Guy Caron

[Hon. Member for Outremont, June 14th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to recognize the hard work of the member for Outremont, who will soon be leaving the House.

I met the member for Outremont for the first time in September 2007 during the Outremont byelection. Of course, I knew him by reputation since he had been the representative for Chomedey in the Quebec National Assembly and then the Quebec environment minister.

At that time, I was told that his personality reflected his Irish ancestry, and that is true. I was told that he had an innate sense of politics that he had inherited from his great-great grandfather, Honoré Mercier, the ninth premier of Quebec, and that is true too. I was also told that, like his mentor Claude Ryan, he could assimilate and synthesize the news and quickly determine what the political implications would be, and that is also true.

What I did find, canvassing with the member for Outremont in the streets of Outremont in 2007, was a man who had, and still has, the rare ability to connect with people in the street or at home and to make them feel totally that he understands them and that he will fight for them. Fight he did, first in winning a riding that pundits never tired of calling an unassailable Liberal fortress, then in confirming that win in the 2008 general election, proving that the by-election was not a fluke.

He spent the next three years advising Jack Layton in the context of a fragile minority government in which the NDP held the balance of power. During that time, he sowed the seeds that blossomed into the great orange wave of 2011.

Then came the tragic death of Jack Layton, and that changed everything.

The member for Outremont defied the odds to succeed him at the helm of the official opposition, providing the guidance, the stability, and the discipline we needed as the then government in waiting.

Many pundits dismissed us as a bunch of newcomers who were held together by Jack and said we would crumble after his passing, but under the leadership of the member for Outremont, we were often referred to as one of the most effective official oppositions. His prosecution day after day after day of the Stephen Harper government has been a hallmark in parliamentary history.

The 2015 general election results were a disappointment, and I know nobody was more disappointed than him. I also know he gave his all to the campaign and that, true to his Irish roots, his devotion to the NDP drove him to keep up the fight.

It was the end of an era that began in a restaurant in Hudson, where Jack and Olivia met with him and his wife, Catherine, and where, against all odds, Jack convinced him to join a party that did not have a single seat in Quebec at the time.

I would like to thank his wife, Catherine, his children, Matthew and Gregory, his daughters-in-law, Jasmyne and Catherine, and his grandchildren, Juliette, Raphaël, and Leonard, for being so patient and for sharing him with us.

I would also like to thank Chantale, Graham, Mathilde, and Miriam for their dedication and for playing such an important role in this saga.

All I can say to the member for Outremont is thank you and see you soon.

[Natural Resources, June 14th, 2018]

That is not very reassuring, Mr. Speaker. I would like a more comprehensive answer. I remember in this place, in December 2016, the Minister of Natural Resources said that peaceful pipeline protesters would be met by the Canadian Armed Forces. After hearing such comments from a cabinet member, I am worried to hear a senior official like David Dodge suggesting that peaceful protesters be killed.

I want the government not only to acknowledge that peaceful civil disobedience is a fundamental democratic tool, but also to denounce David Dodge's comments.

[Natural Resources, June 14th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, David Dodge, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, said yesterday that people might die protesting the Trans Mountain expansion project and that we will basically just have to deal with that. I am really surprised I have to say this in the House, but the right to protest peacefully is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and is fundamental to our democracy.

Will the government condemn David Dodge's comments, or does it agree with him that the pipeline must go through at any cost, including the lives of peaceful protesters?

[Natural Resources, June 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, that is the point. The government did not listen.

Again, Upper Nicola band counsel had these harsh words for the government: “The Crown failed to meaningfully consult in relation to title, governance rights and use rights. Instead, it dodged, deferred, and delegated...”

The Upper Nicola community wants to build the largest solar energy project in British Columbia, a project that could light 5,000 homes. Instead the government wants to impose a pipeline that the community does not want.

How can a Prime Minister who claims to be a leader in both climate change and reconciliation with indigenous peoples act in such a way?

[Natural Resources, June 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, “The Crown failed to meaningfully consult in relation to title, governance rights and use rights. Instead, it dodged, deferred, delegated....” These are the words of Upper Nicola Band counsel Elin Sigurdson. This is the same Upper Nicola band that wants to build the largest solar energy project in British Columbia.

For a climate leader, the choice between green energy and buying a pipeline should be obvious. A leader in reconciliation with indigenous peoples should respect and empower first nations and their choices. Why cannot the Prime Minister do either?

[Natural Resources, June 12th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister does not seem to realize that on the purchase of the pipeline, he is on the wrong side of history.

There is no shortage of energy transition projects, but workers must be the focus of this transition, which will create thousands of good, full-time jobs, known as the jobs of the future. In contrast, the government spent billions of dollars to buy a 65-year-old leaky pipeline without the consent of the indigenous communities affected; that is not our vision for the future.

How does the Prime Minister think he can help Canada meet its climate change commitments while buying a pipeline?

[Natural Resources, June 12th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Upper Nicola Indian band will be building the largest solar project in British Columbia, yet with Kinder Morgan crossing their backyards they will soon have a clash of two visions of their land. On the one hand is a symbol of the future, chosen by their members, and on the other, the pipeline, imposed by the federal government. Global climate leaders do not spend billions on publicly funded pipelines. Will the government admit that this is a failure of leadership on its part?

[The Environment, June 7th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I call that wilful blindness. The government still finances the oil and gas industry to the tune of $1.5 billion a year. That is $1,500 million in subsidies to the oil and gas industry.

A champion of the environment would invest now to create green jobs for our workers and our children. The Prime Minister lost all credibility on the environment the day he decided to buy a 65-year-old pipeline with $4.5 billion of taxpayer money.

What kind of apology will the government make at the G7?

[The Environment, June 7th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, this G7 summit will give the international community an opportunity to compare the seven countries. I can say that Canada does not come off very well on the environmental front.

The Liberals promised to end subsidies to the oil and gas industry, but after three years in power, Canada still has the highest oil and gas subsidies in the G7. The Prime Minister will have a golden opportunity to fix that this weekend.

Will he use the G7 summit as an opportunity to announce an end to these subsidies by 2020?

[Natural Resources, June 6th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we hear the government just spent $4.5 billion in renewable energies, but it spent it on a pipeline.

Last week, the majority of MPs had the good sense to vote in favour of the bill introduced by my colleague from Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou to enshrine the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in Canadian law. The Prime Minister himself voted in favour of it.

How can he say he respects indigenous rights while forcing a pipeline through despite opposition from a number of first nations?