Taylor Bachrach

[Big Brother Canada, May 4th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, cultural events lie at the heart of life in northwest B.C., whether it’s the All-Native Basketball Tournament in Prince Rupert, or Hobiyee in the Nass Valley. Having these events cancelled by the pandemic has been hard on folks, but now, people have found a reason to come together virtually, because Kiefer Collison, the voice of CFNR and the All-Native Basketball Tournament, has made it to the final week of the reality show, Big Brother Canada.

He is a proud Haida, born and raised in Old Masset. Kiefer’s huge smile, signature mullet and generosity of spirit reflect the best of the northwest. His time on Big Brother Canada is teaching Canada who indigenous people truly are, erasing stereotypes and bringing people together. Here at home, store windows are decorated and people of all ages are wearing “Kief It Real” T-shirts to cheer him on.

The pandemic has been overwhelming and stressful for many, so when there are small things that bring joy, it is worth embracing them. Best of luck to Kiefer, and, as Kiefer says, “Love, peace and oolichan grease”.

[Airline Industry, May 3rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the big airlines continue to sit on billions of dollars of Canadians' hard-earned money for cancelled flights. For months we called on the minister to help, but instead of siding with Canadians, he sided with the airlines, saying there was nothing he could do to force refunds. Now we have emails showing that the government knew early on about gaps in the rules that allowed companies to keep Canadians' money, yet it waited half a year before even starting to make changes.

Will the government explain to Canadians why it took so long to get them their money back?

[Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, May 3rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I listened intently to the hon. member's remarks. At one point he suggested that parties other than his claim to own the narrative around climate change, and I would argue the Conservatives have certainly owned a narrative around the issue, it is simply not the narrative that resonates with most Canadians.

The vote at second reading on Bill C-12 is a vote on the principle of holding the government to account on its climate targets. If the Conservative party votes against the bill at second reading, how is anyone to understand that as anything other than a vote against the principle of climate accountability?

[Infrastructure, April 29th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the government promised that its infrastructure bank would get projects built and create tens of thousands of jobs for Canadians, but yesterday the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that the bank is failing Canadians. Projects are not getting built and jobs are not being created. The bank is actually a barrier to getting projects done, but the government keeps pouring more money into it, doubling down on helping private investors profit through the bank.

Will the minister scrap her privatization experiment and refocus on building projects that communities need?

[Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, April 27th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, Canadians look at all of the climate targets that Canada has set, yet we have met none of them. They look at that record and have a hard time trusting that we are going to meet the 2030 target.

Would the minister please clearly explain what is so difficult about the target-setting process that prevents him from setting a target for 2025?

[Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, April 27th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I would echo the frustration that all of a sudden we find ourselves in a rush to push the bill through. The bill was brought forward last November and then only appeared for one hour of debate in March. Now we find ourselves in April and we are in a huge panic to get the bill through to committee.

We do support climate accountability. I wonder if the minister could explain to us why he is so reluctant to commit to a specific number of megatonnes of greenhouse gases reduced by 2025 on the path to 2030.

[Infrastructure, April 23rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, later today, the government's Infrastructure Bank is holding its annual public meeting; only it is not a meeting at all. It is, wait for it, a series of pre-recorded promotional videos. This bank has $35 billion of public money, and yet cannot deliver even the most basic level of accountability. No local government in Canada could get away with calling a pre-recorded video a public meeting. Is the minister worried that an actual meeting might raise questions about why the bank has not completed a single project in four years?

[Rail Safety, April 23rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, in northwest B.C. the railroad tracks run through so many of our communities. Day and night, trains over a kilometre long rumble through residential areas carrying dangerous goods such as diesel, propane and methanol. If proposed terminal projects go ahead, the volume of dangerous goods will increase even further.

While these trains are integral to our economy, the increase has communities concerned. They see derailments occurring and worry about the risk of a major incident, like the one in Lac-Mégantic. They wonder about response times and evacuation plans. Most of all, they wonder if federal regulations are doing enough to ensure that a major incident never occurs in the first place. Recent reports from the environment commissioner and the Auditor General have shown their concerns are legitimate.

People who live in northwest B.C., including those who work on the trains, deserve a federal government that is doing everything in its power to protect communities, workers and our environment. We will not be silent until that basic responsibility is fulfilled.

[Questions on the Order Paper, April 21st, 2021]

With regard to the rebuilding regulations developed as part of implementing the 2019 amendments to the Fisheries Act: (a) will the regulations include definitions of targets for each prescribed fisheries stock; (b) will these targets be set to a level that will produce maximum sustainable yields; (c) will the regulations include a timeline for rebuilding each prescribed stock; (d) what criteria will be used to develop each timeline; (e) will all prescribed stocks in the critical zone be included in the first set of regulations to be released; (f) will the regulations direct related fisheries management to ensure science-based decision making; (g) will the departmental review of the resulting rebuilding plans be made public; (h) what indicators will be used to track progress towards the objectives of rebuilding plans; and (i) will the regulations seek to ensure protection and recovery of all conservation units within a Stock Management Unit consistent with Canada’s Policy for Conservation of Wild Pacific Salmon?

[Questions on the Order Paper, April 21st, 2021]

With regard to offshore tax havens, since November 2015: (a) how many taxpayer or Canadian business files are currently open with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA); (b) how many taxpayer or Canadian business files have been referred to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada; (c) what is the number of employees assigned to each case, broken down by job post title; (d) how many audits have been conducted since each case was disclosed; (e) how many notices of assessment have been issued by the CRA; (f) what is the total amount recovered so far by the CRA; (g) what is the average time to close a case; (h) what is the average return for closed cases; and (i) how many have been settled and what was the loss in amounts recovered?