Wayne Stetski

[Canadian Heritage, May 31st, 2018]

Madam Speaker, it is easy to go overtime when we are talking about Gatineau Park.

When the Prime Minister responded to my question in February, he said, “We will continue to work...to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect this beautiful wilderness area for generations to come.”

As we celebrate 80 years of this natural treasure, will the government take the necessary steps to protect it for future generations? I will ask the question again. Will the government amend the National Capital Act to protect the ecological integrity of Gatineau Park and establish its boundaries in law?

[Canadian Heritage, May 31st, 2018]

Madam Speaker, in February, I rose in the House to ask the government to strengthen the legislation regarding Gatineau Park by establishing the park's boundaries in law and enshrining ecological integrity as a top priority for the management of the park.

At that time, the Prime Minister indicated that the government would work with the National Capital Commission to do “everything we can to protect this beautiful wilderness area for generations to come.” Unfortunately, thus far, those efforts have stopped short of the common sense measures I raised.

This year marks 80 years since Gatineau Park was established. Gatineau is one of the most diverse regions in Quebec and has enormous ecological value. The park is home to 50 mammal species, 230 species of birds, 50 tree species, and some 1,000 species of vascular plants. The park is also home to 125 species of conservation concern, including the Blanding's turtle and the eastern wolf. Also, 80% of all eastern red cedar trees in Quebec are in Gatineau Park.

In addition to its many ecological benefits, Gatineau Park also makes a significant economic and social contribution to the national capital region, receiving more than 2.6 million visits per year. If any members of Parliament have not yet been to the park, I encourage them to do so. They may even get there by bicycle. I know because I did that last year.

According to a study conducted by the National Capital Commission, the park generated approximately $241.5 million to the local economy from September 2015 to August 2016, including through such things as spending at local restaurants, on sports and recreational equipment or services, and on other shopping related to visiting the park.

It is clear that Gatineau Park has a special place in the hearts of many residents of our nation's capital region. However, despite all of its obvious benefits, the park does not have the same legislative protection as those afforded to our national parks system.

For nearly 50 years now, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has been striving for stronger protections for Gatineau Park. Despite the park's ecological and social importance in this region, there are still no restrictions on development within the park. There are also no set borders for the park, meaning that its future is dependent upon whoever sits on the National Capital Commission Board at any given time.

While the boundaries of the park have been recognized through NCC policy and an order in council, they can still be amended without the same oversight as an act of Parliament would require for a national park. The NCC is renewing the park's master plan this year which is great, but there is no reason to wait until the master plan is complete to strengthen the park's legislative protections. These processes can occur in parallel.

The government has repeatedly reiterated its commitment to protecting 17% of our land by 2020. Rouge National Urban Park in the GTA has given us an example of what national park conservation in an urban environment can look like. Let us use this opportunity to follow that example and strengthen the legislative protections for Gatineau Park.

It is worth noting that at one time or another all parties have made commitments to protect Gatineau Park. Former NDP MP Nycole Turmel introduced a private member's bill in 2012 that would have established the park's boundaries in law and emphasized ecological protection in the management of the park. The Prime Minister and the Liberal party voted in favour of Ms. Turmel's bill when they were in the opposition.

When I raised this issue in February, the Prime Minister described Gatineau Park as “a true jewel in our national capital region.” He went on to say, “We will continue to work...to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect—

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, May 30th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, over the last two and a half years, we have talked a lot in the House about the need for pay equity and equality for women. This budget is called a gender and growth budget. I am wondering whether my colleague finds it curious that despite that title, gender and growth, there is very little in the bill. Would the Conservatives agree that we need pay equity now?

[National Local Food Day Act, May 28th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to wrap up the second reading debate on my private member's bill, Bill C-281, an act to establish a national local food day for Canada.

I want to thank all the hon. members for their speeches, for their support, and for making me very hungry and thirsty. I want to thank my staff for their amazing work on this important initiative.

When I last spoke in the House on Bill C-281, I highlighted a number of local food producers and initiatives in Kootenay—Columbia. Over the recent break week, I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful Creston Valley, which in many ways is the agricultural heart of my riding. As I noted in my previous speech, the Creston Valley grows virtually every variety of vegetable, wine grapes, apples, and other kinds of fruit. The Creston Valley is also home to Tabletree juice, whose black cherry juice was recognized as the world's best pure juice product at the World Juice Awards in 2012.

I am not sure if members are old enough to remember a time when milk came in glass bottles. Thanks to Kootenay Meadows Farm, it still does in much of the Kootenays. The Harris family dairy farm produces fresh organic milk that is delivered in reusable glass containers.

Remember those wine grapes I mentioned? For an amazing Kootenay—Columbia culinary experience, try pairing a vintage wine from Skimmerhorn Winery and Vineyard, Wynnwood Cellars, or Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery with any of Kootenay Meadow Dairies' organic hard cheeses.

I have to say that I love the saying, “If God grew it, I can brew it.”

I know that just as I am passionate about local food in my riding, Canadians in every region are passionate about local food in their communities. I have heard from many Canadians across the country about what local food means to them.

Jolene, from Aldergrove wrote:

I think the most simple way that can put it is connection....

I am certain that through the generations, we've lost our connections to food. What food is, how to prepare and how it is grown. I changed because I don't want my children growing up to think that food is something frozen, that you buy at a grocery store and put in the microwave.... I want them to know that a lot of people work very hard for the food we put on our tables and some of them grow so much food and still can't put food on their own tables to eat. I also want them to know what a clean, healthy, sustainable farm looks like....

I can't imagine a better place to change the world for the better than helping people who've lost touch with their food, come back into connection with it.

Hélène, from Brossard, wrote, “Eating local food is important to me as it encourages people here who work hard to make a living.... When you consume food from the other side of the world, it takes longer, it pollutes the planet more”.

John, from Sudbury, wrote that national food day:

is a good idea on several fronts—economic, social, health and environmental. It would be a boost to the local economy for farmers. Rural communities and surrounding towns and cities would be more socially connected....

This idea is a winner and should be supported.

The Surrey/White Rock Food Action Coalition wrote:

Focusing attention on healthy, high-quality locally grown food will support our farmers and fishers, keep jobs in our communities and strengthen the local economy....

We envision an integrated and resilient local food system that enables physically accessible, culturally acceptable and affordable food for everyone, supports a sustainable food economy, and empowers food literacy and capacity building within the community. Let's celebrate these values with a National Local Food Day this October.

Whether people's local food is the caribou and arctic char of the north, the seafood of the coasts, the artisan cheeses of Quebec, the ice wine of Ontario, the pork of Manitoba, the beef, grain, and prairie oysters from the Prairies, the traditional foods of indigenous people across Canada, or anything in between, a national local food day is for them.

I have always said that it is easy to love Bill C-281. It is my sincere hope that all members will vote in support of this bill at all stages. We all know that food matters, from farm to factory to fork or from gate to plate. Let us make national local food day a reality.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, May 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, food is at the heart of our culture, our communities, and our economy. I am very proud of the many initiatives under way in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia in support of local food and for the leadership my party has demonstrated in the past on this important priority.

My private member's bill, Bill C-281, would establish a national local food day, giving all Canadians, including parliamentarians, the opportunity to celebrate the diversity of local food from coast to coast to coast. Will the government support Bill C-281 and a national local food day?

[Public Services and Procurement, May 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Phoenix pay system has been a disaster right from the beginning. At Parks Canada, the problems have been rampant, and many people have not been paid properly for months or even years.

My riding is the proud home to four national parks—Kootenay, Yoho, Revelstoke, and Glacier—and my offices have dealt with a large number of Phoenix cases from Parks Canada employees. There have been so many problems that many struggle to even keep track of the status of their own case. These good people deserve better.

When will the government scrap the Phoenix pay system and compensate those affected by this fiasco?

[Business of Supply, May 8th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, my riding is Kootenay—Columbia, which is located in British Columbia. We have had a carbon tax in place there for many years.

What we have been hearing today from our friends in the Conservative Party is that somehow this carbon tax is going to drive people into poverty. I wonder if the hon. member could talk about what the impacts of the federal carbon tax might be on British Columbians, and whether it is going to drive up prices everywhere and drive everyone into poverty.

[Historic Sites and Monuments Act, May 3rd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise for the third time to speak in favour of Bill C-374. Once again, I would like to extend my compliments and gratitude to the member for Cloverdale—Langley City for his work bringing this important piece of legislation to the floor of the House.

When that member and I listened to witnesses speak to the Standing Committee on the Environment and Climate Change regarding issues of national heritage, we learned that our treatment of indigenous heritage has been severely lacking, consistent with much of our treatment of indigenous peoples. The committee heard that the federal government offers funding to tear down former residential school sites, but no funding to preserve them. That is a shocking disregard of an important, though dark, time in Canada's history.

To quote Ry Moran, director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, when speaking of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report's calls to action:

Central within those calls to action are a number of calls related directly to commemoration. Those commemoration calls relate directly to the creation or establishment of a “national memory” and our ongoing need as a country to make sure we continue to shine light into the darkest corners of our history.

We are fortunate in my riding of Kootenay—Columbia that the former St. Eugene Mission residential school has been converted to a hotel, visitor centre, casino, and golf course operated by the Ktunaxa Nation Council. Visitors to the centre can take a tour to learn the grim history of the building. We almost lost this important building. The first idea was to tear it down, and of course we know how much anger many indigenous people have toward residential schools. The plans were well under way when one of the Ktunaxa elders came forward and said that we needed to stop the demolition, that we needed to take a dark piece of their history and turn it into a positive future. It is a good thing we did. It is a magnificent resort.

In my riding, first nations bands include the Aq'am, whose chief is Joe Pierre, Jr. The name of the band means “deep dense woods”. There is the Akisqnuk, led by Chief Alfred Joseph. The band name means “place of two lakes”. Chief Mary Mahseelah leads the Tobacco Plains Band, which is also known as Akan'kunik, meaning the “people of the place of the flying head. Chief Michael “Jason” Louie leads the Yaqan Nukiy, meaning “where the rock stands”, otherwise known as the Lower Kootenay Band. They are all members of the Ktunaxa peoples.

I would be remiss if I did not mention one other Ktunaxa leader, Chief Sophie Pierre. Chief Sophie Pierre served on the council of the St. Mary's Indian Band, now known as Aq'am, of the Ktunaxa Nation for 30 years, 26 of them as chief. She is a recipient of the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia, and the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, as well as two honorary doctorates of law, from the University of British Columbia and the University of Canada West.

To the north, the Shuswap Indian Band is led by Chief Barbara Cote. Shuswap is derived from a phrase that means the “trout children”. Chief Wayne Christian leads the Splatsin Band Council, also part of the Shuswap people. Splatsin is a Salish word that may mean “meadow flat”. The Shuswap tribe is thought to be a related but distinct people from the Ktunaxa.

I bring them up because they are all great leaders who would make great additions to fill a seat on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board once this act is passed. I say this because the histories of these people are interesting and they are important, yet we spend little time and less money on indigenous history because we do not fully understand it or appreciate it. That is why one of the calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report was to amend the Historic Sites and Monuments Act to include first nations, Inuit, and Métis representation on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and its secretariat. Of course, Bill C-374 would fulfill this call to action.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board's mandate, according to its website is:

...to advise the Government of Canada, through the Minister of the Environment, on the commemoration of nationally significant aspects of Canada's history.

Following a thorough evaluation process and recommendation by the Board, the Minister declares the site, event or person of national historic significance.

That is, the board members evaluate the importance of sites and monuments and decide whether they are significant enough to merit federal protection and support. Currently, the Directory of Federal Heritage Designations includes 3,613 sites and monuments across Canada.

It is difficult to tell how many of those are dedicated to indigenous sites, because often the site will have a name that appears to be related to first nations, Inuit, or Métis, but the site itself is only recognized because of its relationship to the development of our country by Europeans. That is simply unacceptable, and we need to do better. Only by including indigenous people in our decision-making can we expect that their cultural, spiritual, and historic places, activities, and beliefs will be properly respected and honoured. This is precisely what Bill C-374 hopes to achieve. In the context of the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the evidence presented to our committee, passage of this very fundamental bill makes tremendous sense.

Bill C-374also improves the board's composition to ensure that all members have the knowledge and experience that will assist with the business of the board.

As pleased as I am and as hopeful as I am, I have serious concerns that government is slow to accept the critical importance of indigenous history and culture.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued 94 calls to action. They were grouped into categories of child welfare, education, language and culture, health, and justice. I am proud to say that earlier this week the House supported one of those calls to action in a resolution moved by my colleague, the member for Timmins—James Bay.

That resolution said in part that in responding to the call of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to move our nation on a path of true healing for the crimes of the residential school era, the House “...invite Pope Francis to participate in this journey with Canadians by responding to call to action 58 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report and issue a formal papal apology for the role of the Canadian Catholic Church in the establishment, operations, and abuses of the residential schools”.

According to the CBC, as of March 2018 only 10 of the calls to action had been completed. Bill C-374, if passed, would be number 11 of 94. I congratulate my friend across the floor for bringing this piece of legislation forward. Bill C-374 would advance our nation-to-nation relationship with indigenous people while providing opportunities to preserve critical heritage that we can all learn from.

I look forward to seeing the passage of this important bill. It is a positive step forward for heritage in Canada, but there is much more to do.

[National Local Food Day Act, May 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, to me, local food is just that. It is whatever happens in a particular riding.

I will use turkeys as an example. When I was regional manager with the Ministry of the Environment, we introduced a wild turkey season for hunting in my riding. That contributed about a million dollars to the economy in my region, because, as every hunter knows, when a new species shows up, hunters have to go out and buy a new gun, a new outfit, and an ATV.

Local food can be wild. Hunting and fishing are very big in my riding. Local food on the coast is more about the ocean and the things that can be found there. In the Prairies, there are a number of different crops, such as wheat, peas, and other products.

What I like about local food and celebrating local food day is that it is relevant to every member of Parliament, every senator, and every Canadian in terms of its importance.

[National Local Food Day Act, May 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the floor had me at perogies, based on my Ukrainian heritage.

Agriculture, and local agriculture in particular, is essential for health across the country, but it is also essential for the economy. As I mentioned earlier, in 2016 agriculture contributed $111.9 billion to the economy and accounted for 6.7% of Canada's GDP. The agriculture and agrifood sector as a whole provides one in eight Canadian jobs, employing 2.3 million people. It is a major industry in Canada, essential to our economy.

What I really like about Bill C-281 is that it provides the opportunity for all members of the House to celebrate what happens in their own ridings every day and to celebrate their local food producers.