William Amos

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020, November 24th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to this Bill on consumer privacy protection.

The bill, which will replace the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, makes consumer protection a top priority to ensure that Canadians have confidence in the digital marketplace and trust that their personal data will be managed responsibly by the private sector.

It is so important, in an era of global online commerce, for Canada to be putting in place a privacy standard that offers consumers increased control over their personal information as they participate in the modern digital marketplace. The act also includes several important changes to enable and support innovation in an increasingly digital marketplace.

I am going to speak today about how our government is supporting business and protecting Canadians' privacy as they actively participate in the digital economy. Our government is working to establish an enhanced privacy framework where consumer protection is strengthened and where businesses are supported in their efforts to innovate in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

Bill C-11 marks all sorts of important changes to the privacy framework for Canadians, and it is long overdue. It sets out enhanced measures for Canadians to ensure that their personal information is protected, and it establishes new roles and new mechanisms for industry in a way that promotes innovation in a digital world.

We understand the need to ensure that Canadians’ privacy is protected. We must also ensure that Canadian businesses have access to the support they need to grow and compete in a global marketplace based on digital technologies and data.

These changes are taking place at a time of great upheaval, namely the rapid evolution of digital technologies. They are also taking place at a critical time for businesses, which must adapt and innovate in a digital world.

The current pandemic has made digital solutions essential to everyday life. At a time when physical distancing is so important, consumers want solutions that give them access to the products and services they need. Moreover, companies must continue to do business and develop. Digital solutions have helped many of them stay afloat.

However, we all recognize that new technologies provide businesses with huge amounts of personal information, the kind of data they need to make business decisions and offer clients new services.

We know that innovation and growth are critical, but we have to stand up for Canadians and ensure that this innovation in a digital world happens in a responsible way. Today I am going to outline some of the key elements of Bill C-11 that enable responsible innovation: innovation that is done right in a Canadian way.

One of the goals of our current law, PIPEDA, which Bill C-11 would supersede, has been ensuring that companies are able to handle personal information to meet their own legitimate business ends. The other is to ensure that companies do this in a privacy-protective way. To achieve this dual objective, PIPEDA's framework is principles-based and technology-neutral. The framework ensures that this law continues to apply, even as technology has undergone rapid change.

Bill C-11, the CPPA, retains this approach, continuing the success of a flexible and adaptive privacy law in the Canadian private sector context, but we have to recognize that “the times they are a-changin'.” To better reflect the realities of the digital economy, and the continued emergence of new big-data technologies and artificial intelligence, the CPPA would allow for a number of provisions that support industry going forward.

The bill would create a level playing field for companies of all sizes by reducing administrative burdens, which is critical for the vast number of small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada. It would introduce a new framework for personal information that is de-identified. It would establish new mechanisms, such as codes of practice and certification, with independent oversight by the office of the Privacy Commissioner, and it would address data for research purposes or purposes deemed to be socially beneficial.

I will outline how the bill would do all this.

The bill before us today includes a new exception to the requirement for consent regarding certain business activities. The objective is to allow Canadians to give meaningful consent by limiting it to specific activities that involve real choice. This is essential to prevent the use of blanket consent and lengthy contracts that—let us be honest—no one reads.

This will also reduce the administrative burden on businesses in cases where an individual’s consent may be less relevant. Let's consider the example of a third-party service provider that ships various goods. The customer wants the goods shipped, and the business should be able to meet that need. The bill should not add to the burden of providing that service.

The bill would provide for new regulations to be developed for prescribed business activities and would introduce the concept of legitimate interests in Canada's privacy framework. This is something that industry has asked for, we have consulted about and the government has answered in Bill C-11.

Second, we are better defining and clarifying how companies are to handle de-identified personal information: personal information that has been processed and altered to prevent any identification of a particular individual. The bill would allow organizations to de-identify personal information and use it for new research and development purposes. Businesses must undertake research and development to improve their products and offer customers the new and leading-edge services they are looking for. This provision would give businesses the flexibility they need to use de-identified data for these purposes, which would add value for customers and businesses alike.

The law would also allow organizations to use data for purposes of serving the public good, specifically by allowing companies to disclose de-identified data to public entities. Such disclosures would only be allowed when the personal information could not be traced back to particular individuals and when there was a socially beneficial purpose; that is, a purpose related to health, public infrastructure or even environmental protection. This kind of provision would protect individuals while ensuring we use all the tools at our disposal to address the biggest challenges of our time.

Included in the bill is a clear set of parameters for institutions, such as hospitals, universities and even libraries that would seek to receive personal information for a socially beneficial purpose. These parameters would help clarify the rules of the road in new and important fields.

These provisions would also permit organizations to share more data in a trustworthy fashion. They would allow the private sector to work with different levels of government and public institutions to carry out data-based initiatives in a privacy-protecting fashion. By taking this approach, the bill would accommodate emerging situations where collaboration between public and private sectors could have broad public benefits, while at the same time maintaining the trust and accountability that Canadians demand and deserve.

Third, the bill would provide the framework for codes of practice so businesses, especially those in specific industries or sectors of the economy, could proactively demonstrate compliance with the law. The bill would do this by introducing co-regulatory mechanisms into Canada's privacy landscape that would have businesses and the Privacy Commissioner working together. For example, there could be a code for de-identification.

I recognize my time is running short so I will simply mention that I would open the door to talking about the process the bill would provide for certification and certification bodies. I think this would be a very important provision that businesses across Canada would use regularly and that the Privacy Commissioner would have the opportunity to work on with businesses.

With that, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to Bill C-11. I look forward to taking the questions of my hon. colleagues.

[Public Safety, November 17th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we are well aware that emerging fifth generation technologies are a global phenomenon, and we are going to ensure that Canadians benefit from the latest and most beneficial 5G innovations, but we are going to do this in a way that accounts for all security, economic and scientific considerations. We are going to listen to our experts, and will make a decision in due course.

[Foreign Affairs, November 17th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the government is going to continue to ensure that Canadian networks are kept safe and secure, and we have been consistent on this point for many months now.

While we will not comment on any specific companies, an examination of 5G technologies and a review of security and economic considerations is ongoing. We are going to weigh these matters with allies and partners and with our security experts, and we are going to make the best decision for Canadians, not on the basis of politics.

[Public Services and Procurement, October 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, it really is important for the Canadian public to understand just how strongly the aerospace sector is supported through this ITB policy. It really does go directly to the member opposite's question.

The 2020 annual report on the ITB policy clearly indicates that over 360 Canadian small businesses are scaling up through supplier development opportunities and over 220 small businesses are supplying goods and services directly related to procurements. Finally, over 25 Canadian small businesses have expanded their collaborative R and D networks as a result of ITB investments, enhancing their capacity for innovation.

Going forward, our government is committed to ensuring that our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to protect Canadians and that Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises get the opportunities they so richly deserve to help continue building the aerospace sector. We are going to keep doing that through our federal purchasing power. We are committed to—

[Public Services and Procurement, October 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, let me start by saying that we obviously recognize Canada's aerospace industry as an engine for innovation, economic activity and high-skilled employment. The aerospace industry contributes $25 billion to Canada's GDP and over 210,000 jobs to our economy. It is ranked number one in terms of research and development among Canadian manufacturing industries. Its footprint is national in scope, with important aerospace clusters in every region of the country.

The aerospace industry is export-driven, with approximately 70% of total production exported, and Canadian aerospace firms, including small and medium-sized enterprises, are well integrated into global supply chains.

I really appreciate the question posed and the comments made by the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, because the Canadian aerospace manufacturing sector, with businesses like Arnprior Aerospace, creates good jobs for Canadians in the Ottawa Valley, in my riding of Pontiac and beyond. I am a neighbour to the member's riding, so I understand quite well how important this is to her constituency.

Our government is engaged with industry and has been proactive in promoting Canada's aerospace sector. We have been successful in securing strategic investments in advanced technologies, driving innovation and maintaining highly skilled jobs in Canada.

We are going to continue to attract and support new, quality investments in the aerospace sector. For example, we announced nearly $885 million in funding to support the aerospace and space industries through innovation programs. With regard to procurement, we are continuing to engage with Canadian industry on upcoming defence procurement programs to help drive investments in Canada's key industrial capabilities through the industrial and technological benefits, or ITB, policy.

The ITB policy allows the federal government's significant purchasing power to support Canadian companies and their workers. Through this policy, our government leverages major defence and Coast Guard procurements to create jobs, drive innovation and foster economic growth all across Canada.

When a company wins a defence contract, for every dollar that it receives, it is required to reinvest a dollar back into Canada's economy. What does that look like? That reinvestment means that Canadian small and medium-sized businesses, which make up nearly 90% of the firms in Canada's defence industry, have opportunities to do business with prime contractors. These are business opportunities that can translate into long-term and sustainable work that is directly related to specific defence procurements. It is work that helps these businesses integrate into the global supply chains of aerospace and defence multinationals, and work that helps build and strengthen the strategic partnerships between Canadian business and Canada's research community to advance Canadian innovations.

One recent example of our government leveraging successful industrial outcomes through procurement was the arrival of the first aircraft of Canada's future fixed-wing search and rescue fleet. This project has created hundreds of new jobs for Canadians. The CC-295 contractor, Airbus Defence and Space, continues to make investments in the Canadian aerospace and defence industry through the ITB policy.

Strategic work packages directly related to the aircraft are providing Canadian companies the opportunity to participate in global supply chains and create high-value jobs in aerospace manufacturing, simulation and training, propulsion, and in-service support sectors.

The success of the ITB policy is concrete. It touches many small and medium-sized businesses from coast to coast to coast. The 2020 annual report on the impact of the ITB policy shows that, from 2014 to 2018, more than 400 small businesses leveraged over $3.4 billion of ITB commitments as a result of active contracts—

[Thanksgiving, October 8th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, this Thanksgiving takes place at a time of great trial for Canadians and their families. This year we celebrate differently: more quietly, limiting our gatherings.

Unfortunately, for many families, there will be a void as they mourn the death of a loved one. Let us take this opportunity to recognize the courage and determination of our essential workers. Let us honour them and thank them for their dedication and sacrifice.

Across Canada, we face both health and economic crises of historic proportions. We are worried, but we also know that our families and our governments stand together, supporting each other. When we walk through a storm here in Canada, we hold our heads up high and we will not be afraid of the dark.

We are a great country, united in our fight against the virus. That is the very spirit of Thanksgiving, to help each other in times of trial.

Canada, walk on. Walk on with hope in our hearts because we never walk alone. We never walk alone, even when everyone is doing their part by staying apart to save lives.

Happy Thanksgiving.

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, October 1st, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I want to go specifically to the member's recommendations and comments on rural Internet. As he will surely recall, I brought forward Motion No. 208 in the last session, which was agreed to unanimously by the House. I want to ask one specific question about rural Internet because it bears mentioning.

Prior to Liberals being elected in 2015, not a single private residence in rural Canada was hooked up to Internet, thanks to investments by the federal government. Why? Because the previous Conservative government did not invest a red cent in doing that. Therefore, we find ourselves in a very deep hole in Canada, in part because the previous administration, led by Prime Minister Harper, did absolutely nothing, except to hook up libraries, hotels and fire halls. Therefore, we needed to go a lot further.

What does the member opposite have to say about the past performance of the Harper administration in hooking up rural Canadians to the Internet?

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, September 30th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Winnipeg South Centre, who is such a great Canadian. He inspires us every single time we hear him speak here in the House. I know so many members felt very emotional hearing him speak in such a way.

I would invite our colleague to comment on how western Canada has made such significant contributions to the national effort as we tackle COVID. I am thinking, in particular, of work that is being done at the University of Saskatchewan, with VIDO-InterVac, and other academic institutions, such as the University of Alberta. I wonder if he could comment on those contributions.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, September 25th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Saint-Laurent.

As we safely restart our economy in the midst of a global health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform Canadian society. Since a vaccine is probably still a few months away, the fight against this virus is far from over, and we simply cannot afford to lose any ground. The Speech from the Throne clearly stated that the federal government's number one job is to keep Canadians healthy while building a more resilient economy. Those two priorities go hand in hand.

As the Speech from the Throne indicated, our government's first priority will always be the health and well-being of Canadians. We must crush COVID and breathe life back into the health of our economy.

Our government continues to focus on limiting the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis by maximizing our chances of defeating the virus and to do this, we need Canadians to be ever more disciplined, to be even more respectful of public health guidelines. We all have a role and we are all key players in the team Canada approach.

We need our government to keep doing what we are doing: supporting Canadian research and biomanufacturing, working closely with researchers and scientists to better understand the COVID-19 virus, investing in the development of several promising vaccine candidates and ensuring that we can manufacture and distribute enough vaccine to as many Canadians as possible, as quickly as possible. This is what we have been doing and that is a key focus of the Speech from the Throne. We have signed agreements in principle with so many leaders in vaccine development, following the recommendations from the non-partisan COVID-19 vaccine task force.

The late John Turner once said that life is like a trust and everyone has a fiduciary obligation to give back what one has received from it. Our government knows that now is the time to give back to Canadians, to give back to Canadians particularly who are suffering. It is our fiduciary obligation to secure access to safe vaccines for Canadians, vaccines that will be subjected to rigorous Health Canada assessment and approval processes. We are fulfilling this fiduciary obligation to Canadians.

The Prime Minister also announced funding for the creation of a new biomanufacturing facility at the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre in Montreal. As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, I am delighted that this will guarantee our country's ability to produce enough supplies of vaccine for Canadians who need them, such as front-line workers, those working in long-term care and the most vulnerable.

A COVID-19 vaccine is vital if we are to put an end to this pandemic, fully restart our economy and build our resilience. We will move forward by adopting a sustainable approach to our economic recovery. We will work tirelessly to achieve our goals.

Many Canadians have gone back to work, but others are struggling and do not know whether they will keep their jobs if the crisis continues. We understand these fears and we are determined to help Canadians keep their jobs while addressing the many inequalities faced every day by people of colour, indigenous populations and other vulnerable groups.

This is exactly why the Speech from the Throne makes clear our intention to extend the Canada wage subsidy until the summer of 2021 and to reform the employment insurance system to protect all Canadians. We must, we are and we will continue to support all Canadians through this dual health and economic crisis. This is precisely what the Speech from the Throne states.

We must govern with a laser-like focus on the present every day for Canadians, but we also owe it to present and future generations, especially to our children, to the youngest generation, to govern through COVID-19 and rebuild with a view to the reality of climate change. Our government's Speech from the Throne does just that.

We will not fall victim to what some have called the tragedy of the horizon by losing sight of that other global crisis: climate change. We can, and will, govern with both eyes focused simultaneously on the present COVID-19 crisis and on building back a cleaner, more competitive and inclusive Canadian economy. As the Prime Minister recently commented, just because we are in a health crisis does not mean we can neglect an environmental crisis: a climate crisis for which we all know there is no vaccine.

Canadians are looking to our government to build back in a way that considers human and economic health in light of the impacts of climate change. As the Speech from the Throne clearly indicates, we are doing just that. We are building on important measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions, maximize efficiency and energy conservation, and we are driving the transition to a clean economy, offering job opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses in every region and every industry. For five years, while public debate was consumed with polarized, partisan rhetoric on carbon prices and pipelines, our government implemented many low-carbon industrial policy shifts and ramped up clean technology investments by 50% at Sustainable Development Technology Canada. It is one of our government's most positive climate action stories that no one seems to have heard about. From phasing out coal-fired electricity and moving toward banning single-use plastics to preparing national building code reforms and offering a $5,000 electric vehicle rebate, more changes are on the way to deliver a path to net zero emissions by 2050.

Of course we need to do more, and we will. We will continue to invest historic amounts in both basic and applied scientific research, including COVID and climate science, within the federal government and post-secondary institutions. As the Speech from the Throne clearly commits, in the upcoming parliamentary session we will deliver on our commitments to enact climate legislation with binding five-year targets to meet and exceed our Paris targets for 2030. We will also legislate Canada's goal of net zero emissions by 2050. This is climate action. We will also table legislation to tighten federal regulation of toxic substances.

I look forward to the right to a healthy environment being enshrined in Canadian law once and for all. We will keep putting a price on pollution while putting that money right back in the pockets of Canadians. It cannot be free to pollute. The government will ban single-use plastics, as previously mentioned, and we need to make sure we have the best science behind it so the decisions to do so will not be overturned in Canadian courts. All of this will drive market opportunities and job creation in the green economy, further enabling our economic recovery.

As part of the plan we announced in the throne speech, the Government of Canada will take the following measures: It will create thousands of jobs retrofitting homes and buildings, cutting energy costs for Canadian families and businesses; invest in reducing the impact of climate-related disasters, like the floods that affected my constituents in Pontiac, to make communities more resilient; help deliver more public transit and active transit options, which will help the tourism and recreational tourism industries in the Outaouais and across Canada; make zero-emission vehicles more affordable and accessible; invest in more research infrastructure across the country; and support investments in renewable energy and next-generation clean energy and technology solutions.

Our government will ensure Canada is the most competitive jurisdiction in the world for clean technology companies.

In conclusion, the Speech from the Throne has charted a solid path forward. We will protect Canadians' health, preserve jobs and focus on the crisis of COVID here and now, while not losing focus on the climate crisis we must tackle for the future.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, September 24th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois's perception is shaped by its very narrow vision for the future of this country and Quebec.

The federal government invests 87¢ for every dollar invested in Canada, at all levels of government. The federal government invests to help our workers, families and SMEs, and to protect our economy and our families. This government is prepared to help Quebeckers and our SMEs all across the country.

As for climate change and environmental protections, why does the member not talk about the Government of Quebec's position on “net-zero”? Our government knows where it stands on this.