House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2015, with 55% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Mr. Chair, I would also like to congratulate the minister on the integration of his budget. Perhaps he could comment on how cities and communities are benefiting from the infrastructure investment that is the corollary of putting a price on carbon pollution.
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Mr. Chair, I would also like to ask, because of the experience in British Columbia, how the minister sees this benefiting Canada's reputation in the world.
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Mr. Chair, the protection of Canada's natural heritage is in the interest of all Canadians. On behalf of the community I represent, I am proud to aspire to sustainable environmental policies that can lead to a strong economy. It is the role of our government to set an example for sustainable development in supporting businesses and contributing to a green economy.
The government is investing $1.4 billion in projects through the low-carbon economy leadership fund, which will generate clean growth and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while creating jobs for Canadians for years to come. Also, the greening government strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from Government of Canada operations, so I would like to ask if the Minister of Finance could please tell us more about the federal carbon pollution pricing system.
Climate change is one of our most pressing challenges. The impacts are real, including coastal erosion; thawing permafrost; and increases in heat waves, droughts, and flooding. At the same time, it seems evident that climate action creates an opportunity for Canada. It would be helpful to hear more about actions the government is taking in this regard.
Business of Supply May 22nd, 2018
Mr. Chair, Canadians revere nature and are recognized for that. Our desire to conserve, restore, and protect the natural environment is part of who we are, and with climate change upon us, we especially recognize the need to make significant investments in Canada's air, water, and wild spaces for our children and grandchildren.
We also recognize that creating a world-leading clean economy is the imperative of our time. Putting a price on carbon pollution is a foundational aspect of achieving a clean energy economy. The balance between the natural environment and building a cleaner, greener economy is our collective challenge. Therefore, our government has allocated $5.7 billion over 12 years in support of the implementation of the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change. This plan, developed with the provinces and territories and in consultation with indigenous peoples will build a healthy environment by supporting a strong, clean economy, fostering innovation, and creating good, well-paying jobs for the middle class.
In November 2016 the government also launched a $1.5 billion national oceans protection plan to improve marine safety and responsible shipping, protect Canada's marine environment, and unlock opportunities for indigenous people and coastal communities. Budget 2018 has proposed further investment to help grow a healthy and sustainable clean economy. Canada has committed to conserving at least 17% of its land and inland waters by 2020 through networks of protected areas and other conservation measures. Both protected and conserved areas will ensure healthier habitats for species at risk and improve biodiversity.
To that end, budget 2018 proposed a historic investment of more than $1.3 billion over five years, one of the most significant investments in nature conservation in Canadian history. This investment would contribute $500 million from the federal government to create a new $1 billion nature fund in partnership with corporate, not for profit, provincial, territorial, and other partners. Through this collaboration, the nature fund would make it possible to secure private land, support provincial and territorial species protection efforts, and build the capacity of indigenous peoples to conserve land and species for our benefit and that of future generations.
The government is also investing $1 billion over five years to establish better rules for the review of major projects that will protect our environment, fish, and waterways; rebuild public trust; and help create new jobs and economic opportunities. This is an example of delivering on a promise to protect the environment, restore public trust in federal environmental assessment and regulatory processes, and provide predictability for businesses.
Budget 2018 proposed even further investments to help grow a healthy and sustainable clean economy. We are advancing efforts to better protect, preserve, and recover endangered marine life in Canada, with an investment of $167 million over five years. This includes funding for research to help us better understand the factors affecting the health of endangered whale species, as well as actions we can take now to help address threats arising from human activity. Whales are vital to healthy marine ecosystems and an important part of eco tourism in Canada's Pacific and Atlantic coastal regions and in the St. Lawrence estuary.
To keep people and communities safe we also need to improve the networks that collect data and monitor changes in weather, climate, water, ice, and air. Budget 2018 proposes to improve Canada's weather and water services with $120 million over five years to help protect people and communities from the devastating impacts of extreme weather events. These events, such as the wildfires and flooding we have unfortunately seen recently, are having and can have a devastating impact on people, communities, and our economy.
Therefore, another proposed measure of our government is our plan to extend for five years the existing accelerated deduction for clean energy generation and energy efficiency equipment to property acquired before 2025. The deferral of tax associated with this measure is expected to provide businesses with a benefit of approximately $123 million over five years.
Finally, to ensure that a price on carbon pollution is in place across Canada, we are developing a federal system that would apply in provinces and territories upon request, and also in those that do not have a pricing system in place that meets the federal standards, by the end of this year. The government is also supporting the federal carbon pollution pricing system with $109 million in new funding over five years for Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency to develop, implement, and enforce the federal carbon pricing system.
As a member of Parliament from British Columbia and the former mayor of West Vancouver, I remember former British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell's leadership well. I know how British Columbia, as North America's first jurisdiction with an economy-wide pricing policy on carbon in 2008, has led and succeeded, and as a government, we know what British Columbia learned. Members can read all about it in a recent 2015 report I participated in. It is called “How to Adopt a Winning Carbon Price”.
Here are some key recommendations: one, a carbon tax and a thriving economy can coexist; two, strong leadership matters; three, start with a low price; four, commit to a schedule of price increases; five, revenue neutrality helps to address private sector concerns; six, a carbon tax is one component of a suite of climate policies; and finally, expect a clean environment, an enhanced reputation, and a thriving clean-tech sector.
The results of British Columbia's decade-old initiative to put a price on carbon are well understood. In 2012, at a tax rate of $30 a tonne, more than $1 billion a year is collected because of pricing carbon, and each year it is accompanied by an equal or greater tax cut. The opportunity created by pricing carbon pollution in British Columbia meant a reduction in tax rates for large and small businesses, a reduction in personal income tax rates, a climate action tax credit for low-income British Columbians, and an annual $200 benefit for rural and northern homeowners. These are the choices B.C. made.
Under our plan, the provinces, under the leadership of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, may make their own choices too. When we began, the public supported pricing carbon by 54%. This steadily grew to 64% in 2012 as B.C.'s economy slightly outperformed the rest of Canada throughout. For the clean-tech sector, the shift has been positive.
In conclusion, our quality of life as Canadians and our present and future prosperity are deeply connected to the environment in which we live. The extraordinary beauty of Canada's nature, parks, and wild spaces are central to our identity as Canadians. As Canadians, it is a public trust.
We are forging ahead with determination and ambition toward a more prosperous future for all Canadians. Our government is making significant investments toward a strong and sustainable low-carbon economy, one that creates growth and good middle-class jobs while preserving our safety, security, and natural environment for future generations.
Elections Modernization Act May 22nd, 2018
Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague how he could possibly defend the so-called Fair Elections Act, which did its best to disenfranchise disabled people, young people, and Canadians living abroad, and ask him about the strong and swift reaction we heard from Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
Elections Modernization Act May 22nd, 2018
Mr. Speaker, social media is the media so that is the world in which we live. This question has been considered. It is a big country and we really are treating everybody as fairly as we can. Every one of us in this room has experienced calls that were not the way it really turned out. Therefore, let us put our faith in Canadians and let us put our faith in improving the system as we have it before us now. Let us hope the next election sees an even bigger voter turnout than the record turnout in 2015.
Elections Modernization Act May 22nd, 2018
Mr. Speaker, we are taking the time to do it right. We are doing a comprehensive job. It surprises me tremendously that the member opposite is now deciding to listen to the Chief Electoral Officer. If the Conservatives had listened in the first place, we would not be in this situation. However, my understanding is that in PROC today, the Chief Electoral Officer is prepared to work diligently and feels we can achieve this over the summer.
Elections Modernization Act May 22nd, 2018
Mr. Speaker, it will come as no surprise to anyone representing the west coast of Canada and British Columbia that electoral reform and democratic institutions writ large are very important. We have a community of advocates. I held three town hall meetings. Each of them had 100 to 150 people in attendance. One had 300 people at it. Therefore, I have done my homework.
I do not want Canadians to forget the tension during the last election over the sanctity of our democratic institutions and the sense that the previous government had started to close down the access, inclusion, participation, and voting of Canadians. Also, Canadians expect us to protect the fairness of the political system and to ensure that, whether one is a practitioner, a volunteer, a thought leader, or someone at home trying to get the best information, nothing impedes that. Therefore, I am happy to bring forward ideas from the community to the House today.
Elections Modernization Act May 22nd, 2018
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today to talk about such an important issue. In the last election campaign, in my community and in communities right across the country, many concerns were raised about how we can ensure the integrity and inclusivity of the elections modernization act.
Things that came up were that parties must protect personal information. We need to reduce barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from voting and participating. We need to reverse changes made by the previous government, including reintroducing the voter card, reintroducing vouching, and safeguarding the independence of the commissioner of Canada Elections, who ensures compliance with the act. We need to ensure greater flexibility for the Chief Electoral Officer. We can expand the franchise to Canadians living abroad. We need to target the malicious use of technology like political bots, which have been seen to interfere with the integrity of our elections.
I rise today to focus more on the important opportunity we have to address spending by political parties and other entities before the writ period. With the implementation of fixed date elections, political parties and third parties may use the time before an election period to spend money without limit.
The Prime Minister gave the Minister of Democratic Institutions a mandate to review the limits on the amounts political parties and third parties can spend during elections, and to propose measures to ensure that spending between elections is subject to reasonable limits as well.
Since the introduction of fixed election dates in 2007, the Canada Elections Act has stipulated that an election should be held on the third Monday of October in the fourth year following the previous general election. In the interests of fairness and transparency, and in keeping with the fact of fixed election dates, this bill defines a pre-election period for federal elections as beginning on June 30 of the fixed election year. This anticipates that the House will have risen, so that there will be no interference with a parliamentary session.
Defining the pre-election period from the end of June provides a window of two to two and a half months before the mid-October election, in which partisan spending would be regulated. New pre-election spending rules will affect registered political parties and third parties. However, it is the latter group that I would like to raise in the House today.
During the 2015 election, a spending limit of about $211,000 was imposed on third parties. Only 19 of over 100 third party contributors spent over $100,000. Thirteen of those were unions. The median spending by third parties was about $8,500. New spending limits for both pre-election and election periods will therefore not directly affect most third parties, but are essential to prevent those with deep pockets from potentially exerting undue influence.
Under this bill, for the first time, all partisan activities by third parties that support or oppose a political actor, like rallies, phone campaigns, and door-to-door canvassing, will be included in the spending limits. For this reason, the limits for third parties will be increased to approximately $500,000 for the election period in 2019, with no more than $4,000 permitted to be spent on a single electoral district. For the pre-election period, the bill sets a spending limit for third party partisan advertising, partisan activities, and election surveys. The limit for the upcoming election in 2019 will be $1 million, with no more than $10,000 spent on a single electoral district. Since the pre-election period could be twice the length of the election period, the limits need to be higher.
I would like to make it clear that in the bill we are distinguishing between partisan and issue advertising. Partisan advertising and activities are those that directly support or oppose a political party or candidate in an election. Issue advertising and activities, on the other hand, encompass a broad range of issues on which third party organizations advocate as part of their regular business. This, of course, is very welcome. Provided they do not mention a party or a candidate, these would not be regulated in the pre-election period.
Third parties that spend $500 or more on partisan advertising or activities during the pre-election period would need to register with Elections Canada. This is already the case during the election period. Third parties that have spent more than $10,000 or received contributions of over $10,000 for partisan purposes will be required to report, upon registration and again on September 15, the contributions received and expenses incurred in the pre-election period.
It is exciting to think about the transparency of all of this, and the help in the investigation of potential allegations of the use of foreign funds. However, the $10,000 threshold will limit the administrative burden to larger third parties that are receiving and spending a significant amount of money to influence an election. Third parties are currently prohibited from using foreign funds on election advertising. This prohibition would be expanded to forbid foreign funding during the pre-writ period for partisan advertising, other partisan activities, and elections surveys.
During both the pre-writ and election periods, tag lines on advertisements would need to identify the third-party sponsor, as is required for a political party. This requirement will now be applied to both the pre-writ and election periods. Previously, it was the case only during the election period.
To facilitate the tracking of financial involvement in these periods, a third party would be required to open a dedicated bank account. This must happen as soon as it receives contributions or incurs an expense with respect to partisan activities. Currently, third parties report on contributions for election advertising received within six months of the writ. As recommended by the Chief Electoral Officer, this time restriction would be removed. Third parties would now report on all contributions received at any time and used for election advertising and partisan activities.
These measures are required because the fixed election dates have changed the way in which partisan activities are conducted in Canada. Parties and third parties know that an election will occur mid-October 2019. Without the new measures included in the bill, those with the most money could dominate the conversation in the pre-election period and could avoid the transparency measures that exist during the election period. This bill would rectify the situation, maintain a level playing field, and ensure transparency in political financing in Canada.
I look forward to the support of hon. members in putting forth this important legislation. It is certainly what Canadians have told us and what Canadians expect us to deliver on.
International Trade May 4th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, the ratification of the CPTPP is a priority for our government. The minister was pleased to sign the agreement on March 8. Now that the agreement is signed, each member nation of the CPTPP will start its own ratification and implementation procedure. Agreements must go through the normal legislative process before being ratified. I look forward to working with my esteemed colleague on this legislation.