Paul Manly

[Petitions, November 18th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to table e-petition 2776. The petitioners are concerned about the Canada pension plan investments of over $200 million in foreign open-net pen salmon farms. Open-net pen salmon farms contaminate wild salmon habitat with chemicals, parasites, viruses and diseases, all of which threaten the health of wild Pacific salmons runs. To protect their wild salmon populations, Washington state passed legislation banning PRV-infected farmed salmon in 2018. Divesting Canadians' pensions from PRV-infected salmon farms is an important step in protecting wild salmon. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to request that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board divest from open-net pen aquaculture investment opportunities, foreign-owned or otherwise.

[Trade and Foreign Investment Protection Agreements Transparency Act, November 18th, 2020]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-252, an act to provide for transparency in entering trade agreements and foreign investment protection agreements.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to table this private member's bill today. During the debate on NAFTA and the CUSMA trade agreement, the opposition Conservatives complained about the lack of transparency in the negotiations. When the Conservatives were in power, the opposition parties complained about the lack of transparency in the CETA and TPP negotiations. This Parliament is only able to debate the merits of a trade agreement after negotiations are complete and the agreement is signed.

This private member's bill, the trade and foreign investment protection agreements transparency act, is modelled on the European Union's process of transparent trade negotiations. The purpose of this act is to create a transparent consultation and assessment process to ensure that Canada's trade and foreign investment protection agreements reflect the values and interests of Canada as a whole, taking into account the perspectives of various groups, including local communities, civil society organizations and indigenous peoples; promote sustainable development and respect for the environment; and adhere to the principles of economic fairness, social justice and internationally recognized human rights.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Business of Supply, November 17th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I agree that this is an important motion coming forward.

We have heard previous speakers talk about experts coming to the industry committee to talk about the Investment Canada Act. I would like to see hearings on the Canada-China FIPA and get Gus Van Harten to testify at Parliament, because he says that this is a FIPA like no other.

Australia and the other Five Eyes partners do not have the kinds of investment treaties that lock them in, and we could be paying billions to Huawei. I wonder if the hon. member would support having hearings into the Canada-China FIPA to see what the implications of this agreement, which was set up by the Harper Conservatives, are having on this country.

[Judges Act, November 16th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the hon. member for Fredericton for her speech. I would also like to thank her for her tireless advocacy on these issues of systemic discrimination, for seeing it for what it is and for understanding it. Cultural safety and cultural competency are things that all professionals need to learn in every profession, and I think that the amendments that the hon. member has put forward to this bill are valuable. I am pleased to see that the committee has supported them and they have been included in the bill.

I do not have a question in particular. I just wanted to thank the hon. member for her work. If she would like to comment further on any ideas she may have on how we can better train all professionals in this country to understand systemic racism, I would appreciate that.

[Judges Act, November 16th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. parliamentary secretary, as he is always very passionate about this issue.

The idea of putting social context, systemic racism and systemic discrimination into this bill is important. It is about cultural competence and cultural safety. This is a process that the health care system in British Columbia has been implementing for training doctors and medical professionals. This system is moving to other places in the country because it is important that people understand social context and how discrimination works in an institutionalized way.

In what other areas under federal jurisdiction should we see this kind of cultural competence and cultural safety implemented to train and educate people? We could do this, for instance, regarding indigenous people in this country, given the systemic racism they face and the colonial history they have had to deal with.

[Innovation, Science and Industry, November 16th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the government has reserved 414 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines with six private sector contracts. What will this cost taxpayers? For 70 years, government-owned Connaught Labs developed low-cost vaccines and other medicines. This model would ensure the financial viability of a universal pharmacare program in Canada.

Will the government return to this model of publicly owned laboratories to develop low-cost medicines and vaccines to serve the greater good?

[Income Tax Act, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Courtenay—Alberni because both of us are fighting for our local first nations businesses, owned and operated by first nations, to get their companies eligible for these programs as well: the wage subsidy and the business loans programs. I could provide a list of companies that were unable to get the help with the rent subsidy. I am sure the member has a list from his riding as well.

[Income Tax Act, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree with the hon. member for Victoria. Yes, these programs should be retroactive. There are small businesses that did not get this rent subsidy because their landlords refused to apply. As I said, some small businesses have already shut down. It is too late for them, but others have racked up huge amounts of debt. Some of that is credit card debt that the banks have padded their wallets with. Again, we are seeing huge profits by big banks. If we do not protect these small businesses, we will have more multinationals taking care of the goods and services in our communities and sucking all of that wealth out of them and putting it offshore.

We absolutely need to protect our small businesses. These programs should be retroactive.

[Income Tax Act, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the suite of programs we have available for small businesses across the country, but we need more flexibility built into them. That is what we have been asking for all along.

As these programs have been introduced, we have seen problems with them. We have seen hard lines and parameters that make it difficult for many small businesses to eligible, so we have asked for the flexibility. Granted, the government has provided some flexibility in these programs and improved them. It is taking an awful long time, though.

The problem we are seeing with many small businesses in my community and in other communities is that this aid is coming too late for many of them. We need to figure out that issue, because people are losing their livelihoods and life savings. It is crucial that we provide support to people who have really poured their lives into their small businesses.

[Income Tax Act, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the richest 20 billionaires in Canada increased their wealth by $37 billion in the first six months of the pandemic alone.

These billionaires clearly need to be paying their fair share of taxes. Their companies utilize the public infrastructure paid for with tax dollars, including the roads, bridges, law enforcement services, and sewage and water infrastructure. They benefit from the free education and health care their employees receive, and from the public transit their employees use to get to work.

We keep hearing that we are all in this together, but if we compare COVID-19 to a storm at sea, while it is true that we are all facing rough seas, some people are clinging to pallets without life jackets while others are in luxury liners. We have a growing wealth disparity in this country, and nowhere is it more apparent than in Nanaimo.

One can walk past a homeless camp on the way to the harbour to see Jim Pattison's 150-foot, $25-million yacht when it is docked for a visit. This yacht is almost as large as the coastal defence vessel, the HMCS Nanaimo, which also visits our port. This is obscene and ostentatious wealth.

It is time that Canada's ultrawealthy do their fair share to help Canadians during this pandemic. It is time for a wealth tax in Canada, and for taxes on extreme profits gleaned during the pandemic.

Interest rates are at a record low and Canada's big banks continue to make massive profits, but we have still not seen any relief in credit card interest rates, credit card charges or banking fees for Canadian small businesses or consumers. The big banks continue to fleece Canadians during this pandemic.

During the financial crisis in 2008, these same big banks received taxpayer-funded bailouts reported to be as high as $114 billion. It is time that Canada's big banks returned the favour and do their fair share to help Canadians during this pandemic. They need to reduce credit card interest and banking fees now. Throughout this pandemic, these have caused economic hardship.

The Green Party caucus has listened to constituents, local businesses, labour unions, chambers of commerce, organizations and associations. We are now in the second wave of this pandemic. We need to do all we can to ensure that our small businesses are protected as further measures are taken to ensure the most vulnerable members of our community are kept safe from this virus.

The Green Party supports this legislation, which introduces the new Canada emergency rent subsidy—