Guy Caron

[Humboldt Broncos Bus Crash, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, today with heavy hearts we rise to mourn the lives of those we lost in the tragedy that struck the Humboldt Broncos last week. We wrestle with tears and our voices tremble as we remember the names of those who were taken from their families and communities: Tyler Bieber, Logan Boulet, Dayna Brons, Mark Cross, Glen Doerksen, Darcy Haugan, Adam Herold, Brody Hinz, Logan Hunter, Jaxon Joseph, Jacob Leicht, Conner Lukan, Logan Schatz, Parker Tobin, Evan Thomas, and Stephen Wack.

Hockey is a powerful force that binds Canadians together. For anyone who has travelled with players on their way to a game, be it for hockey, basketball, soccer, or baseball, there is a palpable sense of excitement on board the bus, a buzz around the possibilities presented by the upcoming 60 minutes of hockey.

However, on April 6, that sense of excitement ended in tragedy. Now, the puck will never drop to open the Bronco's playoff game, but their commitment to their teammates and their love of hockey will never be forgotten.

This event has profoundly shaken our country. Canadians responded as only they know how, with empathy and solidarity, by wearing hockey jerseys, leaving hockey sticks on their front porches, and expressing their love for all those affected by this devastating accident. This reminds us of how tight-knit the hockey community is in Canada and our need to feel connected in moments like this to help make sense of what happened and find a way to eventually move forward together.

On behalf of New Democrats, I want to thank the first responders who arrived on the scene and cared and continue to care for all those affected by this tragedy. Their work is a terrible burden that most of us will never know.

I also want to wish the survivors of the crash and their family and friends the strength to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. Know that they are in our thoughts and prayers.

To the parents, friends, and family who have lost 16 remarkable Canadians, as well as those still recovering from their injuries, I want to extend my most sincere condolences for their loss. Their town, their province, and their country are here for them. I encourage them and I encourage us all to, in Jacob Leicht's mother's words, to be a part of something bigger. From hurt can come good.

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals approved the Trans Mountain project by relying on the environmental assessment process of the Harper government, which they used to denounce. They now use it because it suits them. Ramming a project down the province's throat is not co-operative federalism.

Yesterday the Prime Minister said he will pursue legislative options to reinforce the federal jurisdiction regarding energy projects, which, he said, “we know we clearly have.”

However, it is not clear. Will the government partner with B.C. and first nations in Alberta to seek greater clarity from the Supreme Court of Canada?

[Natural Resources, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, on leaving his meeting with the premiers of British Columbia and Alberta, the Prime Minister said he wants to impose a solution on the provinces to try to resolve the dispute over Trans Mountain.

Whether the federal government likes it or not, that solution violates one of the provinces' environmental legislation. In an open letter, the Government of Quebec reminded Ottawa that no project located partially or entirely on a province's territory is exempt from the environmental legislation adopted by that province's legislature.

What of the co-operative federalism that the Liberals promised?

[Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities Act, April 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Carleton for introducing Bill C-395. I believe that this bill addresses a gap in the tax system known as the “welfare wall”, a fairly well-known economic principle. It occurs when those who are receiving social assistance or people with disabilities, as we are talking about here, want to enter the workforce but will lose money to taxes or benefit clawbacks by doing so.

I do not think that this is a result of any level of government acting in bad faith; rather, I think it is an indication of the complexity of our tax system. It is becoming so complex that, despite our best efforts, we have introduced unintended effects into the system that penalize people who want to re-enter the labour market.

I will vote in favour of the bill at second reading so that we can study it at committee. I have questions about some aspects of the bill, such as whether the financial implications for different levels of government are those suggested. I believe that will be the case, but we will be able to do a more in-depth analysis at committee.

This is an example of the left and the right being able to work together because we have a common interest. I believe that we have the greater good at heart. We want to help people who want to work, in this case, once again, people with a disability. Support for the bill introduced by the member for Carleton has come from progressives and Conservatives, including a former representative of the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Canadian Association of Social Workers, Jack Mintz, and Ian Lee, who will never be taken for progressives, as well as the Canadian Association for Supported Employment. The entire political spectrum is represented on this long list of supporters, which clearly indicates that we have a social consensus.

I am saddened by the government's attitude. If I am not mistaken, my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, said that the government will not encourage support for this bill, at least at second reading, which I find very disappointing. The bill by the member for Carleton is clear. It would amend the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act. The various levels of government are subject to conditions with respect to social transfers and health transfers, and these conditions help address any problems that may arise or any issues regarding how different governments use the transfers. When the federal government is able to punish persons with disabilities who want to return to the job market, this will be addressed at the federal level, and it must also be addressed at the provincial level. I am saddened that the speech I just heard had nothing to do with the bill itself, and instead had to do with government measures, since at the end of the day, this bill is worthy of consideration.

If the bill passes, there will be three requirements. The first has to do with the Minister of Finance.

Finance Canada will be asked to calculate the level of taxation and the loss of benefits that would be incurred by the person with a disability in going back on the job market and having a job and wages. Following that, if the earned income is lowered by the effect of taxation and the loss of benefits, then Finance Canada would have to modify or amend in some form the working income tax disability supplement. The same would be asked of the provinces through that modification and the agreement between the federal government and the provincial governments for the social transfer. It is that simple. That is all that is asked here.

I do not see why the government would not study this new measure, which would complement what it proposed in its last budget. At the end of the day, I worry that the government is telling us it can do better than this bill. Personally, I really doubt it.

I introduced Bill C-274 in the House of Commons to fix a specific problem with the transfer of SMEs and family farms. I managed to secure the support of many members. The Conservative Party was on board, as were the independent members and, in theory, 15 to 20 Liberal members. Then the Minister of Finance released a cost estimate for the bill. The tax specialists I had been dealing with had estimated that my bill would cost between $75 million and $100 million.

During the final week of debate, however, the government pulled a rabbit out of its hat and claimed the bill would cost between $800 million and $1.2 billion in lost revenue. That scared off a lot of Liberal backbenchers. Several of those who had initially supported the bill and acknowledged the existence of the problem my bill was trying to fix decided to vote against it.

The Department of Finance misled the members of the Liberal Party, because in a report on the fiscal impact of my bill that was published two months after the vote, the Parliamentary Budget Officer put the fiscal revenue shortfall at about $150 million, not $800 million to $1.2 billion as the finance department led the House to believe.

The government tends to completely ignore positive legislation brought forward by the opposition, especially on fiscal matters. It is trying to undermine the members of the House by systematically refusing all opposition-led tax bills, whether they are proposed by the official opposition or other opposition parties.

In our consideration of Bill C-395, however, we are working on the particular issue of Canadians who are struggling to get over the welfare wall.

The welfare wall exists, and we need to attack it where we can, federally and provincially. It makes no sense.

My colleague, the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue, actually showed that this is a principle that should be applied everywhere in our tax system. It should be applied, because it makes sense in terms of creating incentives for people with disabilities or people on social assistance or people who want to find an opportunity to work. We need to give them every single opportunity to do so.

Creating walls and keeping a state of affairs where people going to work actually lose money and benefits because they are going to work makes no sense. It is our duty as parliamentarians, it is our duty as people who have been elected by our constituents, to ensure that we correct these problems. The bill tabled by the member for Carleton aims to do exactly that.

I will be asking the government to look at this bill and to send it to committee to ensure that the objectives targeted by this bill would be achieved. This would actually be a positive contribution by this Parliament. It would ensure that people who want to gain some dignity by going back to work and being able to contribute socially in their communities would not be penalized and would not suffer from the shortcomings of our own legislation when we adopt tax measures provincially and federally.

I encourage all members of Parliament in this House to vote in favour of this bill and to send it to committee to try to see what we can do for people with disabilities who want to gain dignity by joining the job market.

[Finance, March 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, what will it take for the Prime Minister to understand that we want the sales tax to apply to everyone equally?

The 2018 budget implementation bill was introduced yesterday, and with this 547-page brick, the Liberals are once again breaking their promise not to introduce omnibus bills.

Sadder still is the fact that the bill contains precious few measures that will make a meaningful difference in terms of equity and equality. The government obviously lacks the guts to follow through on issues such as pay equity, parental leave, and reviewing the First Nations Land Management Act.

Why are the Liberals silent on these subjects? Have we not waited long enough?

[Taxation, March 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Government of Quebec had the courage to act. Both foreign and local digital platforms will now be required to charge QST. On the other side of the Atlantic, the European Union also chose to make companies like Netflix pay their fair share. There has been a consensus for over six months now on the fact that the government needs to modernize its laws and put everyone on an equal playing field. It is just common sense.

Will this government stop saying that it is impossible to do anything and finally make web giants pay their fair share?

[Ethics, March 27th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the report did not contain recommendations, but rather a penalty.

It would be nice if the Prime Minister would stop hiding behind public servants and backroom, closed door discussions. In his open letter to Canadians, he said himself, “I am committed to leading an open, honest government that is accountable to Canadians, lives up to the highest ethical standards”.

Accepting a gift that the Ethics Commissioner considers to be not allowed and unacceptable does not fall within my definition of “highest ethical standards”. We are still waiting for the open and accountable government the Prime Minister promised to Canadians.

Has he forgotten the basic principles of ethics that should be guiding his government's behaviour?

[Ethics, March 27th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to clarify something for the Prime Minister. The Ethics Commissioner's report was not a series of recommendations; it was a penalty for violating the Conflict of Interest Act.

Now, we know that the Prime Minister received a gift on his all-expenses-paid visit with the Aga Khan. Today, the commissioner's office said that this gift cannot be listed on the public registry because it was declared unacceptable. Ultimately, we can deduce that this gift was worth more than $1,000 and that it was not simply a bag or a sweater.

What gift did the Prime Minister receive from the Aga Khan?

[Tsilhqot'in Chiefs, March 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, New Democrats welcome and support today's apology and exoneration. We join the government in acknowledging the harm done to the Tsilhqot'in people prior, during, and since the Tsilhqot'in war of 1864-65. In particular, we want to express our support for the exoneration of the six Tsilhqot'in chiefs who were deceived with the false promise of a truce, only to be wrongfully arrested, tried, and hanged as criminals.

Chief Joe Alphonse said, speaking of today's exoneration, that:

If you come into Tsilhqot'in territory you had to have Tsilhqot'in permission. And when the Waddington road-building crew came in, they didn’t get that permission. And when they took our women, abused our women, we declared war on them.

The Tsilhqot'in people took justified action to defend their territory, and they were met not only with violent escalation but with dishonour. This was a critical event in the Tsilhqot'in war and a blight in the history of British Columbia. More than that, the violation of the Tsilhqot'in people and land is part of Canada's legacy of empty indigenous-colonial violence that still continues today.

Well before the Europeans arrived, the Tsilhqot’in Nation lived in the heart of western Canada's mountains and rivers in what is known today as British Columbia. Well before colonization, these communities shared a common history and culture as they took care of their land.

As in other parts of Canada, colonization spread over the lands of the Tsilhqot’in Nation, lands stolen without any negotiation or form of diplomacy.

Smallpox came to this region, as it did to the rest of Canada, and spread to the indigenous people who had no immunity against the illnesses brought by the Europeans. Some historical accounts indicate that this may have been intentional. Also, as in other parts of Canada, women were abused.

The Tsilhqot’in had to take action to defend their people and their lands. The Chilcotin War was declared 154 years ago. In the spring of 1864, the crew of a road construction company was attacked. Colonists, who had illegally settled on the Tsilhqot’in Nation's lands with the support of the colonial government at the time, were hunted.

Over the summer, the chiefs were invited to negotiate peace, but they were betrayed. Instead, they were shackled, put behind bars, and later led to the gallows. Their fate was sealed in advance. They were found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang. Six chiefs of the Tsilhqot’in Nation were hanged.

Four years ago, the Government of British Columbia fully exonerated the Tsilhqot'in chiefs for action taken in defence of their laws and territories in 1864. On behalf of New Democrats, I echo the B.C. government's words when I say that these chiefs were not criminals. These chiefs were not outlaws. These chiefs were proud leaders engaged in the defence of their lands and of their people.

On this day of apology and exoneration we also want to honour the many Tsilhqot'in historians, activists, advocates, and knowledge keepers who have continued in the face of overwhelming odds to honour the past and fight for a more just future. This day is a small vindication of their struggles. May it be the first of many more to come.

It must be said that this apology and this exoneration are long overdue. As was noted in the letter of understanding between the Tsilhqot'in and Canada, we recognize that reconciliation begins with truth telling and healing, so let us continue telling the truth here today.

We believe in justice for indigenous peoples. We believe in reconciliation. We believe it is time to act, because indigenous communities cannot wait another 150 years for hope. Even these lands on which we stand today, these lands on which I rise in this hallowed chamber, are the unceded lands of the Algonquin people.

Unless we continue to tell these hard truths and truly address the violence of Canada's ongoing colonial history, we will never be able to heal the trauma left in its wake. Reconciliation will be nothing more than a cruel deception like the one that stole the lives of six Tsilhqot'in chiefs 150 years ago.

It is time to put words into action when it comes to reconciliation. Indigenous peoples have suffered under colonial rule for 150 years. The next 150 years should be focused on nation-to-nation reconciliation, respect for the earth, and respect for cultures. The Tsilhqot’in Nation and the indigenous peoples of Canada have human rights and it is time they were upheld. We cannot continue to ignore the voices of those who walked this land before us.

Fighting against fishing rights on the Nuu-chah-nulth territory on the west coast of British Columbia is wrong. Fighting survivors of residential schools, like the ones from St. Anne's, is wrong. Leaving 81 first nation communities on long-term boil water advisories is wrong. Failing to appropriately address the housing crisis gripping first nation communities from coast to coast to coast is wrong. Failing to reform a justice system that disproportionately incarcerates indigenous people and exonerates their killers is wrong. A society that turns a blind eye to indigenous women being murdered and going missing at an alarming and disproportionate rate is wrong.

Real change cannot be all talk.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples must have force of law in Canada. On that note, I would once more like to honour my colleague, the member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, for leading the charge, especially on getting this Parliament to recognize indigenous languages. This is an essential part of reconciliation.

Today is probably the first time some MPs have ever heard of the Tsilhqot'in nation and the events of 1864-65. I myself only learned about the Tsilhqot'in war and the hangings of six chiefs of the Tsilhqot'in nation while preparing this speech. I am not alone in my ignorance in Canada. We still know far too little about those who came before us. We know even less about those who protected the land that is now our shared home. We have a duty to remember. We have a duty to be curious. We have a duty to learn.

We have a duty to pass on the history of the first nations, the Inuit people, and the Métis. To do so, we need to make time. We need to make time in the calendar and take the time to learn more and better our understanding.

That is why we support the bill introduced by the member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River to make National Indigenous Peoples Day a statutory holiday in Canada.

Following the recommendation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, National Indigenous Peoples Day should be an opportunity to honour the many contributions indigenous peoples have made to this land and reflect on the many challenges they still face today. A statutory holiday would offer a public opportunity to better understand and ensure Canadians recognize our common history and the legacy of the treaty relationship, which remains a vital component of the reconciliation process. This day would allow us to take stock of our dark history, like the hanging of six chiefs from the Tsilhqot'in Nation.

Today's apology of the Government of Canada and the exoneration of the Tsilhqot'in chiefs are welcome. It is a step in the right direction, and it will hopefully provide some closure, comfort, and peace to the Tsilhqot'in Nation. However, the legacy after the apology will be in the concrete actions the government, and the ones after it, take to build a true nation-to-nation relationship with first nations, Inuit, and Métis. We cannot continue along the same path we have so unjustly walked for centuries.

To the members of the Tsilhqot'in Nation and other indigenous representatives in the House today, I want to thank them. I want to thank them for their strength in the face of colonialism. I want to thank them for their determination to see justice done. I want to thank them for their courage in the face of horrendous acts of violence, ignorance, and denial, and I want to thank them for their patience with our young country as we strive to be better.

During my preparations for this speech, Chief Roger William explained that the Tsilhqot'in do not apologize the same way the English or French do. To apologize, a person must admit that they did wrong.

We know we have much to do so that we can all stand on equal footing, but today I look up to all Tsilhqot'in.

[Member spoke in Tsilhqot'in]

[English]

We did wrong and we will do better.

[Taxation, March 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the numbers confirm that the small fish are getting caught while the big ones are getting away.

It is tax season right now, and while most Canadians will pay their taxes, others are going to try to come up with ways to engage in tax evasion or aggressive tax avoidance.

Does the government believe that the Canada Revenue Agency has the means to deal with the situation? Contrary to what the Prime Minister claims, the government has not invested a trillion dollars in the program to combat tax evasion and tax avoidance. It has invested $15 million. Those numbers come from the CRA.

The government leaves the KPMGs of the world alone, but goes after servers' tip money, and that is unacceptable.

Will the government commit to spending the money it promised?