Most toxic speeches
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are failing again. They are watering down sentences for crimes such as administering date rape drugs, abducting children, impaired driving causing bodily harm and selling young women and men into sexual slavery.The Conservatives called for over 100 amendments to clean up the government's deeply flawed omnibus Bill C-75, but the Liberals were not listening.Does the minister really believe Canadians want sex traffickers and kidnappers to have lesser sentences?
Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International, Oxfam and several other organizations join the NDP in calling on the government to immediately stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia.For years, the Liberals have been repeating that they are very worried and that they are closely monitoring the situation. Canadians, however, are sick of waiting. You cannot put a price on human rights.Will the government step up and stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia?
Mr. Speaker, the member was first elected when I was one year old, and it is sad that I have to remind him the our mandate is from the Canadian people. Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is facing criminal charges for breach of trust, a trust that the Privy Council has said that 73 people knew the contents of that meeting. I believe that at least two people of those 73 are Liberal MPs. They could be anyone. It could be you, Mr. Speaker.Leaving aside the Norman lawsuit, will the government clear the air and release the 72 other names?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are outraged, and rightly so. Statistics Canada wants to poke around the personal bank accounts of honest Canadians. We in the Conservative Party find that completely unacceptable. It is an utterly inappropriate invasion of Canadians' privacy. Unfortunately, the Liberal government is washing its hands of the issue. It does not see a problem and will not stop Statistics Canada from proceeding.Fortunately, the Privacy Commissioner is on the ball and has launched an investigation. Why does the Liberal government continue to defend the indefensible?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, which cut $400 million, we have invested $173 million. Some of that money will be used to ensure that we are better equipped to manage the situation. It will also ensure that unsuccessful asylum seekers are sent back to their own countries. That is what Canadians expect, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. It is a crime to destroy government documents under the Access to Information Act. That crime is much more egregious if those documents have been requested in a legal proceeding. Could the chair of the committee advise the House and all Canadians if the future agenda of the committee will include the destruction of government-held documents.
Mr. Speaker, one of the ideals of the Conservative Party is that we would ask people before we take their information. Canadians are outraged by the Liberals' unauthorized surveillance of their private banking information. My constituents have been calling me worried about the Liberals snooping into their bank accounts. The government has already acquired 15 years of credit information from millions of Canadians without their consent. Now the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is investigating abuse. When will the Liberals stop snooping into the lives of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians find intolerable is the Conservative Party's fearmongering. That is what Canadians have found intolerable for years.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for a century. The data collected will be processed to make it anonymous. Canadians can rest assured that their banking information is private and protected. When data is collected, it is stripped of all personal information.Canadians are familiar with Statistics Canada's role. The Conservatives would do well to stop their fearmongering.
Mr. Speaker, the government seems to have a problem with understanding the concept of consent. It does not have it in this case. It does not have the right to the personal data of Canadians. It has violated the privacy of Canadians hundreds of thousands of times in the last 19 months alone. Why does it not listen to Canadians who are outraged by this personal violation? Stop Statistics Canada from accessing their financial data, and do it today.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to fighting climate change, the Liberal government is all talk and little action, so little action, in fact, that a group of Quebec's legal experts is considering bringing the government to court to force it to respect its own commitments. This recourse is seen as plausible, because it has been used elsewhere, namely in the Netherlands. In a court ruling, the Dutch government is now under obligation to implement a GHG reduction plan. Will the Liberals stop producing so much hot air about climate change, or will they wait for legal experts to force them to do it?
Mr. Speaker, a fast way to build support for immigration in Canada is to fix the system that the Prime Minister has broken. To build support for immigration, the Prime Minister should close the loophole in the safe third country agreement instead of spending $50 million to foot the hotel bills of illegal border crossers.Why is the Prime Minister adding insult to injury by spending taxpayer dollars to tell Canadians that illegal border crossing is okay instead of preventing the abuse of Canada's asylum system?
Mr. Speaker, we were proud to put in place yesterday our second three-year immigration plan that would see immigrants to this country rise over the next number of years. That will contribute to the economic success of our country. That will contribute to jobs for middle-class Canadians. We believe that newcomers to Canada contribute to the economic success of our country. It is a principle that the Conservatives do not believe in. They believe in spreading fear and division and dog whistling at Canadians. We will grow the economy. We will bring newcomers into Canada and they will contribute to the economic vitality of our great country.
On the topic of spending, Mr. Speaker, after spending hundreds of millions of Canadian tax dollars on processing and prioritizing things like work permits for people who illegally entered Canada after reaching the safety of upstate New York, today the Prime Minister announced that he was starting a taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign to moralize, with his false sanctimony, to Canadians who oppose his failed immigration policies.How many taxpayer dollars will the Prime Minister be spending on his advertising campaign to preach the value of illegal border crossers to Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, it emerged today that cleaning up the oil sands will cost $260 billion. That is what we mean when we say pollution is costly.In the Netherlands, a court in The Hague is forcing the Dutch government to step up its efforts to fight climate change. Quebec legal experts want to do the same thing here and sue the Canadian government. We know things are bad when the Liberals have to be dragged into court in order to produce real measures to fight climate change.Do they need to be sued before they will act?
Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, four major new pipelines with access to new markets were approved and built with no tax dollars. These Liberals have already killed two export pipelines. Their failures have not added a single new centimetre, and their Bill C-69 will ensure there will be none in the future.Thirty-five indigenous communities now join provinces and industry to oppose the Liberals' no more pipelines Bill C-69. They say it will have an enormous and devastating impact on the ability of First Nations to cultivate or develop economic development opportunities in their traditional territories.Will the Liberals scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about millions of transactions that could potentially affect millions of Canadians. We do not know; it could me, it could you, Mr. Speaker.George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning, not as a road map. Canadians deserve to be free to live their lives without the state monitoring every single purchase they make. The Canadian people are quite concerned that every time they spend money, it will be documented and tracked by the state.Will the government end this unauthorized surveillance of Canadians? When?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want exports to be used to violate human rights. That is why our government is committed to a stronger and more rigorous arms export system. We are reviewing export permits to Saudi Arabia, we have frozen permits in the past and we will not hesitate to do so again if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, what a meaningless answer. It is clear that the Minister of Immigration knows nothing about the reality in Quebec. In Quebec, we want to not only accommodate immigrants, but to integrate them. We do not want to just tolerate them, we want to welcome them. In order for us to do that, we need to teach them our language and our way of life.The Minister of Immigration throws figures around without taking real life into account.Is he going to take the will of Quebec into account before setting thresholds for Quebec?
Mr. Speaker, the CPTPP comes into force in 59 days, and dairy producers still do not know what kind of compensation they will be entitled to. Unbelievable. When the Liberals signed the CPTPP, they opened a 3.25% breach in our supply management system, on top of the breaches from the Europe agreement and the USMCA. Our producers are understandably angry. They are tired of being used as bargaining chips.Will the government finally compensate our producers for the losses incurred?
Mr. Speaker, when I heard on the news on the weekend about this Statistics Canada scam, I thought it just cannot be true because we live in Canada, not the Soviet Union. After listening to the minister responsible for the gulag over there, I am not so sure we are not in the Soviet Union. The minister said today that Canadians had better get on board. Yesterday, I surveyed my constituents. In one day there have been over 1,000 responses and 98% of them said, Get out of my life, not Get on board. I would like to ask the minister
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes making big announcements, but he never concerns himself with the details.For his new immigration plan, he forgot to consult Canada border services officers and warn them that their workload would increase as a result of the deportations. He also forgot to provide them with more resources.Before arbitrarily setting a higher immigration target, should he not deal with this problem first?
Mr. Speaker, from the get-go, the chief statistician of Canada has been open to working with the Privacy Commissioner to make sure that the private information of Canadians was not placed at risk. I find it a little rich that the Conservatives make themselves the defendants of Canadians' privacy. We should remind them of their history. That is the same Conservative Party that was forced to back down when the Conservative government, not Statistics Canada, went after Canadians' personal information online. That is the same Conservative Party that leaked the medical information of a Canadian veteran. Enough of this fake outrage.
Mr. Speaker, Audrey Parker of Halifax is dying today. She has stage 4 cancer and lives in terrible pain. She has chosen to end her life much sooner than she would like. Audrey was forced to make this agonizing choice because our existing medical assistance in dying law does not allow for advance requests. She worried that if she waited, she would not be able to give the consent required.Soon the government will be receiving an expert report on this law. Will it introduce legislation before the next election so people like Audrey never again have to make this agonizing choice?
Mr. Speaker, instead of going after fat cat CEOs and the tax havens wealthy corporations use to avoid paying their fair share, refugees are having their child benefits clawed back. The government failed to provide timely access for language training for many of the new arrivals, yet refugee families that do not respond quickly to the CRA are penalized immediately. Not only are those payments stopped, but, in two cases, refugee families were billed $27,000. Is that why the government is giving the CRA $1 billion to crack down on the middle class and those who are working hard to join it?
Mr. Speaker, three times the Liberals had a chance to protect supply management and guess what? Three times they failed. The Liberals have signed deals that opened up more than 10% of our dairy market. The effects of these policies are hard and they hurt families. Hard-working families are feeling betrayed by the Liberals. The Liberals have used our supply-managed farmers as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations and we must know more about this.Could the vice-chair of the agriculture committee tell the House whether the TPP and the lack of compensation for farmers will be on the agenda in the coming days?
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's legal team is worried about his constitutional rights to a fair trial. Multiple Liberal ministers have conflict of interest. They hired away the one journalist writing stories about it. The Prime Minister's Office is refusing to reveal cabinet documents needed for this trial. Today, Liberal MPs blocked, at ethics committee, the ability for the Clerk of the Privy Council to appear just to confirm whether documents were not destroyed. My question is simple. Why the cover-up? What is the government hiding?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand in this House and extend my sincere condolences to the family of Ms. Parker. If I could have given her authorization for advance request, I would have absolutely done so. However, as parliamentarians, we know that the laws we make are for all Canadians. That is why we have put in place a group of experts to look at three sensitive areas, as we want to protect our vulnerable Canadians. We want them to look at the issue involving advance consent, also the issue of mature minors, and also for serious mental health issues.Once again, we will continue to work on this matter, and I look forward to receiving the experts' report.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are refusing to listen to Canadians who are outraged that the government is engaged in unauthorized surveillance of their every financial transaction. Even if the Liberals could guarantee that this data could not fall into the hands of hackers, which they cannot, it would still be an abuse of power to collect it.This is about the principle that the state does not get to monitor everything people do. Why are the Liberals so out of touch? When will they put a halt to this unauthorized surveillance? It is important to Canadians. When?
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.Canadians would be horrified and embarrassed to see the third world conditions that many people in Nunavut are living in. Our housing shortage has reached a crisis point. Overcrowding is contributing to high rates of youth suicide and tuberculosis. The housing allocation in the last budget does not even begin to address the current crisis or meet the annual labour force growth. Will the minister immediately increase funding to alleviate this crisis and work with the Government of Nunavut on an appropriate allocation for the 2019 budget?
Mr. Speaker, it is much more than an invitation; it is a an investigation. It is not a second look, as the Prime Minister so delicately put it yesterday.Why is the commissioner carrying out an actual investigation? It is because this is not right. It is an invasion of privacy, and honest Canadians do not need it.To paraphrase a former justice minister, I would say that if there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation, then there is no place for the state in the bank accounts of honest Canadians. Why does the government continue to tolerate this situation?It needs to say enough is enough and tell Statistics Canada to cease and desist.
Mr. Speaker, a month ago today, Quebeckers chose a new government that promised to lower immigration levels to allow for better integration.Premier Legault said, and I quote, We will welcome thousands of immigrants every year, but we are going to do so in a way that promotes integration. We will take fewer, but we will take care of them.What is the Minister of Immigration trying to do by unilaterally increasing the number of immigrants to Quebec to 70,000 within three years? Is he trying to stir up trouble?
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, tomorrow and next Tuesday, we will continue debate at second reading of Bill C-86, the second budget implementation act, 2018.Next Monday shall be an opposition day.On Wednesday, during routine proceedings, under ministerial statements, the Prime Minister will deliver a formal apology to the Jewish refugees of the MS St. Louis and its passengers.
Mr. Speaker, the question was about the carbon tax. The government has released documents which show that industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will be exempt from the carbon tax. If the carbon tax really was about saving the world, we would presume the largest industrial emitters of carbon would have to pay it. The question again is: Why should small businesses and suburban soccer moms pay it if large emitters do not have to?
Mr. Speaker, we know the Conservatives are getting desperate when they turn to the Fords for an endorsement. We saw it in the dying days of the 2015 campaign when Stephen Harper became a convert to the Ford nation. Now the Leader of the Opposition wants to be in the same shadow as well.Canadians deserve an honest plan to deal with climate change. We have a plan that will protect our environment and create good jobs for middle-class Canadians. We wish the Conservatives had one as well.
Mr. Speaker, our government believes in the collective bargaining process. Our mediators have been on the ground. The minister has been in contact with both sides. We continue to hope that the two groups come together with a final outcome. I would hope my colleague from the NDP would understand that it is not the place of the Government of Canada to put its thumb on the scale when it comes to contract negotiations.
Mr. Speaker, no, what the Liberal government will do is charge a new exorbitant tax on small businesses, suburban commuters and soccer moms while giving an exemption to large industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. The Liberals say the only way to save the world from climate change is a tax, yet they are exempting the largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases. Again, if the Liberals are going to exempt the big corporations, why do they not exempt families and small businesses too?
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as we have demonstrated for several years now, long before the legal threats arose, we are going to take climate change seriously, and we have a plan that Canadians understand and that will make a real difference in the fight against climate change.I would remind my hon. colleague that his home province of Quebec has been a leader in the fight against climate change for a very long time. It also has one of the most competitive economies in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, that amount just went up by $100 million, because before, the Liberals were claiming it was $300 million in cuts. None of it is true.The problem right now is that border services officers learned from the media that they have to deport 10,000 people who were refused access to Canada. When they found out, they said that they did not have the necessary resources to deport those individuals.It is not a matter of money. It is a matter of resources. This whole situation has been mismanaged.My question is this: are you ready to deport those 10,000 people, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I am sure you will not be surprised to hear that I do not share our hon. colleague's pessimism.As we have always said, our government takes climate change very seriously. Apparently the Conservatives have no interest in tackling this issue.We have a plan to make polluters pay while keeping Canada's economy competitive and creating good jobs for Canadians, and we are following that plan.
Mr. Speaker, forced overtime at Canada Post means increased hours and longer delivery routes that take a toll on worker health and safety, and families suffer.Because of the corporation's inflexibility, CUPW is pushing back against unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Effective today, the union has declared a national ban on overtime. Workers understand that self-care benefits them, their families, the corporation and its customers.Why does Canada Post not get it? When will the government secure a fair contract that values workers?
Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals are so serious about this, why are they still using the inadequate targets established by Stephen Harper's Conservatives, targets they have no chance of meeting?These failures have consequences. Over the past 25 years, the Earth's oceans have absorbed 60% more heat than scientists previously thought. That means global warming is happening faster than we thought. One consequence is that the Pine Island glacier in Antarctica lost a 300-square-kilometre chunk of ice this week, which is an area five times the size of Manhattan.My question again is this: Why are the Liberals refusing to change their game plan, which is clearly not good enough?
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of inaction under the Harper Conservatives, 99% of our oil exports were still sold to the United States. They do not even want to negotiate with our first nations. They have no respect for the environment. We will take no lessons from them on how to move our major projects forward.Bill C-69 provides a path forward and the certainty that business owners need. The mining sector is on board. The forestry sector is on board. We must move forward responsibly.
Mr. Speaker, yes, we are ready to do that. We are ready because we made investments after the $400 million in cuts made by the previous Stephen Harper government. Yes, we are able to do that, because we have made investments. The people working hard at the border to protect us and deal with asylum claims and irregular migrants are better equipped do their work because of the investments that we have made.
Mr. Speaker, I think some colleagues will agree that it is not in this part of the House of Commons that there is hot air being produced with respect to climate change. What our government is doing is putting forward a real plan that will make a real difference in the global fight against climate change. We said in the 2015 election that we would have a plan, something the Conservatives do not have. We said we would put a price on pollution and make the Canadian economy more competitive and create jobs for middle-class Canadians. That is exactly what our government is doing.
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the members opposite try to defend the private lives of Canadians and quote former prime minister Pierre Trudeau when he said that the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. It is unfortunate that many people in that party still disagree with that today.
Mr. Speaker, it is regrettable that my hon. colleague thinks it is meaningless to want to collaborate with the Quebec government. I am surprised to hear such remarks from that corner of the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, we saw yesterday another example of what Conservative leaders do when they are in dire straits. They beg for an endorsement from the Fords. We remember Stephen Harper in the dying days of the 2015 election with a fake cash register at an event with the Fords. Now the current leader appears to also be taking orders from Premier Ford to ensure that there is no plan to deal with climate change and no plan to make the Canadian economy more competitive. That is not something this government will do.
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a commitment to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time. Our plan includes putting a price on pollution that will leave middle-class families better off.It is interesting that the Conservatives have finally found the courage to stand up for the middle class, which they have been lacking for several years. When it came to small business owners, we reduced the small business tax to 9%, which the Conservatives opposed. We implemented the Canada child benefit, which leaves nine of 10 families better off. We are taking steps to make life more affordable for seniors. I would encourage the Conservatives to continue to advocate for what we have been advocating for for several years, which is to support the middle class. If they develop a plan to support the environment at the same time, I will be happy
Mr. Speaker, enough of this fearmongering from the Conservatives.Statistics Canada is a respected agency. It is respected in Canada and around the world. The data it receives will be scrubbed. All the personal information from it will be removed before it is made in any way available, compiled, etcetera, for the use of governments, Canadians, businesses and small business across Canada.Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above and beyond the requirements. It has consulted the Privacy Commissioner and is going to work with him to make sure that the interests of Canadians are not breached.
Mr. Speaker, methamphetamine abuse is impacting communities across Manitoba. Manitoba's chief medical examiner stated that the drug had been involved in 35 overdose deaths in 2017.In September, the Winnipeg city council adopted a resolution asking for assistance from the federal government. The issue is not only affecting urban centres like Winnipeg, but rural and indigenous communities across Canada. People are dying and we have a responsibility to act. Could the Minister of Health please explain what our government is doing to help communities impacted by methamphetamine?
Mr. Speaker, I completely reject the characterization by members opposite on Bill C-75, which is a comprehensive bill that seeks to address delays in the criminal justice system.There is nothing in this legislation that would reduce sentences. There is nothing that would change the principles around sentencing, which take into account the gravity of the offence and the proportion responsibility of an offender.We are not lowering sentences. We are providing prosecutors with the necessary discretion they need to move forward in the appropriate way given the circumstances of the particular case.
Mr. Speaker, indeed there is no cover-up. The fact of the matter is that there are outstanding legal proceedings before the courts, including proceedings that will occur this very week on this very topic. The appropriate place for those issues to be resolved are in the courts of law. The hon. members opposite do not have a mandate from either the prosecution or the defence to act in this matter. They should leave it to the legal counsel to follow the rules of court, follow the laws of evidence and allow the case to be decided in court appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, the data Statistics Canada is demanding is not anonymous. It is personal, and it is private. It has no consent from Canadians to take it. It includes account balances, debit and credit transactions, mortgage payments, e-transfers, all taken from Canadians without their consent. We on this side of the House are not going to trust the government to protect Canadians, when it violated it so many times before. Why do the Liberals not do the right thing and tell Statistics Canada to back off the private personal information of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we do trust Statistics Canada and we do trust Canadians to make the right judgment.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for over a hundred years now. The data it receives will be stripped of all personal information when it receives it, so Canadians can be assured that their banking information is protected and private. Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above the requirements of the law and has asked the financial institutions to inform their clients about how this data will be used. The Conservatives would do well to listen to Statistics Canada.
Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to receive from the Conservatives, and Canadians know that. High-quality, reliable data is key in making decisions that truly reflect the needs of Canadians. Unlike the Conservatives, we think that facts are a pretty good place to start to make public policy.Canadians know who they can trust in this country. They can trust Statistics Canada. They can trust us to do the right thing, and the Conservatives had better get on board.
Mr. Speaker, there have been over 800 pages with hundreds of thousands of examples of where the government has violated the privacy of Canadians in the last 19 months alone, so he will forgive us if we do not trust him with the personal financial data of Canadians. The government has no consent to obtain it. This is private, personal data. Why do the Liberals not tell Statistics Canada to get out of the bank accounts of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege with regard to alcohol and the use of substances at this place on Parliament Hill. I wrote to you on January 29th, 2018. Specifically, I asked for your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy to address the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. There were four major components. I will not get into the full details, but they were to provide a more holistic approach and a more consistent approach to the use of alcohol on the Hill, similar to the Province of Ontario.In a response to me, you referred me to my House leader and it being raised at the Board of Internal Economy. I would like to thank all the House leaders for doing that. It has been discussed, and there has been some work in that regard. However, we are members who do not have a House leader with the ability to do so.Since that time, there have been several incidents on the Hill that show that there is some question with regard to activity and consistency with Ontario law and the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. I would ask that you consider this a point of privilege in your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy. I believe that recent events show that perhaps an investigation of security, which is your responsibility, Mr. Speaker, would be appropriate at this particular juncture. I believe that this should be a safe workplace. I believe that the past practices of this place have required change, and it has not been easy to do so. Therefore, I ask, as a point of privilege, for safety, my ability to carry out my duties, and the security of this place, that you review the role of the Speaker with regard to the use of alcohol and the issues I identified in my previous letter to you and that you report back to this chamber. Again, there are members who do not have a House leader. I appreciate your attempts to deal with this issue. There is no doubt that the public and people who use this space do not need to be impeded, let alone members of Parliament, with regard to some of the things that take place that are inconsistent with provincial laws and certainly inconsistent with being a good place to work.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister admitted that large industrial corporations will not have a carbon tax. They will have targets, but if they exceed those targets, they will have to pay. I checked what they would have to pay. It turns out, from the government's own documents, they will not have to pay the same taxes as Canadians. In fact, they can just submit something called eligible offset credits. If large industrial corporations do not have to pay the carbon tax, why should suburban soccer moms and small businesses have to pay it?
Mr. Speaker, I have asked the same question three times in a row, and three times the Liberals have scattered off running to every other subject conceivable. They cannot explain why the largest industrial emitters that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases do not have to pay the carbon tax at all when the tax is supposed to be about reducing emissions. Only suburban soccer moms, small businesses and seniors have to pay it. Why?
Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once quipped that there was no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation. This Prime Minister seems to think that the personal financial details of the nation, on the other hand, are fair game. Why is the Prime Minister so out of touch with Canadians, who do not want this unauthorized surveillance to continue?
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will always be there for our artists and creators. That is exactly what we demonstrated with our cultural policy last year. We have made historic investments of $3.2 billion in the cultural sector, including in the CBC, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm, the NFB and the Canada Media Fund. Due to the previous Conservative government's inaction, the lost decade, our laws on culture predate the Internet, which is why we are reviewing them so we can continue to support high quality Canadian content production. The principle of this review is clear: To participate in the system, one must contribute to the system. There will be no free ride.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, the hon. member is distorting the facts. Our plan to protect the environment includes putting a price on pollution, including a price for heavy emitters. We also know, not only from our government but from folks like Stephen Harper's former director of policy, that middle-class families will be better off as a result of this plan. In fact, Doug Ford's chief budget adviser confirmed two years ago before the Senate that in fact the single most important thing we can do to transition to a low-carbon economy is to put a price on pollution. I suggest that the Conservatives actually take his advice. Their only plan when they were in government was to plunge us into a recession and they liked it so much they tried it twice.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to confidentiality, every Canadian expects the government to make it a top priority to protect their personal information. The data requested by Statistics Canada are not anonymous. That is private and personal information. However, Statistics Canada is requesting that information without consent.Why does the party opposite want to collect information about Canadians' financial transactions without their consent?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians grow increasingly fearful from daily reports that the impacts of climate change are worsening beyond what scientists have predicted, that our oceans have absorbed 60 % more heat than predicted, that the Arctic is melting at a frighteningly rapid rate, that we can expect worsening floods and drought. Pressure is building for measures to hold our governments accountable. Today I tabled a motion to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets and impose a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action to mitigate climate change. Will the government support my Motion No. 204?
Mr. Speaker, I do share our hon. colleague's sense of urgency in terms of the fight against climate change. She correctly identified a series of global phenomena that all Canadians are concerned about and have asked their governments to take seriously. They asked their governments to act in a serious way to ensure that we have a plan to fight climate change. We think an essential element of that plan is not to make pollution free, something the Conservatives think would be a key part of a plan. We will make the Canadian economy more competitive and fight climate change at the same time.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food is currently engaged in a study on the mental health challenges that farmers, ranchers and producers face. During the course of that study, we heard repeated testimony from supply-managed farmers about the mental health challenges they are facing because of trade deals. The TPP comes into force 59 days from now, yet the Liberals have not introduced a compensation plan for losses in the supply-managed sector. Our farmers, ranchers and producers
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the member for VaughanWoodbridge for the work that he is doing to listen to Canadians and on the finance committee to help us drive the right kind of investments for Canada.I can say that our investments have already made a real difference for Canadian families across the country.It is true that what we are seeing are unemployment rates among the 40-year lows. We are seeing a level of growth that is helping families across the country. Importantly for the constituents in VaughanWoodbridge and across the country, they are going to see $2,000 more in their pockets in 2019 versus what they had in 2015. That is a really important difference for middle-class Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, we have just seen a demonstration of why these issues should be dealt with in courts of law, so we can avoid the innuendos and the drive-by smears. The fact of the matter is that the rules of court are there. The independent judiciary is there to manage these matters. Our distinguished law officers at the table have said very clearly, when matters of sub judice, they should not be the subject of either questions or answers in the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, during question period you cut off an answer by the NDP vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I am really hoping that you can clarify that decision, since you and every Speaker before you have ruled that the Speaker has no ability to judge the quality or the content of answers given during question period.In fact, Bosc and Gagnon tells us, at page 516 that: The Speaker ensures that replies adhere to the standards of order, decorum and parliamentary language, but is not responsible for the quality or content of replies to questions. The member for CowichanMalahatLangford was responding and telling us about some of the very important work being done at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.This is just a question of ours. Is it a double-standard that we see, or is the House now to understand that today's precedent will be applied to answers by the government side of the House from now on? We are hoping that it is the latter.
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the information that Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.The personal information that will be collected and studied by Statistics Canada will be scrubbed and anonymous. There is no way the government will have access to personal information. Statistics Canada is a respected agency in Canada and around the world. We trust its judgment.
Mr. Speaker, today is the YWCA day on the Hill. The YWCA is the country's oldest and largest women's multi-service organization, with 32 associations operating in more than 400 communities across Canada.The YWCA offers vitally important programs and services for women to help them reach their full potential.What is the government doing to support organizations working to eliminate obstacles that women face?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague from Manitoba for his hard work.To address the issue of problematic substance use, including methamphetamine, we have devoted $150 million to an emergency treatment fund. Furthermore, I am pleased to advise the House that we will be providing the City of Winnipeg with assistance for prevention and treatment and we will be sending a senior official to work on its methamphetamine task force.We will keep working to remove barriers to treatment and ensure that all Canadians struggling with problematic substance use get the help they need.
Mr. Speaker, the question was regarding the mental health challenges study the agriculture committee is currently engaged in. It is ongoing, and the question was regarding future meetings. From my understanding of the schedule of that standing committee, of which I am the second vice-chair, we have at least two more meetings regarding this particular study. I was referencing what had happened in the past, yes. However, do I expect more answers to fall in line with what we have heard in witness testimony? Absolutely. My answer was completely in recognition of those facts and what I expect to hear from witnesses in the future.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on the same point. I would draw your attention to note 93 on page 513 of Bosc and Gagnon, in which it is stated, referring to Speaker Milliken: ....it is not the role of the Speaker to judge the quality or content of the reply. That applies specifically to questions asked of committee chairs or, in this case, vice-chairs of committees.I would also draw your attention to a precedent in the House. On September 26, 2017, the member for South ShoreSt. Margarets asked a question of the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and you, sir, allowed her to make an ad hominem attack on the member for Lethbridge.
Mr. Speaker, as the member may know, the motion brought forward by the opposition members of our ethics committee today, which would have ensured documents and information related to Project Resolve not to be destroyed, was voted down by Liberal members. It was defeated six to three.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to add to the point of order by my colleague.I have now been the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food since the beginning of this year. Before I was cut off, I can quite confidently say that the answer I was giving could be backed up by witness testimony recorded in the evidence of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I would be more than happy to table that evidence for you, Mr. Speaker, to review. However, I can assure the House and you that the answer I was about to give before I was cut off was perfectly in line with the question by the member for BerthierMaskinongé.The very fact that you, Mr. Speaker, recognized her question allowed me to stand in this place, because the absence of the chair and the second vice-chair showed that I had legitimacy and the proper recognition to speak.I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that my answer was perfectly in line with the question.
Mr. Speaker, this summer when I was knocking on doors in my riding of VaughanWoodbridge, I talked with residents about the issues they were concerned about. For most of them, they were concerned about the economy, the cost of raising their kids and about saving for their retirement. During the 2015 election, we made it clear that we wanted to focus on investing in Canada's middle class in order to boost our economy.Can the Minister of Finance tell the House about the measures we have taken to help Canadian families and grow our economy?
Mr. Speaker, we believe it is important to share the successes that newcomers are contributing to communities right across the country, and we are proud to do so. Canadians understand that when newcomers come into their communities, they set up businesses, they provide jobs for middle-class Canadians, they help our economy grow. We will continue to focus on the economic success of our country through immigration. It is rich for the party opposite to talk about immigration in positive terms after it failed on the immigration front for close to 10 years. We believe in economic success in our country, growth for the middle class, and that happens through increased immigration.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous Conservative government, in the development of policy and public policy, we think facts are a good place to start and not ideology, which is how the Conservatives based its decisions. Unlike the Conservative Party, we are a fan of the facts. Therefore, Statistics Canada will be empowered to collect this kind of information, anonymize it in order to protect the private information of Canadians and then Canadians across Canada, small businesses, large businesses as well governments, will be able to use this information to develop good policy and practices.
Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear on this matter. The information Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.How many times did Statistics Canada use this section when these very same Conservatives were in power? Not once, not twice, not even a dozen times, but 84 times. In fact, in 2008, a major credit card agency signed an agreement with Stats Can to provide this type of financial data for statistical purposes.We trust Statistics Canada. We trust its ability to
Mr. Speaker, it being Thursday, I would like to ask the leader of the government in the House of Commons what business she intends to call for the remainder of this week and what business she plans to call for next week.
Mr. Speaker, UQAM researchers have discovered that just five movies and five TV shows in Netflix's catalogue of 5,500 titles were produced in Quebec. That is 0.1% of Netflix's content. Quebec is not in the picture.As Quebec film and TV producers noted recently, the Netflix agreement has done nothing for our culture. What we need is content produced here. If the next generation of Quebeckers does not have access to made-in-Quebec programming, it will turn to English-language American content. Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage apply our laws to online platforms, or does he want us to become totally assimilated?
Mr. Speaker, we understand there will be an impact on farmers and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them and to make sure that they succeed. We are forming working groups with the dairy producers and processors, poultry and egg producers and processors. Together we will help our supply-managed farmers and processors innovate, grow and remain competitive for generations to come. We will continue to support the agricultural sector and the supply management sector.
Mr. Speaker, I was going to reference that exchange with the vice-chair of the status of women committee.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nunavut for his heartfelt question.The national housing strategy understands the unique and important needs of Canadians living in the north. That is why the national housing strategy is investing $240 million in Nunavut alone to provide 3,000 families in Nunavut with a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why our first budget invested $80 million in Nunavut alone, an additional $80 million for the families there. That is why we are going to work with other governments to make sure that every family in Nunavut is included and has a safe and affordable place to call home.
Mr. Speaker, what we are going to start doing is to trust Statistics Canada. They should be doing that, because Canadians know that Statistics Canada is on their side.We know that data is a good place to start to make policy decisions in this country, and I think Canadians told that to the Conservatives in the last election. They know that they can trust Statistics Canada. They know that they can trust us. We will treat the information in accordance with the law. They had better get on board with that.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent for his question.Of course our government takes Canadians' privacy very seriously. Working with confidential data is obviously nothing new for Statistics Canada. The agency has been using personal information for a century to provide the reliable, crucial data required to meet the needs of Canadians, businesses and communities. In the spirit of openness and transparency, Statistics Canada has asked the Privacy Commissioner to work more closely with the agency on this project. It is our understanding that he has accepted the invitation.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Ottawa WestNepean for her tireless efforts to advance equality in Canada and abroad.Last year, YWCAs came to Parliament Hill for the first time ever for their lobbying efforts. They asked for a carve-out of the national housing strategy. Our government listened. This year, we welcomed them with the announcement of an investment of over $1.25 million for 10 YWCAs in Canada to support women working hard to join the middle class.On behalf of the Prime Minister and parliamentarians, I send my deepest gratitude to leaders from the YWCA and I wish them another successful day on the Hill.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.Our government looks forward to working with the new government in Quebec on important topics like immigration, and we look forward to helping Quebec maintain its economic prosperity.I spoke briefly with the new minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette. My cabinet colleagues and I look forward to meeting with him, hopefully in the coming days. We are going to work with the Government of Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are failing again. They are watering down sentences for crimes such as administering date rape drugs, abducting children, impaired driving causing bodily harm and selling young women and men into sexual slavery.The Conservatives called for over 100 amendments to clean up the government's deeply flawed omnibus Bill C-75, but the Liberals were not listening.Does the minister really believe Canadians want sex traffickers and kidnappers to have lesser sentences?
Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International, Oxfam and several other organizations join the NDP in calling on the government to immediately stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia.For years, the Liberals have been repeating that they are very worried and that they are closely monitoring the situation. Canadians, however, are sick of waiting. You cannot put a price on human rights.Will the government step up and stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia?
Mr. Speaker, the member was first elected when I was one year old, and it is sad that I have to remind him the our mandate is from the Canadian people. Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is facing criminal charges for breach of trust, a trust that the Privy Council has said that 73 people knew the contents of that meeting. I believe that at least two people of those 73 are Liberal MPs. They could be anyone. It could be you, Mr. Speaker.Leaving aside the Norman lawsuit, will the government clear the air and release the 72 other names?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are outraged, and rightly so. Statistics Canada wants to poke around the personal bank accounts of honest Canadians. We in the Conservative Party find that completely unacceptable. It is an utterly inappropriate invasion of Canadians' privacy. Unfortunately, the Liberal government is washing its hands of the issue. It does not see a problem and will not stop Statistics Canada from proceeding.Fortunately, the Privacy Commissioner is on the ball and has launched an investigation. Why does the Liberal government continue to defend the indefensible?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, which cut $400 million, we have invested $173 million. Some of that money will be used to ensure that we are better equipped to manage the situation. It will also ensure that unsuccessful asylum seekers are sent back to their own countries. That is what Canadians expect, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. It is a crime to destroy government documents under the Access to Information Act. That crime is much more egregious if those documents have been requested in a legal proceeding. Could the chair of the committee advise the House and all Canadians if the future agenda of the committee will include the destruction of government-held documents.
Mr. Speaker, one of the ideals of the Conservative Party is that we would ask people before we take their information. Canadians are outraged by the Liberals' unauthorized surveillance of their private banking information. My constituents have been calling me worried about the Liberals snooping into their bank accounts. The government has already acquired 15 years of credit information from millions of Canadians without their consent. Now the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is investigating abuse. When will the Liberals stop snooping into the lives of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians find intolerable is the Conservative Party's fearmongering. That is what Canadians have found intolerable for years.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for a century. The data collected will be processed to make it anonymous. Canadians can rest assured that their banking information is private and protected. When data is collected, it is stripped of all personal information.Canadians are familiar with Statistics Canada's role. The Conservatives would do well to stop their fearmongering.
Mr. Speaker, the government seems to have a problem with understanding the concept of consent. It does not have it in this case. It does not have the right to the personal data of Canadians. It has violated the privacy of Canadians hundreds of thousands of times in the last 19 months alone. Why does it not listen to Canadians who are outraged by this personal violation? Stop Statistics Canada from accessing their financial data, and do it today.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to fighting climate change, the Liberal government is all talk and little action, so little action, in fact, that a group of Quebec's legal experts is considering bringing the government to court to force it to respect its own commitments. This recourse is seen as plausible, because it has been used elsewhere, namely in the Netherlands. In a court ruling, the Dutch government is now under obligation to implement a GHG reduction plan. Will the Liberals stop producing so much hot air about climate change, or will they wait for legal experts to force them to do it?
Mr. Speaker, a fast way to build support for immigration in Canada is to fix the system that the Prime Minister has broken. To build support for immigration, the Prime Minister should close the loophole in the safe third country agreement instead of spending $50 million to foot the hotel bills of illegal border crossers.Why is the Prime Minister adding insult to injury by spending taxpayer dollars to tell Canadians that illegal border crossing is okay instead of preventing the abuse of Canada's asylum system?
Mr. Speaker, we were proud to put in place yesterday our second three-year immigration plan that would see immigrants to this country rise over the next number of years. That will contribute to the economic success of our country. That will contribute to jobs for middle-class Canadians. We believe that newcomers to Canada contribute to the economic success of our country. It is a principle that the Conservatives do not believe in. They believe in spreading fear and division and dog whistling at Canadians. We will grow the economy. We will bring newcomers into Canada and they will contribute to the economic vitality of our great country.
On the topic of spending, Mr. Speaker, after spending hundreds of millions of Canadian tax dollars on processing and prioritizing things like work permits for people who illegally entered Canada after reaching the safety of upstate New York, today the Prime Minister announced that he was starting a taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign to moralize, with his false sanctimony, to Canadians who oppose his failed immigration policies.How many taxpayer dollars will the Prime Minister be spending on his advertising campaign to preach the value of illegal border crossers to Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, it emerged today that cleaning up the oil sands will cost $260 billion. That is what we mean when we say pollution is costly.In the Netherlands, a court in The Hague is forcing the Dutch government to step up its efforts to fight climate change. Quebec legal experts want to do the same thing here and sue the Canadian government. We know things are bad when the Liberals have to be dragged into court in order to produce real measures to fight climate change.Do they need to be sued before they will act?
Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, four major new pipelines with access to new markets were approved and built with no tax dollars. These Liberals have already killed two export pipelines. Their failures have not added a single new centimetre, and their Bill C-69 will ensure there will be none in the future.Thirty-five indigenous communities now join provinces and industry to oppose the Liberals' no more pipelines Bill C-69. They say it will have an enormous and devastating impact on the ability of First Nations to cultivate or develop economic development opportunities in their traditional territories.Will the Liberals scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about millions of transactions that could potentially affect millions of Canadians. We do not know; it could me, it could you, Mr. Speaker.George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning, not as a road map. Canadians deserve to be free to live their lives without the state monitoring every single purchase they make. The Canadian people are quite concerned that every time they spend money, it will be documented and tracked by the state.Will the government end this unauthorized surveillance of Canadians? When?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want exports to be used to violate human rights. That is why our government is committed to a stronger and more rigorous arms export system. We are reviewing export permits to Saudi Arabia, we have frozen permits in the past and we will not hesitate to do so again if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, what a meaningless answer. It is clear that the Minister of Immigration knows nothing about the reality in Quebec. In Quebec, we want to not only accommodate immigrants, but to integrate them. We do not want to just tolerate them, we want to welcome them. In order for us to do that, we need to teach them our language and our way of life.The Minister of Immigration throws figures around without taking real life into account.Is he going to take the will of Quebec into account before setting thresholds for Quebec?
Mr. Speaker, the CPTPP comes into force in 59 days, and dairy producers still do not know what kind of compensation they will be entitled to. Unbelievable. When the Liberals signed the CPTPP, they opened a 3.25% breach in our supply management system, on top of the breaches from the Europe agreement and the USMCA. Our producers are understandably angry. They are tired of being used as bargaining chips.Will the government finally compensate our producers for the losses incurred?
Mr. Speaker, when I heard on the news on the weekend about this Statistics Canada scam, I thought it just cannot be true because we live in Canada, not the Soviet Union. After listening to the minister responsible for the gulag over there, I am not so sure we are not in the Soviet Union. The minister said today that Canadians had better get on board. Yesterday, I surveyed my constituents. In one day there have been over 1,000 responses and 98% of them said, Get out of my life, not Get on board. I would like to ask the minister
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes making big announcements, but he never concerns himself with the details.For his new immigration plan, he forgot to consult Canada border services officers and warn them that their workload would increase as a result of the deportations. He also forgot to provide them with more resources.Before arbitrarily setting a higher immigration target, should he not deal with this problem first?
Mr. Speaker, from the get-go, the chief statistician of Canada has been open to working with the Privacy Commissioner to make sure that the private information of Canadians was not placed at risk. I find it a little rich that the Conservatives make themselves the defendants of Canadians' privacy. We should remind them of their history. That is the same Conservative Party that was forced to back down when the Conservative government, not Statistics Canada, went after Canadians' personal information online. That is the same Conservative Party that leaked the medical information of a Canadian veteran. Enough of this fake outrage.
Mr. Speaker, Audrey Parker of Halifax is dying today. She has stage 4 cancer and lives in terrible pain. She has chosen to end her life much sooner than she would like. Audrey was forced to make this agonizing choice because our existing medical assistance in dying law does not allow for advance requests. She worried that if she waited, she would not be able to give the consent required.Soon the government will be receiving an expert report on this law. Will it introduce legislation before the next election so people like Audrey never again have to make this agonizing choice?
Mr. Speaker, instead of going after fat cat CEOs and the tax havens wealthy corporations use to avoid paying their fair share, refugees are having their child benefits clawed back. The government failed to provide timely access for language training for many of the new arrivals, yet refugee families that do not respond quickly to the CRA are penalized immediately. Not only are those payments stopped, but, in two cases, refugee families were billed $27,000. Is that why the government is giving the CRA $1 billion to crack down on the middle class and those who are working hard to join it?
Mr. Speaker, three times the Liberals had a chance to protect supply management and guess what? Three times they failed. The Liberals have signed deals that opened up more than 10% of our dairy market. The effects of these policies are hard and they hurt families. Hard-working families are feeling betrayed by the Liberals. The Liberals have used our supply-managed farmers as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations and we must know more about this.Could the vice-chair of the agriculture committee tell the House whether the TPP and the lack of compensation for farmers will be on the agenda in the coming days?
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's legal team is worried about his constitutional rights to a fair trial. Multiple Liberal ministers have conflict of interest. They hired away the one journalist writing stories about it. The Prime Minister's Office is refusing to reveal cabinet documents needed for this trial. Today, Liberal MPs blocked, at ethics committee, the ability for the Clerk of the Privy Council to appear just to confirm whether documents were not destroyed. My question is simple. Why the cover-up? What is the government hiding?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand in this House and extend my sincere condolences to the family of Ms. Parker. If I could have given her authorization for advance request, I would have absolutely done so. However, as parliamentarians, we know that the laws we make are for all Canadians. That is why we have put in place a group of experts to look at three sensitive areas, as we want to protect our vulnerable Canadians. We want them to look at the issue involving advance consent, also the issue of mature minors, and also for serious mental health issues.Once again, we will continue to work on this matter, and I look forward to receiving the experts' report.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are refusing to listen to Canadians who are outraged that the government is engaged in unauthorized surveillance of their every financial transaction. Even if the Liberals could guarantee that this data could not fall into the hands of hackers, which they cannot, it would still be an abuse of power to collect it.This is about the principle that the state does not get to monitor everything people do. Why are the Liberals so out of touch? When will they put a halt to this unauthorized surveillance? It is important to Canadians. When?
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.Canadians would be horrified and embarrassed to see the third world conditions that many people in Nunavut are living in. Our housing shortage has reached a crisis point. Overcrowding is contributing to high rates of youth suicide and tuberculosis. The housing allocation in the last budget does not even begin to address the current crisis or meet the annual labour force growth. Will the minister immediately increase funding to alleviate this crisis and work with the Government of Nunavut on an appropriate allocation for the 2019 budget?
Mr. Speaker, it is much more than an invitation; it is a an investigation. It is not a second look, as the Prime Minister so delicately put it yesterday.Why is the commissioner carrying out an actual investigation? It is because this is not right. It is an invasion of privacy, and honest Canadians do not need it.To paraphrase a former justice minister, I would say that if there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation, then there is no place for the state in the bank accounts of honest Canadians. Why does the government continue to tolerate this situation?It needs to say enough is enough and tell Statistics Canada to cease and desist.
Mr. Speaker, a month ago today, Quebeckers chose a new government that promised to lower immigration levels to allow for better integration.Premier Legault said, and I quote, We will welcome thousands of immigrants every year, but we are going to do so in a way that promotes integration. We will take fewer, but we will take care of them.What is the Minister of Immigration trying to do by unilaterally increasing the number of immigrants to Quebec to 70,000 within three years? Is he trying to stir up trouble?
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, tomorrow and next Tuesday, we will continue debate at second reading of Bill C-86, the second budget implementation act, 2018.Next Monday shall be an opposition day.On Wednesday, during routine proceedings, under ministerial statements, the Prime Minister will deliver a formal apology to the Jewish refugees of the MS St. Louis and its passengers.
Mr. Speaker, the question was about the carbon tax. The government has released documents which show that industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will be exempt from the carbon tax. If the carbon tax really was about saving the world, we would presume the largest industrial emitters of carbon would have to pay it. The question again is: Why should small businesses and suburban soccer moms pay it if large emitters do not have to?
Mr. Speaker, we know the Conservatives are getting desperate when they turn to the Fords for an endorsement. We saw it in the dying days of the 2015 campaign when Stephen Harper became a convert to the Ford nation. Now the Leader of the Opposition wants to be in the same shadow as well.Canadians deserve an honest plan to deal with climate change. We have a plan that will protect our environment and create good jobs for middle-class Canadians. We wish the Conservatives had one as well.
Mr. Speaker, our government believes in the collective bargaining process. Our mediators have been on the ground. The minister has been in contact with both sides. We continue to hope that the two groups come together with a final outcome. I would hope my colleague from the NDP would understand that it is not the place of the Government of Canada to put its thumb on the scale when it comes to contract negotiations.
Mr. Speaker, no, what the Liberal government will do is charge a new exorbitant tax on small businesses, suburban commuters and soccer moms while giving an exemption to large industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. The Liberals say the only way to save the world from climate change is a tax, yet they are exempting the largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases. Again, if the Liberals are going to exempt the big corporations, why do they not exempt families and small businesses too?
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as we have demonstrated for several years now, long before the legal threats arose, we are going to take climate change seriously, and we have a plan that Canadians understand and that will make a real difference in the fight against climate change.I would remind my hon. colleague that his home province of Quebec has been a leader in the fight against climate change for a very long time. It also has one of the most competitive economies in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, that amount just went up by $100 million, because before, the Liberals were claiming it was $300 million in cuts. None of it is true.The problem right now is that border services officers learned from the media that they have to deport 10,000 people who were refused access to Canada. When they found out, they said that they did not have the necessary resources to deport those individuals.It is not a matter of money. It is a matter of resources. This whole situation has been mismanaged.My question is this: are you ready to deport those 10,000 people, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I am sure you will not be surprised to hear that I do not share our hon. colleague's pessimism.As we have always said, our government takes climate change very seriously. Apparently the Conservatives have no interest in tackling this issue.We have a plan to make polluters pay while keeping Canada's economy competitive and creating good jobs for Canadians, and we are following that plan.
Mr. Speaker, forced overtime at Canada Post means increased hours and longer delivery routes that take a toll on worker health and safety, and families suffer.Because of the corporation's inflexibility, CUPW is pushing back against unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Effective today, the union has declared a national ban on overtime. Workers understand that self-care benefits them, their families, the corporation and its customers.Why does Canada Post not get it? When will the government secure a fair contract that values workers?
Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals are so serious about this, why are they still using the inadequate targets established by Stephen Harper's Conservatives, targets they have no chance of meeting?These failures have consequences. Over the past 25 years, the Earth's oceans have absorbed 60% more heat than scientists previously thought. That means global warming is happening faster than we thought. One consequence is that the Pine Island glacier in Antarctica lost a 300-square-kilometre chunk of ice this week, which is an area five times the size of Manhattan.My question again is this: Why are the Liberals refusing to change their game plan, which is clearly not good enough?
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of inaction under the Harper Conservatives, 99% of our oil exports were still sold to the United States. They do not even want to negotiate with our first nations. They have no respect for the environment. We will take no lessons from them on how to move our major projects forward.Bill C-69 provides a path forward and the certainty that business owners need. The mining sector is on board. The forestry sector is on board. We must move forward responsibly.
Mr. Speaker, yes, we are ready to do that. We are ready because we made investments after the $400 million in cuts made by the previous Stephen Harper government. Yes, we are able to do that, because we have made investments. The people working hard at the border to protect us and deal with asylum claims and irregular migrants are better equipped do their work because of the investments that we have made.
Mr. Speaker, I think some colleagues will agree that it is not in this part of the House of Commons that there is hot air being produced with respect to climate change. What our government is doing is putting forward a real plan that will make a real difference in the global fight against climate change. We said in the 2015 election that we would have a plan, something the Conservatives do not have. We said we would put a price on pollution and make the Canadian economy more competitive and create jobs for middle-class Canadians. That is exactly what our government is doing.
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the members opposite try to defend the private lives of Canadians and quote former prime minister Pierre Trudeau when he said that the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. It is unfortunate that many people in that party still disagree with that today.
Mr. Speaker, it is regrettable that my hon. colleague thinks it is meaningless to want to collaborate with the Quebec government. I am surprised to hear such remarks from that corner of the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, we saw yesterday another example of what Conservative leaders do when they are in dire straits. They beg for an endorsement from the Fords. We remember Stephen Harper in the dying days of the 2015 election with a fake cash register at an event with the Fords. Now the current leader appears to also be taking orders from Premier Ford to ensure that there is no plan to deal with climate change and no plan to make the Canadian economy more competitive. That is not something this government will do.
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a commitment to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time. Our plan includes putting a price on pollution that will leave middle-class families better off.It is interesting that the Conservatives have finally found the courage to stand up for the middle class, which they have been lacking for several years. When it came to small business owners, we reduced the small business tax to 9%, which the Conservatives opposed. We implemented the Canada child benefit, which leaves nine of 10 families better off. We are taking steps to make life more affordable for seniors. I would encourage the Conservatives to continue to advocate for what we have been advocating for for several years, which is to support the middle class. If they develop a plan to support the environment at the same time, I will be happy
Mr. Speaker, enough of this fearmongering from the Conservatives.Statistics Canada is a respected agency. It is respected in Canada and around the world. The data it receives will be scrubbed. All the personal information from it will be removed before it is made in any way available, compiled, etcetera, for the use of governments, Canadians, businesses and small business across Canada.Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above and beyond the requirements. It has consulted the Privacy Commissioner and is going to work with him to make sure that the interests of Canadians are not breached.
Mr. Speaker, methamphetamine abuse is impacting communities across Manitoba. Manitoba's chief medical examiner stated that the drug had been involved in 35 overdose deaths in 2017.In September, the Winnipeg city council adopted a resolution asking for assistance from the federal government. The issue is not only affecting urban centres like Winnipeg, but rural and indigenous communities across Canada. People are dying and we have a responsibility to act. Could the Minister of Health please explain what our government is doing to help communities impacted by methamphetamine?
Mr. Speaker, I completely reject the characterization by members opposite on Bill C-75, which is a comprehensive bill that seeks to address delays in the criminal justice system.There is nothing in this legislation that would reduce sentences. There is nothing that would change the principles around sentencing, which take into account the gravity of the offence and the proportion responsibility of an offender.We are not lowering sentences. We are providing prosecutors with the necessary discretion they need to move forward in the appropriate way given the circumstances of the particular case.
Mr. Speaker, indeed there is no cover-up. The fact of the matter is that there are outstanding legal proceedings before the courts, including proceedings that will occur this very week on this very topic. The appropriate place for those issues to be resolved are in the courts of law. The hon. members opposite do not have a mandate from either the prosecution or the defence to act in this matter. They should leave it to the legal counsel to follow the rules of court, follow the laws of evidence and allow the case to be decided in court appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, the data Statistics Canada is demanding is not anonymous. It is personal, and it is private. It has no consent from Canadians to take it. It includes account balances, debit and credit transactions, mortgage payments, e-transfers, all taken from Canadians without their consent. We on this side of the House are not going to trust the government to protect Canadians, when it violated it so many times before. Why do the Liberals not do the right thing and tell Statistics Canada to back off the private personal information of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we do trust Statistics Canada and we do trust Canadians to make the right judgment.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for over a hundred years now. The data it receives will be stripped of all personal information when it receives it, so Canadians can be assured that their banking information is protected and private. Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above the requirements of the law and has asked the financial institutions to inform their clients about how this data will be used. The Conservatives would do well to listen to Statistics Canada.
Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to receive from the Conservatives, and Canadians know that. High-quality, reliable data is key in making decisions that truly reflect the needs of Canadians. Unlike the Conservatives, we think that facts are a pretty good place to start to make public policy.Canadians know who they can trust in this country. They can trust Statistics Canada. They can trust us to do the right thing, and the Conservatives had better get on board.
Mr. Speaker, there have been over 800 pages with hundreds of thousands of examples of where the government has violated the privacy of Canadians in the last 19 months alone, so he will forgive us if we do not trust him with the personal financial data of Canadians. The government has no consent to obtain it. This is private, personal data. Why do the Liberals not tell Statistics Canada to get out of the bank accounts of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege with regard to alcohol and the use of substances at this place on Parliament Hill. I wrote to you on January 29th, 2018. Specifically, I asked for your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy to address the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. There were four major components. I will not get into the full details, but they were to provide a more holistic approach and a more consistent approach to the use of alcohol on the Hill, similar to the Province of Ontario.In a response to me, you referred me to my House leader and it being raised at the Board of Internal Economy. I would like to thank all the House leaders for doing that. It has been discussed, and there has been some work in that regard. However, we are members who do not have a House leader with the ability to do so.Since that time, there have been several incidents on the Hill that show that there is some question with regard to activity and consistency with Ontario law and the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. I would ask that you consider this a point of privilege in your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy. I believe that recent events show that perhaps an investigation of security, which is your responsibility, Mr. Speaker, would be appropriate at this particular juncture. I believe that this should be a safe workplace. I believe that the past practices of this place have required change, and it has not been easy to do so. Therefore, I ask, as a point of privilege, for safety, my ability to carry out my duties, and the security of this place, that you review the role of the Speaker with regard to the use of alcohol and the issues I identified in my previous letter to you and that you report back to this chamber. Again, there are members who do not have a House leader. I appreciate your attempts to deal with this issue. There is no doubt that the public and people who use this space do not need to be impeded, let alone members of Parliament, with regard to some of the things that take place that are inconsistent with provincial laws and certainly inconsistent with being a good place to work.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister admitted that large industrial corporations will not have a carbon tax. They will have targets, but if they exceed those targets, they will have to pay. I checked what they would have to pay. It turns out, from the government's own documents, they will not have to pay the same taxes as Canadians. In fact, they can just submit something called eligible offset credits. If large industrial corporations do not have to pay the carbon tax, why should suburban soccer moms and small businesses have to pay it?
Mr. Speaker, I have asked the same question three times in a row, and three times the Liberals have scattered off running to every other subject conceivable. They cannot explain why the largest industrial emitters that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases do not have to pay the carbon tax at all when the tax is supposed to be about reducing emissions. Only suburban soccer moms, small businesses and seniors have to pay it. Why?
Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once quipped that there was no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation. This Prime Minister seems to think that the personal financial details of the nation, on the other hand, are fair game. Why is the Prime Minister so out of touch with Canadians, who do not want this unauthorized surveillance to continue?
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will always be there for our artists and creators. That is exactly what we demonstrated with our cultural policy last year. We have made historic investments of $3.2 billion in the cultural sector, including in the CBC, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm, the NFB and the Canada Media Fund. Due to the previous Conservative government's inaction, the lost decade, our laws on culture predate the Internet, which is why we are reviewing them so we can continue to support high quality Canadian content production. The principle of this review is clear: To participate in the system, one must contribute to the system. There will be no free ride.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, the hon. member is distorting the facts. Our plan to protect the environment includes putting a price on pollution, including a price for heavy emitters. We also know, not only from our government but from folks like Stephen Harper's former director of policy, that middle-class families will be better off as a result of this plan. In fact, Doug Ford's chief budget adviser confirmed two years ago before the Senate that in fact the single most important thing we can do to transition to a low-carbon economy is to put a price on pollution. I suggest that the Conservatives actually take his advice. Their only plan when they were in government was to plunge us into a recession and they liked it so much they tried it twice.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to confidentiality, every Canadian expects the government to make it a top priority to protect their personal information. The data requested by Statistics Canada are not anonymous. That is private and personal information. However, Statistics Canada is requesting that information without consent.Why does the party opposite want to collect information about Canadians' financial transactions without their consent?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians grow increasingly fearful from daily reports that the impacts of climate change are worsening beyond what scientists have predicted, that our oceans have absorbed 60 % more heat than predicted, that the Arctic is melting at a frighteningly rapid rate, that we can expect worsening floods and drought. Pressure is building for measures to hold our governments accountable. Today I tabled a motion to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets and impose a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action to mitigate climate change. Will the government support my Motion No. 204?
Mr. Speaker, I do share our hon. colleague's sense of urgency in terms of the fight against climate change. She correctly identified a series of global phenomena that all Canadians are concerned about and have asked their governments to take seriously. They asked their governments to act in a serious way to ensure that we have a plan to fight climate change. We think an essential element of that plan is not to make pollution free, something the Conservatives think would be a key part of a plan. We will make the Canadian economy more competitive and fight climate change at the same time.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food is currently engaged in a study on the mental health challenges that farmers, ranchers and producers face. During the course of that study, we heard repeated testimony from supply-managed farmers about the mental health challenges they are facing because of trade deals. The TPP comes into force 59 days from now, yet the Liberals have not introduced a compensation plan for losses in the supply-managed sector. Our farmers, ranchers and producers
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the member for VaughanWoodbridge for the work that he is doing to listen to Canadians and on the finance committee to help us drive the right kind of investments for Canada.I can say that our investments have already made a real difference for Canadian families across the country.It is true that what we are seeing are unemployment rates among the 40-year lows. We are seeing a level of growth that is helping families across the country. Importantly for the constituents in VaughanWoodbridge and across the country, they are going to see $2,000 more in their pockets in 2019 versus what they had in 2015. That is a really important difference for middle-class Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, we have just seen a demonstration of why these issues should be dealt with in courts of law, so we can avoid the innuendos and the drive-by smears. The fact of the matter is that the rules of court are there. The independent judiciary is there to manage these matters. Our distinguished law officers at the table have said very clearly, when matters of sub judice, they should not be the subject of either questions or answers in the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, during question period you cut off an answer by the NDP vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I am really hoping that you can clarify that decision, since you and every Speaker before you have ruled that the Speaker has no ability to judge the quality or the content of answers given during question period.In fact, Bosc and Gagnon tells us, at page 516 that: The Speaker ensures that replies adhere to the standards of order, decorum and parliamentary language, but is not responsible for the quality or content of replies to questions. The member for CowichanMalahatLangford was responding and telling us about some of the very important work being done at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.This is just a question of ours. Is it a double-standard that we see, or is the House now to understand that today's precedent will be applied to answers by the government side of the House from now on? We are hoping that it is the latter.
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the information that Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.The personal information that will be collected and studied by Statistics Canada will be scrubbed and anonymous. There is no way the government will have access to personal information. Statistics Canada is a respected agency in Canada and around the world. We trust its judgment.
Mr. Speaker, today is the YWCA day on the Hill. The YWCA is the country's oldest and largest women's multi-service organization, with 32 associations operating in more than 400 communities across Canada.The YWCA offers vitally important programs and services for women to help them reach their full potential.What is the government doing to support organizations working to eliminate obstacles that women face?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague from Manitoba for his hard work.To address the issue of problematic substance use, including methamphetamine, we have devoted $150 million to an emergency treatment fund. Furthermore, I am pleased to advise the House that we will be providing the City of Winnipeg with assistance for prevention and treatment and we will be sending a senior official to work on its methamphetamine task force.We will keep working to remove barriers to treatment and ensure that all Canadians struggling with problematic substance use get the help they need.
Mr. Speaker, the question was regarding the mental health challenges study the agriculture committee is currently engaged in. It is ongoing, and the question was regarding future meetings. From my understanding of the schedule of that standing committee, of which I am the second vice-chair, we have at least two more meetings regarding this particular study. I was referencing what had happened in the past, yes. However, do I expect more answers to fall in line with what we have heard in witness testimony? Absolutely. My answer was completely in recognition of those facts and what I expect to hear from witnesses in the future.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on the same point. I would draw your attention to note 93 on page 513 of Bosc and Gagnon, in which it is stated, referring to Speaker Milliken: ....it is not the role of the Speaker to judge the quality or content of the reply. That applies specifically to questions asked of committee chairs or, in this case, vice-chairs of committees.I would also draw your attention to a precedent in the House. On September 26, 2017, the member for South ShoreSt. Margarets asked a question of the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and you, sir, allowed her to make an ad hominem attack on the member for Lethbridge.
Mr. Speaker, as the member may know, the motion brought forward by the opposition members of our ethics committee today, which would have ensured documents and information related to Project Resolve not to be destroyed, was voted down by Liberal members. It was defeated six to three.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to add to the point of order by my colleague.I have now been the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food since the beginning of this year. Before I was cut off, I can quite confidently say that the answer I was giving could be backed up by witness testimony recorded in the evidence of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I would be more than happy to table that evidence for you, Mr. Speaker, to review. However, I can assure the House and you that the answer I was about to give before I was cut off was perfectly in line with the question by the member for BerthierMaskinongé.The very fact that you, Mr. Speaker, recognized her question allowed me to stand in this place, because the absence of the chair and the second vice-chair showed that I had legitimacy and the proper recognition to speak.I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that my answer was perfectly in line with the question.
Mr. Speaker, this summer when I was knocking on doors in my riding of VaughanWoodbridge, I talked with residents about the issues they were concerned about. For most of them, they were concerned about the economy, the cost of raising their kids and about saving for their retirement. During the 2015 election, we made it clear that we wanted to focus on investing in Canada's middle class in order to boost our economy.Can the Minister of Finance tell the House about the measures we have taken to help Canadian families and grow our economy?
Mr. Speaker, we believe it is important to share the successes that newcomers are contributing to communities right across the country, and we are proud to do so. Canadians understand that when newcomers come into their communities, they set up businesses, they provide jobs for middle-class Canadians, they help our economy grow. We will continue to focus on the economic success of our country through immigration. It is rich for the party opposite to talk about immigration in positive terms after it failed on the immigration front for close to 10 years. We believe in economic success in our country, growth for the middle class, and that happens through increased immigration.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous Conservative government, in the development of policy and public policy, we think facts are a good place to start and not ideology, which is how the Conservatives based its decisions. Unlike the Conservative Party, we are a fan of the facts. Therefore, Statistics Canada will be empowered to collect this kind of information, anonymize it in order to protect the private information of Canadians and then Canadians across Canada, small businesses, large businesses as well governments, will be able to use this information to develop good policy and practices.
Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear on this matter. The information Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.How many times did Statistics Canada use this section when these very same Conservatives were in power? Not once, not twice, not even a dozen times, but 84 times. In fact, in 2008, a major credit card agency signed an agreement with Stats Can to provide this type of financial data for statistical purposes.We trust Statistics Canada. We trust its ability to
Mr. Speaker, it being Thursday, I would like to ask the leader of the government in the House of Commons what business she intends to call for the remainder of this week and what business she plans to call for next week.
Mr. Speaker, UQAM researchers have discovered that just five movies and five TV shows in Netflix's catalogue of 5,500 titles were produced in Quebec. That is 0.1% of Netflix's content. Quebec is not in the picture.As Quebec film and TV producers noted recently, the Netflix agreement has done nothing for our culture. What we need is content produced here. If the next generation of Quebeckers does not have access to made-in-Quebec programming, it will turn to English-language American content. Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage apply our laws to online platforms, or does he want us to become totally assimilated?
Mr. Speaker, we understand there will be an impact on farmers and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them and to make sure that they succeed. We are forming working groups with the dairy producers and processors, poultry and egg producers and processors. Together we will help our supply-managed farmers and processors innovate, grow and remain competitive for generations to come. We will continue to support the agricultural sector and the supply management sector.
Mr. Speaker, I was going to reference that exchange with the vice-chair of the status of women committee.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nunavut for his heartfelt question.The national housing strategy understands the unique and important needs of Canadians living in the north. That is why the national housing strategy is investing $240 million in Nunavut alone to provide 3,000 families in Nunavut with a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why our first budget invested $80 million in Nunavut alone, an additional $80 million for the families there. That is why we are going to work with other governments to make sure that every family in Nunavut is included and has a safe and affordable place to call home.
Mr. Speaker, what we are going to start doing is to trust Statistics Canada. They should be doing that, because Canadians know that Statistics Canada is on their side.We know that data is a good place to start to make policy decisions in this country, and I think Canadians told that to the Conservatives in the last election. They know that they can trust Statistics Canada. They know that they can trust us. We will treat the information in accordance with the law. They had better get on board with that.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent for his question.Of course our government takes Canadians' privacy very seriously. Working with confidential data is obviously nothing new for Statistics Canada. The agency has been using personal information for a century to provide the reliable, crucial data required to meet the needs of Canadians, businesses and communities. In the spirit of openness and transparency, Statistics Canada has asked the Privacy Commissioner to work more closely with the agency on this project. It is our understanding that he has accepted the invitation.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Ottawa WestNepean for her tireless efforts to advance equality in Canada and abroad.Last year, YWCAs came to Parliament Hill for the first time ever for their lobbying efforts. They asked for a carve-out of the national housing strategy. Our government listened. This year, we welcomed them with the announcement of an investment of over $1.25 million for 10 YWCAs in Canada to support women working hard to join the middle class.On behalf of the Prime Minister and parliamentarians, I send my deepest gratitude to leaders from the YWCA and I wish them another successful day on the Hill.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.Our government looks forward to working with the new government in Quebec on important topics like immigration, and we look forward to helping Quebec maintain its economic prosperity.I spoke briefly with the new minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette. My cabinet colleagues and I look forward to meeting with him, hopefully in the coming days. We are going to work with the Government of Quebec.
Most negative speeches
Mr. Speaker, one of the ideals of the Conservative Party is that we would ask people before we take their information. Canadians are outraged by the Liberals' unauthorized surveillance of their private banking information. My constituents have been calling me worried about the Liberals snooping into their bank accounts. The government has already acquired 15 years of credit information from millions of Canadians without their consent. Now the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is investigating abuse. When will the Liberals stop snooping into the lives of Canadians?
On the topic of spending, Mr. Speaker, after spending hundreds of millions of Canadian tax dollars on processing and prioritizing things like work permits for people who illegally entered Canada after reaching the safety of upstate New York, today the Prime Minister announced that he was starting a taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign to moralize, with his false sanctimony, to Canadians who oppose his failed immigration policies.How many taxpayer dollars will the Prime Minister be spending on his advertising campaign to preach the value of illegal border crossers to Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are refusing to listen to Canadians who are outraged that the government is engaged in unauthorized surveillance of their every financial transaction. Even if the Liberals could guarantee that this data could not fall into the hands of hackers, which they cannot, it would still be an abuse of power to collect it.This is about the principle that the state does not get to monitor everything people do. Why are the Liberals so out of touch? When will they put a halt to this unauthorized surveillance? It is important to Canadians. When?
Mr. Speaker, it is regrettable that my hon. colleague thinks it is meaningless to want to collaborate with the Quebec government. I am surprised to hear such remarks from that corner of the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, the member was first elected when I was one year old, and it is sad that I have to remind him the our mandate is from the Canadian people. Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is facing criminal charges for breach of trust, a trust that the Privy Council has said that 73 people knew the contents of that meeting. I believe that at least two people of those 73 are Liberal MPs. They could be anyone. It could be you, Mr. Speaker.Leaving aside the Norman lawsuit, will the government clear the air and release the 72 other names?
Mr. Speaker, it emerged today that cleaning up the oil sands will cost $260 billion. That is what we mean when we say pollution is costly.In the Netherlands, a court in The Hague is forcing the Dutch government to step up its efforts to fight climate change. Quebec legal experts want to do the same thing here and sue the Canadian government. We know things are bad when the Liberals have to be dragged into court in order to produce real measures to fight climate change.Do they need to be sued before they will act?
Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International, Oxfam and several other organizations join the NDP in calling on the government to immediately stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia.For years, the Liberals have been repeating that they are very worried and that they are closely monitoring the situation. Canadians, however, are sick of waiting. You cannot put a price on human rights.Will the government step up and stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia?
Mr. Speaker, the government seems to have a problem with understanding the concept of consent. It does not have it in this case. It does not have the right to the personal data of Canadians. It has violated the privacy of Canadians hundreds of thousands of times in the last 19 months alone. Why does it not listen to Canadians who are outraged by this personal violation? Stop Statistics Canada from accessing their financial data, and do it today.
Mr. Speaker, Audrey Parker of Halifax is dying today. She has stage 4 cancer and lives in terrible pain. She has chosen to end her life much sooner than she would like. Audrey was forced to make this agonizing choice because our existing medical assistance in dying law does not allow for advance requests. She worried that if she waited, she would not be able to give the consent required.Soon the government will be receiving an expert report on this law. Will it introduce legislation before the next election so people like Audrey never again have to make this agonizing choice?
Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals are so serious about this, why are they still using the inadequate targets established by Stephen Harper's Conservatives, targets they have no chance of meeting?These failures have consequences. Over the past 25 years, the Earth's oceans have absorbed 60% more heat than scientists previously thought. That means global warming is happening faster than we thought. One consequence is that the Pine Island glacier in Antarctica lost a 300-square-kilometre chunk of ice this week, which is an area five times the size of Manhattan.My question again is this: Why are the Liberals refusing to change their game plan, which is clearly not good enough?
Mr. Speaker, as the member may know, the motion brought forward by the opposition members of our ethics committee today, which would have ensured documents and information related to Project Resolve not to be destroyed, was voted down by Liberal members. It was defeated six to three.
Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, four major new pipelines with access to new markets were approved and built with no tax dollars. These Liberals have already killed two export pipelines. Their failures have not added a single new centimetre, and their Bill C-69 will ensure there will be none in the future.Thirty-five indigenous communities now join provinces and industry to oppose the Liberals' no more pipelines Bill C-69. They say it will have an enormous and devastating impact on the ability of First Nations to cultivate or develop economic development opportunities in their traditional territories.Will the Liberals scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians grow increasingly fearful from daily reports that the impacts of climate change are worsening beyond what scientists have predicted, that our oceans have absorbed 60 % more heat than predicted, that the Arctic is melting at a frighteningly rapid rate, that we can expect worsening floods and drought. Pressure is building for measures to hold our governments accountable. Today I tabled a motion to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets and impose a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action to mitigate climate change. Will the government support my Motion No. 204?
Mr. Speaker, a fast way to build support for immigration in Canada is to fix the system that the Prime Minister has broken. To build support for immigration, the Prime Minister should close the loophole in the safe third country agreement instead of spending $50 million to foot the hotel bills of illegal border crossers.Why is the Prime Minister adding insult to injury by spending taxpayer dollars to tell Canadians that illegal border crossing is okay instead of preventing the abuse of Canada's asylum system?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are outraged, and rightly so. Statistics Canada wants to poke around the personal bank accounts of honest Canadians. We in the Conservative Party find that completely unacceptable. It is an utterly inappropriate invasion of Canadians' privacy. Unfortunately, the Liberal government is washing its hands of the issue. It does not see a problem and will not stop Statistics Canada from proceeding.Fortunately, the Privacy Commissioner is on the ball and has launched an investigation. Why does the Liberal government continue to defend the indefensible?
Mr. Speaker, from the get-go, the chief statistician of Canada has been open to working with the Privacy Commissioner to make sure that the private information of Canadians was not placed at risk. I find it a little rich that the Conservatives make themselves the defendants of Canadians' privacy. We should remind them of their history. That is the same Conservative Party that was forced to back down when the Conservative government, not Statistics Canada, went after Canadians' personal information online. That is the same Conservative Party that leaked the medical information of a Canadian veteran. Enough of this fake outrage.
Mr. Speaker, we have just seen a demonstration of why these issues should be dealt with in courts of law, so we can avoid the innuendos and the drive-by smears. The fact of the matter is that the rules of court are there. The independent judiciary is there to manage these matters. Our distinguished law officers at the table have said very clearly, when matters of sub judice, they should not be the subject of either questions or answers in the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, the CPTPP comes into force in 59 days, and dairy producers still do not know what kind of compensation they will be entitled to. Unbelievable. When the Liberals signed the CPTPP, they opened a 3.25% breach in our supply management system, on top of the breaches from the Europe agreement and the USMCA. Our producers are understandably angry. They are tired of being used as bargaining chips.Will the government finally compensate our producers for the losses incurred?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand in this House and extend my sincere condolences to the family of Ms. Parker. If I could have given her authorization for advance request, I would have absolutely done so. However, as parliamentarians, we know that the laws we make are for all Canadians. That is why we have put in place a group of experts to look at three sensitive areas, as we want to protect our vulnerable Canadians. We want them to look at the issue involving advance consent, also the issue of mature minors, and also for serious mental health issues.Once again, we will continue to work on this matter, and I look forward to receiving the experts' report.
Mr. Speaker, there have been over 800 pages with hundreds of thousands of examples of where the government has violated the privacy of Canadians in the last 19 months alone, so he will forgive us if we do not trust him with the personal financial data of Canadians. The government has no consent to obtain it. This is private, personal data. Why do the Liberals not tell Statistics Canada to get out of the bank accounts of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the information that Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.The personal information that will be collected and studied by Statistics Canada will be scrubbed and anonymous. There is no way the government will have access to personal information. Statistics Canada is a respected agency in Canada and around the world. We trust its judgment.
Mr. Speaker, we saw yesterday another example of what Conservative leaders do when they are in dire straits. They beg for an endorsement from the Fords. We remember Stephen Harper in the dying days of the 2015 election with a fake cash register at an event with the Fords. Now the current leader appears to also be taking orders from Premier Ford to ensure that there is no plan to deal with climate change and no plan to make the Canadian economy more competitive. That is not something this government will do.
Mr. Speaker, UQAM researchers have discovered that just five movies and five TV shows in Netflix's catalogue of 5,500 titles were produced in Quebec. That is 0.1% of Netflix's content. Quebec is not in the picture.As Quebec film and TV producers noted recently, the Netflix agreement has done nothing for our culture. What we need is content produced here. If the next generation of Quebeckers does not have access to made-in-Quebec programming, it will turn to English-language American content. Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage apply our laws to online platforms, or does he want us to become totally assimilated?
Mr. Speaker, methamphetamine abuse is impacting communities across Manitoba. Manitoba's chief medical examiner stated that the drug had been involved in 35 overdose deaths in 2017.In September, the Winnipeg city council adopted a resolution asking for assistance from the federal government. The issue is not only affecting urban centres like Winnipeg, but rural and indigenous communities across Canada. People are dying and we have a responsibility to act. Could the Minister of Health please explain what our government is doing to help communities impacted by methamphetamine?
Mr. Speaker, our government believes in the collective bargaining process. Our mediators have been on the ground. The minister has been in contact with both sides. We continue to hope that the two groups come together with a final outcome. I would hope my colleague from the NDP would understand that it is not the place of the Government of Canada to put its thumb on the scale when it comes to contract negotiations.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on the same point. I would draw your attention to note 93 on page 513 of Bosc and Gagnon, in which it is stated, referring to Speaker Milliken: ....it is not the role of the Speaker to judge the quality or content of the reply. That applies specifically to questions asked of committee chairs or, in this case, vice-chairs of committees.I would also draw your attention to a precedent in the House. On September 26, 2017, the member for South ShoreSt. Margarets asked a question of the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and you, sir, allowed her to make an ad hominem attack on the member for Lethbridge.
Mr. Speaker, I was going to reference that exchange with the vice-chair of the status of women committee.
Mr. Speaker, it being Thursday, I would like to ask the leader of the government in the House of Commons what business she intends to call for the remainder of this week and what business she plans to call for next week.
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, tomorrow and next Tuesday, we will continue debate at second reading of Bill C-86, the second budget implementation act, 2018.Next Monday shall be an opposition day.On Wednesday, during routine proceedings, under ministerial statements, the Prime Minister will deliver a formal apology to the Jewish refugees of the MS St. Louis and its passengers.
Mr. Speaker, I have asked the same question three times in a row, and three times the Liberals have scattered off running to every other subject conceivable. They cannot explain why the largest industrial emitters that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases do not have to pay the carbon tax at all when the tax is supposed to be about reducing emissions. Only suburban soccer moms, small businesses and seniors have to pay it. Why?
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will always be there for our artists and creators. That is exactly what we demonstrated with our cultural policy last year. We have made historic investments of $3.2 billion in the cultural sector, including in the CBC, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm, the NFB and the Canada Media Fund. Due to the previous Conservative government's inaction, the lost decade, our laws on culture predate the Internet, which is why we are reviewing them so we can continue to support high quality Canadian content production. The principle of this review is clear: To participate in the system, one must contribute to the system. There will be no free ride.
Mr. Speaker, I do share our hon. colleague's sense of urgency in terms of the fight against climate change. She correctly identified a series of global phenomena that all Canadians are concerned about and have asked their governments to take seriously. They asked their governments to act in a serious way to ensure that we have a plan to fight climate change. We think an essential element of that plan is not to make pollution free, something the Conservatives think would be a key part of a plan. We will make the Canadian economy more competitive and fight climate change at the same time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent for his question.Of course our government takes Canadians' privacy very seriously. Working with confidential data is obviously nothing new for Statistics Canada. The agency has been using personal information for a century to provide the reliable, crucial data required to meet the needs of Canadians, businesses and communities. In the spirit of openness and transparency, Statistics Canada has asked the Privacy Commissioner to work more closely with the agency on this project. It is our understanding that he has accepted the invitation.
Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once quipped that there was no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation. This Prime Minister seems to think that the personal financial details of the nation, on the other hand, are fair game. Why is the Prime Minister so out of touch with Canadians, who do not want this unauthorized surveillance to continue?
Mr. Speaker, no, what the Liberal government will do is charge a new exorbitant tax on small businesses, suburban commuters and soccer moms while giving an exemption to large industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. The Liberals say the only way to save the world from climate change is a tax, yet they are exempting the largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases. Again, if the Liberals are going to exempt the big corporations, why do they not exempt families and small businesses too?
Mr. Speaker, three times the Liberals had a chance to protect supply management and guess what? Three times they failed. The Liberals have signed deals that opened up more than 10% of our dairy market. The effects of these policies are hard and they hurt families. Hard-working families are feeling betrayed by the Liberals. The Liberals have used our supply-managed farmers as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations and we must know more about this.Could the vice-chair of the agriculture committee tell the House whether the TPP and the lack of compensation for farmers will be on the agenda in the coming days?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are failing again. They are watering down sentences for crimes such as administering date rape drugs, abducting children, impaired driving causing bodily harm and selling young women and men into sexual slavery.The Conservatives called for over 100 amendments to clean up the government's deeply flawed omnibus Bill C-75, but the Liberals were not listening.Does the minister really believe Canadians want sex traffickers and kidnappers to have lesser sentences?
Mr. Speaker, I completely reject the characterization by members opposite on Bill C-75, which is a comprehensive bill that seeks to address delays in the criminal justice system.There is nothing in this legislation that would reduce sentences. There is nothing that would change the principles around sentencing, which take into account the gravity of the offence and the proportion responsibility of an offender.We are not lowering sentences. We are providing prosecutors with the necessary discretion they need to move forward in the appropriate way given the circumstances of the particular case.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want exports to be used to violate human rights. That is why our government is committed to a stronger and more rigorous arms export system. We are reviewing export permits to Saudi Arabia, we have frozen permits in the past and we will not hesitate to do so again if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as we have demonstrated for several years now, long before the legal threats arose, we are going to take climate change seriously, and we have a plan that Canadians understand and that will make a real difference in the fight against climate change.I would remind my hon. colleague that his home province of Quebec has been a leader in the fight against climate change for a very long time. It also has one of the most competitive economies in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the question was regarding the mental health challenges study the agriculture committee is currently engaged in. It is ongoing, and the question was regarding future meetings. From my understanding of the schedule of that standing committee, of which I am the second vice-chair, we have at least two more meetings regarding this particular study. I was referencing what had happened in the past, yes. However, do I expect more answers to fall in line with what we have heard in witness testimony? Absolutely. My answer was completely in recognition of those facts and what I expect to hear from witnesses in the future.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food is currently engaged in a study on the mental health challenges that farmers, ranchers and producers face. During the course of that study, we heard repeated testimony from supply-managed farmers about the mental health challenges they are facing because of trade deals. The TPP comes into force 59 days from now, yet the Liberals have not introduced a compensation plan for losses in the supply-managed sector. Our farmers, ranchers and producers
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to confidentiality, every Canadian expects the government to make it a top priority to protect their personal information. The data requested by Statistics Canada are not anonymous. That is private and personal information. However, Statistics Canada is requesting that information without consent.Why does the party opposite want to collect information about Canadians' financial transactions without their consent?
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the members opposite try to defend the private lives of Canadians and quote former prime minister Pierre Trudeau when he said that the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. It is unfortunate that many people in that party still disagree with that today.
Mr. Speaker, the question was about the carbon tax. The government has released documents which show that industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will be exempt from the carbon tax. If the carbon tax really was about saving the world, we would presume the largest industrial emitters of carbon would have to pay it. The question again is: Why should small businesses and suburban soccer moms pay it if large emitters do not have to?
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians find intolerable is the Conservative Party's fearmongering. That is what Canadians have found intolerable for years.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for a century. The data collected will be processed to make it anonymous. Canadians can rest assured that their banking information is private and protected. When data is collected, it is stripped of all personal information.Canadians are familiar with Statistics Canada's role. The Conservatives would do well to stop their fearmongering.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague from Manitoba for his hard work.To address the issue of problematic substance use, including methamphetamine, we have devoted $150 million to an emergency treatment fund. Furthermore, I am pleased to advise the House that we will be providing the City of Winnipeg with assistance for prevention and treatment and we will be sending a senior official to work on its methamphetamine task force.We will keep working to remove barriers to treatment and ensure that all Canadians struggling with problematic substance use get the help they need.
Mr. Speaker, instead of going after fat cat CEOs and the tax havens wealthy corporations use to avoid paying their fair share, refugees are having their child benefits clawed back. The government failed to provide timely access for language training for many of the new arrivals, yet refugee families that do not respond quickly to the CRA are penalized immediately. Not only are those payments stopped, but, in two cases, refugee families were billed $27,000. Is that why the government is giving the CRA $1 billion to crack down on the middle class and those who are working hard to join it?
Mr. Speaker, the data Statistics Canada is demanding is not anonymous. It is personal, and it is private. It has no consent from Canadians to take it. It includes account balances, debit and credit transactions, mortgage payments, e-transfers, all taken from Canadians without their consent. We on this side of the House are not going to trust the government to protect Canadians, when it violated it so many times before. Why do the Liberals not do the right thing and tell Statistics Canada to back off the private personal information of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a commitment to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time. Our plan includes putting a price on pollution that will leave middle-class families better off.It is interesting that the Conservatives have finally found the courage to stand up for the middle class, which they have been lacking for several years. When it came to small business owners, we reduced the small business tax to 9%, which the Conservatives opposed. We implemented the Canada child benefit, which leaves nine of 10 families better off. We are taking steps to make life more affordable for seniors. I would encourage the Conservatives to continue to advocate for what we have been advocating for for several years, which is to support the middle class. If they develop a plan to support the environment at the same time, I will be happy
Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear on this matter. The information Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.How many times did Statistics Canada use this section when these very same Conservatives were in power? Not once, not twice, not even a dozen times, but 84 times. In fact, in 2008, a major credit card agency signed an agreement with Stats Can to provide this type of financial data for statistical purposes.We trust Statistics Canada. We trust its ability to
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about millions of transactions that could potentially affect millions of Canadians. We do not know; it could me, it could you, Mr. Speaker.George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning, not as a road map. Canadians deserve to be free to live their lives without the state monitoring every single purchase they make. The Canadian people are quite concerned that every time they spend money, it will be documented and tracked by the state.Will the government end this unauthorized surveillance of Canadians? When?
Mr. Speaker, what a meaningless answer. It is clear that the Minister of Immigration knows nothing about the reality in Quebec. In Quebec, we want to not only accommodate immigrants, but to integrate them. We do not want to just tolerate them, we want to welcome them. In order for us to do that, we need to teach them our language and our way of life.The Minister of Immigration throws figures around without taking real life into account.Is he going to take the will of Quebec into account before setting thresholds for Quebec?
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. It is a crime to destroy government documents under the Access to Information Act. That crime is much more egregious if those documents have been requested in a legal proceeding. Could the chair of the committee advise the House and all Canadians if the future agenda of the committee will include the destruction of government-held documents.
Mr. Speaker, it is much more than an invitation; it is a an investigation. It is not a second look, as the Prime Minister so delicately put it yesterday.Why is the commissioner carrying out an actual investigation? It is because this is not right. It is an invasion of privacy, and honest Canadians do not need it.To paraphrase a former justice minister, I would say that if there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation, then there is no place for the state in the bank accounts of honest Canadians. Why does the government continue to tolerate this situation?It needs to say enough is enough and tell Statistics Canada to cease and desist.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister admitted that large industrial corporations will not have a carbon tax. They will have targets, but if they exceed those targets, they will have to pay. I checked what they would have to pay. It turns out, from the government's own documents, they will not have to pay the same taxes as Canadians. In fact, they can just submit something called eligible offset credits. If large industrial corporations do not have to pay the carbon tax, why should suburban soccer moms and small businesses have to pay it?
Mr. Speaker, a month ago today, Quebeckers chose a new government that promised to lower immigration levels to allow for better integration.Premier Legault said, and I quote, We will welcome thousands of immigrants every year, but we are going to do so in a way that promotes integration. We will take fewer, but we will take care of them.What is the Minister of Immigration trying to do by unilaterally increasing the number of immigrants to Quebec to 70,000 within three years? Is he trying to stir up trouble?
Mr. Speaker, as you know, during question period you cut off an answer by the NDP vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I am really hoping that you can clarify that decision, since you and every Speaker before you have ruled that the Speaker has no ability to judge the quality or the content of answers given during question period.In fact, Bosc and Gagnon tells us, at page 516 that: The Speaker ensures that replies adhere to the standards of order, decorum and parliamentary language, but is not responsible for the quality or content of replies to questions. The member for CowichanMalahatLangford was responding and telling us about some of the very important work being done at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.This is just a question of ours. Is it a double-standard that we see, or is the House now to understand that today's precedent will be applied to answers by the government side of the House from now on? We are hoping that it is the latter.
Mr. Speaker, yes, we are ready to do that. We are ready because we made investments after the $400 million in cuts made by the previous Stephen Harper government. Yes, we are able to do that, because we have made investments. The people working hard at the border to protect us and deal with asylum claims and irregular migrants are better equipped do their work because of the investments that we have made.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we do trust Statistics Canada and we do trust Canadians to make the right judgment.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for over a hundred years now. The data it receives will be stripped of all personal information when it receives it, so Canadians can be assured that their banking information is protected and private. Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above the requirements of the law and has asked the financial institutions to inform their clients about how this data will be used. The Conservatives would do well to listen to Statistics Canada.
Mr. Speaker, forced overtime at Canada Post means increased hours and longer delivery routes that take a toll on worker health and safety, and families suffer.Because of the corporation's inflexibility, CUPW is pushing back against unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Effective today, the union has declared a national ban on overtime. Workers understand that self-care benefits them, their families, the corporation and its customers.Why does Canada Post not get it? When will the government secure a fair contract that values workers?
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.Canadians would be horrified and embarrassed to see the third world conditions that many people in Nunavut are living in. Our housing shortage has reached a crisis point. Overcrowding is contributing to high rates of youth suicide and tuberculosis. The housing allocation in the last budget does not even begin to address the current crisis or meet the annual labour force growth. Will the minister immediately increase funding to alleviate this crisis and work with the Government of Nunavut on an appropriate allocation for the 2019 budget?
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of inaction under the Harper Conservatives, 99% of our oil exports were still sold to the United States. They do not even want to negotiate with our first nations. They have no respect for the environment. We will take no lessons from them on how to move our major projects forward.Bill C-69 provides a path forward and the certainty that business owners need. The mining sector is on board. The forestry sector is on board. We must move forward responsibly.
Mr. Speaker, that amount just went up by $100 million, because before, the Liberals were claiming it was $300 million in cuts. None of it is true.The problem right now is that border services officers learned from the media that they have to deport 10,000 people who were refused access to Canada. When they found out, they said that they did not have the necessary resources to deport those individuals.It is not a matter of money. It is a matter of resources. This whole situation has been mismanaged.My question is this: are you ready to deport those 10,000 people, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes making big announcements, but he never concerns himself with the details.For his new immigration plan, he forgot to consult Canada border services officers and warn them that their workload would increase as a result of the deportations. He also forgot to provide them with more resources.Before arbitrarily setting a higher immigration target, should he not deal with this problem first?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.Our government looks forward to working with the new government in Quebec on important topics like immigration, and we look forward to helping Quebec maintain its economic prosperity.I spoke briefly with the new minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette. My cabinet colleagues and I look forward to meeting with him, hopefully in the coming days. We are going to work with the Government of Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to fighting climate change, the Liberal government is all talk and little action, so little action, in fact, that a group of Quebec's legal experts is considering bringing the government to court to force it to respect its own commitments. This recourse is seen as plausible, because it has been used elsewhere, namely in the Netherlands. In a court ruling, the Dutch government is now under obligation to implement a GHG reduction plan. Will the Liberals stop producing so much hot air about climate change, or will they wait for legal experts to force them to do it?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Ottawa WestNepean for her tireless efforts to advance equality in Canada and abroad.Last year, YWCAs came to Parliament Hill for the first time ever for their lobbying efforts. They asked for a carve-out of the national housing strategy. Our government listened. This year, we welcomed them with the announcement of an investment of over $1.25 million for 10 YWCAs in Canada to support women working hard to join the middle class.On behalf of the Prime Minister and parliamentarians, I send my deepest gratitude to leaders from the YWCA and I wish them another successful day on the Hill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege with regard to alcohol and the use of substances at this place on Parliament Hill. I wrote to you on January 29th, 2018. Specifically, I asked for your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy to address the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. There were four major components. I will not get into the full details, but they were to provide a more holistic approach and a more consistent approach to the use of alcohol on the Hill, similar to the Province of Ontario.In a response to me, you referred me to my House leader and it being raised at the Board of Internal Economy. I would like to thank all the House leaders for doing that. It has been discussed, and there has been some work in that regard. However, we are members who do not have a House leader with the ability to do so.Since that time, there have been several incidents on the Hill that show that there is some question with regard to activity and consistency with Ontario law and the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. I would ask that you consider this a point of privilege in your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy. I believe that recent events show that perhaps an investigation of security, which is your responsibility, Mr. Speaker, would be appropriate at this particular juncture. I believe that this should be a safe workplace. I believe that the past practices of this place have required change, and it has not been easy to do so. Therefore, I ask, as a point of privilege, for safety, my ability to carry out my duties, and the security of this place, that you review the role of the Speaker with regard to the use of alcohol and the issues I identified in my previous letter to you and that you report back to this chamber. Again, there are members who do not have a House leader. I appreciate your attempts to deal with this issue. There is no doubt that the public and people who use this space do not need to be impeded, let alone members of Parliament, with regard to some of the things that take place that are inconsistent with provincial laws and certainly inconsistent with being a good place to work.
Mr. Speaker, we know the Conservatives are getting desperate when they turn to the Fords for an endorsement. We saw it in the dying days of the 2015 campaign when Stephen Harper became a convert to the Ford nation. Now the Leader of the Opposition wants to be in the same shadow as well.Canadians deserve an honest plan to deal with climate change. We have a plan that will protect our environment and create good jobs for middle-class Canadians. We wish the Conservatives had one as well.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, the hon. member is distorting the facts. Our plan to protect the environment includes putting a price on pollution, including a price for heavy emitters. We also know, not only from our government but from folks like Stephen Harper's former director of policy, that middle-class families will be better off as a result of this plan. In fact, Doug Ford's chief budget adviser confirmed two years ago before the Senate that in fact the single most important thing we can do to transition to a low-carbon economy is to put a price on pollution. I suggest that the Conservatives actually take his advice. Their only plan when they were in government was to plunge us into a recession and they liked it so much they tried it twice.
Mr. Speaker, this summer when I was knocking on doors in my riding of VaughanWoodbridge, I talked with residents about the issues they were concerned about. For most of them, they were concerned about the economy, the cost of raising their kids and about saving for their retirement. During the 2015 election, we made it clear that we wanted to focus on investing in Canada's middle class in order to boost our economy.Can the Minister of Finance tell the House about the measures we have taken to help Canadian families and grow our economy?
Mr. Speaker, we believe it is important to share the successes that newcomers are contributing to communities right across the country, and we are proud to do so. Canadians understand that when newcomers come into their communities, they set up businesses, they provide jobs for middle-class Canadians, they help our economy grow. We will continue to focus on the economic success of our country through immigration. It is rich for the party opposite to talk about immigration in positive terms after it failed on the immigration front for close to 10 years. We believe in economic success in our country, growth for the middle class, and that happens through increased immigration.
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's legal team is worried about his constitutional rights to a fair trial. Multiple Liberal ministers have conflict of interest. They hired away the one journalist writing stories about it. The Prime Minister's Office is refusing to reveal cabinet documents needed for this trial. Today, Liberal MPs blocked, at ethics committee, the ability for the Clerk of the Privy Council to appear just to confirm whether documents were not destroyed. My question is simple. Why the cover-up? What is the government hiding?
Mr. Speaker, I think some colleagues will agree that it is not in this part of the House of Commons that there is hot air being produced with respect to climate change. What our government is doing is putting forward a real plan that will make a real difference in the global fight against climate change. We said in the 2015 election that we would have a plan, something the Conservatives do not have. We said we would put a price on pollution and make the Canadian economy more competitive and create jobs for middle-class Canadians. That is exactly what our government is doing.
Mr. Speaker, enough of this fearmongering from the Conservatives.Statistics Canada is a respected agency. It is respected in Canada and around the world. The data it receives will be scrubbed. All the personal information from it will be removed before it is made in any way available, compiled, etcetera, for the use of governments, Canadians, businesses and small business across Canada.Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above and beyond the requirements. It has consulted the Privacy Commissioner and is going to work with him to make sure that the interests of Canadians are not breached.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, which cut $400 million, we have invested $173 million. Some of that money will be used to ensure that we are better equipped to manage the situation. It will also ensure that unsuccessful asylum seekers are sent back to their own countries. That is what Canadians expect, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous Conservative government, in the development of policy and public policy, we think facts are a good place to start and not ideology, which is how the Conservatives based its decisions. Unlike the Conservative Party, we are a fan of the facts. Therefore, Statistics Canada will be empowered to collect this kind of information, anonymize it in order to protect the private information of Canadians and then Canadians across Canada, small businesses, large businesses as well governments, will be able to use this information to develop good policy and practices.
Mr. Speaker, today is the YWCA day on the Hill. The YWCA is the country's oldest and largest women's multi-service organization, with 32 associations operating in more than 400 communities across Canada.The YWCA offers vitally important programs and services for women to help them reach their full potential.What is the government doing to support organizations working to eliminate obstacles that women face?
Mr. Speaker, I am sure you will not be surprised to hear that I do not share our hon. colleague's pessimism.As we have always said, our government takes climate change very seriously. Apparently the Conservatives have no interest in tackling this issue.We have a plan to make polluters pay while keeping Canada's economy competitive and creating good jobs for Canadians, and we are following that plan.
Mr. Speaker, indeed there is no cover-up. The fact of the matter is that there are outstanding legal proceedings before the courts, including proceedings that will occur this very week on this very topic. The appropriate place for those issues to be resolved are in the courts of law. The hon. members opposite do not have a mandate from either the prosecution or the defence to act in this matter. They should leave it to the legal counsel to follow the rules of court, follow the laws of evidence and allow the case to be decided in court appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to receive from the Conservatives, and Canadians know that. High-quality, reliable data is key in making decisions that truly reflect the needs of Canadians. Unlike the Conservatives, we think that facts are a pretty good place to start to make public policy.Canadians know who they can trust in this country. They can trust Statistics Canada. They can trust us to do the right thing, and the Conservatives had better get on board.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nunavut for his heartfelt question.The national housing strategy understands the unique and important needs of Canadians living in the north. That is why the national housing strategy is investing $240 million in Nunavut alone to provide 3,000 families in Nunavut with a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why our first budget invested $80 million in Nunavut alone, an additional $80 million for the families there. That is why we are going to work with other governments to make sure that every family in Nunavut is included and has a safe and affordable place to call home.
Mr. Speaker, we were proud to put in place yesterday our second three-year immigration plan that would see immigrants to this country rise over the next number of years. That will contribute to the economic success of our country. That will contribute to jobs for middle-class Canadians. We believe that newcomers to Canada contribute to the economic success of our country. It is a principle that the Conservatives do not believe in. They believe in spreading fear and division and dog whistling at Canadians. We will grow the economy. We will bring newcomers into Canada and they will contribute to the economic vitality of our great country.
Mr. Speaker, when I heard on the news on the weekend about this Statistics Canada scam, I thought it just cannot be true because we live in Canada, not the Soviet Union. After listening to the minister responsible for the gulag over there, I am not so sure we are not in the Soviet Union. The minister said today that Canadians had better get on board. Yesterday, I surveyed my constituents. In one day there have been over 1,000 responses and 98% of them said, Get out of my life, not Get on board. I would like to ask the minister
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the member for VaughanWoodbridge for the work that he is doing to listen to Canadians and on the finance committee to help us drive the right kind of investments for Canada.I can say that our investments have already made a real difference for Canadian families across the country.It is true that what we are seeing are unemployment rates among the 40-year lows. We are seeing a level of growth that is helping families across the country. Importantly for the constituents in VaughanWoodbridge and across the country, they are going to see $2,000 more in their pockets in 2019 versus what they had in 2015. That is a really important difference for middle-class Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, we understand there will be an impact on farmers and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them and to make sure that they succeed. We are forming working groups with the dairy producers and processors, poultry and egg producers and processors. Together we will help our supply-managed farmers and processors innovate, grow and remain competitive for generations to come. We will continue to support the agricultural sector and the supply management sector.
Mr. Speaker, what we are going to start doing is to trust Statistics Canada. They should be doing that, because Canadians know that Statistics Canada is on their side.We know that data is a good place to start to make policy decisions in this country, and I think Canadians told that to the Conservatives in the last election. They know that they can trust Statistics Canada. They know that they can trust us. We will treat the information in accordance with the law. They had better get on board with that.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to add to the point of order by my colleague.I have now been the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food since the beginning of this year. Before I was cut off, I can quite confidently say that the answer I was giving could be backed up by witness testimony recorded in the evidence of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I would be more than happy to table that evidence for you, Mr. Speaker, to review. However, I can assure the House and you that the answer I was about to give before I was cut off was perfectly in line with the question by the member for BerthierMaskinongé.The very fact that you, Mr. Speaker, recognized her question allowed me to stand in this place, because the absence of the chair and the second vice-chair showed that I had legitimacy and the proper recognition to speak.I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that my answer was perfectly in line with the question.
Mr. Speaker, one of the ideals of the Conservative Party is that we would ask people before we take their information. Canadians are outraged by the Liberals' unauthorized surveillance of their private banking information. My constituents have been calling me worried about the Liberals snooping into their bank accounts. The government has already acquired 15 years of credit information from millions of Canadians without their consent. Now the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is investigating abuse. When will the Liberals stop snooping into the lives of Canadians?
On the topic of spending, Mr. Speaker, after spending hundreds of millions of Canadian tax dollars on processing and prioritizing things like work permits for people who illegally entered Canada after reaching the safety of upstate New York, today the Prime Minister announced that he was starting a taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign to moralize, with his false sanctimony, to Canadians who oppose his failed immigration policies.How many taxpayer dollars will the Prime Minister be spending on his advertising campaign to preach the value of illegal border crossers to Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are refusing to listen to Canadians who are outraged that the government is engaged in unauthorized surveillance of their every financial transaction. Even if the Liberals could guarantee that this data could not fall into the hands of hackers, which they cannot, it would still be an abuse of power to collect it.This is about the principle that the state does not get to monitor everything people do. Why are the Liberals so out of touch? When will they put a halt to this unauthorized surveillance? It is important to Canadians. When?
Mr. Speaker, it is regrettable that my hon. colleague thinks it is meaningless to want to collaborate with the Quebec government. I am surprised to hear such remarks from that corner of the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, the member was first elected when I was one year old, and it is sad that I have to remind him the our mandate is from the Canadian people. Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is facing criminal charges for breach of trust, a trust that the Privy Council has said that 73 people knew the contents of that meeting. I believe that at least two people of those 73 are Liberal MPs. They could be anyone. It could be you, Mr. Speaker.Leaving aside the Norman lawsuit, will the government clear the air and release the 72 other names?
Mr. Speaker, it emerged today that cleaning up the oil sands will cost $260 billion. That is what we mean when we say pollution is costly.In the Netherlands, a court in The Hague is forcing the Dutch government to step up its efforts to fight climate change. Quebec legal experts want to do the same thing here and sue the Canadian government. We know things are bad when the Liberals have to be dragged into court in order to produce real measures to fight climate change.Do they need to be sued before they will act?
Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International, Oxfam and several other organizations join the NDP in calling on the government to immediately stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia.For years, the Liberals have been repeating that they are very worried and that they are closely monitoring the situation. Canadians, however, are sick of waiting. You cannot put a price on human rights.Will the government step up and stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia?
Mr. Speaker, the government seems to have a problem with understanding the concept of consent. It does not have it in this case. It does not have the right to the personal data of Canadians. It has violated the privacy of Canadians hundreds of thousands of times in the last 19 months alone. Why does it not listen to Canadians who are outraged by this personal violation? Stop Statistics Canada from accessing their financial data, and do it today.
Mr. Speaker, Audrey Parker of Halifax is dying today. She has stage 4 cancer and lives in terrible pain. She has chosen to end her life much sooner than she would like. Audrey was forced to make this agonizing choice because our existing medical assistance in dying law does not allow for advance requests. She worried that if she waited, she would not be able to give the consent required.Soon the government will be receiving an expert report on this law. Will it introduce legislation before the next election so people like Audrey never again have to make this agonizing choice?
Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals are so serious about this, why are they still using the inadequate targets established by Stephen Harper's Conservatives, targets they have no chance of meeting?These failures have consequences. Over the past 25 years, the Earth's oceans have absorbed 60% more heat than scientists previously thought. That means global warming is happening faster than we thought. One consequence is that the Pine Island glacier in Antarctica lost a 300-square-kilometre chunk of ice this week, which is an area five times the size of Manhattan.My question again is this: Why are the Liberals refusing to change their game plan, which is clearly not good enough?
Mr. Speaker, as the member may know, the motion brought forward by the opposition members of our ethics committee today, which would have ensured documents and information related to Project Resolve not to be destroyed, was voted down by Liberal members. It was defeated six to three.
Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, four major new pipelines with access to new markets were approved and built with no tax dollars. These Liberals have already killed two export pipelines. Their failures have not added a single new centimetre, and their Bill C-69 will ensure there will be none in the future.Thirty-five indigenous communities now join provinces and industry to oppose the Liberals' no more pipelines Bill C-69. They say it will have an enormous and devastating impact on the ability of First Nations to cultivate or develop economic development opportunities in their traditional territories.Will the Liberals scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians grow increasingly fearful from daily reports that the impacts of climate change are worsening beyond what scientists have predicted, that our oceans have absorbed 60 % more heat than predicted, that the Arctic is melting at a frighteningly rapid rate, that we can expect worsening floods and drought. Pressure is building for measures to hold our governments accountable. Today I tabled a motion to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets and impose a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action to mitigate climate change. Will the government support my Motion No. 204?
Mr. Speaker, a fast way to build support for immigration in Canada is to fix the system that the Prime Minister has broken. To build support for immigration, the Prime Minister should close the loophole in the safe third country agreement instead of spending $50 million to foot the hotel bills of illegal border crossers.Why is the Prime Minister adding insult to injury by spending taxpayer dollars to tell Canadians that illegal border crossing is okay instead of preventing the abuse of Canada's asylum system?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are outraged, and rightly so. Statistics Canada wants to poke around the personal bank accounts of honest Canadians. We in the Conservative Party find that completely unacceptable. It is an utterly inappropriate invasion of Canadians' privacy. Unfortunately, the Liberal government is washing its hands of the issue. It does not see a problem and will not stop Statistics Canada from proceeding.Fortunately, the Privacy Commissioner is on the ball and has launched an investigation. Why does the Liberal government continue to defend the indefensible?
Mr. Speaker, from the get-go, the chief statistician of Canada has been open to working with the Privacy Commissioner to make sure that the private information of Canadians was not placed at risk. I find it a little rich that the Conservatives make themselves the defendants of Canadians' privacy. We should remind them of their history. That is the same Conservative Party that was forced to back down when the Conservative government, not Statistics Canada, went after Canadians' personal information online. That is the same Conservative Party that leaked the medical information of a Canadian veteran. Enough of this fake outrage.
Mr. Speaker, we have just seen a demonstration of why these issues should be dealt with in courts of law, so we can avoid the innuendos and the drive-by smears. The fact of the matter is that the rules of court are there. The independent judiciary is there to manage these matters. Our distinguished law officers at the table have said very clearly, when matters of sub judice, they should not be the subject of either questions or answers in the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, the CPTPP comes into force in 59 days, and dairy producers still do not know what kind of compensation they will be entitled to. Unbelievable. When the Liberals signed the CPTPP, they opened a 3.25% breach in our supply management system, on top of the breaches from the Europe agreement and the USMCA. Our producers are understandably angry. They are tired of being used as bargaining chips.Will the government finally compensate our producers for the losses incurred?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand in this House and extend my sincere condolences to the family of Ms. Parker. If I could have given her authorization for advance request, I would have absolutely done so. However, as parliamentarians, we know that the laws we make are for all Canadians. That is why we have put in place a group of experts to look at three sensitive areas, as we want to protect our vulnerable Canadians. We want them to look at the issue involving advance consent, also the issue of mature minors, and also for serious mental health issues.Once again, we will continue to work on this matter, and I look forward to receiving the experts' report.
Mr. Speaker, there have been over 800 pages with hundreds of thousands of examples of where the government has violated the privacy of Canadians in the last 19 months alone, so he will forgive us if we do not trust him with the personal financial data of Canadians. The government has no consent to obtain it. This is private, personal data. Why do the Liberals not tell Statistics Canada to get out of the bank accounts of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the information that Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.The personal information that will be collected and studied by Statistics Canada will be scrubbed and anonymous. There is no way the government will have access to personal information. Statistics Canada is a respected agency in Canada and around the world. We trust its judgment.
Mr. Speaker, we saw yesterday another example of what Conservative leaders do when they are in dire straits. They beg for an endorsement from the Fords. We remember Stephen Harper in the dying days of the 2015 election with a fake cash register at an event with the Fords. Now the current leader appears to also be taking orders from Premier Ford to ensure that there is no plan to deal with climate change and no plan to make the Canadian economy more competitive. That is not something this government will do.
Mr. Speaker, UQAM researchers have discovered that just five movies and five TV shows in Netflix's catalogue of 5,500 titles were produced in Quebec. That is 0.1% of Netflix's content. Quebec is not in the picture.As Quebec film and TV producers noted recently, the Netflix agreement has done nothing for our culture. What we need is content produced here. If the next generation of Quebeckers does not have access to made-in-Quebec programming, it will turn to English-language American content. Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage apply our laws to online platforms, or does he want us to become totally assimilated?
Mr. Speaker, methamphetamine abuse is impacting communities across Manitoba. Manitoba's chief medical examiner stated that the drug had been involved in 35 overdose deaths in 2017.In September, the Winnipeg city council adopted a resolution asking for assistance from the federal government. The issue is not only affecting urban centres like Winnipeg, but rural and indigenous communities across Canada. People are dying and we have a responsibility to act. Could the Minister of Health please explain what our government is doing to help communities impacted by methamphetamine?
Mr. Speaker, our government believes in the collective bargaining process. Our mediators have been on the ground. The minister has been in contact with both sides. We continue to hope that the two groups come together with a final outcome. I would hope my colleague from the NDP would understand that it is not the place of the Government of Canada to put its thumb on the scale when it comes to contract negotiations.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on the same point. I would draw your attention to note 93 on page 513 of Bosc and Gagnon, in which it is stated, referring to Speaker Milliken: ....it is not the role of the Speaker to judge the quality or content of the reply. That applies specifically to questions asked of committee chairs or, in this case, vice-chairs of committees.I would also draw your attention to a precedent in the House. On September 26, 2017, the member for South ShoreSt. Margarets asked a question of the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and you, sir, allowed her to make an ad hominem attack on the member for Lethbridge.
Mr. Speaker, I was going to reference that exchange with the vice-chair of the status of women committee.
Mr. Speaker, it being Thursday, I would like to ask the leader of the government in the House of Commons what business she intends to call for the remainder of this week and what business she plans to call for next week.
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, tomorrow and next Tuesday, we will continue debate at second reading of Bill C-86, the second budget implementation act, 2018.Next Monday shall be an opposition day.On Wednesday, during routine proceedings, under ministerial statements, the Prime Minister will deliver a formal apology to the Jewish refugees of the MS St. Louis and its passengers.
Mr. Speaker, I have asked the same question three times in a row, and three times the Liberals have scattered off running to every other subject conceivable. They cannot explain why the largest industrial emitters that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases do not have to pay the carbon tax at all when the tax is supposed to be about reducing emissions. Only suburban soccer moms, small businesses and seniors have to pay it. Why?
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will always be there for our artists and creators. That is exactly what we demonstrated with our cultural policy last year. We have made historic investments of $3.2 billion in the cultural sector, including in the CBC, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm, the NFB and the Canada Media Fund. Due to the previous Conservative government's inaction, the lost decade, our laws on culture predate the Internet, which is why we are reviewing them so we can continue to support high quality Canadian content production. The principle of this review is clear: To participate in the system, one must contribute to the system. There will be no free ride.
Mr. Speaker, I do share our hon. colleague's sense of urgency in terms of the fight against climate change. She correctly identified a series of global phenomena that all Canadians are concerned about and have asked their governments to take seriously. They asked their governments to act in a serious way to ensure that we have a plan to fight climate change. We think an essential element of that plan is not to make pollution free, something the Conservatives think would be a key part of a plan. We will make the Canadian economy more competitive and fight climate change at the same time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent for his question.Of course our government takes Canadians' privacy very seriously. Working with confidential data is obviously nothing new for Statistics Canada. The agency has been using personal information for a century to provide the reliable, crucial data required to meet the needs of Canadians, businesses and communities. In the spirit of openness and transparency, Statistics Canada has asked the Privacy Commissioner to work more closely with the agency on this project. It is our understanding that he has accepted the invitation.
Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once quipped that there was no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation. This Prime Minister seems to think that the personal financial details of the nation, on the other hand, are fair game. Why is the Prime Minister so out of touch with Canadians, who do not want this unauthorized surveillance to continue?
Mr. Speaker, no, what the Liberal government will do is charge a new exorbitant tax on small businesses, suburban commuters and soccer moms while giving an exemption to large industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. The Liberals say the only way to save the world from climate change is a tax, yet they are exempting the largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases. Again, if the Liberals are going to exempt the big corporations, why do they not exempt families and small businesses too?
Mr. Speaker, three times the Liberals had a chance to protect supply management and guess what? Three times they failed. The Liberals have signed deals that opened up more than 10% of our dairy market. The effects of these policies are hard and they hurt families. Hard-working families are feeling betrayed by the Liberals. The Liberals have used our supply-managed farmers as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations and we must know more about this.Could the vice-chair of the agriculture committee tell the House whether the TPP and the lack of compensation for farmers will be on the agenda in the coming days?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are failing again. They are watering down sentences for crimes such as administering date rape drugs, abducting children, impaired driving causing bodily harm and selling young women and men into sexual slavery.The Conservatives called for over 100 amendments to clean up the government's deeply flawed omnibus Bill C-75, but the Liberals were not listening.Does the minister really believe Canadians want sex traffickers and kidnappers to have lesser sentences?
Mr. Speaker, I completely reject the characterization by members opposite on Bill C-75, which is a comprehensive bill that seeks to address delays in the criminal justice system.There is nothing in this legislation that would reduce sentences. There is nothing that would change the principles around sentencing, which take into account the gravity of the offence and the proportion responsibility of an offender.We are not lowering sentences. We are providing prosecutors with the necessary discretion they need to move forward in the appropriate way given the circumstances of the particular case.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want exports to be used to violate human rights. That is why our government is committed to a stronger and more rigorous arms export system. We are reviewing export permits to Saudi Arabia, we have frozen permits in the past and we will not hesitate to do so again if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as we have demonstrated for several years now, long before the legal threats arose, we are going to take climate change seriously, and we have a plan that Canadians understand and that will make a real difference in the fight against climate change.I would remind my hon. colleague that his home province of Quebec has been a leader in the fight against climate change for a very long time. It also has one of the most competitive economies in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the question was regarding the mental health challenges study the agriculture committee is currently engaged in. It is ongoing, and the question was regarding future meetings. From my understanding of the schedule of that standing committee, of which I am the second vice-chair, we have at least two more meetings regarding this particular study. I was referencing what had happened in the past, yes. However, do I expect more answers to fall in line with what we have heard in witness testimony? Absolutely. My answer was completely in recognition of those facts and what I expect to hear from witnesses in the future.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food is currently engaged in a study on the mental health challenges that farmers, ranchers and producers face. During the course of that study, we heard repeated testimony from supply-managed farmers about the mental health challenges they are facing because of trade deals. The TPP comes into force 59 days from now, yet the Liberals have not introduced a compensation plan for losses in the supply-managed sector. Our farmers, ranchers and producers
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to confidentiality, every Canadian expects the government to make it a top priority to protect their personal information. The data requested by Statistics Canada are not anonymous. That is private and personal information. However, Statistics Canada is requesting that information without consent.Why does the party opposite want to collect information about Canadians' financial transactions without their consent?
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the members opposite try to defend the private lives of Canadians and quote former prime minister Pierre Trudeau when he said that the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. It is unfortunate that many people in that party still disagree with that today.
Mr. Speaker, the question was about the carbon tax. The government has released documents which show that industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will be exempt from the carbon tax. If the carbon tax really was about saving the world, we would presume the largest industrial emitters of carbon would have to pay it. The question again is: Why should small businesses and suburban soccer moms pay it if large emitters do not have to?
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians find intolerable is the Conservative Party's fearmongering. That is what Canadians have found intolerable for years.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for a century. The data collected will be processed to make it anonymous. Canadians can rest assured that their banking information is private and protected. When data is collected, it is stripped of all personal information.Canadians are familiar with Statistics Canada's role. The Conservatives would do well to stop their fearmongering.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague from Manitoba for his hard work.To address the issue of problematic substance use, including methamphetamine, we have devoted $150 million to an emergency treatment fund. Furthermore, I am pleased to advise the House that we will be providing the City of Winnipeg with assistance for prevention and treatment and we will be sending a senior official to work on its methamphetamine task force.We will keep working to remove barriers to treatment and ensure that all Canadians struggling with problematic substance use get the help they need.
Mr. Speaker, instead of going after fat cat CEOs and the tax havens wealthy corporations use to avoid paying their fair share, refugees are having their child benefits clawed back. The government failed to provide timely access for language training for many of the new arrivals, yet refugee families that do not respond quickly to the CRA are penalized immediately. Not only are those payments stopped, but, in two cases, refugee families were billed $27,000. Is that why the government is giving the CRA $1 billion to crack down on the middle class and those who are working hard to join it?
Mr. Speaker, the data Statistics Canada is demanding is not anonymous. It is personal, and it is private. It has no consent from Canadians to take it. It includes account balances, debit and credit transactions, mortgage payments, e-transfers, all taken from Canadians without their consent. We on this side of the House are not going to trust the government to protect Canadians, when it violated it so many times before. Why do the Liberals not do the right thing and tell Statistics Canada to back off the private personal information of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a commitment to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time. Our plan includes putting a price on pollution that will leave middle-class families better off.It is interesting that the Conservatives have finally found the courage to stand up for the middle class, which they have been lacking for several years. When it came to small business owners, we reduced the small business tax to 9%, which the Conservatives opposed. We implemented the Canada child benefit, which leaves nine of 10 families better off. We are taking steps to make life more affordable for seniors. I would encourage the Conservatives to continue to advocate for what we have been advocating for for several years, which is to support the middle class. If they develop a plan to support the environment at the same time, I will be happy
Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear on this matter. The information Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.How many times did Statistics Canada use this section when these very same Conservatives were in power? Not once, not twice, not even a dozen times, but 84 times. In fact, in 2008, a major credit card agency signed an agreement with Stats Can to provide this type of financial data for statistical purposes.We trust Statistics Canada. We trust its ability to
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about millions of transactions that could potentially affect millions of Canadians. We do not know; it could me, it could you, Mr. Speaker.George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning, not as a road map. Canadians deserve to be free to live their lives without the state monitoring every single purchase they make. The Canadian people are quite concerned that every time they spend money, it will be documented and tracked by the state.Will the government end this unauthorized surveillance of Canadians? When?
Mr. Speaker, what a meaningless answer. It is clear that the Minister of Immigration knows nothing about the reality in Quebec. In Quebec, we want to not only accommodate immigrants, but to integrate them. We do not want to just tolerate them, we want to welcome them. In order for us to do that, we need to teach them our language and our way of life.The Minister of Immigration throws figures around without taking real life into account.Is he going to take the will of Quebec into account before setting thresholds for Quebec?
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. It is a crime to destroy government documents under the Access to Information Act. That crime is much more egregious if those documents have been requested in a legal proceeding. Could the chair of the committee advise the House and all Canadians if the future agenda of the committee will include the destruction of government-held documents.
Mr. Speaker, it is much more than an invitation; it is a an investigation. It is not a second look, as the Prime Minister so delicately put it yesterday.Why is the commissioner carrying out an actual investigation? It is because this is not right. It is an invasion of privacy, and honest Canadians do not need it.To paraphrase a former justice minister, I would say that if there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation, then there is no place for the state in the bank accounts of honest Canadians. Why does the government continue to tolerate this situation?It needs to say enough is enough and tell Statistics Canada to cease and desist.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister admitted that large industrial corporations will not have a carbon tax. They will have targets, but if they exceed those targets, they will have to pay. I checked what they would have to pay. It turns out, from the government's own documents, they will not have to pay the same taxes as Canadians. In fact, they can just submit something called eligible offset credits. If large industrial corporations do not have to pay the carbon tax, why should suburban soccer moms and small businesses have to pay it?
Mr. Speaker, a month ago today, Quebeckers chose a new government that promised to lower immigration levels to allow for better integration.Premier Legault said, and I quote, We will welcome thousands of immigrants every year, but we are going to do so in a way that promotes integration. We will take fewer, but we will take care of them.What is the Minister of Immigration trying to do by unilaterally increasing the number of immigrants to Quebec to 70,000 within three years? Is he trying to stir up trouble?
Mr. Speaker, as you know, during question period you cut off an answer by the NDP vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I am really hoping that you can clarify that decision, since you and every Speaker before you have ruled that the Speaker has no ability to judge the quality or the content of answers given during question period.In fact, Bosc and Gagnon tells us, at page 516 that: The Speaker ensures that replies adhere to the standards of order, decorum and parliamentary language, but is not responsible for the quality or content of replies to questions. The member for CowichanMalahatLangford was responding and telling us about some of the very important work being done at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.This is just a question of ours. Is it a double-standard that we see, or is the House now to understand that today's precedent will be applied to answers by the government side of the House from now on? We are hoping that it is the latter.
Mr. Speaker, yes, we are ready to do that. We are ready because we made investments after the $400 million in cuts made by the previous Stephen Harper government. Yes, we are able to do that, because we have made investments. The people working hard at the border to protect us and deal with asylum claims and irregular migrants are better equipped do their work because of the investments that we have made.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we do trust Statistics Canada and we do trust Canadians to make the right judgment.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for over a hundred years now. The data it receives will be stripped of all personal information when it receives it, so Canadians can be assured that their banking information is protected and private. Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above the requirements of the law and has asked the financial institutions to inform their clients about how this data will be used. The Conservatives would do well to listen to Statistics Canada.
Mr. Speaker, forced overtime at Canada Post means increased hours and longer delivery routes that take a toll on worker health and safety, and families suffer.Because of the corporation's inflexibility, CUPW is pushing back against unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Effective today, the union has declared a national ban on overtime. Workers understand that self-care benefits them, their families, the corporation and its customers.Why does Canada Post not get it? When will the government secure a fair contract that values workers?
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.Canadians would be horrified and embarrassed to see the third world conditions that many people in Nunavut are living in. Our housing shortage has reached a crisis point. Overcrowding is contributing to high rates of youth suicide and tuberculosis. The housing allocation in the last budget does not even begin to address the current crisis or meet the annual labour force growth. Will the minister immediately increase funding to alleviate this crisis and work with the Government of Nunavut on an appropriate allocation for the 2019 budget?
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of inaction under the Harper Conservatives, 99% of our oil exports were still sold to the United States. They do not even want to negotiate with our first nations. They have no respect for the environment. We will take no lessons from them on how to move our major projects forward.Bill C-69 provides a path forward and the certainty that business owners need. The mining sector is on board. The forestry sector is on board. We must move forward responsibly.
Mr. Speaker, that amount just went up by $100 million, because before, the Liberals were claiming it was $300 million in cuts. None of it is true.The problem right now is that border services officers learned from the media that they have to deport 10,000 people who were refused access to Canada. When they found out, they said that they did not have the necessary resources to deport those individuals.It is not a matter of money. It is a matter of resources. This whole situation has been mismanaged.My question is this: are you ready to deport those 10,000 people, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes making big announcements, but he never concerns himself with the details.For his new immigration plan, he forgot to consult Canada border services officers and warn them that their workload would increase as a result of the deportations. He also forgot to provide them with more resources.Before arbitrarily setting a higher immigration target, should he not deal with this problem first?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.Our government looks forward to working with the new government in Quebec on important topics like immigration, and we look forward to helping Quebec maintain its economic prosperity.I spoke briefly with the new minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette. My cabinet colleagues and I look forward to meeting with him, hopefully in the coming days. We are going to work with the Government of Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to fighting climate change, the Liberal government is all talk and little action, so little action, in fact, that a group of Quebec's legal experts is considering bringing the government to court to force it to respect its own commitments. This recourse is seen as plausible, because it has been used elsewhere, namely in the Netherlands. In a court ruling, the Dutch government is now under obligation to implement a GHG reduction plan. Will the Liberals stop producing so much hot air about climate change, or will they wait for legal experts to force them to do it?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Ottawa WestNepean for her tireless efforts to advance equality in Canada and abroad.Last year, YWCAs came to Parliament Hill for the first time ever for their lobbying efforts. They asked for a carve-out of the national housing strategy. Our government listened. This year, we welcomed them with the announcement of an investment of over $1.25 million for 10 YWCAs in Canada to support women working hard to join the middle class.On behalf of the Prime Minister and parliamentarians, I send my deepest gratitude to leaders from the YWCA and I wish them another successful day on the Hill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege with regard to alcohol and the use of substances at this place on Parliament Hill. I wrote to you on January 29th, 2018. Specifically, I asked for your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy to address the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. There were four major components. I will not get into the full details, but they were to provide a more holistic approach and a more consistent approach to the use of alcohol on the Hill, similar to the Province of Ontario.In a response to me, you referred me to my House leader and it being raised at the Board of Internal Economy. I would like to thank all the House leaders for doing that. It has been discussed, and there has been some work in that regard. However, we are members who do not have a House leader with the ability to do so.Since that time, there have been several incidents on the Hill that show that there is some question with regard to activity and consistency with Ontario law and the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. I would ask that you consider this a point of privilege in your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy. I believe that recent events show that perhaps an investigation of security, which is your responsibility, Mr. Speaker, would be appropriate at this particular juncture. I believe that this should be a safe workplace. I believe that the past practices of this place have required change, and it has not been easy to do so. Therefore, I ask, as a point of privilege, for safety, my ability to carry out my duties, and the security of this place, that you review the role of the Speaker with regard to the use of alcohol and the issues I identified in my previous letter to you and that you report back to this chamber. Again, there are members who do not have a House leader. I appreciate your attempts to deal with this issue. There is no doubt that the public and people who use this space do not need to be impeded, let alone members of Parliament, with regard to some of the things that take place that are inconsistent with provincial laws and certainly inconsistent with being a good place to work.
Mr. Speaker, we know the Conservatives are getting desperate when they turn to the Fords for an endorsement. We saw it in the dying days of the 2015 campaign when Stephen Harper became a convert to the Ford nation. Now the Leader of the Opposition wants to be in the same shadow as well.Canadians deserve an honest plan to deal with climate change. We have a plan that will protect our environment and create good jobs for middle-class Canadians. We wish the Conservatives had one as well.
Mr. Speaker, with respect, the hon. member is distorting the facts. Our plan to protect the environment includes putting a price on pollution, including a price for heavy emitters. We also know, not only from our government but from folks like Stephen Harper's former director of policy, that middle-class families will be better off as a result of this plan. In fact, Doug Ford's chief budget adviser confirmed two years ago before the Senate that in fact the single most important thing we can do to transition to a low-carbon economy is to put a price on pollution. I suggest that the Conservatives actually take his advice. Their only plan when they were in government was to plunge us into a recession and they liked it so much they tried it twice.
Mr. Speaker, this summer when I was knocking on doors in my riding of VaughanWoodbridge, I talked with residents about the issues they were concerned about. For most of them, they were concerned about the economy, the cost of raising their kids and about saving for their retirement. During the 2015 election, we made it clear that we wanted to focus on investing in Canada's middle class in order to boost our economy.Can the Minister of Finance tell the House about the measures we have taken to help Canadian families and grow our economy?
Mr. Speaker, we believe it is important to share the successes that newcomers are contributing to communities right across the country, and we are proud to do so. Canadians understand that when newcomers come into their communities, they set up businesses, they provide jobs for middle-class Canadians, they help our economy grow. We will continue to focus on the economic success of our country through immigration. It is rich for the party opposite to talk about immigration in positive terms after it failed on the immigration front for close to 10 years. We believe in economic success in our country, growth for the middle class, and that happens through increased immigration.
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's legal team is worried about his constitutional rights to a fair trial. Multiple Liberal ministers have conflict of interest. They hired away the one journalist writing stories about it. The Prime Minister's Office is refusing to reveal cabinet documents needed for this trial. Today, Liberal MPs blocked, at ethics committee, the ability for the Clerk of the Privy Council to appear just to confirm whether documents were not destroyed. My question is simple. Why the cover-up? What is the government hiding?
Mr. Speaker, I think some colleagues will agree that it is not in this part of the House of Commons that there is hot air being produced with respect to climate change. What our government is doing is putting forward a real plan that will make a real difference in the global fight against climate change. We said in the 2015 election that we would have a plan, something the Conservatives do not have. We said we would put a price on pollution and make the Canadian economy more competitive and create jobs for middle-class Canadians. That is exactly what our government is doing.
Mr. Speaker, enough of this fearmongering from the Conservatives.Statistics Canada is a respected agency. It is respected in Canada and around the world. The data it receives will be scrubbed. All the personal information from it will be removed before it is made in any way available, compiled, etcetera, for the use of governments, Canadians, businesses and small business across Canada.Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above and beyond the requirements. It has consulted the Privacy Commissioner and is going to work with him to make sure that the interests of Canadians are not breached.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, which cut $400 million, we have invested $173 million. Some of that money will be used to ensure that we are better equipped to manage the situation. It will also ensure that unsuccessful asylum seekers are sent back to their own countries. That is what Canadians expect, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous Conservative government, in the development of policy and public policy, we think facts are a good place to start and not ideology, which is how the Conservatives based its decisions. Unlike the Conservative Party, we are a fan of the facts. Therefore, Statistics Canada will be empowered to collect this kind of information, anonymize it in order to protect the private information of Canadians and then Canadians across Canada, small businesses, large businesses as well governments, will be able to use this information to develop good policy and practices.
Mr. Speaker, today is the YWCA day on the Hill. The YWCA is the country's oldest and largest women's multi-service organization, with 32 associations operating in more than 400 communities across Canada.The YWCA offers vitally important programs and services for women to help them reach their full potential.What is the government doing to support organizations working to eliminate obstacles that women face?
Mr. Speaker, I am sure you will not be surprised to hear that I do not share our hon. colleague's pessimism.As we have always said, our government takes climate change very seriously. Apparently the Conservatives have no interest in tackling this issue.We have a plan to make polluters pay while keeping Canada's economy competitive and creating good jobs for Canadians, and we are following that plan.
Mr. Speaker, indeed there is no cover-up. The fact of the matter is that there are outstanding legal proceedings before the courts, including proceedings that will occur this very week on this very topic. The appropriate place for those issues to be resolved are in the courts of law. The hon. members opposite do not have a mandate from either the prosecution or the defence to act in this matter. They should leave it to the legal counsel to follow the rules of court, follow the laws of evidence and allow the case to be decided in court appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to receive from the Conservatives, and Canadians know that. High-quality, reliable data is key in making decisions that truly reflect the needs of Canadians. Unlike the Conservatives, we think that facts are a pretty good place to start to make public policy.Canadians know who they can trust in this country. They can trust Statistics Canada. They can trust us to do the right thing, and the Conservatives had better get on board.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nunavut for his heartfelt question.The national housing strategy understands the unique and important needs of Canadians living in the north. That is why the national housing strategy is investing $240 million in Nunavut alone to provide 3,000 families in Nunavut with a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why our first budget invested $80 million in Nunavut alone, an additional $80 million for the families there. That is why we are going to work with other governments to make sure that every family in Nunavut is included and has a safe and affordable place to call home.
Mr. Speaker, we were proud to put in place yesterday our second three-year immigration plan that would see immigrants to this country rise over the next number of years. That will contribute to the economic success of our country. That will contribute to jobs for middle-class Canadians. We believe that newcomers to Canada contribute to the economic success of our country. It is a principle that the Conservatives do not believe in. They believe in spreading fear and division and dog whistling at Canadians. We will grow the economy. We will bring newcomers into Canada and they will contribute to the economic vitality of our great country.
Mr. Speaker, when I heard on the news on the weekend about this Statistics Canada scam, I thought it just cannot be true because we live in Canada, not the Soviet Union. After listening to the minister responsible for the gulag over there, I am not so sure we are not in the Soviet Union. The minister said today that Canadians had better get on board. Yesterday, I surveyed my constituents. In one day there have been over 1,000 responses and 98% of them said, Get out of my life, not Get on board. I would like to ask the minister
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the member for VaughanWoodbridge for the work that he is doing to listen to Canadians and on the finance committee to help us drive the right kind of investments for Canada.I can say that our investments have already made a real difference for Canadian families across the country.It is true that what we are seeing are unemployment rates among the 40-year lows. We are seeing a level of growth that is helping families across the country. Importantly for the constituents in VaughanWoodbridge and across the country, they are going to see $2,000 more in their pockets in 2019 versus what they had in 2015. That is a really important difference for middle-class Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, we understand there will be an impact on farmers and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them and to make sure that they succeed. We are forming working groups with the dairy producers and processors, poultry and egg producers and processors. Together we will help our supply-managed farmers and processors innovate, grow and remain competitive for generations to come. We will continue to support the agricultural sector and the supply management sector.
Mr. Speaker, what we are going to start doing is to trust Statistics Canada. They should be doing that, because Canadians know that Statistics Canada is on their side.We know that data is a good place to start to make policy decisions in this country, and I think Canadians told that to the Conservatives in the last election. They know that they can trust Statistics Canada. They know that they can trust us. We will treat the information in accordance with the law. They had better get on board with that.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to add to the point of order by my colleague.I have now been the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food since the beginning of this year. Before I was cut off, I can quite confidently say that the answer I was giving could be backed up by witness testimony recorded in the evidence of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I would be more than happy to table that evidence for you, Mr. Speaker, to review. However, I can assure the House and you that the answer I was about to give before I was cut off was perfectly in line with the question by the member for BerthierMaskinongé.The very fact that you, Mr. Speaker, recognized her question allowed me to stand in this place, because the absence of the chair and the second vice-chair showed that I had legitimacy and the proper recognition to speak.I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that my answer was perfectly in line with the question.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to add to the point of order by my colleague.I have now been the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food since the beginning of this year. Before I was cut off, I can quite confidently say that the answer I was giving could be backed up by witness testimony recorded in the evidence of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I would be more than happy to table that evidence for you, Mr. Speaker, to review. However, I can assure the House and you that the answer I was about to give before I was cut off was perfectly in line with the question by the member for BerthierMaskinongé.The very fact that you, Mr. Speaker, recognized her question allowed me to stand in this place, because the absence of the chair and the second vice-chair showed that I had legitimacy and the proper recognition to speak.I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that my answer was perfectly in line with the question.
Mr. Speaker, what we are going to start doing is to trust Statistics Canada. They should be doing that, because Canadians know that Statistics Canada is on their side.We know that data is a good place to start to make policy decisions in this country, and I think Canadians told that to the Conservatives in the last election. They know that they can trust Statistics Canada. They know that they can trust us. We will treat the information in accordance with the law. They had better get on board with that.
Mr. Speaker, we understand there will be an impact on farmers and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them and to make sure that they succeed. We are forming working groups with the dairy producers and processors, poultry and egg producers and processors. Together we will help our supply-managed farmers and processors innovate, grow and remain competitive for generations to come. We will continue to support the agricultural sector and the supply management sector.
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the member for VaughanWoodbridge for the work that he is doing to listen to Canadians and on the finance committee to help us drive the right kind of investments for Canada.I can say that our investments have already made a real difference for Canadian families across the country.It is true that what we are seeing are unemployment rates among the 40-year lows. We are seeing a level of growth that is helping families across the country. Importantly for the constituents in VaughanWoodbridge and across the country, they are going to see $2,000 more in their pockets in 2019 versus what they had in 2015. That is a really important difference for middle-class Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, when I heard on the news on the weekend about this Statistics Canada scam, I thought it just cannot be true because we live in Canada, not the Soviet Union. After listening to the minister responsible for the gulag over there, I am not so sure we are not in the Soviet Union. The minister said today that Canadians had better get on board. Yesterday, I surveyed my constituents. In one day there have been over 1,000 responses and 98% of them said, Get out of my life, not Get on board. I would like to ask the minister
Mr. Speaker, we were proud to put in place yesterday our second three-year immigration plan that would see immigrants to this country rise over the next number of years. That will contribute to the economic success of our country. That will contribute to jobs for middle-class Canadians. We believe that newcomers to Canada contribute to the economic success of our country. It is a principle that the Conservatives do not believe in. They believe in spreading fear and division and dog whistling at Canadians. We will grow the economy. We will bring newcomers into Canada and they will contribute to the economic vitality of our great country.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nunavut for his heartfelt question.The national housing strategy understands the unique and important needs of Canadians living in the north. That is why the national housing strategy is investing $240 million in Nunavut alone to provide 3,000 families in Nunavut with a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why our first budget invested $80 million in Nunavut alone, an additional $80 million for the families there. That is why we are going to work with other governments to make sure that every family in Nunavut is included and has a safe and affordable place to call home.
Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to receive from the Conservatives, and Canadians know that. High-quality, reliable data is key in making decisions that truly reflect the needs of Canadians. Unlike the Conservatives, we think that facts are a pretty good place to start to make public policy.Canadians know who they can trust in this country. They can trust Statistics Canada. They can trust us to do the right thing, and the Conservatives had better get on board.
Mr. Speaker, indeed there is no cover-up. The fact of the matter is that there are outstanding legal proceedings before the courts, including proceedings that will occur this very week on this very topic. The appropriate place for those issues to be resolved are in the courts of law. The hon. members opposite do not have a mandate from either the prosecution or the defence to act in this matter. They should leave it to the legal counsel to follow the rules of court, follow the laws of evidence and allow the case to be decided in court appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure you will not be surprised to hear that I do not share our hon. colleague's pessimism.As we have always said, our government takes climate change very seriously. Apparently the Conservatives have no interest in tackling this issue.We have a plan to make polluters pay while keeping Canada's economy competitive and creating good jobs for Canadians, and we are following that plan.
Mr. Speaker, today is the YWCA day on the Hill. The YWCA is the country's oldest and largest women's multi-service organization, with 32 associations operating in more than 400 communities across Canada.The YWCA offers vitally important programs and services for women to help them reach their full potential.What is the government doing to support organizations working to eliminate obstacles that women face?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous Conservative government, in the development of policy and public policy, we think facts are a good place to start and not ideology, which is how the Conservatives based its decisions. Unlike the Conservative Party, we are a fan of the facts. Therefore, Statistics Canada will be empowered to collect this kind of information, anonymize it in order to protect the private information of Canadians and then Canadians across Canada, small businesses, large businesses as well governments, will be able to use this information to develop good policy and practices.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, which cut $400 million, we have invested $173 million. Some of that money will be used to ensure that we are better equipped to manage the situation. It will also ensure that unsuccessful asylum seekers are sent back to their own countries. That is what Canadians expect, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, enough of this fearmongering from the Conservatives.Statistics Canada is a respected agency. It is respected in Canada and around the world. The data it receives will be scrubbed. All the personal information from it will be removed before it is made in any way available, compiled, etcetera, for the use of governments, Canadians, businesses and small business across Canada.Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above and beyond the requirements. It has consulted the Privacy Commissioner and is going to work with him to make sure that the interests of Canadians are not breached.
Mr. Speaker, I think some colleagues will agree that it is not in this part of the House of Commons that there is hot air being produced with respect to climate change. What our government is doing is putting forward a real plan that will make a real difference in the global fight against climate change. We said in the 2015 election that we would have a plan, something the Conservatives do not have. We said we would put a price on pollution and make the Canadian economy more competitive and create jobs for middle-class Canadians. That is exactly what our government is doing.
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's legal team is worried about his constitutional rights to a fair trial. Multiple Liberal ministers have conflict of interest. They hired away the one journalist writing stories about it. The Prime Minister's Office is refusing to reveal cabinet documents needed for this trial. Today, Liberal MPs blocked, at ethics committee, the ability for the Clerk of the Privy Council to appear just to confirm whether documents were not destroyed. My question is simple. Why the cover-up? What is the government hiding?
Mr. Speaker, we believe it is important to share the successes that newcomers are contributing to communities right across the country, and we are proud to do so. Canadians understand that when newcomers come into their communities, they set up businesses, they provide jobs for middle-class Canadians, they help our economy grow. We will continue to focus on the economic success of our country through immigration. It is rich for the party opposite to talk about immigration in positive terms after it failed on the immigration front for close to 10 years. We believe in economic success in our country, growth for the middle class, and that happens through increased immigration.
Mr. Speaker, this summer when I was knocking on doors in my riding of VaughanWoodbridge, I talked with residents about the issues they were concerned about. For most of them, they were concerned about the economy, the cost of raising their kids and about saving for their retirement. During the 2015 election, we made it clear that we wanted to focus on investing in Canada's middle class in order to boost our economy.Can the Minister of Finance tell the House about the measures we have taken to help Canadian families and grow our economy?
Mr. Speaker, with respect, the hon. member is distorting the facts. Our plan to protect the environment includes putting a price on pollution, including a price for heavy emitters. We also know, not only from our government but from folks like Stephen Harper's former director of policy, that middle-class families will be better off as a result of this plan. In fact, Doug Ford's chief budget adviser confirmed two years ago before the Senate that in fact the single most important thing we can do to transition to a low-carbon economy is to put a price on pollution. I suggest that the Conservatives actually take his advice. Their only plan when they were in government was to plunge us into a recession and they liked it so much they tried it twice.
Mr. Speaker, we know the Conservatives are getting desperate when they turn to the Fords for an endorsement. We saw it in the dying days of the 2015 campaign when Stephen Harper became a convert to the Ford nation. Now the Leader of the Opposition wants to be in the same shadow as well.Canadians deserve an honest plan to deal with climate change. We have a plan that will protect our environment and create good jobs for middle-class Canadians. We wish the Conservatives had one as well.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege with regard to alcohol and the use of substances at this place on Parliament Hill. I wrote to you on January 29th, 2018. Specifically, I asked for your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy to address the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. There were four major components. I will not get into the full details, but they were to provide a more holistic approach and a more consistent approach to the use of alcohol on the Hill, similar to the Province of Ontario.In a response to me, you referred me to my House leader and it being raised at the Board of Internal Economy. I would like to thank all the House leaders for doing that. It has been discussed, and there has been some work in that regard. However, we are members who do not have a House leader with the ability to do so.Since that time, there have been several incidents on the Hill that show that there is some question with regard to activity and consistency with Ontario law and the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. I would ask that you consider this a point of privilege in your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy. I believe that recent events show that perhaps an investigation of security, which is your responsibility, Mr. Speaker, would be appropriate at this particular juncture. I believe that this should be a safe workplace. I believe that the past practices of this place have required change, and it has not been easy to do so. Therefore, I ask, as a point of privilege, for safety, my ability to carry out my duties, and the security of this place, that you review the role of the Speaker with regard to the use of alcohol and the issues I identified in my previous letter to you and that you report back to this chamber. Again, there are members who do not have a House leader. I appreciate your attempts to deal with this issue. There is no doubt that the public and people who use this space do not need to be impeded, let alone members of Parliament, with regard to some of the things that take place that are inconsistent with provincial laws and certainly inconsistent with being a good place to work.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Ottawa WestNepean for her tireless efforts to advance equality in Canada and abroad.Last year, YWCAs came to Parliament Hill for the first time ever for their lobbying efforts. They asked for a carve-out of the national housing strategy. Our government listened. This year, we welcomed them with the announcement of an investment of over $1.25 million for 10 YWCAs in Canada to support women working hard to join the middle class.On behalf of the Prime Minister and parliamentarians, I send my deepest gratitude to leaders from the YWCA and I wish them another successful day on the Hill.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to fighting climate change, the Liberal government is all talk and little action, so little action, in fact, that a group of Quebec's legal experts is considering bringing the government to court to force it to respect its own commitments. This recourse is seen as plausible, because it has been used elsewhere, namely in the Netherlands. In a court ruling, the Dutch government is now under obligation to implement a GHG reduction plan. Will the Liberals stop producing so much hot air about climate change, or will they wait for legal experts to force them to do it?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.Our government looks forward to working with the new government in Quebec on important topics like immigration, and we look forward to helping Quebec maintain its economic prosperity.I spoke briefly with the new minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette. My cabinet colleagues and I look forward to meeting with him, hopefully in the coming days. We are going to work with the Government of Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes making big announcements, but he never concerns himself with the details.For his new immigration plan, he forgot to consult Canada border services officers and warn them that their workload would increase as a result of the deportations. He also forgot to provide them with more resources.Before arbitrarily setting a higher immigration target, should he not deal with this problem first?
Mr. Speaker, that amount just went up by $100 million, because before, the Liberals were claiming it was $300 million in cuts. None of it is true.The problem right now is that border services officers learned from the media that they have to deport 10,000 people who were refused access to Canada. When they found out, they said that they did not have the necessary resources to deport those individuals.It is not a matter of money. It is a matter of resources. This whole situation has been mismanaged.My question is this: are you ready to deport those 10,000 people, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of inaction under the Harper Conservatives, 99% of our oil exports were still sold to the United States. They do not even want to negotiate with our first nations. They have no respect for the environment. We will take no lessons from them on how to move our major projects forward.Bill C-69 provides a path forward and the certainty that business owners need. The mining sector is on board. The forestry sector is on board. We must move forward responsibly.
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.Canadians would be horrified and embarrassed to see the third world conditions that many people in Nunavut are living in. Our housing shortage has reached a crisis point. Overcrowding is contributing to high rates of youth suicide and tuberculosis. The housing allocation in the last budget does not even begin to address the current crisis or meet the annual labour force growth. Will the minister immediately increase funding to alleviate this crisis and work with the Government of Nunavut on an appropriate allocation for the 2019 budget?
Mr. Speaker, forced overtime at Canada Post means increased hours and longer delivery routes that take a toll on worker health and safety, and families suffer.Because of the corporation's inflexibility, CUPW is pushing back against unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Effective today, the union has declared a national ban on overtime. Workers understand that self-care benefits them, their families, the corporation and its customers.Why does Canada Post not get it? When will the government secure a fair contract that values workers?
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we do trust Statistics Canada and we do trust Canadians to make the right judgment.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for over a hundred years now. The data it receives will be stripped of all personal information when it receives it, so Canadians can be assured that their banking information is protected and private. Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above the requirements of the law and has asked the financial institutions to inform their clients about how this data will be used. The Conservatives would do well to listen to Statistics Canada.
Mr. Speaker, yes, we are ready to do that. We are ready because we made investments after the $400 million in cuts made by the previous Stephen Harper government. Yes, we are able to do that, because we have made investments. The people working hard at the border to protect us and deal with asylum claims and irregular migrants are better equipped do their work because of the investments that we have made.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, during question period you cut off an answer by the NDP vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I am really hoping that you can clarify that decision, since you and every Speaker before you have ruled that the Speaker has no ability to judge the quality or the content of answers given during question period.In fact, Bosc and Gagnon tells us, at page 516 that: The Speaker ensures that replies adhere to the standards of order, decorum and parliamentary language, but is not responsible for the quality or content of replies to questions. The member for CowichanMalahatLangford was responding and telling us about some of the very important work being done at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.This is just a question of ours. Is it a double-standard that we see, or is the House now to understand that today's precedent will be applied to answers by the government side of the House from now on? We are hoping that it is the latter.
Mr. Speaker, a month ago today, Quebeckers chose a new government that promised to lower immigration levels to allow for better integration.Premier Legault said, and I quote, We will welcome thousands of immigrants every year, but we are going to do so in a way that promotes integration. We will take fewer, but we will take care of them.What is the Minister of Immigration trying to do by unilaterally increasing the number of immigrants to Quebec to 70,000 within three years? Is he trying to stir up trouble?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister admitted that large industrial corporations will not have a carbon tax. They will have targets, but if they exceed those targets, they will have to pay. I checked what they would have to pay. It turns out, from the government's own documents, they will not have to pay the same taxes as Canadians. In fact, they can just submit something called eligible offset credits. If large industrial corporations do not have to pay the carbon tax, why should suburban soccer moms and small businesses have to pay it?
Mr. Speaker, it is much more than an invitation; it is a an investigation. It is not a second look, as the Prime Minister so delicately put it yesterday.Why is the commissioner carrying out an actual investigation? It is because this is not right. It is an invasion of privacy, and honest Canadians do not need it.To paraphrase a former justice minister, I would say that if there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation, then there is no place for the state in the bank accounts of honest Canadians. Why does the government continue to tolerate this situation?It needs to say enough is enough and tell Statistics Canada to cease and desist.
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. It is a crime to destroy government documents under the Access to Information Act. That crime is much more egregious if those documents have been requested in a legal proceeding. Could the chair of the committee advise the House and all Canadians if the future agenda of the committee will include the destruction of government-held documents.
Mr. Speaker, what a meaningless answer. It is clear that the Minister of Immigration knows nothing about the reality in Quebec. In Quebec, we want to not only accommodate immigrants, but to integrate them. We do not want to just tolerate them, we want to welcome them. In order for us to do that, we need to teach them our language and our way of life.The Minister of Immigration throws figures around without taking real life into account.Is he going to take the will of Quebec into account before setting thresholds for Quebec?
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about millions of transactions that could potentially affect millions of Canadians. We do not know; it could me, it could you, Mr. Speaker.George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning, not as a road map. Canadians deserve to be free to live their lives without the state monitoring every single purchase they make. The Canadian people are quite concerned that every time they spend money, it will be documented and tracked by the state.Will the government end this unauthorized surveillance of Canadians? When?
Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear on this matter. The information Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.How many times did Statistics Canada use this section when these very same Conservatives were in power? Not once, not twice, not even a dozen times, but 84 times. In fact, in 2008, a major credit card agency signed an agreement with Stats Can to provide this type of financial data for statistical purposes.We trust Statistics Canada. We trust its ability to
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a commitment to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time. Our plan includes putting a price on pollution that will leave middle-class families better off.It is interesting that the Conservatives have finally found the courage to stand up for the middle class, which they have been lacking for several years. When it came to small business owners, we reduced the small business tax to 9%, which the Conservatives opposed. We implemented the Canada child benefit, which leaves nine of 10 families better off. We are taking steps to make life more affordable for seniors. I would encourage the Conservatives to continue to advocate for what we have been advocating for for several years, which is to support the middle class. If they develop a plan to support the environment at the same time, I will be happy
Mr. Speaker, the data Statistics Canada is demanding is not anonymous. It is personal, and it is private. It has no consent from Canadians to take it. It includes account balances, debit and credit transactions, mortgage payments, e-transfers, all taken from Canadians without their consent. We on this side of the House are not going to trust the government to protect Canadians, when it violated it so many times before. Why do the Liberals not do the right thing and tell Statistics Canada to back off the private personal information of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, instead of going after fat cat CEOs and the tax havens wealthy corporations use to avoid paying their fair share, refugees are having their child benefits clawed back. The government failed to provide timely access for language training for many of the new arrivals, yet refugee families that do not respond quickly to the CRA are penalized immediately. Not only are those payments stopped, but, in two cases, refugee families were billed $27,000. Is that why the government is giving the CRA $1 billion to crack down on the middle class and those who are working hard to join it?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague from Manitoba for his hard work.To address the issue of problematic substance use, including methamphetamine, we have devoted $150 million to an emergency treatment fund. Furthermore, I am pleased to advise the House that we will be providing the City of Winnipeg with assistance for prevention and treatment and we will be sending a senior official to work on its methamphetamine task force.We will keep working to remove barriers to treatment and ensure that all Canadians struggling with problematic substance use get the help they need.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians find intolerable is the Conservative Party's fearmongering. That is what Canadians have found intolerable for years.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for a century. The data collected will be processed to make it anonymous. Canadians can rest assured that their banking information is private and protected. When data is collected, it is stripped of all personal information.Canadians are familiar with Statistics Canada's role. The Conservatives would do well to stop their fearmongering.
Mr. Speaker, the question was about the carbon tax. The government has released documents which show that industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will be exempt from the carbon tax. If the carbon tax really was about saving the world, we would presume the largest industrial emitters of carbon would have to pay it. The question again is: Why should small businesses and suburban soccer moms pay it if large emitters do not have to?
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to confidentiality, every Canadian expects the government to make it a top priority to protect their personal information. The data requested by Statistics Canada are not anonymous. That is private and personal information. However, Statistics Canada is requesting that information without consent.Why does the party opposite want to collect information about Canadians' financial transactions without their consent?
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the members opposite try to defend the private lives of Canadians and quote former prime minister Pierre Trudeau when he said that the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. It is unfortunate that many people in that party still disagree with that today.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food is currently engaged in a study on the mental health challenges that farmers, ranchers and producers face. During the course of that study, we heard repeated testimony from supply-managed farmers about the mental health challenges they are facing because of trade deals. The TPP comes into force 59 days from now, yet the Liberals have not introduced a compensation plan for losses in the supply-managed sector. Our farmers, ranchers and producers
Mr. Speaker, the question was regarding the mental health challenges study the agriculture committee is currently engaged in. It is ongoing, and the question was regarding future meetings. From my understanding of the schedule of that standing committee, of which I am the second vice-chair, we have at least two more meetings regarding this particular study. I was referencing what had happened in the past, yes. However, do I expect more answers to fall in line with what we have heard in witness testimony? Absolutely. My answer was completely in recognition of those facts and what I expect to hear from witnesses in the future.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as we have demonstrated for several years now, long before the legal threats arose, we are going to take climate change seriously, and we have a plan that Canadians understand and that will make a real difference in the fight against climate change.I would remind my hon. colleague that his home province of Quebec has been a leader in the fight against climate change for a very long time. It also has one of the most competitive economies in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want exports to be used to violate human rights. That is why our government is committed to a stronger and more rigorous arms export system. We are reviewing export permits to Saudi Arabia, we have frozen permits in the past and we will not hesitate to do so again if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, I completely reject the characterization by members opposite on Bill C-75, which is a comprehensive bill that seeks to address delays in the criminal justice system.There is nothing in this legislation that would reduce sentences. There is nothing that would change the principles around sentencing, which take into account the gravity of the offence and the proportion responsibility of an offender.We are not lowering sentences. We are providing prosecutors with the necessary discretion they need to move forward in the appropriate way given the circumstances of the particular case.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are failing again. They are watering down sentences for crimes such as administering date rape drugs, abducting children, impaired driving causing bodily harm and selling young women and men into sexual slavery.The Conservatives called for over 100 amendments to clean up the government's deeply flawed omnibus Bill C-75, but the Liberals were not listening.Does the minister really believe Canadians want sex traffickers and kidnappers to have lesser sentences?
Mr. Speaker, three times the Liberals had a chance to protect supply management and guess what? Three times they failed. The Liberals have signed deals that opened up more than 10% of our dairy market. The effects of these policies are hard and they hurt families. Hard-working families are feeling betrayed by the Liberals. The Liberals have used our supply-managed farmers as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations and we must know more about this.Could the vice-chair of the agriculture committee tell the House whether the TPP and the lack of compensation for farmers will be on the agenda in the coming days?
Mr. Speaker, no, what the Liberal government will do is charge a new exorbitant tax on small businesses, suburban commuters and soccer moms while giving an exemption to large industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. The Liberals say the only way to save the world from climate change is a tax, yet they are exempting the largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases. Again, if the Liberals are going to exempt the big corporations, why do they not exempt families and small businesses too?
Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once quipped that there was no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation. This Prime Minister seems to think that the personal financial details of the nation, on the other hand, are fair game. Why is the Prime Minister so out of touch with Canadians, who do not want this unauthorized surveillance to continue?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent for his question.Of course our government takes Canadians' privacy very seriously. Working with confidential data is obviously nothing new for Statistics Canada. The agency has been using personal information for a century to provide the reliable, crucial data required to meet the needs of Canadians, businesses and communities. In the spirit of openness and transparency, Statistics Canada has asked the Privacy Commissioner to work more closely with the agency on this project. It is our understanding that he has accepted the invitation.
Mr. Speaker, I do share our hon. colleague's sense of urgency in terms of the fight against climate change. She correctly identified a series of global phenomena that all Canadians are concerned about and have asked their governments to take seriously. They asked their governments to act in a serious way to ensure that we have a plan to fight climate change. We think an essential element of that plan is not to make pollution free, something the Conservatives think would be a key part of a plan. We will make the Canadian economy more competitive and fight climate change at the same time.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will always be there for our artists and creators. That is exactly what we demonstrated with our cultural policy last year. We have made historic investments of $3.2 billion in the cultural sector, including in the CBC, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm, the NFB and the Canada Media Fund. Due to the previous Conservative government's inaction, the lost decade, our laws on culture predate the Internet, which is why we are reviewing them so we can continue to support high quality Canadian content production. The principle of this review is clear: To participate in the system, one must contribute to the system. There will be no free ride.
Mr. Speaker, I have asked the same question three times in a row, and three times the Liberals have scattered off running to every other subject conceivable. They cannot explain why the largest industrial emitters that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases do not have to pay the carbon tax at all when the tax is supposed to be about reducing emissions. Only suburban soccer moms, small businesses and seniors have to pay it. Why?
Mr. Speaker, there have been over 800 pages with hundreds of thousands of examples of where the government has violated the privacy of Canadians in the last 19 months alone, so he will forgive us if we do not trust him with the personal financial data of Canadians. The government has no consent to obtain it. This is private, personal data. Why do the Liberals not tell Statistics Canada to get out of the bank accounts of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the information that Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.The personal information that will be collected and studied by Statistics Canada will be scrubbed and anonymous. There is no way the government will have access to personal information. Statistics Canada is a respected agency in Canada and around the world. We trust its judgment.
Mr. Speaker, we saw yesterday another example of what Conservative leaders do when they are in dire straits. They beg for an endorsement from the Fords. We remember Stephen Harper in the dying days of the 2015 election with a fake cash register at an event with the Fords. Now the current leader appears to also be taking orders from Premier Ford to ensure that there is no plan to deal with climate change and no plan to make the Canadian economy more competitive. That is not something this government will do.
Mr. Speaker, UQAM researchers have discovered that just five movies and five TV shows in Netflix's catalogue of 5,500 titles were produced in Quebec. That is 0.1% of Netflix's content. Quebec is not in the picture.As Quebec film and TV producers noted recently, the Netflix agreement has done nothing for our culture. What we need is content produced here. If the next generation of Quebeckers does not have access to made-in-Quebec programming, it will turn to English-language American content. Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage apply our laws to online platforms, or does he want us to become totally assimilated?
Mr. Speaker, methamphetamine abuse is impacting communities across Manitoba. Manitoba's chief medical examiner stated that the drug had been involved in 35 overdose deaths in 2017.In September, the Winnipeg city council adopted a resolution asking for assistance from the federal government. The issue is not only affecting urban centres like Winnipeg, but rural and indigenous communities across Canada. People are dying and we have a responsibility to act. Could the Minister of Health please explain what our government is doing to help communities impacted by methamphetamine?
Mr. Speaker, our government believes in the collective bargaining process. Our mediators have been on the ground. The minister has been in contact with both sides. We continue to hope that the two groups come together with a final outcome. I would hope my colleague from the NDP would understand that it is not the place of the Government of Canada to put its thumb on the scale when it comes to contract negotiations.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on the same point. I would draw your attention to note 93 on page 513 of Bosc and Gagnon, in which it is stated, referring to Speaker Milliken: ....it is not the role of the Speaker to judge the quality or content of the reply. That applies specifically to questions asked of committee chairs or, in this case, vice-chairs of committees.I would also draw your attention to a precedent in the House. On September 26, 2017, the member for South ShoreSt. Margarets asked a question of the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and you, sir, allowed her to make an ad hominem attack on the member for Lethbridge.
Mr. Speaker, I was going to reference that exchange with the vice-chair of the status of women committee.
Mr. Speaker, it being Thursday, I would like to ask the leader of the government in the House of Commons what business she intends to call for the remainder of this week and what business she plans to call for next week.
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, tomorrow and next Tuesday, we will continue debate at second reading of Bill C-86, the second budget implementation act, 2018.Next Monday shall be an opposition day.On Wednesday, during routine proceedings, under ministerial statements, the Prime Minister will deliver a formal apology to the Jewish refugees of the MS St. Louis and its passengers.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand in this House and extend my sincere condolences to the family of Ms. Parker. If I could have given her authorization for advance request, I would have absolutely done so. However, as parliamentarians, we know that the laws we make are for all Canadians. That is why we have put in place a group of experts to look at three sensitive areas, as we want to protect our vulnerable Canadians. We want them to look at the issue involving advance consent, also the issue of mature minors, and also for serious mental health issues.Once again, we will continue to work on this matter, and I look forward to receiving the experts' report.
Mr. Speaker, the CPTPP comes into force in 59 days, and dairy producers still do not know what kind of compensation they will be entitled to. Unbelievable. When the Liberals signed the CPTPP, they opened a 3.25% breach in our supply management system, on top of the breaches from the Europe agreement and the USMCA. Our producers are understandably angry. They are tired of being used as bargaining chips.Will the government finally compensate our producers for the losses incurred?
Mr. Speaker, we have just seen a demonstration of why these issues should be dealt with in courts of law, so we can avoid the innuendos and the drive-by smears. The fact of the matter is that the rules of court are there. The independent judiciary is there to manage these matters. Our distinguished law officers at the table have said very clearly, when matters of sub judice, they should not be the subject of either questions or answers in the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, from the get-go, the chief statistician of Canada has been open to working with the Privacy Commissioner to make sure that the private information of Canadians was not placed at risk. I find it a little rich that the Conservatives make themselves the defendants of Canadians' privacy. We should remind them of their history. That is the same Conservative Party that was forced to back down when the Conservative government, not Statistics Canada, went after Canadians' personal information online. That is the same Conservative Party that leaked the medical information of a Canadian veteran. Enough of this fake outrage.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are outraged, and rightly so. Statistics Canada wants to poke around the personal bank accounts of honest Canadians. We in the Conservative Party find that completely unacceptable. It is an utterly inappropriate invasion of Canadians' privacy. Unfortunately, the Liberal government is washing its hands of the issue. It does not see a problem and will not stop Statistics Canada from proceeding.Fortunately, the Privacy Commissioner is on the ball and has launched an investigation. Why does the Liberal government continue to defend the indefensible?
Mr. Speaker, a fast way to build support for immigration in Canada is to fix the system that the Prime Minister has broken. To build support for immigration, the Prime Minister should close the loophole in the safe third country agreement instead of spending $50 million to foot the hotel bills of illegal border crossers.Why is the Prime Minister adding insult to injury by spending taxpayer dollars to tell Canadians that illegal border crossing is okay instead of preventing the abuse of Canada's asylum system?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians grow increasingly fearful from daily reports that the impacts of climate change are worsening beyond what scientists have predicted, that our oceans have absorbed 60 % more heat than predicted, that the Arctic is melting at a frighteningly rapid rate, that we can expect worsening floods and drought. Pressure is building for measures to hold our governments accountable. Today I tabled a motion to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets and impose a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action to mitigate climate change. Will the government support my Motion No. 204?
Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, four major new pipelines with access to new markets were approved and built with no tax dollars. These Liberals have already killed two export pipelines. Their failures have not added a single new centimetre, and their Bill C-69 will ensure there will be none in the future.Thirty-five indigenous communities now join provinces and industry to oppose the Liberals' no more pipelines Bill C-69. They say it will have an enormous and devastating impact on the ability of First Nations to cultivate or develop economic development opportunities in their traditional territories.Will the Liberals scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals are so serious about this, why are they still using the inadequate targets established by Stephen Harper's Conservatives, targets they have no chance of meeting?These failures have consequences. Over the past 25 years, the Earth's oceans have absorbed 60% more heat than scientists previously thought. That means global warming is happening faster than we thought. One consequence is that the Pine Island glacier in Antarctica lost a 300-square-kilometre chunk of ice this week, which is an area five times the size of Manhattan.My question again is this: Why are the Liberals refusing to change their game plan, which is clearly not good enough?
Mr. Speaker, as the member may know, the motion brought forward by the opposition members of our ethics committee today, which would have ensured documents and information related to Project Resolve not to be destroyed, was voted down by Liberal members. It was defeated six to three.
Mr. Speaker, Audrey Parker of Halifax is dying today. She has stage 4 cancer and lives in terrible pain. She has chosen to end her life much sooner than she would like. Audrey was forced to make this agonizing choice because our existing medical assistance in dying law does not allow for advance requests. She worried that if she waited, she would not be able to give the consent required.Soon the government will be receiving an expert report on this law. Will it introduce legislation before the next election so people like Audrey never again have to make this agonizing choice?
Mr. Speaker, the government seems to have a problem with understanding the concept of consent. It does not have it in this case. It does not have the right to the personal data of Canadians. It has violated the privacy of Canadians hundreds of thousands of times in the last 19 months alone. Why does it not listen to Canadians who are outraged by this personal violation? Stop Statistics Canada from accessing their financial data, and do it today.
Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International, Oxfam and several other organizations join the NDP in calling on the government to immediately stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia.For years, the Liberals have been repeating that they are very worried and that they are closely monitoring the situation. Canadians, however, are sick of waiting. You cannot put a price on human rights.Will the government step up and stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia?
Mr. Speaker, it emerged today that cleaning up the oil sands will cost $260 billion. That is what we mean when we say pollution is costly.In the Netherlands, a court in The Hague is forcing the Dutch government to step up its efforts to fight climate change. Quebec legal experts want to do the same thing here and sue the Canadian government. We know things are bad when the Liberals have to be dragged into court in order to produce real measures to fight climate change.Do they need to be sued before they will act?
Mr. Speaker, the member was first elected when I was one year old, and it is sad that I have to remind him the our mandate is from the Canadian people. Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is facing criminal charges for breach of trust, a trust that the Privy Council has said that 73 people knew the contents of that meeting. I believe that at least two people of those 73 are Liberal MPs. They could be anyone. It could be you, Mr. Speaker.Leaving aside the Norman lawsuit, will the government clear the air and release the 72 other names?
Mr. Speaker, it is regrettable that my hon. colleague thinks it is meaningless to want to collaborate with the Quebec government. I am surprised to hear such remarks from that corner of the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are refusing to listen to Canadians who are outraged that the government is engaged in unauthorized surveillance of their every financial transaction. Even if the Liberals could guarantee that this data could not fall into the hands of hackers, which they cannot, it would still be an abuse of power to collect it.This is about the principle that the state does not get to monitor everything people do. Why are the Liberals so out of touch? When will they put a halt to this unauthorized surveillance? It is important to Canadians. When?
On the topic of spending, Mr. Speaker, after spending hundreds of millions of Canadian tax dollars on processing and prioritizing things like work permits for people who illegally entered Canada after reaching the safety of upstate New York, today the Prime Minister announced that he was starting a taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign to moralize, with his false sanctimony, to Canadians who oppose his failed immigration policies.How many taxpayer dollars will the Prime Minister be spending on his advertising campaign to preach the value of illegal border crossers to Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, one of the ideals of the Conservative Party is that we would ask people before we take their information. Canadians are outraged by the Liberals' unauthorized surveillance of their private banking information. My constituents have been calling me worried about the Liberals snooping into their bank accounts. The government has already acquired 15 years of credit information from millions of Canadians without their consent. Now the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is investigating abuse. When will the Liberals stop snooping into the lives of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to add to the point of order by my colleague.I have now been the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food since the beginning of this year. Before I was cut off, I can quite confidently say that the answer I was giving could be backed up by witness testimony recorded in the evidence of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I would be more than happy to table that evidence for you, Mr. Speaker, to review. However, I can assure the House and you that the answer I was about to give before I was cut off was perfectly in line with the question by the member for BerthierMaskinongé.The very fact that you, Mr. Speaker, recognized her question allowed me to stand in this place, because the absence of the chair and the second vice-chair showed that I had legitimacy and the proper recognition to speak.I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that my answer was perfectly in line with the question.
Mr. Speaker, what we are going to start doing is to trust Statistics Canada. They should be doing that, because Canadians know that Statistics Canada is on their side.We know that data is a good place to start to make policy decisions in this country, and I think Canadians told that to the Conservatives in the last election. They know that they can trust Statistics Canada. They know that they can trust us. We will treat the information in accordance with the law. They had better get on board with that.
Mr. Speaker, we understand there will be an impact on farmers and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them and to make sure that they succeed. We are forming working groups with the dairy producers and processors, poultry and egg producers and processors. Together we will help our supply-managed farmers and processors innovate, grow and remain competitive for generations to come. We will continue to support the agricultural sector and the supply management sector.
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the member for VaughanWoodbridge for the work that he is doing to listen to Canadians and on the finance committee to help us drive the right kind of investments for Canada.I can say that our investments have already made a real difference for Canadian families across the country.It is true that what we are seeing are unemployment rates among the 40-year lows. We are seeing a level of growth that is helping families across the country. Importantly for the constituents in VaughanWoodbridge and across the country, they are going to see $2,000 more in their pockets in 2019 versus what they had in 2015. That is a really important difference for middle-class Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, when I heard on the news on the weekend about this Statistics Canada scam, I thought it just cannot be true because we live in Canada, not the Soviet Union. After listening to the minister responsible for the gulag over there, I am not so sure we are not in the Soviet Union. The minister said today that Canadians had better get on board. Yesterday, I surveyed my constituents. In one day there have been over 1,000 responses and 98% of them said, Get out of my life, not Get on board. I would like to ask the minister
Mr. Speaker, we were proud to put in place yesterday our second three-year immigration plan that would see immigrants to this country rise over the next number of years. That will contribute to the economic success of our country. That will contribute to jobs for middle-class Canadians. We believe that newcomers to Canada contribute to the economic success of our country. It is a principle that the Conservatives do not believe in. They believe in spreading fear and division and dog whistling at Canadians. We will grow the economy. We will bring newcomers into Canada and they will contribute to the economic vitality of our great country.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Nunavut for his heartfelt question.The national housing strategy understands the unique and important needs of Canadians living in the north. That is why the national housing strategy is investing $240 million in Nunavut alone to provide 3,000 families in Nunavut with a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why our first budget invested $80 million in Nunavut alone, an additional $80 million for the families there. That is why we are going to work with other governments to make sure that every family in Nunavut is included and has a safe and affordable place to call home.
Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to receive from the Conservatives, and Canadians know that. High-quality, reliable data is key in making decisions that truly reflect the needs of Canadians. Unlike the Conservatives, we think that facts are a pretty good place to start to make public policy.Canadians know who they can trust in this country. They can trust Statistics Canada. They can trust us to do the right thing, and the Conservatives had better get on board.
Mr. Speaker, indeed there is no cover-up. The fact of the matter is that there are outstanding legal proceedings before the courts, including proceedings that will occur this very week on this very topic. The appropriate place for those issues to be resolved are in the courts of law. The hon. members opposite do not have a mandate from either the prosecution or the defence to act in this matter. They should leave it to the legal counsel to follow the rules of court, follow the laws of evidence and allow the case to be decided in court appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure you will not be surprised to hear that I do not share our hon. colleague's pessimism.As we have always said, our government takes climate change very seriously. Apparently the Conservatives have no interest in tackling this issue.We have a plan to make polluters pay while keeping Canada's economy competitive and creating good jobs for Canadians, and we are following that plan.
Mr. Speaker, today is the YWCA day on the Hill. The YWCA is the country's oldest and largest women's multi-service organization, with 32 associations operating in more than 400 communities across Canada.The YWCA offers vitally important programs and services for women to help them reach their full potential.What is the government doing to support organizations working to eliminate obstacles that women face?
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous Conservative government, in the development of policy and public policy, we think facts are a good place to start and not ideology, which is how the Conservatives based its decisions. Unlike the Conservative Party, we are a fan of the facts. Therefore, Statistics Canada will be empowered to collect this kind of information, anonymize it in order to protect the private information of Canadians and then Canadians across Canada, small businesses, large businesses as well governments, will be able to use this information to develop good policy and practices.
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, which cut $400 million, we have invested $173 million. Some of that money will be used to ensure that we are better equipped to manage the situation. It will also ensure that unsuccessful asylum seekers are sent back to their own countries. That is what Canadians expect, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, enough of this fearmongering from the Conservatives.Statistics Canada is a respected agency. It is respected in Canada and around the world. The data it receives will be scrubbed. All the personal information from it will be removed before it is made in any way available, compiled, etcetera, for the use of governments, Canadians, businesses and small business across Canada.Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above and beyond the requirements. It has consulted the Privacy Commissioner and is going to work with him to make sure that the interests of Canadians are not breached.
Mr. Speaker, I think some colleagues will agree that it is not in this part of the House of Commons that there is hot air being produced with respect to climate change. What our government is doing is putting forward a real plan that will make a real difference in the global fight against climate change. We said in the 2015 election that we would have a plan, something the Conservatives do not have. We said we would put a price on pollution and make the Canadian economy more competitive and create jobs for middle-class Canadians. That is exactly what our government is doing.
Mr. Speaker, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman's legal team is worried about his constitutional rights to a fair trial. Multiple Liberal ministers have conflict of interest. They hired away the one journalist writing stories about it. The Prime Minister's Office is refusing to reveal cabinet documents needed for this trial. Today, Liberal MPs blocked, at ethics committee, the ability for the Clerk of the Privy Council to appear just to confirm whether documents were not destroyed. My question is simple. Why the cover-up? What is the government hiding?
Mr. Speaker, we believe it is important to share the successes that newcomers are contributing to communities right across the country, and we are proud to do so. Canadians understand that when newcomers come into their communities, they set up businesses, they provide jobs for middle-class Canadians, they help our economy grow. We will continue to focus on the economic success of our country through immigration. It is rich for the party opposite to talk about immigration in positive terms after it failed on the immigration front for close to 10 years. We believe in economic success in our country, growth for the middle class, and that happens through increased immigration.
Mr. Speaker, this summer when I was knocking on doors in my riding of VaughanWoodbridge, I talked with residents about the issues they were concerned about. For most of them, they were concerned about the economy, the cost of raising their kids and about saving for their retirement. During the 2015 election, we made it clear that we wanted to focus on investing in Canada's middle class in order to boost our economy.Can the Minister of Finance tell the House about the measures we have taken to help Canadian families and grow our economy?
Mr. Speaker, with respect, the hon. member is distorting the facts. Our plan to protect the environment includes putting a price on pollution, including a price for heavy emitters. We also know, not only from our government but from folks like Stephen Harper's former director of policy, that middle-class families will be better off as a result of this plan. In fact, Doug Ford's chief budget adviser confirmed two years ago before the Senate that in fact the single most important thing we can do to transition to a low-carbon economy is to put a price on pollution. I suggest that the Conservatives actually take his advice. Their only plan when they were in government was to plunge us into a recession and they liked it so much they tried it twice.
Mr. Speaker, we know the Conservatives are getting desperate when they turn to the Fords for an endorsement. We saw it in the dying days of the 2015 campaign when Stephen Harper became a convert to the Ford nation. Now the Leader of the Opposition wants to be in the same shadow as well.Canadians deserve an honest plan to deal with climate change. We have a plan that will protect our environment and create good jobs for middle-class Canadians. We wish the Conservatives had one as well.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege with regard to alcohol and the use of substances at this place on Parliament Hill. I wrote to you on January 29th, 2018. Specifically, I asked for your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy to address the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. There were four major components. I will not get into the full details, but they were to provide a more holistic approach and a more consistent approach to the use of alcohol on the Hill, similar to the Province of Ontario.In a response to me, you referred me to my House leader and it being raised at the Board of Internal Economy. I would like to thank all the House leaders for doing that. It has been discussed, and there has been some work in that regard. However, we are members who do not have a House leader with the ability to do so.Since that time, there have been several incidents on the Hill that show that there is some question with regard to activity and consistency with Ontario law and the use of alcohol on Parliament Hill. I would ask that you consider this a point of privilege in your intervention at the Board of Internal Economy. I believe that recent events show that perhaps an investigation of security, which is your responsibility, Mr. Speaker, would be appropriate at this particular juncture. I believe that this should be a safe workplace. I believe that the past practices of this place have required change, and it has not been easy to do so. Therefore, I ask, as a point of privilege, for safety, my ability to carry out my duties, and the security of this place, that you review the role of the Speaker with regard to the use of alcohol and the issues I identified in my previous letter to you and that you report back to this chamber. Again, there are members who do not have a House leader. I appreciate your attempts to deal with this issue. There is no doubt that the public and people who use this space do not need to be impeded, let alone members of Parliament, with regard to some of the things that take place that are inconsistent with provincial laws and certainly inconsistent with being a good place to work.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Ottawa WestNepean for her tireless efforts to advance equality in Canada and abroad.Last year, YWCAs came to Parliament Hill for the first time ever for their lobbying efforts. They asked for a carve-out of the national housing strategy. Our government listened. This year, we welcomed them with the announcement of an investment of over $1.25 million for 10 YWCAs in Canada to support women working hard to join the middle class.On behalf of the Prime Minister and parliamentarians, I send my deepest gratitude to leaders from the YWCA and I wish them another successful day on the Hill.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to fighting climate change, the Liberal government is all talk and little action, so little action, in fact, that a group of Quebec's legal experts is considering bringing the government to court to force it to respect its own commitments. This recourse is seen as plausible, because it has been used elsewhere, namely in the Netherlands. In a court ruling, the Dutch government is now under obligation to implement a GHG reduction plan. Will the Liberals stop producing so much hot air about climate change, or will they wait for legal experts to force them to do it?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.Our government looks forward to working with the new government in Quebec on important topics like immigration, and we look forward to helping Quebec maintain its economic prosperity.I spoke briefly with the new minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette. My cabinet colleagues and I look forward to meeting with him, hopefully in the coming days. We are going to work with the Government of Quebec.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes making big announcements, but he never concerns himself with the details.For his new immigration plan, he forgot to consult Canada border services officers and warn them that their workload would increase as a result of the deportations. He also forgot to provide them with more resources.Before arbitrarily setting a higher immigration target, should he not deal with this problem first?
Mr. Speaker, that amount just went up by $100 million, because before, the Liberals were claiming it was $300 million in cuts. None of it is true.The problem right now is that border services officers learned from the media that they have to deport 10,000 people who were refused access to Canada. When they found out, they said that they did not have the necessary resources to deport those individuals.It is not a matter of money. It is a matter of resources. This whole situation has been mismanaged.My question is this: are you ready to deport those 10,000 people, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of inaction under the Harper Conservatives, 99% of our oil exports were still sold to the United States. They do not even want to negotiate with our first nations. They have no respect for the environment. We will take no lessons from them on how to move our major projects forward.Bill C-69 provides a path forward and the certainty that business owners need. The mining sector is on board. The forestry sector is on board. We must move forward responsibly.
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.Canadians would be horrified and embarrassed to see the third world conditions that many people in Nunavut are living in. Our housing shortage has reached a crisis point. Overcrowding is contributing to high rates of youth suicide and tuberculosis. The housing allocation in the last budget does not even begin to address the current crisis or meet the annual labour force growth. Will the minister immediately increase funding to alleviate this crisis and work with the Government of Nunavut on an appropriate allocation for the 2019 budget?
Mr. Speaker, forced overtime at Canada Post means increased hours and longer delivery routes that take a toll on worker health and safety, and families suffer.Because of the corporation's inflexibility, CUPW is pushing back against unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Effective today, the union has declared a national ban on overtime. Workers understand that self-care benefits them, their families, the corporation and its customers.Why does Canada Post not get it? When will the government secure a fair contract that values workers?
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we do trust Statistics Canada and we do trust Canadians to make the right judgment.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for over a hundred years now. The data it receives will be stripped of all personal information when it receives it, so Canadians can be assured that their banking information is protected and private. Following best practices, Statistics Canada has gone above the requirements of the law and has asked the financial institutions to inform their clients about how this data will be used. The Conservatives would do well to listen to Statistics Canada.
Mr. Speaker, yes, we are ready to do that. We are ready because we made investments after the $400 million in cuts made by the previous Stephen Harper government. Yes, we are able to do that, because we have made investments. The people working hard at the border to protect us and deal with asylum claims and irregular migrants are better equipped do their work because of the investments that we have made.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, during question period you cut off an answer by the NDP vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.I am really hoping that you can clarify that decision, since you and every Speaker before you have ruled that the Speaker has no ability to judge the quality or the content of answers given during question period.In fact, Bosc and Gagnon tells us, at page 516 that: The Speaker ensures that replies adhere to the standards of order, decorum and parliamentary language, but is not responsible for the quality or content of replies to questions. The member for CowichanMalahatLangford was responding and telling us about some of the very important work being done at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.This is just a question of ours. Is it a double-standard that we see, or is the House now to understand that today's precedent will be applied to answers by the government side of the House from now on? We are hoping that it is the latter.
Mr. Speaker, a month ago today, Quebeckers chose a new government that promised to lower immigration levels to allow for better integration.Premier Legault said, and I quote, We will welcome thousands of immigrants every year, but we are going to do so in a way that promotes integration. We will take fewer, but we will take care of them.What is the Minister of Immigration trying to do by unilaterally increasing the number of immigrants to Quebec to 70,000 within three years? Is he trying to stir up trouble?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister admitted that large industrial corporations will not have a carbon tax. They will have targets, but if they exceed those targets, they will have to pay. I checked what they would have to pay. It turns out, from the government's own documents, they will not have to pay the same taxes as Canadians. In fact, they can just submit something called eligible offset credits. If large industrial corporations do not have to pay the carbon tax, why should suburban soccer moms and small businesses have to pay it?
Mr. Speaker, it is much more than an invitation; it is a an investigation. It is not a second look, as the Prime Minister so delicately put it yesterday.Why is the commissioner carrying out an actual investigation? It is because this is not right. It is an invasion of privacy, and honest Canadians do not need it.To paraphrase a former justice minister, I would say that if there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation, then there is no place for the state in the bank accounts of honest Canadians. Why does the government continue to tolerate this situation?It needs to say enough is enough and tell Statistics Canada to cease and desist.
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the chair of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. It is a crime to destroy government documents under the Access to Information Act. That crime is much more egregious if those documents have been requested in a legal proceeding. Could the chair of the committee advise the House and all Canadians if the future agenda of the committee will include the destruction of government-held documents.
Mr. Speaker, what a meaningless answer. It is clear that the Minister of Immigration knows nothing about the reality in Quebec. In Quebec, we want to not only accommodate immigrants, but to integrate them. We do not want to just tolerate them, we want to welcome them. In order for us to do that, we need to teach them our language and our way of life.The Minister of Immigration throws figures around without taking real life into account.Is he going to take the will of Quebec into account before setting thresholds for Quebec?
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about millions of transactions that could potentially affect millions of Canadians. We do not know; it could me, it could you, Mr. Speaker.George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning, not as a road map. Canadians deserve to be free to live their lives without the state monitoring every single purchase they make. The Canadian people are quite concerned that every time they spend money, it will be documented and tracked by the state.Will the government end this unauthorized surveillance of Canadians? When?
Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear on this matter. The information Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.How many times did Statistics Canada use this section when these very same Conservatives were in power? Not once, not twice, not even a dozen times, but 84 times. In fact, in 2008, a major credit card agency signed an agreement with Stats Can to provide this type of financial data for statistical purposes.We trust Statistics Canada. We trust its ability to
Mr. Speaker, we were elected on a commitment to grow the economy and protect the environment at the same time. Our plan includes putting a price on pollution that will leave middle-class families better off.It is interesting that the Conservatives have finally found the courage to stand up for the middle class, which they have been lacking for several years. When it came to small business owners, we reduced the small business tax to 9%, which the Conservatives opposed. We implemented the Canada child benefit, which leaves nine of 10 families better off. We are taking steps to make life more affordable for seniors. I would encourage the Conservatives to continue to advocate for what we have been advocating for for several years, which is to support the middle class. If they develop a plan to support the environment at the same time, I will be happy
Mr. Speaker, the data Statistics Canada is demanding is not anonymous. It is personal, and it is private. It has no consent from Canadians to take it. It includes account balances, debit and credit transactions, mortgage payments, e-transfers, all taken from Canadians without their consent. We on this side of the House are not going to trust the government to protect Canadians, when it violated it so many times before. Why do the Liberals not do the right thing and tell Statistics Canada to back off the private personal information of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, instead of going after fat cat CEOs and the tax havens wealthy corporations use to avoid paying their fair share, refugees are having their child benefits clawed back. The government failed to provide timely access for language training for many of the new arrivals, yet refugee families that do not respond quickly to the CRA are penalized immediately. Not only are those payments stopped, but, in two cases, refugee families were billed $27,000. Is that why the government is giving the CRA $1 billion to crack down on the middle class and those who are working hard to join it?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague from Manitoba for his hard work.To address the issue of problematic substance use, including methamphetamine, we have devoted $150 million to an emergency treatment fund. Furthermore, I am pleased to advise the House that we will be providing the City of Winnipeg with assistance for prevention and treatment and we will be sending a senior official to work on its methamphetamine task force.We will keep working to remove barriers to treatment and ensure that all Canadians struggling with problematic substance use get the help they need.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians find intolerable is the Conservative Party's fearmongering. That is what Canadians have found intolerable for years.Statistics Canada has been handling Canadians' personal information for a century. The data collected will be processed to make it anonymous. Canadians can rest assured that their banking information is private and protected. When data is collected, it is stripped of all personal information.Canadians are familiar with Statistics Canada's role. The Conservatives would do well to stop their fearmongering.
Mr. Speaker, the question was about the carbon tax. The government has released documents which show that industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will be exempt from the carbon tax. If the carbon tax really was about saving the world, we would presume the largest industrial emitters of carbon would have to pay it. The question again is: Why should small businesses and suburban soccer moms pay it if large emitters do not have to?
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to confidentiality, every Canadian expects the government to make it a top priority to protect their personal information. The data requested by Statistics Canada are not anonymous. That is private and personal information. However, Statistics Canada is requesting that information without consent.Why does the party opposite want to collect information about Canadians' financial transactions without their consent?
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the members opposite try to defend the private lives of Canadians and quote former prime minister Pierre Trudeau when he said that the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. It is unfortunate that many people in that party still disagree with that today.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food is currently engaged in a study on the mental health challenges that farmers, ranchers and producers face. During the course of that study, we heard repeated testimony from supply-managed farmers about the mental health challenges they are facing because of trade deals. The TPP comes into force 59 days from now, yet the Liberals have not introduced a compensation plan for losses in the supply-managed sector. Our farmers, ranchers and producers
Mr. Speaker, the question was regarding the mental health challenges study the agriculture committee is currently engaged in. It is ongoing, and the question was regarding future meetings. From my understanding of the schedule of that standing committee, of which I am the second vice-chair, we have at least two more meetings regarding this particular study. I was referencing what had happened in the past, yes. However, do I expect more answers to fall in line with what we have heard in witness testimony? Absolutely. My answer was completely in recognition of those facts and what I expect to hear from witnesses in the future.
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as we have demonstrated for several years now, long before the legal threats arose, we are going to take climate change seriously, and we have a plan that Canadians understand and that will make a real difference in the fight against climate change.I would remind my hon. colleague that his home province of Quebec has been a leader in the fight against climate change for a very long time. It also has one of the most competitive economies in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want exports to be used to violate human rights. That is why our government is committed to a stronger and more rigorous arms export system. We are reviewing export permits to Saudi Arabia, we have frozen permits in the past and we will not hesitate to do so again if necessary.
Mr. Speaker, I completely reject the characterization by members opposite on Bill C-75, which is a comprehensive bill that seeks to address delays in the criminal justice system.There is nothing in this legislation that would reduce sentences. There is nothing that would change the principles around sentencing, which take into account the gravity of the offence and the proportion responsibility of an offender.We are not lowering sentences. We are providing prosecutors with the necessary discretion they need to move forward in the appropriate way given the circumstances of the particular case.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are failing again. They are watering down sentences for crimes such as administering date rape drugs, abducting children, impaired driving causing bodily harm and selling young women and men into sexual slavery.The Conservatives called for over 100 amendments to clean up the government's deeply flawed omnibus Bill C-75, but the Liberals were not listening.Does the minister really believe Canadians want sex traffickers and kidnappers to have lesser sentences?
Mr. Speaker, three times the Liberals had a chance to protect supply management and guess what? Three times they failed. The Liberals have signed deals that opened up more than 10% of our dairy market. The effects of these policies are hard and they hurt families. Hard-working families are feeling betrayed by the Liberals. The Liberals have used our supply-managed farmers as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations and we must know more about this.Could the vice-chair of the agriculture committee tell the House whether the TPP and the lack of compensation for farmers will be on the agenda in the coming days?
Mr. Speaker, no, what the Liberal government will do is charge a new exorbitant tax on small businesses, suburban commuters and soccer moms while giving an exemption to large industrial facilities that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. The Liberals say the only way to save the world from climate change is a tax, yet they are exempting the largest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases. Again, if the Liberals are going to exempt the big corporations, why do they not exempt families and small businesses too?
Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once quipped that there was no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation. This Prime Minister seems to think that the personal financial details of the nation, on the other hand, are fair game. Why is the Prime Minister so out of touch with Canadians, who do not want this unauthorized surveillance to continue?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent for his question.Of course our government takes Canadians' privacy very seriously. Working with confidential data is obviously nothing new for Statistics Canada. The agency has been using personal information for a century to provide the reliable, crucial data required to meet the needs of Canadians, businesses and communities. In the spirit of openness and transparency, Statistics Canada has asked the Privacy Commissioner to work more closely with the agency on this project. It is our understanding that he has accepted the invitation.
Mr. Speaker, I do share our hon. colleague's sense of urgency in terms of the fight against climate change. She correctly identified a series of global phenomena that all Canadians are concerned about and have asked their governments to take seriously. They asked their governments to act in a serious way to ensure that we have a plan to fight climate change. We think an essential element of that plan is not to make pollution free, something the Conservatives think would be a key part of a plan. We will make the Canadian economy more competitive and fight climate change at the same time.
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we will always be there for our artists and creators. That is exactly what we demonstrated with our cultural policy last year. We have made historic investments of $3.2 billion in the cultural sector, including in the CBC, the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm, the NFB and the Canada Media Fund. Due to the previous Conservative government's inaction, the lost decade, our laws on culture predate the Internet, which is why we are reviewing them so we can continue to support high quality Canadian content production. The principle of this review is clear: To participate in the system, one must contribute to the system. There will be no free ride.
Mr. Speaker, I have asked the same question three times in a row, and three times the Liberals have scattered off running to every other subject conceivable. They cannot explain why the largest industrial emitters that emit more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases do not have to pay the carbon tax at all when the tax is supposed to be about reducing emissions. Only suburban soccer moms, small businesses and seniors have to pay it. Why?
Mr. Speaker, there have been over 800 pages with hundreds of thousands of examples of where the government has violated the privacy of Canadians in the last 19 months alone, so he will forgive us if we do not trust him with the personal financial data of Canadians. The government has no consent to obtain it. This is private, personal data. Why do the Liberals not tell Statistics Canada to get out of the bank accounts of Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the information that Statistics Canada wishes to study is entirely within section 13 of the Statistics Act.The personal information that will be collected and studied by Statistics Canada will be scrubbed and anonymous. There is no way the government will have access to personal information. Statistics Canada is a respected agency in Canada and around the world. We trust its judgment.
Mr. Speaker, we saw yesterday another example of what Conservative leaders do when they are in dire straits. They beg for an endorsement from the Fords. We remember Stephen Harper in the dying days of the 2015 election with a fake cash register at an event with the Fords. Now the current leader appears to also be taking orders from Premier Ford to ensure that there is no plan to deal with climate change and no plan to make the Canadian economy more competitive. That is not something this government will do.
Mr. Speaker, UQAM researchers have discovered that just five movies and five TV shows in Netflix's catalogue of 5,500 titles were produced in Quebec. That is 0.1% of Netflix's content. Quebec is not in the picture.As Quebec film and TV producers noted recently, the Netflix agreement has done nothing for our culture. What we need is content produced here. If the next generation of Quebeckers does not have access to made-in-Quebec programming, it will turn to English-language American content. Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage apply our laws to online platforms, or does he want us to become totally assimilated?
Mr. Speaker, methamphetamine abuse is impacting communities across Manitoba. Manitoba's chief medical examiner stated that the drug had been involved in 35 overdose deaths in 2017.In September, the Winnipeg city council adopted a resolution asking for assistance from the federal government. The issue is not only affecting urban centres like Winnipeg, but rural and indigenous communities across Canada. People are dying and we have a responsibility to act. Could the Minister of Health please explain what our government is doing to help communities impacted by methamphetamine?
Mr. Speaker, our government believes in the collective bargaining process. Our mediators have been on the ground. The minister has been in contact with both sides. We continue to hope that the two groups come together with a final outcome. I would hope my colleague from the NDP would understand that it is not the place of the Government of Canada to put its thumb on the scale when it comes to contract negotiations.
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on the same point. I would draw your attention to note 93 on page 513 of Bosc and Gagnon, in which it is stated, referring to Speaker Milliken: ....it is not the role of the Speaker to judge the quality or content of the reply. That applies specifically to questions asked of committee chairs or, in this case, vice-chairs of committees.I would also draw your attention to a precedent in the House. On September 26, 2017, the member for South ShoreSt. Margarets asked a question of the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and you, sir, allowed her to make an ad hominem attack on the member for Lethbridge.
Mr. Speaker, I was going to reference that exchange with the vice-chair of the status of women committee.
Mr. Speaker, it being Thursday, I would like to ask the leader of the government in the House of Commons what business she intends to call for the remainder of this week and what business she plans to call for next week.
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, tomorrow and next Tuesday, we will continue debate at second reading of Bill C-86, the second budget implementation act, 2018.Next Monday shall be an opposition day.On Wednesday, during routine proceedings, under ministerial statements, the Prime Minister will deliver a formal apology to the Jewish refugees of the MS St. Louis and its passengers.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to stand in this House and extend my sincere condolences to the family of Ms. Parker. If I could have given her authorization for advance request, I would have absolutely done so. However, as parliamentarians, we know that the laws we make are for all Canadians. That is why we have put in place a group of experts to look at three sensitive areas, as we want to protect our vulnerable Canadians. We want them to look at the issue involving advance consent, also the issue of mature minors, and also for serious mental health issues.Once again, we will continue to work on this matter, and I look forward to receiving the experts' report.
Mr. Speaker, the CPTPP comes into force in 59 days, and dairy producers still do not know what kind of compensation they will be entitled to. Unbelievable. When the Liberals signed the CPTPP, they opened a 3.25% breach in our supply management system, on top of the breaches from the Europe agreement and the USMCA. Our producers are understandably angry. They are tired of being used as bargaining chips.Will the government finally compensate our producers for the losses incurred?
Mr. Speaker, we have just seen a demonstration of why these issues should be dealt with in courts of law, so we can avoid the innuendos and the drive-by smears. The fact of the matter is that the rules of court are there. The independent judiciary is there to manage these matters. Our distinguished law officers at the table have said very clearly, when matters of sub judice, they should not be the subject of either questions or answers in the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, from the get-go, the chief statistician of Canada has been open to working with the Privacy Commissioner to make sure that the private information of Canadians was not placed at risk. I find it a little rich that the Conservatives make themselves the defendants of Canadians' privacy. We should remind them of their history. That is the same Conservative Party that was forced to back down when the Conservative government, not Statistics Canada, went after Canadians' personal information online. That is the same Conservative Party that leaked the medical information of a Canadian veteran. Enough of this fake outrage.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are outraged, and rightly so. Statistics Canada wants to poke around the personal bank accounts of honest Canadians. We in the Conservative Party find that completely unacceptable. It is an utterly inappropriate invasion of Canadians' privacy. Unfortunately, the Liberal government is washing its hands of the issue. It does not see a problem and will not stop Statistics Canada from proceeding.Fortunately, the Privacy Commissioner is on the ball and has launched an investigation. Why does the Liberal government continue to defend the indefensible?
Mr. Speaker, a fast way to build support for immigration in Canada is to fix the system that the Prime Minister has broken. To build support for immigration, the Prime Minister should close the loophole in the safe third country agreement instead of spending $50 million to foot the hotel bills of illegal border crossers.Why is the Prime Minister adding insult to injury by spending taxpayer dollars to tell Canadians that illegal border crossing is okay instead of preventing the abuse of Canada's asylum system?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians grow increasingly fearful from daily reports that the impacts of climate change are worsening beyond what scientists have predicted, that our oceans have absorbed 60 % more heat than predicted, that the Arctic is melting at a frighteningly rapid rate, that we can expect worsening floods and drought. Pressure is building for measures to hold our governments accountable. Today I tabled a motion to legally enact binding greenhouse gas targets and impose a duty to act, and measures to ensure improved accountability and transparency for federal action to mitigate climate change. Will the government support my Motion No. 204?
Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, four major new pipelines with access to new markets were approved and built with no tax dollars. These Liberals have already killed two export pipelines. Their failures have not added a single new centimetre, and their Bill C-69 will ensure there will be none in the future.Thirty-five indigenous communities now join provinces and industry to oppose the Liberals' no more pipelines Bill C-69. They say it will have an enormous and devastating impact on the ability of First Nations to cultivate or develop economic development opportunities in their traditional territories.Will the Liberals scrap Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals are so serious about this, why are they still using the inadequate targets established by Stephen Harper's Conservatives, targets they have no chance of meeting?These failures have consequences. Over the past 25 years, the Earth's oceans have absorbed 60% more heat than scientists previously thought. That means global warming is happening faster than we thought. One consequence is that the Pine Island glacier in Antarctica lost a 300-square-kilometre chunk of ice this week, which is an area five times the size of Manhattan.My question again is this: Why are the Liberals refusing to change their game plan, which is clearly not good enough?
Mr. Speaker, as the member may know, the motion brought forward by the opposition members of our ethics committee today, which would have ensured documents and information related to Project Resolve not to be destroyed, was voted down by Liberal members. It was defeated six to three.
Mr. Speaker, Audrey Parker of Halifax is dying today. She has stage 4 cancer and lives in terrible pain. She has chosen to end her life much sooner than she would like. Audrey was forced to make this agonizing choice because our existing medical assistance in dying law does not allow for advance requests. She worried that if she waited, she would not be able to give the consent required.Soon the government will be receiving an expert report on this law. Will it introduce legislation before the next election so people like Audrey never again have to make this agonizing choice?
Mr. Speaker, the government seems to have a problem with understanding the concept of consent. It does not have it in this case. It does not have the right to the personal data of Canadians. It has violated the privacy of Canadians hundreds of thousands of times in the last 19 months alone. Why does it not listen to Canadians who are outraged by this personal violation? Stop Statistics Canada from accessing their financial data, and do it today.
Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International, Oxfam and several other organizations join the NDP in calling on the government to immediately stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia.For years, the Liberals have been repeating that they are very worried and that they are closely monitoring the situation. Canadians, however, are sick of waiting. You cannot put a price on human rights.Will the government step up and stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia?
Mr. Speaker, it emerged today that cleaning up the oil sands will cost $260 billion. That is what we mean when we say pollution is costly.In the Netherlands, a court in The Hague is forcing the Dutch government to step up its efforts to fight climate change. Quebec legal experts want to do the same thing here and sue the Canadian government. We know things are bad when the Liberals have to be dragged into court in order to produce real measures to fight climate change.Do they need to be sued before they will act?
Mr. Speaker, the member was first elected when I was one year old, and it is sad that I have to remind him the our mandate is from the Canadian people. Vice-Admiral Mark Norman is facing criminal charges for breach of trust, a trust that the Privy Council has said that 73 people knew the contents of that meeting. I believe that at least two people of those 73 are Liberal MPs. They could be anyone. It could be you, Mr. Speaker.Leaving aside the Norman lawsuit, will the government clear the air and release the 72 other names?
Mr. Speaker, it is regrettable that my hon. colleague thinks it is meaningless to want to collaborate with the Quebec government. I am surprised to hear such remarks from that corner of the House of Commons.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are refusing to listen to Canadians who are outraged that the government is engaged in unauthorized surveillance of their every financial transaction. Even if the Liberals could guarantee that this data could not fall into the hands of hackers, which they cannot, it would still be an abuse of power to collect it.This is about the principle that the state does not get to monitor everything people do. Why are the Liberals so out of touch? When will they put a halt to this unauthorized surveillance? It is important to Canadians. When?
On the topic of spending, Mr. Speaker, after spending hundreds of millions of Canadian tax dollars on processing and prioritizing things like work permits for people who illegally entered Canada after reaching the safety of upstate New York, today the Prime Minister announced that he was starting a taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign to moralize, with his false sanctimony, to Canadians who oppose his failed immigration policies.How many taxpayer dollars will the Prime Minister be spending on his advertising campaign to preach the value of illegal border crossers to Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, one of the ideals of the Conservative Party is that we would ask people before we take their information. Canadians are outraged by the Liberals' unauthorized surveillance of their private banking information. My constituents have been calling me worried about the Liberals snooping into their bank accounts. The government has already acquired 15 years of credit information from millions of Canadians without their consent. Now the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is investigating abuse. When will the Liberals stop snooping into the lives of Canadians?