Justin Trudeau

[Natural Resources, September 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, if anyone in this place or anyone across this country needed proof that the Conservatives do not know what they are talking about when it comes to indigenous peoples, citing the end of the northern gateway pipeline as something that went against indigenous peoples proves that they are hopelessly out of touch with the concerns of indigenous peoples. Yes, there are voices in indigenous communities on all sides of the debate, but the fact that the Conservative government did not respect indigenous voices is why it could not get things built.

[Natural Resources, September 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years they were unable to get our resources to new markets. The reason they were unable, despite everything they tried, is that they thought the way to get things built to new markets was by eliminating environmental oversight, or “obstacles” as they would say, and continuing to marginalize indigenous peoples. We know that growing the economy goes hand in hand with protecting the environment and with reconciliation. That is exactly what we are doing to grow our economy and protect Canadians for the future.

[Natural Resources, September 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I would rather talk about the 10 years of failures under the Harper government, which refused to accept that protecting the environment and creating economic growth go hand in hand. Furthermore, the Conservatives continued to marginalize indigenous communities. They have been criticizing us for the past three years because we are doing too much for the environment and too much to work on reconciliation with indigenous peoples. On the contrary, the court just said that we need to do more, and this is exactly what we are going to do. We know that protecting the environment—

[Steel Industry, September 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said throughout the year, we will be there to support our workers in the steel and aluminum industry and in every industry across the country. We have introduced measures to help them when needed. We will continue to be sure to diversify our economy in order to help our aluminum and steel workers innovate. We will continue to defend these industries from the United States' reckless and punitive actions.

[Indigenous Affairs, September 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the road to reconciliation is a long one, but there are immediate steps we can and must be taking, which we are taking. We recognize the need to invest right now in emerging mental health crises, in housing needs and education needs to help indigenous students and people right across the country, while at the same time we move forward toward greater rights and recognition, toward greater partnership and toward greater autonomy for indigenous peoples in this country. That is something we are on together as a journey. It is one in which we are partners, in which we work with respect and openness.

[Indigenous Affairs, September 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important than that with indigenous peoples. That is why from the very beginning we invested $8.6 billion over the coming years in making sure we moved toward parity in education.

In working with the community of Kashechewan an interim solution has been found to allow classes to start this week, while a longer-term solution is identified. We are supporting the community's request for a long-term modular school solution, and we will be working with it to expedite the project.

Kashechewan students remain our priority as we determine next steps, with further updates on the solutions expected later this week.

[Housing, September 17th, 2018]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, our investments in infrastructure and housing across the country are making a real difference for Canadians. We are indeed moving forward on something the Conservatives never did. We see a federal role for housing. That is why we have put together a $40 billion plan to invest in housing, a national housing strategy that is going to deliver for Canadians right across the country.

We understand the pressures faced by Canadians in our large cities, in small communities right across the country, and this government is stepping up to help them.

[International Trade, September 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, we are working to renegotiate NAFTA, and we have been very clear. We will protect supply management, and we will make sure that the people we represent, our workers, and our economy benefit from a good agreement. We will not sign just any agreement. We will not sign a new NAFTA unless it is a good deal for Canadians. That is what people are expecting.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, September 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are trying to scare Canadians, but we can assure everyone that our immigration system continues to be applied in its entirety. We are carefully conducting background checks on all newcomers and examining all security matters. We are following Canada's immigration laws to the letter. Canadians can rest assured that we have a good system that continues to serve us well. We are investing even more resources in this system.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, September 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, over the past year and a half we have seen people crossing from the American side in greater numbers, which represents a challenge. That is why we have invested in the necessary measures to process and evaluate anyone crossing the border irregularly to ensure that we continue to apply the entirety of our immigration rules, our refugee rules, and our security rules to them. This is something we will continue to do. We have lots more work to do. However, we are on the right track with this and Canadians can be reassured that our immigration system remains secure and strong.