Irek Kusmierczyk

[The Environment, June 14th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her questions regarding the Roberts Bank terminal 2 project.

Canada's transportation network is essential to the transportation of approximately $1.2 billion in goods between Canada and international markets.

However, congestion is a major problem on Canada's west coast because there is no redundancy in the system. Recent supply chain disruptions such as floods, fires and pandemics have shown the results of insufficient transportation capacity, higher prices, lower business competitiveness and ports congested with vessels and containers. Port backlogs affect the entire supply chain. This hurts all Canadians, including families who need to pay for more goods, businesses whose deliveries are often late and local communities who must cope with vessels at anchor.

There will be more congestion if we refuse to build new transportation infrastructure. That includes more container handling capacity required to support Canadians, including the millions of new residents that we plan to welcome to our country in the next few decades.

Roberts Bank terminal 2 is expected to increase the Port of Vancouver's ability to handle containers by about 50%, addressing critical container handling capacity issues while also helping Canadian businesses gain access to growing international markets. In addition, Roberts Bank terminal 2 is expected to support more than 1,500 jobs at the terminal, potentially 15,000 jobs off the terminal and countless more jobs across the country in manufacturing, retail and agriculture.

The Government of Canada takes its environmental responsibilities seriously. The positive environmental assessment is based on a strong, scientific assessment carried out by an independent review panel and comprehensive consultations with local communities and indigenous groups.

Consequently, the project is subject to 370 legally binding conditions that protect the environment.

The conditions include protections for marine mammals, including for Southern Resident killer whales. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority will be required to ensure that the project does not increase underwater vessel noise in the Salish Sea, an important part of minimizing disruptions to the whales.

These conditions rely on the existing and planned work by the Government of Canada, including all the protection measures in place to reduce the impact of marine traffic on the southern resident killer whales. The announcement in budget 2023 of $152 million to protect endangered whales shows our commitment to doing this important work.

The other conditions imposed on the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority include more than 100 measures to protect the local fauna, as well as develop and implement an adaptive management approach to prevent any adverse impacts on migratory birds. They also set out the requirement to use emissions free handling equipment and to provide enough provisions to the ships when they are docked at the terminal.

With these strong measures, the Government of Canada is committed to protecting the environment while ensuring that projects critical to Canada's economy, workers and businesses can proceed in a responsible manner.

Approval of Roberts Bank terminal 2 is an important step in securing Canada's supply chains for the future.

[Disaster Assistance, June 14th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the people in the East Prairie Metis Settlement who have lost their homes are going through the unimaginable right now. While the federal government generally provides disaster assistance directly to provinces and territories, we can cover up to 90% of eligible response and recovery costs. While there are no final costs yet, we know the damage caused by Alberta's wildfires is already significant, and we are prepared to work with all partners to ensure that all communities are supported.

[Disaster Assistance, June 14th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Edmonton Griesbach for raising this matter for further debate in this chamber.

Let me begin by acknowledging the devastating impact these wildfires have had on indigenous communities and Albertans across the province. I very much recognize, as the hon. colleague has previously raised in the chamber, that people of the East Prairie Metis Settlement have been among those who lost their homes. Our thoughts are with them and all affected Albertans in the face of this devastating loss.

First, I have a quick update on the current situation in the province. As of June 12, there are 82 wildfires burning in Alberta and 29 are out of control. Some 14,046 people are currently evacuated from their communities. Five indigenous communities in Alberta are among those reporting evacuees.

We are continuing to follow the latest developments in Alberta closely and have been working closely with the province to ensure it has the support it needs to deal with these immediate threats. To that end, on May 10, the Minister of Emergency Preparedness approved the request for federal assistance from the Province of Alberta, activating federal resources to help it combat the ongoing fires.

In response to this request for assistance, the Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to provide firefighting support resources, airlift resources, including the evacuation of isolated communities, and engineering support. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which is a Natural Resources Canada supported entity, is also coordinating the movement of firefighters from other provinces and international partners.

Employment and Social Development Canada has been supporting impacted Canadians with enhanced Service Canada hours, outreach to evacuees and deployment of mobile units to evacuation centres to support applications for services such as employment insurance.

The Public Health Agency of Canada's national emergency stockpile has been engaged and has shipped requested supplies. PHAC is standing at the ready to provide additional supplies if required.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has been working with the Province of Alberta and telecommunication service providers to keep people connected.

Other departments involved in supporting emergency response include Public Services and Procurement Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Transport Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Indigenous Services Canada's emergency management assistance program is also supporting the response and recovery efforts for Alberta's on-reserve indigenous communities currently experiencing the devastating effects of these wildland fires. Such efforts include resource coordination, evacuee supports and recovery support for repairs to on-reserve community infrastructure.

With respect to an issue that I know is important to the member, I recognize, as my hon. colleague is likely already aware, that negotiations regarding a reconciliation agreement with the federal government and the Metis Settlements General Council are ongoing. While this work is being led by the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, these important conversations are helping to strengthen our government-to-government relationship with all eight Métis settlements in Alberta.

When the cost from a natural disaster exceeds a province or territory's ability to respond on its own, the federal government can provide assistance through the disaster financial assistance arrangements. This can help with up to 90% of eligible recovery costs and can include uninsured damage to principal residences.

Let us not forget that the current wildfire risk remains extremely high. Our government will continue to work with all partners, including provinces, territories and indigenous communities, to help keep their communities safe in the immediate term and to be an effective federal partner into the recovery.

I thank my hon. colleague for his excellent advocacy on this critical issue.

[Persons with Disabilities, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, in Canada, no person with a disability should live in poverty. That is why we are creating the Canada disability benefit and income supplement, which has the potential to seriously reduce poverty and increase financial security for hundreds of thousands of working-age persons with disabilities.

In February, this House unanimously adopted Bill C-22, and Bill C-22 is now on the calendar for debate tomorrow. We are looking forward to getting this legislation past the finish line.

[Employment Insurance, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we understand the seriousness of the challenges that many Canadian workers, including those in Quebec, are facing right now. We are with them on the ground. We encourage all workers impacted by wildfires to apply for EI as soon as possible, even without a record of employment. We are on top of this and we will be there for Canadian workers.

[Automotive Industry, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, in the summer of 2021, I joined the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association back home at the Invest Windsor Essex Automobility and Innovation Centre to announce a federal investment of $5 million to support the development of Project Arrow, the first Canadian-made zero-emissions concept vehicle.

Tomorrow, less than two years later, thanks to the contributions of more than 58 Canadian suppliers, including several in my riding of Windsor—Tecumseh, Project Arrow will make its amazing debut on Parliament Hill.

On behalf of president Flavio Volpe, APMA and all its members, I invite all members of the House to come and check out Project Arrow tomorrow, from 12:30 to 4:30 in front of West Block, and take pride in this tremendous team Canada effort.

Thanks to APMA members, manufacturing communities such as Windsor Essex and St. Thomas are leading the world in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing and innovation. I send my congratulations to Flavio Volpe and the APMA team. I thank them for leading the charge.

[Questions on the Order Paper, June 13th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, there is no requirement under the Employment Insurance Act to provide the nature of an illness in order to receive sickness benefits and Service Canada does not request this information. As such, this information/data is not available.

[Persons with Disabilities, June 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her collaboration and her advocacy on this critically important issue.

In Canada, no person with a disability should live in poverty, period. That is why we are creating the Canada disability benefit, an income supplement with the potential to seriously reduce poverty and improve financial security for hundreds of thousands of working-age persons with disabilities.

In February, the House unanimously adopted Bill C-22. Bill C-22 is now on the calendar for debate in the House on June 14. We are looking forward to getting this legislation past the finish line as quickly as possible.

[Employment Insurance, June 9th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's economy remains strong. We have experienced the strongest economic growth in the G7 over the last year. Our unemployment rate remains low, at 5.2%. We have recovered 128% of the jobs lost since the start of the pandemic. However, we are also working hard to make sure that we are looking after all workers, including those who have lost their jobs. We are making record investments in skills training and affordable housing. We are partnering with labour and industry on generational investment in the VW plant in St. Thomas and the Stellantis plant in Windsor, and we are modernizing the EI system to make sure that it is there for all workers when they need it.

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, again, climate change is the challenge of this generation and of these times.

In my community of Windsor—Tecumseh, we had two devastating floods in 2016-17 that put thousands of homes under water. It was absolutely devastating. Today, we see a blanket of smoke covering our community.

At the same time, our community of Windsor—Tecumseh will be leading the transition to a zero-emission economy. We will be building electric vehicles in Windsor. We will be building batteries at the Stellantis plant in Windsor.

Could the minister speak to how the goals of environmental support and protection are not mutually exclusive to economic development, when in fact they are reinforcing goals to both the economic and the environmental aims?