Francesco Sorbara

[Committees of the House, March 28th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to rise this morning to speak on a very important issue that is impacting many residents of Iranian or Persian heritage in York Region.

To commence my remarks, I want to say that this Sunday we hosted a Nowruz celebration in my riding, with about 200 people in attendance. It was a wonderful celebration and really illustrated what this country of Canada is about. We had individuals from Iranian or Persian heritage, as well as Bahá'ís or Afghanis from Turkey, Turkish citizens and Turkish people of Kurdish heritage. We also had folks from the Azerbaijani community. I think there were about five or six different communities that I am proud to represent. We had a haft-seen table, which represents the arrival of spring for Nowruz. It was just a wonderful celebration. It represented not only the diversity we have here in Canada but also how inclusive a country we are.

I want to take a moment to say that I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from the riding of Humber River—Black Creek. When I was first elected in 2015, my hon. colleague was a friend and mentor and still is someone who is dear to me and my entire family. Therefore, I will be splitting my time with that hon. member.

I also wish not only to comment on the beautiful Nowruz celebration that I hosted with my team and a number of communities but also to say that our government is clearly focused on being there for the Iranian diaspora here in Canada and assisting that community in the fight for liberty and a free, democratic and secular Iran. It is very important to us. It is very important for the community members who were in attendance with me on Sunday evening. The great thing was that when we posted this event on our communication channels, I received probably 15 or 20 direct messages from community members wishing to attend. It just goes to show the vibrancy, dynamism and growth of the Persian community in the city of Vaughan and my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge.

I wish to thank the committee members for their report and recommendations. To date, the government has taken decisive action to hold the Iranian government accountable for the shooting down of PS752. The passenger flight was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, killing all 176 passengers and crew, including 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents of Canada, a number of them from the region of York.

For family members of the victims already in Canada as temporary residents, we have provided a pathway to permanent residency if they fear that returning to Iran could put them at risk. For people who lost family members, we have provided expedited temporary residency visas to allow them to come to Canada to address personal matters and deal with estates. We have offered permanent residency for families of the victims of PS752 in Iran who are at risk of threats of violence and retribution by the Iranian government, especially their security intelligence and police services.

We continue to stand with the victims and their families. We are working with allies to force Iran to provide support and compensation for those who lost their loved ones.

Iran has a history of violent actions and the use of threats and intimidation to force citizens to comply with their demands. Canada and all Canadians stand for human rights and the equality of all. Iran continues to oppress many of its people, carrying out acts of violence against women and children and imprisoning protesters and those who speak out against the regime and its leaders. We have all seen the gruesome pictures on TV of the executions, arrests and beatings by a heinous regime.

Last September, Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman, was detained and killed while in the custody of Iran's so-called morality police. Reports have suggested that she was detained because she was not wearing her hijab in the appropriate manner as designated by Iranian law. Canada strongly condemned this reprehensible and heinous attack, which was the direct result of the systemic harassment and repression of women in Iran. In response to this violence, tens of thousands of people across Iran have held protests, demanding change on behalf of the many victims like Ms. Amini. Women, students and youth have taken to the streets to demand the end of the repressive regime and the violence inflicted on their own people.

The Iranian regime's response has followed the same path as it has in the past. It has only met the demands for equality, human rights and justice with violence and further oppression. To date, thousands of protesters have been injured. Nearly 500 are reported to have been killed, murdered by police, security forces, and again, the so-called morality police. Once again, Canada strongly condemns the violent crackdowns against civilian protesters and the use of force by Iranian authorities against Iran's own civilians. Canada stands with these victims of violence and with those fighting for human rights and equality. We stand with Mahsa Amini and her family. We stand with Iranian women who have been leading the fight for human rights and equality in Iran.

Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi participated in an international competition for her country, but without her hijab. Ms. Rekabi was immediately taken back to Iran and is reported by state authorities to be under house arrest. With their acts of violence against their own people and their denials of co-operation and information to Canada and others over flight PS752, these authorities have shown that they cannot be trusted. We hope that Ms. Rekabi is well and safe.

On the sanctions front, on March 23, Canada further amended the Special Economic Measures Act to list eight additional individuals and two entities in relation to Iran's gross and systemic violations of human rights and ongoing grave breaches of international peace and security. Yesterday, we added our 10th package of sanctions against the regime and the organizations and individuals behind it. To stand with the victims against this senseless violence, the shooting down of PS752 and the oppression of human rights, Canada imposed strict economic sanctions against Iran.

I believe that since October 2022, Canada has now imposed 10 rounds of sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act in condemnation of Iran's violations of human rights and ongoing breaches of international peace and security. Canada has continued to update and add individuals, organizations and businesses to the list of bans. This has now listed 127 Iranian individuals and 189 entities, as including senior officials in the IRGC and across the regime's security, intelligence and economic apparatus.

On November 14, 2022, Canada announced the designation of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regime that engages in gross and systemic human rights violations and terrorism. This means that tens of thousands of senior members of the Iranian regime, including many members of the IRGC, are now inadmissible to Canada. This also includes senior political figures; senior public servants; members of the judiciary; and senior leaders in the police, security and intelligence organizations. This move ensures that Canada will not be a safe haven for any Iranian regime officials who may flee Iran in the face of massive protests and demands by its people. It also means that any current or former senior officials in Canada may be investigated and removed if determined to be inadmissible.

In conclusion, the government welcomed the committee's report and has taken comprehensive steps against the Iranian regime. I trust all members of the House will welcome the government's response and support keeping the pressure on this heinous regime, while also supporting the families of those on PS752 and protesters in Iran fighting for human rights and equality.

On a personal note, I have always had a very close relationship with the Persian community, including in British Columbia, going to school with many of my university colleagues at Simon Fraser, visiting them in their homes, being invited to West Vancouver and North Vancouver and travelling down to Los Angeles with some of them many years ago. Of course, in York Region and my city of Vaughan, I have gotten to know this wonderful, dynamic, entrepreneurial and beautiful people; I am proud to be their member of Parliament and friend. I am blessed for it. Our government and all parliamentarians in this House know that we will continue to fight for women, life, liberty and for all Iranian citizens in that country. We know the best days for Iran and its beautiful people are ahead of them, and we will make sure we get to that spot with them.

I look forward to questions and comments.

[Canada-U.S. Relations, March 23rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, there is no stronger relationship in the world than the one between Canada and the United States.

The links between Canadians and Americans are long-standing, indeed. Like many, I have lived in the United States, which allowed me to experience American exceptionalism first-hand.

In the face of an uncertain future, we continue to strengthen our ties for our citizens, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and to fight climate change.

The well-known North American principle that diversity is our strength is both our nations’ beacon of light to the world. President Biden's visit to Canada is a reminder of the remarkable Canada-U.S. relationship as neighbours and, above all, friends.

Together, we are determined to create real opportunities to promote security as well as an inclusive, robust economic recovery that will continue to stimulate competition for citizens on both sides of the border.

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I know that our small business minister, the member for Markham—Thornhill, and the parliamentary secretary are working very hard to grow our small businesses. I encourage the member for Nunavut to reach out to these two individuals and me. We will obviously assist in any way possible. We will ensure that small brewers, big brewers and our wine and beer industry across Canada continue to grow, continue to foster and—

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question. It is very important to talk about the people who get up every morning and do that job.

Those entrepreneurs who have actually made a success of our wine, craft brews and beer sectors in Canada and those individuals who created the wineries, whether in Quebec, Nova Scotia or in southern Ontario in the Niagara area, are individuals who took risks, created jobs and created wealth. I applaud them, and I will always advocate for them. One of the reasons I ran for office was to ensure that we have a strong economy, because we know that the economy we inherited from the Conservatives was not going anywhere. We turned it around, and we are going full steam ahead.

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, it is great to see the hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George in the House. I know that area of the world very well, and it is great to see my friend.

The over 18,000 small businesses that exist in the city of Vaughan have no greater champion than I, as their member of Parliament for the last seven years and before then. My relationship with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Restaurants Canada and all those stakeholders that the member mentioned is second to none. I have been a vocal champion for them. I have one of the largest wineries and winery operators in my riding. I meet with them regularly. I know the issues well. I chair the wine caucus here in Ottawa, and I continue to advocate for the issues that impact all sectors of the economy, especially the one—

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to our country's economic situation. Our government understands that many Canadians are struggling to make ends meet during this period of high inflation. Fortunately, inflation in Canada has been slowly declining recently. The OECD expects inflation to return to its target level by the end of 2024. Inflation in Canada was 8.1% in June 2022. It has since fallen to 5.2% in February.

Canadian inflation is still too high, but it is lower than what we see in many peer economies. It is going in the right direction, and going lower. For example, it is 8.5% in the European Union, and 10.1% in the United Kingdom. In fact, as we continue navigating through these difficult times, our country is faring much better than most other G7 countries. Canada is facing the same global economic headwinds from a position of fundamental economic strength, a sound fiscal balance sheet, an AAA credit rating, and an unemployment rate at a very low level.

The facts speak for themselves. Our government made targeted investments to support Canadians and our economy through the pandemic, and these efforts are paying off. Last week, it was great to see the announcement by Volkswagen, which is bringing literally tens of thousands of jobs here to the province of Ontario and benefiting Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

As a result of our government's leadership, Canada has experienced a strong rebound from the pandemic recession, with a 3%-plus growth rate in 2022, which is one of the strongest in the G7. On top of that, we continue to see the strongest increase in real disposable income in the G7.

In addition, the more than 170,000 jobs created in January and February and a historically low unemployment rate of 5% clearly demonstrate the resilience of the Canadian economy.

However, we recognize that many Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. Canadians are feeling the consequences of high inflation when they go grocery shopping, fill up their gas tank or pay their rent or mortgage.

Unfortunately, we can no longer help everyone, as we did during the pandemic. That said, our government has put measures in place to continue to help those who really need it.

We will help those most impacted by inflation.

With regard to the excise duty on alcohol, when it comes in inflationary adjustments to the excise duty rates on beer or wine, I would like to reassure my colleagues that they do not generally represent an increase in real dollar terms. They broadly preserve the effectiveness of these excise duty rates over time and generally ensure rates stay constant relative to the product on which they are levied.

Our government recognizes the important contribution that Canada's wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries make to the national economy through job creation and the sale of high-quality products.

That is why the government implemented the wine sector support program, which is providing up to $166.2 million to agriculture and agri-food in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal years. This will help wineries adapt to current and emerging challenges.

Canadian small and medium-sized brewers currently benefit from reduced excise tax rates on the first 75,000 hectolitres of beer produced per year. This has provided support of up to $851,350 per brewer in 2022.

The government also repealed the excise duty on non-alcoholic beer starting on July 1, 2022, to encourage growth in this sector of the beer industry.

For the Canadians who need it the most, those most vulnerable, those most impacted by rising prices or inflation and those who feel the bite of rising prices most acutely, our government is there with inflation-relief measures. For example, we provided a one-time $500 payment to Canadian low-income renters through the Canada housing benefit.

We cut regulated child care fees by 50%, on average, across the land. Here in Ontario, day care fees have come down 52.7%, representing up to $6,000 or $7,000 of real before-tax savings for families in Ontario in some instances. Those are hard-earned dollars that stay in the pockets of Ontario families, and our government led the charge on this. We collaborated and worked with all the provinces, and we got it done. It is helping Canadian families not only here in Ontario but across Canada.

We have also doubled the GST credit for six months. This measure alone provided $2.5 billion in additional targeted support to the roughly 11 million individuals and families who already receive the credit. This includes the more than half of those receiving the benefit who are Canadian seniors.

We enhanced the Canada workers benefit to put an additional $2,400 into the pockets of low- and modest-income families.

We are also brining in the Canada dental benefit, which provides parents with children under the age of 12 who do not have access to dental insurance with direct payments of up to $650 per year, for a total of $1,300 per child over the next two years for dental care. It is estimated that 500,000 Canadian children will benefit from this targeted investment of $938 million.

These are just a few examples of what our government is doing to help Canadian families from coast to coast to coast. However, we understand that our spending capacity is not infinite and that it is important that we continue to pursue a tight fiscal policy. The measures we are implementing to help Canadians are not adding fuel to the fire of inflation. They are simply providing targeted and fiscally responsible assistance to those who need it most.

The Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to presenting prudent fiscal management ahead of budget 2023 at a recent meeting with chief economists for the major Canadian financial institutions. Canada has the lowest deficit and net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, maintaining our AAA credit rating through the COVID pandemic, and we are going strongly for the future.

We also committed to $9 billion in savings from a government spending review in the 2022 budget. According to a recent OECD survey, Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio is well below the average for the OECD, the European Union and the United States. This continued track record of fiscal strength has allowed the government to continue providing necessary targeted economic support to those who need it the most: those most impacted by the inflationary period that Canada went through and is still going through, but which is receding.

In conclusion, Canada's economy is performing relatively well compared with the economies of our G7 peers, and there are good reasons for optimism. However, our government understands that many Canadians still need some support to get through these difficult times. That is why we will continue providing inflation relief to Canadians who need it the most and are the most vulnerable, for example, those who are most exposed to inflation and those on fixed incomes. We will continue doing so in a targeted, fiscally responsible way. The last thing we want is to make inflation worse. We are making life more affordable for Canadians while continuing to build an economy that works for everyone, helps the middle class and helps those working hard to join the middle class.

As we prepare for budget 2023, we also understand the need for further investments to create good jobs for Canadians to ensure that Canada remains a competitive place to do business, particularly in light of the U.S. inflation reduction act.

The Global Automakers were here this evening. I sponsored that event. It was great to see the representatives from Volkswagen there. Obviously, we congratulated them and I congratulated them on choosing Canada for their first North American battery plant. It is a plant for the future and creating thousands of jobs.

As the global economy undergoes the most significant transformation since the industrial revolution, Canada cannot be left behind. That is why we will continue to work tirelessly to create more high-quality jobs, invest in our communities and build a more prosperous Canada for future generations. We are preparing measures that will give Canada the tools it needs to succeed.

[Online Streaming Act, March 9th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I work closely with the hon. member for London—Fanshawe on the Ahmadiyya Parliamentary Friendship Group, and we share the same concerns when it comes to the beer and wine sector here in Canada and some of the challenges it faces.

Obviously, COVID accelerated a number of trends in our economy and our society, from working habits to staying home and from streaming to online shopping. We need to pay attention to the changes that have happened. Exactly as the member stated, this amends the Broadcasting Act to address an acceleration in streaming services. Therefore, for the broadcasters, much like the broadcasters that are under the Broadcasting Act today that pay their fair share for Canadian artists and content creators, the same thing would apply for those services now. It would be brought in under the Broadcasting Act.

[Online Streaming Act, March 9th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Montcalm for his question.

Quebec is a very economic, vibrant sector here in Canada, and we applaud all the artists in the cultural sector in the province of Quebec. We should take a nod from them in their support of Bill C-11 and how it would modernize the Broadcasting Act.

Also, we then scratch our heads about why the Conservative Party of Canada is against a bill that the cultural sector here in Canada supports. It makes me think about the other ways Conservatives are looking at this bill, such as for ideological purposes and partisan purposes, and not for the direct benefit of the Canadian cultural sector, including the cultural sector in the province of Quebec.

[Online Streaming Act, March 9th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Calgary Shepard for his question.

I have known the hon. member for Calgary Shepard for many years since I was elected a member of Parliament and I have a great deal of respect for him.

The content creation would not impacted in any way by Bill C-11. That is not the intent of the bill in any way. We encourage and value content creation by Canadians from coast to coast to coast. This is a bill to modernize our Broadcasting Act and ensure the technological advances that have allowed streaming services like Netflix, Crave or Apple TV+ are brought under the Broadcasting Act, much like the Canadian homegrown broadcasters have been so for many decades.

[Online Streaming Act, March 9th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, the committee gave our colleagues the opportunity to study the bill with much closer scrutiny. That study lasted 12 meetings, where the committee heard from 80 witnesses and received 52 written briefs, but do not worry; the Conservatives still managed to delay and distract. They filibustered during the meeting at which the minister was supposed to appear and they filibustered the committee's clause-by-clause consideration.

They can try to deny it today, but the member for Lethbridge admitted it herself. She said, and this is a direct quote, “I did filibuster at committee”.

Fortunately, our colleagues in the Bloc and the NDP have decided to join us in modernizing Canada's broadcasting system through Bill C-11, and 38 amendments passed at the heritage committee, which included amendments from all recognized parties. Despite the Conservatives' best efforts, the bill made its way to the Senate.

Very well. At this point, I think it is valuable to remind my colleagues that the Conservative Party of Canada is the only political party recognized in both the House of Commons and the Senate. Senator Leo Housakos, the proud Spartan, who is both the Conservative critic for the bill in the Senate and the chair of the committee that reviewed it, is a regular in “Kill Bill C-11” videos posted by the Leader of the Opposition on social media.

Ironically, those videos, I might add, would not be impacted whatsoever by this bill, no matter what he claims. The best word to describe the Senate committee's study of Bill C-11 is “robust”.

Starting in June 2022, the committee spent over six months reviewing the subject matter of Bill C-11, hearing from 138 witnesses over 40 meetings. The members did not mishear me. I said 40 meetings, dedicated to considering the subject of this very important bill. Senators spent nine of those meetings in clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-11, including three-hour meetings, making it the longest clause-by-clause consideration in Senate history.

The bill emerged with amendments from all recognized parties and groups in the Senate, of which we are pleased to support close to 80%.

Here we are, over a year later, hearing the Conservatives urging us to send the bill back to committee, after over 100 hours of committee study, over 200 witnesses and dozens of written briefs, including from Telelatino in Toronto. I know that the folks at Telelatino produce great ethnocultural broadcasting, and they are in support of this wonderful bill.

This does not even include the countless hours of debate and study of the previous version of the bill that contributed to the online streaming act. As it stands, this bill has amendments from all recognized parties and groups in both houses of Parliament. It has truly been a group effort, and the future of Canada's broadcasting system is better for it.

The Conservatives are now bringing up Quebec. It is great they are finally paying attention, but they must have missed the two unanimous motions passed by the National Assembly to support the Broadcasting Act and the entire Quebec cultural industry pushing for the bill's swift passage.

The reality is throughout this process there have been endless opportunities for Conservatives to work collaboratively to defend Canadian artists and creators. Every time, they have chosen to side with foreign tech giants to maintain the status quo.

On this side of the House, we believe in doing more for Canadian culture, not less. We know in the prior Conservative administration how much less its members did for Canadian artists and culture and how they cut spending on Canadian culture, artists and content creators. We will not do that and we have not done that. We will continue to support the Canadian arts sector, culture sector and content creators.

I know this has been brought up many times throughout the debate, but there is an urgent need for this legislation. It cannot be overstated. The integrity of Canada's arts and culture system is at risk. We owe it to the tens of thousands of Canadians working in the arts and culture sector across the country. We have done the work as parliamentarians and now it is time to pass Bill C-11.

Many of us watch streaming services that provide content over what are called non-traditional methods. My wife and I really enjoy Ted Lasso, and the third season of Ted Lasso is coming out on March 15. We very much enjoy it. It is very well written. It comes across on I believe Apple TV+ and we pay a monthly fee for that. That content provider would now be subject to the Broadcasting Act, and it should be, much like Canadian broadcasters have been subject to the Broadcasting Act for decades.

Finally, to end off, the Broadcasting Act has not been revised since 1991. I wish to applaud all members of both the House and the Senate on those committees who have worked so judiciously, even when their opinions did not converge, to be unified and even when they disagreed vehemently and passionately from potentially different ideological bents on how they view the Broadcasting Act and how they view the CRTC. However, they did the work Canadians sent them here to do, and particularly in the House of Commons. They did the work their constituents elected them to do judiciously and diligently to bring forth the best possible legislation with regard to the sector we are talking to, which is broadcasting and updating the Broadcasting Act after three decades, or since 1991.

I look forward to questions and comments from my colleagues and I hope everyone is having a wonderful and productive day and week.