David Lametti

[Privacy, November 2nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, our government takes the privacy of Canadians very seriously, but I need to correct a few things in the hon. member's discourse.

First, this is a pilot project currently in the design stage. No data has been collected to date. It is Statistics Canada that would be gathering the data, not the government.

Statistics Canada's job is precisely to provide good data that is reliable and necessary to meet the needs of all Canadians, all Canadian levels of government, including municipal governments, the federal government and provincial governments. It has done this for 100 years.

[Privacy, November 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the members opposite try to defend the private lives of Canadians and quote former prime minister Pierre Trudeau when he said that the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. It is unfortunate that many people in that party still disagree with that today.

[Privacy, November 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, from the get-go, the chief statistician of Canada has been open to working with the Privacy Commissioner to make sure that the private information of Canadians was not placed at risk.

I find it a little rich that the Conservatives make themselves the defendants of Canadians' privacy. We should remind them of their history. That is the same Conservative Party that was forced to back down when the Conservative government, not Statistics Canada, went after Canadians' personal information online. That is the same Conservative Party that leaked the medical information of a Canadian veteran. Enough of this fake outrage.

[Privacy, November 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous Conservative government, in the development of policy and public policy, we think facts are a good place to start and not ideology, which is how the Conservatives based its decisions.

Unlike the Conservative Party, we are a fan of the facts. Therefore, Statistics Canada will be empowered to collect this kind of information, anonymize it in order to protect the private information of Canadians and then Canadians across Canada, small businesses, large businesses as well governments, will be able to use this information to develop good policy and practices.

[Privacy, November 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the information that Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.

The personal information that will be collected and studied by Statistics Canada will be scrubbed and anonymous. There is no way the government will have access to personal information. Statistics Canada is a respected agency in Canada and around the world. We trust its judgment.

[Privacy, November 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, enough of this fearmongering from the Conservatives.

Statistics Canada is a respected agency. It is respected in Canada and around the world. The data it receives will be scrubbed. All the personal information from it will be removed before it is made in any way available, compiled, etcetera, for the use of governments, Canadians, businesses and small business across Canada.

Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above and beyond the requirements. It has consulted the Privacy Commissioner and is going to work with him to make sure that the interests of Canadians are not breached.

[Privacy, November 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear on this matter. The information Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.

How many times did Statistics Canada use this section when these very same Conservatives were in power? Not once, not twice, not even a dozen times, but 84 times. In fact, in 2008, a major credit card agency signed an agreement with Stats Can to provide this type of financial data for statistical purposes.

We trust Statistics Canada. We trust its ability to—

[Natural Resources, October 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-69's better rules will lead to more timely and predictable reviews and encourage further investment in Canada and Canada's natural resource sectors. This invests in our people. This is about making sure that good projects move forward to help grow our economy, but doing so in an environmentally responsible fashion. We will not follow the lead of the Harper Conservatives, who made Canadians lose trust in that very process.

[Public Safety, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, our government is open to global investment because it creates middle-class jobs. It helps grow our economy.

When it comes to telecommunications, we know that Canadians would like to see improvements in coverage and price, and we are committed to that. The 5G network is an emerging technology that has the potential to meet the explosion in consumer and industrial demand.

As regards the participation of any participant in our 5G networks, we will listen to the advice of our national security advisers. We will never, ever compromise our national security.

[Forces AVENIR Gala, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Forces AVENIR gala was held earlier this year to recognize and promote student engagement. A young woman from Verdun, Marie-Philippe Gill, earned high praise winning the Avenir trophy for outstanding university student.

An engineering student at École de technologie supérieure in a male-dominated field of study, Marie-Philippe has set out to promote gender equality in the world.

She has been involved with the club Les INGénieuses, encouraging the integration of women in engineering, and is a massive social media influencer through her Girl Knows Tech blog, which is partly how I got to know her.

I personally want to congratulate Marie-Philippe for her success in the world of technology. Her story is a source of inspiration for many young girls in Canada and beyond.

She rocks.