David Lametti

[International Trade, March 2nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, this was a trip that was focused on creating and enhancing our business relationship with India. We welcomed $1 billion in total investments between Canadian and Indian companies, which will lead to the creation of close to 6,000 good, well-paying middle-class jobs in Canada, such as with Tech Mahindra, a leader in tech IT services, which will be investing $100 million to establish a new centre of excellence for artificial intelligence in Canada; and the Jubilant Bhartia Group, which will be investing $100 million to expand its facilities in Kirkland.

[Pensions, February 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, our heart goes out to all those affected by the closure of Sears. We note that we are monitoring the situation. The regulation of the Sears pension is governed by the Province of Ontario, and we are following that. We have done outreach with Sears employees across Canada.

We are open to listening to any good proposition that comes forward. We are working toward, hopefully, improving the situation for the pensioners in the future.

[Foreign Investment, February 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, while the opposition might engage in scare tactics and fearmongering, let us talk about the facts. The day-to-day operations of the seniors homes remain under the control of Cedar Tree. They continue to be managed by Retirement Concepts, the same management that was there before. The residences continue to be subject to the same provincial health regulations they have always been subject to. The residents and health care workers will continue to be protected under the same legislation and regulations as before.

As we have said before, we continue to actively monitor Cedar Tree and its compliance with its legal obligations.

[Foreign Investment, February 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as we do with all investments under the ICA, we are actively monitoring Cedar Tree, because it has made a number of commitments in its takeover of the seniors homes. We are monitoring those commitments. Our officials remain closely engaged with Cedar Tree, the Canadian operator of the homes, to verify that its investment continues to be made under the conditions under which it was allowed to do it.

Due to confidentiality provisions in the Investment Canada Act, I cannot comment further than that.

[The Economy, February 15th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the member for Pierrefonds—Dollard, for his question.

We committed to investing up to $950 million to grow our innovation sector, and we received some bold, ambitious strategies to revitalize our regional economies.

The five superclusters announced today include more than 300 SMEs, 60 post-secondary institutions, and 180 other participants in Canada's innovative sectors. They should generate more than 50,000 new middle-class jobs.

[Black History Month, February 14th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honour Black History Month and recognize the legacy of black Canadians, past and present.

Today, I want to share the story of Fred Christie, a diehard Montreal Canadiens fan of African-American origin who worked hard to be able to buy season tickets in the 1930s. Like many people, Christie was a fan of Maurice “Rocket” Richard and went to the tavern in the Montreal Forum to cheer on his team.

Unfortunately, in 1936, he was a victim of discrimination when the tavern refused to serve him because of the colour of his skin. The police would not help him. He ended up suing the tavern, but sadly the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the tavern's right to refuse him service based on private law.

I know many in the black community who have suffered similar tragic stories.

This Black History Month let us reflect on our collective history and recognize not only the suffering the black community has endured, but also its massive contribution to Canadian society.

[Foreign Investment, February 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as a government we try to encourage foreign investment because that makes such a big difference with respect to Canadian jobs. Every single such investment of a certain magnitude will be subject to the Investment Canada Act, as this investment is. It will therefore go through a rigorous review process. It is a multi-step process that will include input from our security agencies.

We have never compromised national security, and we never will.

[Foreign Investment, February 2nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, once again I reiterate to the hon. member that we never have and we never will compromise our national security. The fact of the matter is that we have a multi-step process in place under the Investment Canada Act, and we rely on the expertise of our national security experts. It is interesting to note that the opposition does not seem to want to rely on the opinions of our own national security experts. We will and we will get to a good result.

[Foreign Investment, February 2nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the act itself provides for a multi-step review process for security issues and we rely upon our experts in the national security structures that we have in order to provide us with guidance. We trust their judgment. We will follow that multi-step review process. In this case, as in all other cases, we will never compromise our national security.

[Foreign Investment, February 2nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, global companies want to invest in Canada because of our skilled workforce and our strong innovation economy. Our government is open to investment. We are trying to encourage investment, but we also have the Investment Canada Act, which puts into place a significant review process such that such investments are an overall economic benefit to Canada. A multi-step security review process is part of that, within which we rely on our experts. We will never compromise national security and each proposed investment is examined on a case-by-case basis.