Kent Hehr

[Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL, February 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time this afternoon.

I would like to begin this debate with a statement of gratitude to the many men and women who are serving in our military in the Middle East and elsewhere around the world, and the many public servants who have offered and will continue to offer their service and dedication in the Middle East on our behalf and on behalf of all Canadians.

It is indeed a great privilege to discuss this important undertaking by this government and the people of Canada. There is no doubt that we need to play a role in the geopolitics of our time and support our NATO allies in the Middle East. I believe we are doing just that on this side of the House, moving forward in a bold and confident manner. We will not only play a role in the world and fighting ISIL, but will ensure that part of world builds itself and has the capabilities to fight on its own behalf and to develop a long-term approach to stabilizing the region.

Our motion has essentially five points to it, which I will address before getting into further merits of the debate.

First, we would refocus our military contribution by expanding the advise and assist mission of the Canadian Armed Forces in Iraq; significantly increasing the intelligence capabilities in Iraq theatre-wide; deploying CAF medical personnel; offering to provide the Government of Iraq ministerial liaison personnel for the ministries of defence and the interior; enhancing capacity-building efforts with our defence partners in Jordan and Lebanon to advance regional stability; and as mentioned by many in this House, withdrawing our CF-18s while maintaining air force surveillance and refuelling capabilities.

Second, we would improve the living conditions of conflicted populations, and help to build the foundations for long-term regional stability of host communities, including Lebanon and Jordan.

Third, we would invest significantly in humanitarian assistance, working with experienced humanitarian partners to support the basic needs of conflict-affected populations, including children and victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

Fourth, we would engage more effectively with political leaders throughout the region, increasing Canada's contribution to international efforts aimed at finding political solutions to the crisis affecting the region, and reinforcing our diplomatic presence to facilitate the delivery of enhanced programming; supporting CAF development; strengthening dialogue with local and international partners on the ground; and generally giving Canada a stronger voice in the region, which has to be emphasized. Without question, that is what we are doing on this side of the House.

Fifth, and this is not a minor thing, we are welcoming tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada. This is an important commitment we made in the election, and we are following through on it as we speak. I believe 20,000 Syrian refugees have already arrived in this country, and we will be continuing with those efforts.

This is a strong signal to the world and to the region of our long-term commitment to support what is happening over there, and allowing a sense of dignity and humanitarian aid that I believe reflects well in the world community. More importantly, this reflects Canadian values of helping out, giving people shelter from the storm, and helping people in these regions rebuild their lives.

That is essentially what we as a government are doing, and I am very proud of those efforts.

I would point out what, in my view, we are losing track of when we focus only on the narrow issue of taking out our CF-18s. We have to look at this in the broader context of what we are doing writ large to support our NATO allies, the 65 partner nations that are over there combatting ISIL, and what we are adding to that contribution, and how we can best play a meaningful role. There is no doubt that Canada is fulfilling those commitments to our NATO partners. If we look at the comments coming from the American generals and our partners throughout the world, they are satisfied that Canada is playing a meaningful role. We can see that.

If weighed in their overall capacity, our contributions are superior to what was being offered by the former government. We are moving in with more personnel, more aid, more technological support, and the like. This will assist the region in the short term by enabling the Iraqis forces and others on the ground to develop more capabilities to take the fight to ISIL. It will also assist in the long run in the humanitarian, nation-building, and political contexts, and through our whole-of-government approach, effectively working throughout the region to hopefully secure it and to make it more peaceful. If one looks at our efforts compared to those of the former government, it is clear that we are actually doing more.

When we look at this situation, there seems to be much rancour about the pulling out of the CF-18s. There is no doubt that the reformulation of our mission has allowed our NATO partners to continue with the bombing mission. Clearly, this is not cutting and running. We are staying in the fight. We have just re-calibrated our capacity to do these things and move forward with a different approach, one that not only fits in with the kind and character of what we said in the election but will support the region over the long term, and is what Canadians have been good at throughout our history.

As we are coming up on our 150th year as a country, I would be remiss not to note that we have taken part in the events of the day going back to the Boer War, World War I, and World War II when we stormed the beaches of Normandy. I note our role in the Cold War, and our efforts in Africa, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Canada is not being isolationist, nor is it attempting to be at this time. I sense that our approach to foreign policy, and how we will develop that and work through our United Nations partners to play a meaningful role in humanitarian organizations, and the like, will serve this nation going forward.

The former government did not play that meaningful partnership role that governments in Canada have essentially done through Mr. Pearson, Mr. Trudeau, Mr. Clark, Mr. Mulroney, and Mr. Chrétien. That approach changed under the former government. Many people saw it retreat from what Canada was good at, which is being a true partner of the institutions around the world that are looking to see peace, order, and good government come to other regions of the world, and for Canada to take a meaningful part.

[Veterans Affairs, February 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2014-15 annual report of the veterans ombudsman.

[Veterans Affairs, February 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Avalon for his advocacy on behalf of veterans and their families.

The Prime Minister gave me a mandate to ensure that veterans receive the care, compassion, and respect they deserve. Families are the cornerstone of a return to wellness. We were proud to announce two new tools, the OSI resource for caregivers and the veterans' mental health tutorial. These online resources will help to better understand veterans' mental health issues and reduce stigma. These are just the first steps in a better approach.

[Veterans, February 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am also the Associate Minister of National Defence, which means that I am working hard with my partners in National Defence to look at ways to ensure there is a seamless transition between National Defence and Veterans Affairs. We are identifying those possibilities where we can work forward and allow our veterans and people serving to get the assistance they need in place.

[Natural Resources, February 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be with a government that sees energy and the economy as two sides of the same coin. Here we have a time where Canadians have lost confidence in our system and now we are reintroducing principles that will allow us to get access to markets, something that the former government failed miserably to do.

[Veterans, January 27th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I can say that I have an aggressive mandate from my Prime Minister in dealing with Veterans Affairs. We have 15 different commitments that we have made to veterans to see them get the care, compassion, and respect they deserve for serving our country, whether that is through more opportunities in the workforce, more opportunities for education, or more opportunities for their families to succeed. That is what we promised and that is what we are going to deliver.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, January 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has rightly pointed out that one of the issues facing the Canadian people, governments, and many around the world is inequality. We have a great many people struggling, and fewer doing very well. The concerns my colleague outlined are concerns for this government. How do we get people who are struggling further along? How do we see that provincial welfare rates ensure that people are getting adequate money to allow them to keep their hopes and dreams alive? I am not certain that is happening today. My sense is that our government is going to work on a lot of these issues. My door is always open to hearing the member's ideas, because we need to get working on these issues.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, January 26th, 2016]

I am sorry about that, Mr. Speaker.

As the hon. member points out, yes, and this is a great way to have openness and transparency and allow her to do her best to keep track of progress on this file.

There are easier things to do, in this mandate letter, and there are harder things to do. We recognize that. I have a great team forming, and it has been working on implementing this aggressive agenda from day one. As the member is aware, there is a process that we must go through. We will be making an announcement shortly, and I ask her to give us some time. It has only been 100 days. I have every confidence that four years into this mandate, veterans affairs will be in a better place than it is today.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, January 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the former minister responsible was moving the chains of justice forward on this file. Part of the trouble was that the previous nine and a half years had not gone so smoothly for the Conservative government. Maybe he should have been made minister a lot quicker. However, that is all grist for the mill.

As the member is aware and as she rightly pointed out, I am now the minister responsible for what is happening in our veterans affairs department. You are right. Our party made 15 specific promises to veterans. They are outlined clearly in our mandate letters. I am proud of our Prime Minister for posting them. Now you can track specifically our mandate and whether I am following through on this. This is a great move by our government. It is going to allow you to do your job better, as well as me—

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, January 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour and privilege for me to be here in this august House to make my comments on the Speech from the Throne.

It is also the first time for me to thank my constituents of Calgary Centre who put their trust in me, along with my colleague from Calgary Skyview, to become one of the first Liberals to be elected to the House of Commons from Calgary in 48 years. It is truly a privilege to have earned their trust and to be here to serve the people from that community going forward.

Calgary Centre is a unique place. We have a whole host of different people, different communities, and different situations that exist on the ground. We have kids in school and seniors in the later stages of their lives. We have school teachers and businessmen, and we have a great many people who are doing very well and a great many who struggle in my community. It is almost a microcosm of what would be found in almost any urban centre. Many of the policies that we ran on as a party and that were identified in the throne speech really captured their imagination and the issues they were facing. In my view, the issues that Alberta and Calgary are facing at this time are well addressed in both the throne speech and in what we put forward as a party during the election.

I would like to thank numerous people in my life who helped me along the way. I would like to start with two people who have been there from the beginning, my mom and dad, Richard Hehr and Judy Hehr, two pragmatic, hard-nosed school teachers from Alberta, who taught me the value of being a public servant, of being a reasonable human being most days, and who carried me along from my recalcitrant and lackadaisical youth to a more productive future. I thank them for being there each and every step of the way. They worked very hard on my election campaign and taught me the value of understanding the concept of equality of opportunity. Whether one is born to a wealthy family or one that struggles, one is going to get a fair shake in this country and we need government to ensure that there are strong public schools, access to health care and to universities, and that there is a social safety net if they stumble or fall, allowing the government to help them get up and get on their way.

I have been fortunate enough to represent a constituency that I was born in. I live 17 blocks from the hospital that I was born in. My parents were there from day one and door knocked harder than anyone else, and without their love and support, I definitely would not be here today.

Another person I need to recognize is my sister, Kristie Smith. Although she is two years younger than I am, she has always been my older sister. She was more organized, a little brighter than I was, a little more competent than I was, and helped me along the way through a great many trials and tribulations. It was not always easy for her. I recognize that, and she is doing very well. Some of the joys in my life are my family, as well as her three kids, Marshall, Jackson, and Parker. They really mean a great deal to me and have helped me get here.

I can also say that it was not without a tremendous number of volunteers and people who followed me on this journey and who we worked very hard on a long campaign. They were there for the stretch, banging on doors, handing out pamphlets, telling people that I am a reasonable guy most days. I thank them for being out there and assisting me along this journey.

If we look at our campaign pledges and how these fit with Alberta and Calgary at this time, we need to look at the factors that are going on in Alberta. Some of the measures that we implement in our platform will assist in what is no doubt a difficult time.

We are cutting taxes for the middle class. This will allow people to have more money in their pockets that they can spend in the economy right now to help prime the pump. I am also very proud of the fact that we are going to lift more than 300,000 kids out of poverty with the introduction of our child benefit plan. These are some truly great things that will assist a family's pursuit of equality of opportunity. Some of that money will be spent in the economy as well.

On our infrastructure investments that we are going to make, one does not have to look too far. Just read The Globe and Mail. Virtually every economist in the land says now is the time to do it. Government has to make these investments anyway, and long-term projects will make the economy and the people more successful. There are many of those projects out there that will allow us to be more productive and allow people to work right away. Many people are out of jobs in Alberta; this will help. I think that resonated with many in the campaign.

I look forward to addressing these issues and more going forward.

I would be remiss not to mention that a large part of our economy is in oil and gas. I was born in Calgary in 1969, and I have benefited greatly from the success of that industry. It has contributed and allowed people opportunities to build their lives. It allowed us to accomplish a great many things.

I sense that we are looking at this correctly as a government, as we are seeing energy and the economy as two sides of the same coin. We are seeing that we cannot have access to markets without building a consensus. I will point out, and I think even members opposite will recognize, that they have not been overly successful in this. Since 2006, despite claiming that we were going to be an energy superpower, we have not seen our products reach tidewater. We have not seen our energy products go south in the way the former government thought was going to occur. I sense that we have a Prime Minister who is willing to engage in the Canadian energy strategy.

Mr. Speaker, I will need to split my time.

We see a Prime Minister who is willing to be involved in the Canadian energy strategy, which is something former premier Redford started and in which Premier Notley has been fully engaged. It is something that will allow us to interact with the premiers on this nation-building project.

We see that we have a Prime Minister who is committed to working with first nations and aboriginal groups, to work with our environmental community, and to see that we are getting serious on climate change.

However, I will point out that even if we get our product to tidewater, we need to have people willing to buy it. I will also point out that three years ago the European Union was within one vote of saying no to our oil. This is how serious an issue it is.

I will close by saying, look, a kid from Calgary got elected. One, that is a pretty amazing thing. Two, he wound up in national government. Three, he was named a minister of the Crown. My goodness, that is a trifecta at the horse races. As Minister of Veterans Affairs, I have been given an aggressive mandate to do things better on that file, to work closely with the Minister of National Defence, and to close the seam to see our men and women who have served this great nation find greater success, be that through employment, education, or dealing with issues of injury either physical or emotional. I am very proud to be given this responsibility.

The last thing I will close with is to thank the citizens of Calgary Centre for giving me this opportunity to, hopefully, not only work for good public policy in the long run, but to share my life with each and every one of them. It is a true joy.