that had to do with leasing pasture land. Environment Canada was very co-operative. The deputy minister and the chief of staff came out and sat down with the local community. There was a local community group set up to handle it. The government left the impression that it would be directing research funding through that area as a pilot project and that the local people would have a lot of say over how that money would be distributed for the research that might be done. It gave credit to local people for having knowledge about how to manage that area.

That has changed. Now we see local people being threatened, intimidated, and condescended to. The attitude seems to be that Environment and Climate Change Canada knows most everything. I do not know if that attitude came from the Environment and Climate Change people as much as it did from the current government.

Could the member tell us whether he thinks this is going to make it easier for local communities to work with the government and Environment and Climate Change Canada or if it will make it much more difficult? We did have a good relationship in my part of the world. That seems to have gone out the window. I am wondering what he sees happening with fisheries and oceans in this bill.

[Oceans Act, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, this comes back to something I raised a little earlier. Not only was there a lack of consultation but a lack of willingness to work with local communities.

I have a community pasture in my area. The people are trying to make an agreement with Environment Canada so they can use it the way they have for 70 years. They found that Environment Canada was really only interested in dictating to them. It was going to tell them how many employees they could have and how they could use them. They talked about it threatening them, “If you don't do it our way, we're going to make this a lot more difficult for you than it is right now.”

The department assumes that anything local communities do is destructive. These people have lived there for 100 years and have been able to manage a very hostile environment and do well at it.

Does the member think the bill will improve the government's attitude toward local communities?

[Oceans Act, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the government says that it is doing well on the environment. That is clearly not true. It is not the case, and I will give an example from my riding.

There is a group of people trying to work with Environment and Climate Change on setting up a new pasture lease situation. They have found that the environment officials are dictating to them at every point. They are telling them the employment they need there. They are setting the provisions of the agreements to work with the community. They are threatening them and saying that if they do not do it their way, they will make it much more difficult for them and they will be jumping through hoops for a long time. Officials are condescending to them and assuming that any local activity is destructive. They do not want to talk to local people or give them any control over anything to do with the project. Basically, they have shown a complete inability to respond to unique situations, because they do not understand the area.

We are seeing it in the bill as well. There is a better way, which is that environment, natural resources, and fisheries and oceans need to begin with local communities and trust that people on the ground understand a little about what is going on their area. We have seen that in our part of the riding, in particular with some of these situations.

I also should point out that this is actually going to be the only opportunity I have to debate the bill, so when the Liberals said that everyone has had a fair opportunity, that is not true.

How is the bill going to change the attitude of the ministers at fisheries and oceans, environment, and natural resources so that they can begin to work with local communities instead of destroying them?

[Oceans Act, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the answer to the question is supposed to be related to the bill. We do not see the natural resources minister, the environment minister, or the fisheries and oceans minister answering this question. I am not talking about whether they are here or not. Why do they not stand up and answer the questions related to the bill?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, April 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this debate today.

I want to ask my colleague a question about the Prime Minister's comments. The Prime Minister was to western Canada last week and he gave us a story about how committed he was to both the Alberta and Saskatchewan energy industries. Then of course the pipeline story broke and since then he has talked a lot but he has not done anything.

I was very concerned when I heard about his conversation in France. He goes to another country and he gives a completely different story than he has given in Canada. He tries to leave an impression in western Canada and then he goes to France, says that the he does not support the energy industry and he would like to shut it down as quickly as possible.

Could the member tell us what he thinks about a leader who says one thing to one group of people when he wants to get their support and says something completely else when he is on the international stage and thinks Canadians are not listening to him?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 29th, 2018]

With regard to concerns about human rights: what are the details, including dates, of all occasions when the Prime Minister has raised human rights with the following governments (i) China, (ii) Iran, (iii) Russia?