Gord Johns

[Keystone XL Pipeline, January 25th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, this is a decision that has been made. The President has made this decision, and yet here we are today debating that decision.

What we want and I think what workers want, what people in Alberta and across Canada want, is for the government to come back with opportunities to invest in clean energy, with things that will ensure that these workers, families and communities can move forward.

What I want to hear and I hope that my colleague will talk about is a plan by the government to invest in those communities and workers, making sure that they have a prosperous economy that is going to work for the future. Instead, here we are debating a decision that has already been made. It is not going to change anything here. We need the government to take action. The government has an opportunity to stop the division right here in the House and help Albertans and get people back to work and move us forward—

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 25th, 2021]

With regard to funding for youth employment and skills development programs, since March 2020, broken down by province and territory, by program: (a) what is the total spent to date as a proportion of available funds; (b) what is the total number of applications; c) of the applications in (b), how many were approved and how many were declined; and d) of the declined applications in (c), what is the rationale for each declined application?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 25th, 2021]

With regard to support for charitable and not-for-profit organizations serving vulnerable populations through the Emergency Community Support Fund, since March 2020, broken down by province and territory: (a) what is the total spent to date as a proportion of available funds; (b) what is the total number of applications; (c) of the applications in (b), how many were approved and how many were declined; and d) of the applications declined in (c), what is the rationale for each declined application?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 25th, 2021]

With regard to the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) announced by the government in 2016: (a) how much money has been allocated to Transport Canada under the OPP, since 2016, broken down by year; (b) how much money has been spent under the OPP by Transport Canada, since 2016, broken down by year and program; (c) how much money has been allocated to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans under the OPP, since 2016, broken down by year; (d) how much money has been spent under the OPP by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, since 2016, broken down by year and by program; (e) how much money has been allocated to Environment and Climate Change Canada under the OPP, since 2016, broken down by year; (f) how much money has been spent under the OPP by Environment and Climate Change Canada, since 2016, broken down by year and by program; (g) how much money has been spent under the OPP on efforts to mitigate the potential impacts of oil spills, since 2016, broken down by year and by program; (h) how much money from the OPP has been allocated to the Whales Initiative, since 2016, broken down by year; (i) how much money has been spent under the OPP on the Whales Initiative since 2016; and (j) what policies does the government have in place to ensure that the funding allocated under the OPP is spent on its stated goals in a timely manner?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 25th, 2021]

With regard to the communities that comprise the federal electoral district of Courtenay—Alberni, between the 1993-94 and current year fiscal year: (a) what are the federal infrastructure investments, including direct transfers to the municipalities and First Nations, for the communities of (i) Tofino, (ii) Ucluelet, (iii) Port Alberni, (iv) Parksville, (v) Qualicum Beach, (vi) Cumberland, (vii) Courtenay, (viii) Deep Bay, (ix) Dashwood, (x) Royston, (xi) French Creek, (xii) Errington, (xiii) Coombs, (xiv) Nanoose Bay, (xv) Cherry Creek, (xvi) China Creek, (xvii) Bamfield, (xviii) Beaver Creek, (xix) Beaufort Range, (xx) Millstream, (xxi) Mt. Washington Ski Resort, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) total expenditure, (iii) project, (iv) total expenditure by fiscal year; (b) what are the federal infrastructure investments transferred to the (i) Comox Valley Regional District, (ii) Regional District of Nanaimo, (iii) Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, (iv) Powell River Regional District, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) total expenditure, (iii) project, (iv) total expenditure by fiscal year; (c) what are the federal infrastructure investments transferred to the Island Trusts of (i) Hornby Island, (ii) Denman Island, (iii) Lasqueti Island, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) total expenditure, (iii) project, (iv) total expenditure by fiscal year; (d) what are the federal infrastructure investments transferred to the (i) Ahousaht First Nation, (ii) Hesquiaht First Nation, (iii) Huu-ay-aht First Nations, (iv) Hupacasath First Nation, (v) Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, (vi) Toquaht First Nation, (vii) Tseshaht First Nation, (viii) Uchucklesaht First Nation, (ix) Ucluelet First Nation, (x) K'omoks First Nation, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) total expenditure, (iii) projects, (iv) total expenditure by fiscal year; (e) what are the federal infrastructure investments directed towards the Pacific Rim National Park, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) total expenditure, (iii) project, (iv) total expenditure by year; and (f) what are the federal infrastructure contributions to highways, including but not limited to (i) Highway 4, (ii) Highway 19, (iii) Highway 19a, (iv) Bamfield Road, broken down by (i) fiscal year, (ii) total expenditure, (iii) total expenditure by fiscal year?

[Broadcasting Act, December 11th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, one thing that my colleague did not really talk about is the monopolistic anticompetitive practices of Facebook and Google and how they are taking over the share of revenue. We know that in the bill it is not captured how we can protect the lifeline of newspapers and journalists in our country, but Australia has put forward new legislation that will require no government funding to ensure that local content is protected, and they get a share of revenue from those web giants.

Does the member agree that the web giants are not paying their fair share and they need to pay more and protect local journalism, like Australia is doing?

[Broadcasting Act, December 10th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, as I raised earlier, Google and Facebook have over 75% of all web-based advertising. They are using a lot of local content. Journalists are losing jobs as local newspapers are feeling the crunch. Could my colleague speak about how important it is that legislation come forward, like they are doing in Australia this week, to make sure that Google and Facebook pay their fair share?

We know that the Liberals are very close in their relationship with Facebook and Google. Maybe the member could speak about the importance of protecting local journalism.

[Broadcasting Act, December 10th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, one thing that concerns me is that there are a lot of unanswered questions here. The Liberals are passing the buck to the CRTC to deal with most of the bill. They are doing nothing for fair tax rules. Right now in our country, journalism is under threat. I just met with the Parksville Qualicum Beach News and the Comox Valley Record, and they talked about the fact that 75% of online advertising is with Facebook and Google, and they are having a difficult time surviving. Those web giants are using local journalism to advance their goals.

There was a promise in the Speech from the Throne to get big tech giants to pay for local journalism content. Australia tabled legislation yesterday to do so.

Does my colleague agree the government needs to take action and table legislation soon, so that local journalism is protected and the web giants using their content will pay their fair share?

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, December 10th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, Dave owns Wayward Distillery in my riding. He and his employees produced hand sanitizer for local police, health care workers and community organizations. He gave away tens of thousands of dollars' worth of sanitizer for free and sold some at cost. Even though his profit went down, his revenues show as being up, and the government says that he does not qualify for any emergency support programs.

Why did the Liberals abandon Canadian heroes and give big orders to multinational corporations instead of purchasing from small Canadian businesses like Dave's?

[Points of Order, December 8th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

In the spirit of the holiday season, if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that the House recognize that small business owners have cancelled or postponed staff holiday parties and celebrations in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, and have chosen to purchase gift cards for their staff, in lieu of physical gifts, in an effort to buy local this holiday season; and that, given that in-person holidays and dinners up to $150 are currently tax-exempt while gift cards qualify as taxable income for their employees, the House call on the government to exclude gift card purchases up to $150 from employment income for the 2020 holiday season, so that small businesses, non-profits and local governments can honour and thank their staff for their hard work, especially during these difficult times.