Most toxic speeches
The Prime Minister's tweet was not only silly, it was actually pretty stupid, and it is causing a lot of problems at our borders. In addition to the problems, Mr. Speaker, the crisis is causing huge delays for immigrants and refugees who are actually following the rules and want to come to Canada legally.With a $1.2-billion price tag, and actual refugees being forced to the back of the line, what is it going to take for the current Prime Minister to realize that the crisis at the border, which his tweet created, needs to be fixed?
Mr. Speaker, the government wants to sign the free trade agreement with the Americans tomorrow, but no one has even seen the final version. Dairy producers are worried because the latest version of the agreement gave the Americans oversight of our dairy system.Since the Liberals have made a habit of betraying Quebec farmers, we cannot trust them and will certainly not give them a blank cheque.Can the Prime Minister confirm that this provision has been removed, or has he once again gone back on his word?
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a long and proud tradition of providing protection to those who need it most by providing refuge to the world's most vulnerable people. The suggestion that the global migration of tens of millions of people fleeing persecution is the result of a tweet is kind of silly.We have a plan. We have invested $173 million in ensuring that Canadian laws are upheld and that the security of our country is maintained. The plan is working. We have seen a significant reduction over the past several months in the number of people presenting themselves irregularly at our border
Mr. Speaker, the news out of Oshawa is devastating. GM has shown contempt for workers. What is worse is that the Liberal government should have known that GM would soon be closing its doors. Rather than supporting Canadian families, the Liberals threw billions of dollars at rich corporations, like GM, without any guarantee that those corporations would maintain jobs.Why do the Liberals continue to put the interests of rich corporations ahead of the well-being of Canadian workers?
Mr. Speaker, New Zealand is the latest of Canada's security allies to do the right thing and ban Huawei from its 5G networks, yet the Liberals refuse to put the security of Canadians first and do the same. Giving the Chinese government access to our 5G network is both irresponsible and wrong. When will the government join our allies and say no way to Huawei?
Mr. Speaker, is it an international obligation to have 32% of asylum seekers buy a plane ticket from Nigeria to New York and then take a bus to get to Roxham Road? That has nothing to do with any international obligation.So far, this has cost $1.1 billion in federal money, not to mention the provincial contribution, and it is not over. The problem is that these people have to stop coming here illegally.Will the government take responsibility and fix this problem?
Mr. Speaker, what is the point of rushing through accessibility legislation if the government is not going to put its money where its mouth is? The Liberals keep failing Canadians who live with disabilities. In the fall economic update, there is no mention of new obligations, let alone funding for the CRTC to maintain its existing responsibilities. This is unfair, and it is insulting to Canadians who are waiting for implementation of Bill C-81. Why will the Liberals not take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that institutions like the CRTC are accessible to everyone?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals killed northern gateway and energy east, the two pipelines to new markets, and they failed to get a single shovel in the ground for Trans Mountain. They created this crisis.Now, the Liberals are passing the no more pipelines Bill C-69, which will do exactly what that name says. It will make sure that no new pipeline is ever proposed or built in Canada again. Premiers, the private sector, economists and experts all agree. If anything the member just said were true, he would scrap Bill C-69 today. Will he do it? Will he get rid of the no more pipelines Bill C-69, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, it is extremely disappointing that the party opposite would politicize the loss of jobs at GM. It is a very disappointing situation. We will always stand up for workers, but I would encourage the member opposite to go to GM's website, where it supports putting a price on pollution. Maybe the Conservatives should figure out that it should not be free to pollute. We need to stand up for the environment. We need to stand up for the economy. We need to stand up for our kids.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have failed to manage our Canadian border and the price tag is staggering. By the end of next year, the Liberals will have spent $1.1 billion of taxpayers' money to deal with illegal border crossers and that does not include any provincial money. Why is the Prime Minister spending more money on illegal border crossers than on getting our homeless veterans off the streets?
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has proven that the federal government totally underestimated the cost of the wave of migrants, and we are only talking about federal spending. Quebec is the one covering the big costs: education, housing and social assistance. Ottawa set aside $50 million for the provinces. Ontario alone is asking for $200 million, and Quebec has received 12 times as many migrants as Ontario.When will Canada stop laughing at Quebeckers and compensate us like everyone else?
Mr. Speaker, I am very worried that the Liberal government does not seem to be taking security matters seriously. The OPP was investigating a shady guy suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing when its wiretap revealed that the Liberal member for Brampton East had accumulated significant gambling debts. The RCMP even asked the OPP about the large amounts of money that the Liberal member was gambling with at the casino.When did the Prime Minister find out, not from the member himself, about the RCMP's investigation into a member of his own party?
Mr. Speaker, media reports indicate that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East were connected to a larger investigation involving laundering drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. With an investigation touching on drugs, money laundering and international terrorism, it is simply not believable that no one in the government was made aware of this serious investigation, so I ask again: when did the Prime Minister or his office first learn about this serious crimes investigation involving a Liberal MP?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our leader, Jagmeet Singh, was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend a meeting of all party leaders to discuss the situation that Franco-Ontarians are facing.Everyone agreed that Doug Ford's decisions are a threat to the empowerment of Ontario's francophones. However, where are the new measures to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians? That is what everyone is waiting for.What will it take for the Liberals to publicly announce that they are willing and able to provide 50% of the funding to build a French-language university in Toronto?
Mr. Speaker, it is simply unbelievable that the Prime Minister and his government were unaware of a major crimes investigation involving a Liberal member of Parliament, an investigation involving drug money, an investigation involving international terrorism. This is an international incident involving national security. Does the Prime Minister really expect us to believe that an investigation of this nature would not have been red flagged to his office? When did he or his office first learn of this serious criminal investigation into a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, the transport minister claims he has never heard any concerns about the Liberal carbon tax, yet we know the National Airlines Council of Canada has said, [I]ntroducing a national carbon tax would exacerbate Canadian aviations already severe competitiveness problems, and the CEO of WestJet has said, They need to be very careful that they don't kill an industry that is so important to economic growth.Does the minister still claim he has never heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, that member is still a member of the Liberal caucus. However, today, it is clear that the RCMP and the Ontario police were aware of the gambling debts run up by the Liberal member for Brampton East, which surfaced as part of a larger investigation into the laundering of drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. Surely the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the national security adviser or someone in this government must have been told about this investigation involving a Liberal government MP. When were the Prime Minister and his cabinet informed of this investigation?
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows full well, that is exactly what we are doing, and that is why the number of asylum seekers has gone down. My colleague should think about his own obligations before he starts citing statistics. The Conservatives' rhetoric on asylum seekers is troubling. It should be noted that more than 40% of the people crossing Canada's border are children. The penny-pinching of Mr. Harper's Conservative government, which cut $400 million from border security, resulted in backlogs. We are addressing those problems.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to remind my esteemed colleague that in 2015, during the election campaign, we were debating whether Canada was in a recession or heading into one.That is the legacy that the Conservative government left behind, a legacy of policies that failed by virtually every measure. There is no word strong enough in either French or English to describe just how badly they failed on growth, job creation and export development. As for the social deficit, the Conservatives never lifted a finger to reduce inequality in Canada. Instead, they made it worse.We will take no lessons from the previous government and the Conservative Party. Our record speaks for itself.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday I moved a motion in this place, and it appeared that members from both the government and the official opposition sides had not supported the motion. However, it is now known that the appearance of opposition was completely unintentional. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I think you will find the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion. I move:That, the House recognize that 81 years ago Imperial Japanese army forces raped an estimated 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women and girls and approximately 300,000 people were killed; that, after the Nanjing massacre, the military sexual slavery system of the Japanese military expanded rapidly, and an estimated 200,000 women from Korea, the Philippines, China, Burma, Indonesia and other Japanese occupied territories were tricked, kidnapped or coerced to work in brothels to serve as comfort women to the Imperial Japanese army; that western eye witnesses in Nanjing described the atrocities as hell on earth; that the House of Commons, in 2007, unanimously passed a motion in recognition that the Imperial armed forces of Japan used women as sex slaves during the Second World War; therefore, in the opinion of the House, the government formally acknowledge this by declaring December 13 of each year as Nanjing massacre commemorative day in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, today, we learned that the mess the Prime Minister created at the border will cost Canadians more than $1.1 billion, and that does not even include the millions of dollars it is going to cost the provinces. That is over $1 billion that will not be spent on the priorities of Canadians, priorities like helping our seniors, our veterans or actual refugees whose lives depend on them being able to come to Canada.When will the Prime Minister own up to the fact that we have a big problem at our border and when will he fix it?
Mr. Speaker, these are numbers that come from the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada. Therefore, truly the entire refugee system in Canada is in a crisis and there is no end in sight, regardless of what the minister says. If $1.1 billion and a six-year wait time is not enough to close the loophole, what number would it take before the Prime Minister realizes the Liberals have to do something to stop this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, $400 million worth of cuts is some rationalization. The cuts resulted in delays at the border and longer wait times. We made constructive investments to ensure border security and fulfill our international human rights obligations.This might not be all that important to my colleague, but members on this side of the House care very much about border security and are committed to meeting our international obligations.
Mr. Speaker, the fact that I do not speak French does not diminish my commitment to bilingualism.As promised in our Strong, Secure, Engaged defence policy, we restored full university status to the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. We are giving ourselves the tools we need to recruit the top francophone talent in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
That is not an answer for dairy farmers in Canada, Mr. Speaker.Liberals say they are on track to sign the USMCA tomorrow but they do not even know what we are signing onto. Wording is changing and the Canadian interpretation and the U.S. interpretation are not lining up. No wonder the Prime Minister does not even want to attend the signing ceremony, when we do not even know what the text is.Canadians know one thing for sure. If we sign with destructive steel and aluminum tariffs in place, we are losing our best chance to eliminate them. The reasons not to sign this deal are stacking up. Will the Prime Minister stand up for Canadian jobs and not sign this shifty agreement?
Mr. Speaker, when I asked the Liberal parliamentary secretary for the environment why his government was exempting large industrial corporations from its carbon tax, he replied that if they had to pay the tax, we could potentially have jobs leave and it will do nothing for emissions. It turns out for once that the Liberal parliamentary secretary is absolutely right, because the two largest export sectors in Canada, energy and autos, which are not exempted, are now seeing jobs leave just as he predicted. Will the Liberals extend the exemption to protect the jobs of all Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, families in my community are not polluters. The St. John's Board of Trade, the Chamber of Marine Commerce, multiple municipal associations, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the National Airlines Council of Canada are all stakeholders who have publicly said the carbon tax will hurt their businesses.Will the transport minister start listening to the concerns of Canadian businesses, or does he still claim he cannot hear them?
Mr. Speaker, we have learned that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East came to light as a result of a police wiretap. The wiretaps were part of an OPP investigation into particularly shady guys suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. When did the Prime Minister's Office first learn about this serious investigation involving a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is fully aware that we have strongly supported the supply management system in this country. We made sure that the American attempt to destroy our supply management system did not succeed. We also understand that dairy farmers have some problems and we are going to make sure they are fully and fairly supported.We will continue to make sure that we support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government needs to stand up and fight for workers. Yesterday, Dairy Farmers of Canada called on the Prime Minister not to sign the USMCA until the U.S. oversight of our dairy system has been removed. This is about our food sovereignty. This clause will have devastating and crippling consequences on our industry here in Canada.I have a simple question. Will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and make sure that the oversight clause is removed quickly?
Mr. Speaker, well, if GM really did support the Liberal carbon tax, why is it not staying around to pay it? It is a very simple question. There will be no carbon tax on GM, because it is leaving and it will not have to pay the carbon tax. It is leaving behind the workers who will have to pay the carbon tax and other businesses that will have to pay the carbon tax. However, the wealthy CEOs are always happy to leave and to leave the costs behind for everyone else. When will the Liberals start standing up for workers and consumers and give them a break from this costly Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, there are two very important ways to mislead, either by the misrepresentation of facts or by the omission of important facts.Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister very important and very specific questions about exactly when he and his office first learned that the member of Parliament for Brampton East was under RCMP investigation. He refused to fully answer the question. This is the same tragic pattern that Liberal prime ministers follow whenever facing scandal. To the Prime Minister, who promised to be different, when did his office first learn that his MP was under police investigation?
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the government will be signing the new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico. That is happening tomorrow, yet there is still no firm commitment from the government about compensation for our dairy farmers.The government has abandoned them three times in a row, in its agreements with North America, the Pacific region and Europe. It must take responsibility for these three betrayals.Will it make a formal commitment to fully compensate our supply-managed farmers for their losses under these three agreements
Mr. Speaker, on June 17, 2014, Conservatives approved the northern gateway pipeline to export to the Asia-Pacific.On November 29, 2016, the Liberal Prime Minister cancelled the northern gateway pipeline. He had a choice, but he killed that pipeline outright, which could have prevented the current price discount on Canadian oil.When the Liberals were elected, three companies planned to build pipelines in Canada. The Liberals chased them all away.Will the Liberals immediately withdraw their no more pipelines Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, repeating the same scripted non-answer only raises the suspicion of Canadians that the Liberal government is hiding something. The Prime Minister promised to set the bar on ethics high. He said that we must avoid conflict of interest, the appearance of a conflict of interest.The Liberal MP for Brampton East was appointed to the finance committee by the Prime Minister, where he asked troubling questions of senior law enforcement officials about how to avoid detection. This raised red flags with the RCMP. How do Liberals expect us to believe they saw nothing to worry about and that the media somehow know more about this scandal that the Prime Minister's own office does?
Mr. Speaker, GM's decision to close its Oshawa plant is extremely discouraging and our thoughts are with the women and men who are affected, their families and their communities. We have heard that this is part of GM's global restructuring plan and may impact workers in the U.S. and globally. This is extremely troubling news. We feel for everyone who is impacted by this decision.Right now our priority is auto workers and their families. We are working with all partners to support our auto workers, their families and Oshawa during this difficult time.
Mr. Speaker, I had to laugh when I heard the minister talk about cuts we made. We did not make cuts. We rationalized because the border was under control and there were no problems.Then there was that prime ministerial tweet, which has cost us $1.1 billion to date, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who has done his homework.That amount does not even include the $600 million absorbed by Quebec and Ontario.One of these days, they are going to have to stop blaming us for everything that goes wrong. The report reveals the truth, and it is exactly what we have been saying.When will the Prime Minister take responsibility, do his job, and fix the problem?
Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberal Party's plan is not working. Investments in Canada are disappearing like snow on a sunny day.While Canadian investment in the U.S. is up by 66%, American investment in Canada has dropped by a massive 50%. Overall, private sector investment has fallen off a cliff in this country. That is what the so-called Liberal plan is doing for Canada.Why does the government continue to stubbornly push this measure, which will hurt our investors?
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is well aware that we are the party that implemented supply management, and we are the party that is going to defend it. It is important to note that the Americans wanted to destroy our supply management system, and our negotiators and government made sure that did not happen. We also understand that there will be an impact on our farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them. We have and will continue to support the supply management system in this country.
I will take this opportunity to clarify a misconception promulgated by the member opposite.Mr. Speaker, those who are seeking asylum in this country, who have asked for the protection of Canada, are processed through an entirely separate system than those who are waiting in other streams of migration. There is no interference in those processes.It is very important to recognize that we have actually made enormous progress, under our current Minister of Immigration, on improving response times and processing times. The system is working well.
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member just said is patently false. We are investing in the automotive industry in Canada. With an investment of about $400 million, we have been able to attract $5.6 billion in investments since taking office. It is therefore false to say that we are no longer attracting investment.Through the strategic innovation fund, we are creating opportunities for Canadian technology and for Canadian workers and their families.
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask again whether the party opposite understands just how serious climate change is. Does the party opposite understand the $30-trillion economic opportunity of climate action? We need to act. We need to do it because it is the right thing to do for our environment. It is the right thing to do for our economy. It is the right thing to do for our kids.Everyone wants to know: What is the Conservative Party's climate plan?
Mr. Speaker, one year ago the Prime Minister said everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Northern communities do not believe it because most of them still do not have year-round highway access, and people still live in overcrowded homes that are falling apart or full of mould.The Liberals keep neglecting northerners. Why do they not invest the billions needed now to close the housing gap on reserves and in northern communities?
Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals took office, we have seen the biggest decline in Canadian energy investments in 70 years. Because of excessive taxes and regulations, investors no longer see Canada as a good investment.However, the impacts of the Prime Minister's policies affect every sector. This was made clear when General Motors decided to stop production at our award-winning plant in Oshawa. These policies jeopardize thousands of good-paying Canadian jobs.Why is the Prime Minister choosing to impose taxes and regulations that will deter investment in our economy, and provide no hope for workers in Oshawa? Where is his plan?
Mr. Speaker, we can do both. We can grow the economy and we can tackle climate change. We are doing it. Our emissions are going down and we are growing the economy. With Canadians, we have created more than 550,000 jobs. Ours is the fastest-growing economy in the G7, and we are taking serious action to tackle climate change. I am extremely proud that next week I will be going to the climate negotiations in Poland, where we are going to take action with the international community to tackle climate change. We owe it to our environment. We owe it to the economy. We owe it to our kids.
Mr. Speaker, what happens when it comes time for the Liberal Prime Minister to stand up for Canada? Radio silence. New Zealand has taken a stand and banned the use of equipment from Chinese-owned Huawei in its 5G network because it poses a significant risk to national security. Our Five Eyes allies are doing the same, including the United States and Australia.We know that the Prime Minister admires China's dictatorship, but will he ban Huawei from our 5G network and stand up for Canada's interests for once?
Mr. Speaker, I just came from Washington, where Canada is being known for its concessions right now, and that is what that deal is about. The decline of the automotive sector, including General Motors' most recent cutthroat tactics, has become routine business in Canada. Under successive Liberal regimes, Canada has sunk to 10th in automotive manufacturing. With half a million jobs lost already, nothing seems to move the government to urgency.Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he is considering a plan despite being handed one a year ago by his automotive adviser, ironically funded by workers now being fired.Could the minister explain why the Prime Minister has done nothing over the past year
Mr. Speaker, in a recent ranking of 80 energy producing jurisdictions, B.C. dropped to 58th and Alberta dropped 29 spots to 43rd. Respondents blame the high costs of regulatory compliance, taxes and energy. Now, Ontario is feeling Liberal economic mismanagement. In its fourth straight month of decline, the manufacturing sector is at its slowest pace in two years.Why is the Prime Minister heading down the road of higher taxes, increased energy costs, and burdensome regulations that will only further deter investment?
Mr. Speaker, our government has defended our supply management system from the strong American attempt to dismantle it. Our poultry, eggs and dairy farmers provide the highest-quality products for Canadians at a reasonable price, and keep the rural areas strong. We understand there will be an impact on the farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them to make sure the supply management system continues to expand through the centuries.
Mr. Speaker, now more than ever in Canada, we must stand up to defend and strengthen our two official languages. Canadians understand that it is important to protect our rights and they know that their government must protect our national identity.Can the Minister of National Defence talk about the measures being taken to ensure that the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces are able to operate in an environment where both official languages are equally valued?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will get her chance to ask questions in 10 months.It seems that every other member in this House is hearing about the negative effects of the carbon tax, except the Liberal front bench. The CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said, The federal carbon pricing system as it is structured further weakens our investment position. The Canadian Trucking Alliance said, The federal system creates competitive issues between Canadian and U.S. carriers.Does the transport minister still claim he has not heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her hard work in the fight against climate change. We must tackle climate change, and we do have a plan.We have a plan to eliminate coal and invest in renewable energy, to put a price on pollution and to make historic investments in public transit, green infrastructure and clean technology. We have a lot of work to do.I am happy that we can work with the NDP, but it would be better if the Conservatives joined us too.
Mr. Speaker, for all the rhetoric and hysteria that is now emerging about irregular migration, it is important to understand who these people are. For example, nearly 40% of the people who have presented themselves at our borders seeking asylum are children. Canada's response is to uphold the rule of law to ensure that our processes are fast, fair and final, as well as efficient, and we deal with those individuals to ensure they have adequate housing and shelter and are treated with the humanity that Canadians expect of us.
Mr. Speaker, we are focused on getting our energy sector up and running, and investing in our energy sector.That is why, at this moment, the Minister of Natural Resources is in discussions with indigenous communities in B.C., to make sure that the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline moves forward in the right way, something the Conservatives do not understand and never got. For them, it was only a suggestion to actually have discussions with indigenous communities.We know that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. We know we must have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities to move forward. That is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, that is some more wishful thinking by the Liberals. The result is that 2,500 people lost their jobs in the auto sector this week and 3,000 others lost their jobs in the aerospace sector two weeks ago.Let us talk about the wishful thinking of the Liberals, who claim that budgets balance themselves. I will give this government a chance to tell us when the budget will finally balance itself.
Mr. Speaker, once again I repeat that our hearts go out to the men and women who have been affected by the GM closure in Oshawa.As the Conservatives well know, this decision was part of GM's global restructuring plan, affecting their operations across the border and around the world.I would point out to the hon. member that we have doubled the number of jobs created in the auto sector over the last three years. We have done more in three years for the auto sector than the Conservatives were able to do in 10 years. We have attracted billions of dollars in investment, $3.3 billion in the auto sector in our first three years.
Mr. Speaker, in recognition of the fact that our planet is facing no greater battle than the fight against climate change, over 230,000 people have signed the Pact for the Transition. This deeply inspiring, non-partisan movement calls on those who sign up to make an individual effort to protect the Earth and demands that the federal government do its part to fight climate change.Our leader, Jagmeet Singh, signed the pact today and has pledged to do everything he can to honour that commitment.When will the minister share her whole-of-government plan for the environment?
Mr. Speaker, once again, it is unfortunate to see the politicization of this economic decision that has affected a number of countries, including the United States and South Korea.We are standing up for Canadian workers. We are examining all possibilities. Indeed, GM retains a very large footprint in Canada, and as a government we are investing in the auto sector across Canada, particularly in Ontario, to maintain high-quality jobs and to make sure that we are ready for the car of the future.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.We had a very good meeting yesterday with the Prime Minister and the opposition party leaders. I attended this meeting, which was held entirely in French. We can see that 50 years later, the Official Languages Act is having a positive impact.With respect to the French-language university, we have always said that it is a very good project, and we took it into account when we were developing our official languages action plan. It is now up to Ontario to ask that it be made a priority. We are always willing to work with Ontario.
Mr. Speaker, we need Bill C-69 for industry to know before they start a project what the rules and regulations are, and to make sure that when they are investing, the rules are clear. The previous government would play games and have no record to show for it. In 2006, basically, 90% of our oil went to the United States. In 2015, guess what? Ninety per cent of our oil was still going to the United States. We will take no lessons on how to do it from the previous government.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want to know is whether the party opposite read the UN climate report. Do they understand that climate change is real? Do they understand the economic impact? There was just a report in the United States by climate scientists and by federal U.S. agencies that said the U.S. is at risk of losing 10% of its economy to the impacts of climate change. We also have a $30-trillion opportunity of clean growth.I wish the party opposite would understand that climate change is real, that we need a serious plan, and that we need to take action to grow our economy and protect our environment. What is the member's plan?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows better. From day one, we have taken steps to make Canada's automotive manufacturing sector more globally competitive and innovative. We have proven our support for innovation in the auto sector because we know it drives economic growth and it creates opportunities for Canadians.Under our government, Canadian operations have received more than $5.6 billion in investments, creating and maintaining tens of thousands of good, middle-class jobs.Going forward we have a plan for Canada to be a global leader in making cars of the future, automated, connected and clean.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for St. John's East for his really hard work here in Ottawa.In the fall economic statement, our government expanded the mineral exploration tax credit for five years. This extension will provide junior mining companies and investors with greater certainty, which is vital for the future of mines and will create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians, including in northern Ontario. We are bolstering the sector's competitiveness and making sure Canada remains a world-class destination for mining investments. We stand firmly behind the sector and the hard-working Canadians it employs.
Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, it was last week that the member told us he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs. The member knows very well that the government does not direct investigations of this nature.
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, pursuant to the order made Tuesday, November 27, we will debate the 66th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.We will then finish the debate on Bill C-86, the second budget implementation bill, at third reading.Tomorrow morning, we will start the second reading debate of Bill C-87, an act respecting the reduction of poverty.On Monday, we will commence debate at second reading stage of Bill C-88, concerning the Mackenzie Valley.Last, next Tuesday shall be the final allotted day in the supply cycle.
Mr. Speaker, the Williams Treaties First Nations have been fighting in court for more than 25 years to redress injustices involving compensation, land and harvesting rights dating back to 1923. Our government understands that negotiation, rather than litigation, is the best way to right historical wrongs and settle past grievances. Out-of-court negotiations began in March 2017.Can the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations update the House on the efforts made by our government to accelerate reconciliation with the Williams Treaties First Nations?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising this incredibly important issue. We have made major investments to increase infrastructure on reserves, as well as for indigenous Canadians who live off reserve. We have invested an additional $200 million a year in first nations housing. We are working with the Assembly of First Nations on a strategy. We have invested $500 million over the next 10 years for Métis and an additional $400 million over 10 years for Inuit. We are building houses.
Mr. Speaker, after several years of significant cuts to both staffing and funding for the agencies responsible for managing this, the CBSA, IRCC and IRB, we are restoring the capacity of those institutions, agencies and departments to deal with this issue. The plan is working. As a result of our reinvestments, we have created real efficiencies in how these people are being processed, and we are working diligently to find new and better ways to improve efficiency in the system so that we may uphold Canadian law, Canadian values and
Mr. Speaker, six months after flooding devastated their community, the people of Grand Forks are still recovering from the impacts of that flood. With winter setting in and the next potential flood only six months away, they are extremely anxious to get a firm commitment of support from the federal government. Can the government commit to working with the people of Grand Forks and the Boundary to support their recovery and mitigation efforts through infrastructure and public safety programs?
Mr. Speaker, our government is open to investment that will grow our economy and create good middle-class jobs, but never at the expense of our national security. When it comes to telecommunications services, we promised Canadians we would improve the quality, coverage and price of their services, no matter where they live. Clearly, 5G is an emerging technology that plays an important part in our meeting that promise and responding to the explosion of consumer and industrial demand for faster and higher-capacity mobile networks. However, we follow the advice of our public security officials, and we will work only with partners who pass muster with them.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada always stands ready to support provinces when they are working with local communities to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters. The provinces and municipalities have the first line of responsibility to determine what is necessary, but they call upon the Government of Canada to assist them, including with the disaster financial assistance arrangements, and the Government of Canada will always, in every case, be there.
Mr. Speaker, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, it was last week that we were informed, and the member has told us that he is addressing certain challenges and receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support that he needs.
Mr. Speaker, I assure my colleague that we are in talks with the Government of Quebec. I was in Quebec City last week. I met Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, and we had a positive discussion. We will continue to work with the Government of Quebec to make sure that we cover the reasonable costs associated with this irregular migration. Quebec has been a leader and a great partner for Canada. We value its co-operation and we will respect its commitments.
Mr. Speaker, it was last week we were informed.
Mr. Speaker, once again, we will take no lessons from the other side on attracting investments in our manufacturing sector.We took the old automotive innovation fund, which was underused in the Harper years because it was so hard to use, and created a new strategic innovation fund that we are applying across a variety of sectors, but in particular in the manufacturing sector in Ontario, and in other parts of the country.We have invested in a supercluster in southwestern Ontario that looks precisely at advanced manufacturing. We are doing a great job at promoting our manufacturing
Mr. Speaker, that member is a seasoned elected official and he should know very well that the RCMP operates independently of government.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member in question informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for NorthumberlandPeterborough South for her advocacy.Earlier this month, I was honoured to celebrate with the Williams Treaties chiefs, community members and the Government of Ontario the settlement of all of these longstanding claims. Achieved through dialogue and in partnership, it includes financial compensation, recognition of treaty harvesting rights, and entitlement to add additional reserve lands.Canada and Ontario apologized for the negative impacts of these treaties. As Chief Kelly LaRocca said, this settlement agreement marks the beginning of healing for our people.
Mr. Speaker, we have never compromised national security and we never will.Canada has a strong track record when it comes to protecting and enforcing our security. We have experts and we are going to work on that.Investments are very important and we are open to global investments that will contribute to our economy and growth. The 5G network is an important technology and we are investing in it. However, we will ensure
Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons could please tell this House what we will be looking at for the rest of this week and next week, that would be appreciated.
Mr. Speaker, our primary goal since the beginning has always been to get a good deal for Canada and for Canadians. We held for a good deal and we got a good deal.This agreement will be good for our economy, good for Canadian families and good for our middle class. It will preserve jobs, foster growth, expand the middle class and support people working hard to join it.
Mr. Speaker, our goal is to make accessibility a reality across federal jurisdictions, so that all people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can fully participate and be included in society. Bill C-81 will help us reach that goal. This legislation represents a significant, historic advancement in federal disability rights legislation. Our government will provide $290 million over six years to further the objectives of the new legislation once it is given royal assent.I am proud that our government has delivered on this important mandate commitment.
Mr. Speaker, as I have clearly stated, and as the Prime Minister also stated, it was last week that the member informed us that he was addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand the importance of high-growth mining companies in supporting middle-class families and helping us transition to a clean economy. I hear from resource exploration companies that greater investment certainty would ensure that Canada attracts more of the finite pool of resource exploration dollars available globally. In light of the fall economic statement, could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources update us on recent actions the government is taking to protect Canada's position as a top destination for exploration and mining?
The Prime Minister's tweet was not only silly, it was actually pretty stupid, and it is causing a lot of problems at our borders. In addition to the problems, Mr. Speaker, the crisis is causing huge delays for immigrants and refugees who are actually following the rules and want to come to Canada legally.With a $1.2-billion price tag, and actual refugees being forced to the back of the line, what is it going to take for the current Prime Minister to realize that the crisis at the border, which his tweet created, needs to be fixed?
Mr. Speaker, the government wants to sign the free trade agreement with the Americans tomorrow, but no one has even seen the final version. Dairy producers are worried because the latest version of the agreement gave the Americans oversight of our dairy system.Since the Liberals have made a habit of betraying Quebec farmers, we cannot trust them and will certainly not give them a blank cheque.Can the Prime Minister confirm that this provision has been removed, or has he once again gone back on his word?
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a long and proud tradition of providing protection to those who need it most by providing refuge to the world's most vulnerable people. The suggestion that the global migration of tens of millions of people fleeing persecution is the result of a tweet is kind of silly.We have a plan. We have invested $173 million in ensuring that Canadian laws are upheld and that the security of our country is maintained. The plan is working. We have seen a significant reduction over the past several months in the number of people presenting themselves irregularly at our border
Mr. Speaker, the news out of Oshawa is devastating. GM has shown contempt for workers. What is worse is that the Liberal government should have known that GM would soon be closing its doors. Rather than supporting Canadian families, the Liberals threw billions of dollars at rich corporations, like GM, without any guarantee that those corporations would maintain jobs.Why do the Liberals continue to put the interests of rich corporations ahead of the well-being of Canadian workers?
Mr. Speaker, New Zealand is the latest of Canada's security allies to do the right thing and ban Huawei from its 5G networks, yet the Liberals refuse to put the security of Canadians first and do the same. Giving the Chinese government access to our 5G network is both irresponsible and wrong. When will the government join our allies and say no way to Huawei?
Mr. Speaker, is it an international obligation to have 32% of asylum seekers buy a plane ticket from Nigeria to New York and then take a bus to get to Roxham Road? That has nothing to do with any international obligation.So far, this has cost $1.1 billion in federal money, not to mention the provincial contribution, and it is not over. The problem is that these people have to stop coming here illegally.Will the government take responsibility and fix this problem?
Mr. Speaker, what is the point of rushing through accessibility legislation if the government is not going to put its money where its mouth is? The Liberals keep failing Canadians who live with disabilities. In the fall economic update, there is no mention of new obligations, let alone funding for the CRTC to maintain its existing responsibilities. This is unfair, and it is insulting to Canadians who are waiting for implementation of Bill C-81. Why will the Liberals not take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that institutions like the CRTC are accessible to everyone?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals killed northern gateway and energy east, the two pipelines to new markets, and they failed to get a single shovel in the ground for Trans Mountain. They created this crisis.Now, the Liberals are passing the no more pipelines Bill C-69, which will do exactly what that name says. It will make sure that no new pipeline is ever proposed or built in Canada again. Premiers, the private sector, economists and experts all agree. If anything the member just said were true, he would scrap Bill C-69 today. Will he do it? Will he get rid of the no more pipelines Bill C-69, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, it is extremely disappointing that the party opposite would politicize the loss of jobs at GM. It is a very disappointing situation. We will always stand up for workers, but I would encourage the member opposite to go to GM's website, where it supports putting a price on pollution. Maybe the Conservatives should figure out that it should not be free to pollute. We need to stand up for the environment. We need to stand up for the economy. We need to stand up for our kids.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have failed to manage our Canadian border and the price tag is staggering. By the end of next year, the Liberals will have spent $1.1 billion of taxpayers' money to deal with illegal border crossers and that does not include any provincial money. Why is the Prime Minister spending more money on illegal border crossers than on getting our homeless veterans off the streets?
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has proven that the federal government totally underestimated the cost of the wave of migrants, and we are only talking about federal spending. Quebec is the one covering the big costs: education, housing and social assistance. Ottawa set aside $50 million for the provinces. Ontario alone is asking for $200 million, and Quebec has received 12 times as many migrants as Ontario.When will Canada stop laughing at Quebeckers and compensate us like everyone else?
Mr. Speaker, I am very worried that the Liberal government does not seem to be taking security matters seriously. The OPP was investigating a shady guy suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing when its wiretap revealed that the Liberal member for Brampton East had accumulated significant gambling debts. The RCMP even asked the OPP about the large amounts of money that the Liberal member was gambling with at the casino.When did the Prime Minister find out, not from the member himself, about the RCMP's investigation into a member of his own party?
Mr. Speaker, media reports indicate that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East were connected to a larger investigation involving laundering drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. With an investigation touching on drugs, money laundering and international terrorism, it is simply not believable that no one in the government was made aware of this serious investigation, so I ask again: when did the Prime Minister or his office first learn about this serious crimes investigation involving a Liberal MP?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our leader, Jagmeet Singh, was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend a meeting of all party leaders to discuss the situation that Franco-Ontarians are facing.Everyone agreed that Doug Ford's decisions are a threat to the empowerment of Ontario's francophones. However, where are the new measures to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians? That is what everyone is waiting for.What will it take for the Liberals to publicly announce that they are willing and able to provide 50% of the funding to build a French-language university in Toronto?
Mr. Speaker, it is simply unbelievable that the Prime Minister and his government were unaware of a major crimes investigation involving a Liberal member of Parliament, an investigation involving drug money, an investigation involving international terrorism. This is an international incident involving national security. Does the Prime Minister really expect us to believe that an investigation of this nature would not have been red flagged to his office? When did he or his office first learn of this serious criminal investigation into a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, the transport minister claims he has never heard any concerns about the Liberal carbon tax, yet we know the National Airlines Council of Canada has said, [I]ntroducing a national carbon tax would exacerbate Canadian aviations already severe competitiveness problems, and the CEO of WestJet has said, They need to be very careful that they don't kill an industry that is so important to economic growth.Does the minister still claim he has never heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, that member is still a member of the Liberal caucus. However, today, it is clear that the RCMP and the Ontario police were aware of the gambling debts run up by the Liberal member for Brampton East, which surfaced as part of a larger investigation into the laundering of drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. Surely the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the national security adviser or someone in this government must have been told about this investigation involving a Liberal government MP. When were the Prime Minister and his cabinet informed of this investigation?
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows full well, that is exactly what we are doing, and that is why the number of asylum seekers has gone down. My colleague should think about his own obligations before he starts citing statistics. The Conservatives' rhetoric on asylum seekers is troubling. It should be noted that more than 40% of the people crossing Canada's border are children. The penny-pinching of Mr. Harper's Conservative government, which cut $400 million from border security, resulted in backlogs. We are addressing those problems.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to remind my esteemed colleague that in 2015, during the election campaign, we were debating whether Canada was in a recession or heading into one.That is the legacy that the Conservative government left behind, a legacy of policies that failed by virtually every measure. There is no word strong enough in either French or English to describe just how badly they failed on growth, job creation and export development. As for the social deficit, the Conservatives never lifted a finger to reduce inequality in Canada. Instead, they made it worse.We will take no lessons from the previous government and the Conservative Party. Our record speaks for itself.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday I moved a motion in this place, and it appeared that members from both the government and the official opposition sides had not supported the motion. However, it is now known that the appearance of opposition was completely unintentional. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I think you will find the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion. I move:That, the House recognize that 81 years ago Imperial Japanese army forces raped an estimated 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women and girls and approximately 300,000 people were killed; that, after the Nanjing massacre, the military sexual slavery system of the Japanese military expanded rapidly, and an estimated 200,000 women from Korea, the Philippines, China, Burma, Indonesia and other Japanese occupied territories were tricked, kidnapped or coerced to work in brothels to serve as comfort women to the Imperial Japanese army; that western eye witnesses in Nanjing described the atrocities as hell on earth; that the House of Commons, in 2007, unanimously passed a motion in recognition that the Imperial armed forces of Japan used women as sex slaves during the Second World War; therefore, in the opinion of the House, the government formally acknowledge this by declaring December 13 of each year as Nanjing massacre commemorative day in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, today, we learned that the mess the Prime Minister created at the border will cost Canadians more than $1.1 billion, and that does not even include the millions of dollars it is going to cost the provinces. That is over $1 billion that will not be spent on the priorities of Canadians, priorities like helping our seniors, our veterans or actual refugees whose lives depend on them being able to come to Canada.When will the Prime Minister own up to the fact that we have a big problem at our border and when will he fix it?
Mr. Speaker, these are numbers that come from the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada. Therefore, truly the entire refugee system in Canada is in a crisis and there is no end in sight, regardless of what the minister says. If $1.1 billion and a six-year wait time is not enough to close the loophole, what number would it take before the Prime Minister realizes the Liberals have to do something to stop this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, $400 million worth of cuts is some rationalization. The cuts resulted in delays at the border and longer wait times. We made constructive investments to ensure border security and fulfill our international human rights obligations.This might not be all that important to my colleague, but members on this side of the House care very much about border security and are committed to meeting our international obligations.
Mr. Speaker, the fact that I do not speak French does not diminish my commitment to bilingualism.As promised in our Strong, Secure, Engaged defence policy, we restored full university status to the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. We are giving ourselves the tools we need to recruit the top francophone talent in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
That is not an answer for dairy farmers in Canada, Mr. Speaker.Liberals say they are on track to sign the USMCA tomorrow but they do not even know what we are signing onto. Wording is changing and the Canadian interpretation and the U.S. interpretation are not lining up. No wonder the Prime Minister does not even want to attend the signing ceremony, when we do not even know what the text is.Canadians know one thing for sure. If we sign with destructive steel and aluminum tariffs in place, we are losing our best chance to eliminate them. The reasons not to sign this deal are stacking up. Will the Prime Minister stand up for Canadian jobs and not sign this shifty agreement?
Mr. Speaker, when I asked the Liberal parliamentary secretary for the environment why his government was exempting large industrial corporations from its carbon tax, he replied that if they had to pay the tax, we could potentially have jobs leave and it will do nothing for emissions. It turns out for once that the Liberal parliamentary secretary is absolutely right, because the two largest export sectors in Canada, energy and autos, which are not exempted, are now seeing jobs leave just as he predicted. Will the Liberals extend the exemption to protect the jobs of all Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, families in my community are not polluters. The St. John's Board of Trade, the Chamber of Marine Commerce, multiple municipal associations, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the National Airlines Council of Canada are all stakeholders who have publicly said the carbon tax will hurt their businesses.Will the transport minister start listening to the concerns of Canadian businesses, or does he still claim he cannot hear them?
Mr. Speaker, we have learned that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East came to light as a result of a police wiretap. The wiretaps were part of an OPP investigation into particularly shady guys suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. When did the Prime Minister's Office first learn about this serious investigation involving a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is fully aware that we have strongly supported the supply management system in this country. We made sure that the American attempt to destroy our supply management system did not succeed. We also understand that dairy farmers have some problems and we are going to make sure they are fully and fairly supported.We will continue to make sure that we support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government needs to stand up and fight for workers. Yesterday, Dairy Farmers of Canada called on the Prime Minister not to sign the USMCA until the U.S. oversight of our dairy system has been removed. This is about our food sovereignty. This clause will have devastating and crippling consequences on our industry here in Canada.I have a simple question. Will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and make sure that the oversight clause is removed quickly?
Mr. Speaker, well, if GM really did support the Liberal carbon tax, why is it not staying around to pay it? It is a very simple question. There will be no carbon tax on GM, because it is leaving and it will not have to pay the carbon tax. It is leaving behind the workers who will have to pay the carbon tax and other businesses that will have to pay the carbon tax. However, the wealthy CEOs are always happy to leave and to leave the costs behind for everyone else. When will the Liberals start standing up for workers and consumers and give them a break from this costly Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, there are two very important ways to mislead, either by the misrepresentation of facts or by the omission of important facts.Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister very important and very specific questions about exactly when he and his office first learned that the member of Parliament for Brampton East was under RCMP investigation. He refused to fully answer the question. This is the same tragic pattern that Liberal prime ministers follow whenever facing scandal. To the Prime Minister, who promised to be different, when did his office first learn that his MP was under police investigation?
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the government will be signing the new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico. That is happening tomorrow, yet there is still no firm commitment from the government about compensation for our dairy farmers.The government has abandoned them three times in a row, in its agreements with North America, the Pacific region and Europe. It must take responsibility for these three betrayals.Will it make a formal commitment to fully compensate our supply-managed farmers for their losses under these three agreements
Mr. Speaker, on June 17, 2014, Conservatives approved the northern gateway pipeline to export to the Asia-Pacific.On November 29, 2016, the Liberal Prime Minister cancelled the northern gateway pipeline. He had a choice, but he killed that pipeline outright, which could have prevented the current price discount on Canadian oil.When the Liberals were elected, three companies planned to build pipelines in Canada. The Liberals chased them all away.Will the Liberals immediately withdraw their no more pipelines Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, repeating the same scripted non-answer only raises the suspicion of Canadians that the Liberal government is hiding something. The Prime Minister promised to set the bar on ethics high. He said that we must avoid conflict of interest, the appearance of a conflict of interest.The Liberal MP for Brampton East was appointed to the finance committee by the Prime Minister, where he asked troubling questions of senior law enforcement officials about how to avoid detection. This raised red flags with the RCMP. How do Liberals expect us to believe they saw nothing to worry about and that the media somehow know more about this scandal that the Prime Minister's own office does?
Mr. Speaker, GM's decision to close its Oshawa plant is extremely discouraging and our thoughts are with the women and men who are affected, their families and their communities. We have heard that this is part of GM's global restructuring plan and may impact workers in the U.S. and globally. This is extremely troubling news. We feel for everyone who is impacted by this decision.Right now our priority is auto workers and their families. We are working with all partners to support our auto workers, their families and Oshawa during this difficult time.
Mr. Speaker, I had to laugh when I heard the minister talk about cuts we made. We did not make cuts. We rationalized because the border was under control and there were no problems.Then there was that prime ministerial tweet, which has cost us $1.1 billion to date, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who has done his homework.That amount does not even include the $600 million absorbed by Quebec and Ontario.One of these days, they are going to have to stop blaming us for everything that goes wrong. The report reveals the truth, and it is exactly what we have been saying.When will the Prime Minister take responsibility, do his job, and fix the problem?
Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberal Party's plan is not working. Investments in Canada are disappearing like snow on a sunny day.While Canadian investment in the U.S. is up by 66%, American investment in Canada has dropped by a massive 50%. Overall, private sector investment has fallen off a cliff in this country. That is what the so-called Liberal plan is doing for Canada.Why does the government continue to stubbornly push this measure, which will hurt our investors?
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is well aware that we are the party that implemented supply management, and we are the party that is going to defend it. It is important to note that the Americans wanted to destroy our supply management system, and our negotiators and government made sure that did not happen. We also understand that there will be an impact on our farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them. We have and will continue to support the supply management system in this country.
I will take this opportunity to clarify a misconception promulgated by the member opposite.Mr. Speaker, those who are seeking asylum in this country, who have asked for the protection of Canada, are processed through an entirely separate system than those who are waiting in other streams of migration. There is no interference in those processes.It is very important to recognize that we have actually made enormous progress, under our current Minister of Immigration, on improving response times and processing times. The system is working well.
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member just said is patently false. We are investing in the automotive industry in Canada. With an investment of about $400 million, we have been able to attract $5.6 billion in investments since taking office. It is therefore false to say that we are no longer attracting investment.Through the strategic innovation fund, we are creating opportunities for Canadian technology and for Canadian workers and their families.
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask again whether the party opposite understands just how serious climate change is. Does the party opposite understand the $30-trillion economic opportunity of climate action? We need to act. We need to do it because it is the right thing to do for our environment. It is the right thing to do for our economy. It is the right thing to do for our kids.Everyone wants to know: What is the Conservative Party's climate plan?
Mr. Speaker, one year ago the Prime Minister said everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Northern communities do not believe it because most of them still do not have year-round highway access, and people still live in overcrowded homes that are falling apart or full of mould.The Liberals keep neglecting northerners. Why do they not invest the billions needed now to close the housing gap on reserves and in northern communities?
Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals took office, we have seen the biggest decline in Canadian energy investments in 70 years. Because of excessive taxes and regulations, investors no longer see Canada as a good investment.However, the impacts of the Prime Minister's policies affect every sector. This was made clear when General Motors decided to stop production at our award-winning plant in Oshawa. These policies jeopardize thousands of good-paying Canadian jobs.Why is the Prime Minister choosing to impose taxes and regulations that will deter investment in our economy, and provide no hope for workers in Oshawa? Where is his plan?
Mr. Speaker, we can do both. We can grow the economy and we can tackle climate change. We are doing it. Our emissions are going down and we are growing the economy. With Canadians, we have created more than 550,000 jobs. Ours is the fastest-growing economy in the G7, and we are taking serious action to tackle climate change. I am extremely proud that next week I will be going to the climate negotiations in Poland, where we are going to take action with the international community to tackle climate change. We owe it to our environment. We owe it to the economy. We owe it to our kids.
Mr. Speaker, what happens when it comes time for the Liberal Prime Minister to stand up for Canada? Radio silence. New Zealand has taken a stand and banned the use of equipment from Chinese-owned Huawei in its 5G network because it poses a significant risk to national security. Our Five Eyes allies are doing the same, including the United States and Australia.We know that the Prime Minister admires China's dictatorship, but will he ban Huawei from our 5G network and stand up for Canada's interests for once?
Mr. Speaker, I just came from Washington, where Canada is being known for its concessions right now, and that is what that deal is about. The decline of the automotive sector, including General Motors' most recent cutthroat tactics, has become routine business in Canada. Under successive Liberal regimes, Canada has sunk to 10th in automotive manufacturing. With half a million jobs lost already, nothing seems to move the government to urgency.Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he is considering a plan despite being handed one a year ago by his automotive adviser, ironically funded by workers now being fired.Could the minister explain why the Prime Minister has done nothing over the past year
Mr. Speaker, in a recent ranking of 80 energy producing jurisdictions, B.C. dropped to 58th and Alberta dropped 29 spots to 43rd. Respondents blame the high costs of regulatory compliance, taxes and energy. Now, Ontario is feeling Liberal economic mismanagement. In its fourth straight month of decline, the manufacturing sector is at its slowest pace in two years.Why is the Prime Minister heading down the road of higher taxes, increased energy costs, and burdensome regulations that will only further deter investment?
Mr. Speaker, our government has defended our supply management system from the strong American attempt to dismantle it. Our poultry, eggs and dairy farmers provide the highest-quality products for Canadians at a reasonable price, and keep the rural areas strong. We understand there will be an impact on the farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them to make sure the supply management system continues to expand through the centuries.
Mr. Speaker, now more than ever in Canada, we must stand up to defend and strengthen our two official languages. Canadians understand that it is important to protect our rights and they know that their government must protect our national identity.Can the Minister of National Defence talk about the measures being taken to ensure that the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces are able to operate in an environment where both official languages are equally valued?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will get her chance to ask questions in 10 months.It seems that every other member in this House is hearing about the negative effects of the carbon tax, except the Liberal front bench. The CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said, The federal carbon pricing system as it is structured further weakens our investment position. The Canadian Trucking Alliance said, The federal system creates competitive issues between Canadian and U.S. carriers.Does the transport minister still claim he has not heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her hard work in the fight against climate change. We must tackle climate change, and we do have a plan.We have a plan to eliminate coal and invest in renewable energy, to put a price on pollution and to make historic investments in public transit, green infrastructure and clean technology. We have a lot of work to do.I am happy that we can work with the NDP, but it would be better if the Conservatives joined us too.
Mr. Speaker, for all the rhetoric and hysteria that is now emerging about irregular migration, it is important to understand who these people are. For example, nearly 40% of the people who have presented themselves at our borders seeking asylum are children. Canada's response is to uphold the rule of law to ensure that our processes are fast, fair and final, as well as efficient, and we deal with those individuals to ensure they have adequate housing and shelter and are treated with the humanity that Canadians expect of us.
Mr. Speaker, we are focused on getting our energy sector up and running, and investing in our energy sector.That is why, at this moment, the Minister of Natural Resources is in discussions with indigenous communities in B.C., to make sure that the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline moves forward in the right way, something the Conservatives do not understand and never got. For them, it was only a suggestion to actually have discussions with indigenous communities.We know that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. We know we must have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities to move forward. That is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, that is some more wishful thinking by the Liberals. The result is that 2,500 people lost their jobs in the auto sector this week and 3,000 others lost their jobs in the aerospace sector two weeks ago.Let us talk about the wishful thinking of the Liberals, who claim that budgets balance themselves. I will give this government a chance to tell us when the budget will finally balance itself.
Mr. Speaker, once again I repeat that our hearts go out to the men and women who have been affected by the GM closure in Oshawa.As the Conservatives well know, this decision was part of GM's global restructuring plan, affecting their operations across the border and around the world.I would point out to the hon. member that we have doubled the number of jobs created in the auto sector over the last three years. We have done more in three years for the auto sector than the Conservatives were able to do in 10 years. We have attracted billions of dollars in investment, $3.3 billion in the auto sector in our first three years.
Mr. Speaker, in recognition of the fact that our planet is facing no greater battle than the fight against climate change, over 230,000 people have signed the Pact for the Transition. This deeply inspiring, non-partisan movement calls on those who sign up to make an individual effort to protect the Earth and demands that the federal government do its part to fight climate change.Our leader, Jagmeet Singh, signed the pact today and has pledged to do everything he can to honour that commitment.When will the minister share her whole-of-government plan for the environment?
Mr. Speaker, once again, it is unfortunate to see the politicization of this economic decision that has affected a number of countries, including the United States and South Korea.We are standing up for Canadian workers. We are examining all possibilities. Indeed, GM retains a very large footprint in Canada, and as a government we are investing in the auto sector across Canada, particularly in Ontario, to maintain high-quality jobs and to make sure that we are ready for the car of the future.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.We had a very good meeting yesterday with the Prime Minister and the opposition party leaders. I attended this meeting, which was held entirely in French. We can see that 50 years later, the Official Languages Act is having a positive impact.With respect to the French-language university, we have always said that it is a very good project, and we took it into account when we were developing our official languages action plan. It is now up to Ontario to ask that it be made a priority. We are always willing to work with Ontario.
Mr. Speaker, we need Bill C-69 for industry to know before they start a project what the rules and regulations are, and to make sure that when they are investing, the rules are clear. The previous government would play games and have no record to show for it. In 2006, basically, 90% of our oil went to the United States. In 2015, guess what? Ninety per cent of our oil was still going to the United States. We will take no lessons on how to do it from the previous government.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want to know is whether the party opposite read the UN climate report. Do they understand that climate change is real? Do they understand the economic impact? There was just a report in the United States by climate scientists and by federal U.S. agencies that said the U.S. is at risk of losing 10% of its economy to the impacts of climate change. We also have a $30-trillion opportunity of clean growth.I wish the party opposite would understand that climate change is real, that we need a serious plan, and that we need to take action to grow our economy and protect our environment. What is the member's plan?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows better. From day one, we have taken steps to make Canada's automotive manufacturing sector more globally competitive and innovative. We have proven our support for innovation in the auto sector because we know it drives economic growth and it creates opportunities for Canadians.Under our government, Canadian operations have received more than $5.6 billion in investments, creating and maintaining tens of thousands of good, middle-class jobs.Going forward we have a plan for Canada to be a global leader in making cars of the future, automated, connected and clean.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for St. John's East for his really hard work here in Ottawa.In the fall economic statement, our government expanded the mineral exploration tax credit for five years. This extension will provide junior mining companies and investors with greater certainty, which is vital for the future of mines and will create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians, including in northern Ontario. We are bolstering the sector's competitiveness and making sure Canada remains a world-class destination for mining investments. We stand firmly behind the sector and the hard-working Canadians it employs.
Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, it was last week that the member told us he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs. The member knows very well that the government does not direct investigations of this nature.
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, pursuant to the order made Tuesday, November 27, we will debate the 66th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.We will then finish the debate on Bill C-86, the second budget implementation bill, at third reading.Tomorrow morning, we will start the second reading debate of Bill C-87, an act respecting the reduction of poverty.On Monday, we will commence debate at second reading stage of Bill C-88, concerning the Mackenzie Valley.Last, next Tuesday shall be the final allotted day in the supply cycle.
Mr. Speaker, the Williams Treaties First Nations have been fighting in court for more than 25 years to redress injustices involving compensation, land and harvesting rights dating back to 1923. Our government understands that negotiation, rather than litigation, is the best way to right historical wrongs and settle past grievances. Out-of-court negotiations began in March 2017.Can the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations update the House on the efforts made by our government to accelerate reconciliation with the Williams Treaties First Nations?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising this incredibly important issue. We have made major investments to increase infrastructure on reserves, as well as for indigenous Canadians who live off reserve. We have invested an additional $200 million a year in first nations housing. We are working with the Assembly of First Nations on a strategy. We have invested $500 million over the next 10 years for Métis and an additional $400 million over 10 years for Inuit. We are building houses.
Mr. Speaker, after several years of significant cuts to both staffing and funding for the agencies responsible for managing this, the CBSA, IRCC and IRB, we are restoring the capacity of those institutions, agencies and departments to deal with this issue. The plan is working. As a result of our reinvestments, we have created real efficiencies in how these people are being processed, and we are working diligently to find new and better ways to improve efficiency in the system so that we may uphold Canadian law, Canadian values and
Mr. Speaker, six months after flooding devastated their community, the people of Grand Forks are still recovering from the impacts of that flood. With winter setting in and the next potential flood only six months away, they are extremely anxious to get a firm commitment of support from the federal government. Can the government commit to working with the people of Grand Forks and the Boundary to support their recovery and mitigation efforts through infrastructure and public safety programs?
Mr. Speaker, our government is open to investment that will grow our economy and create good middle-class jobs, but never at the expense of our national security. When it comes to telecommunications services, we promised Canadians we would improve the quality, coverage and price of their services, no matter where they live. Clearly, 5G is an emerging technology that plays an important part in our meeting that promise and responding to the explosion of consumer and industrial demand for faster and higher-capacity mobile networks. However, we follow the advice of our public security officials, and we will work only with partners who pass muster with them.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada always stands ready to support provinces when they are working with local communities to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters. The provinces and municipalities have the first line of responsibility to determine what is necessary, but they call upon the Government of Canada to assist them, including with the disaster financial assistance arrangements, and the Government of Canada will always, in every case, be there.
Mr. Speaker, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, it was last week that we were informed, and the member has told us that he is addressing certain challenges and receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support that he needs.
Mr. Speaker, I assure my colleague that we are in talks with the Government of Quebec. I was in Quebec City last week. I met Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, and we had a positive discussion. We will continue to work with the Government of Quebec to make sure that we cover the reasonable costs associated with this irregular migration. Quebec has been a leader and a great partner for Canada. We value its co-operation and we will respect its commitments.
Mr. Speaker, it was last week we were informed.
Mr. Speaker, once again, we will take no lessons from the other side on attracting investments in our manufacturing sector.We took the old automotive innovation fund, which was underused in the Harper years because it was so hard to use, and created a new strategic innovation fund that we are applying across a variety of sectors, but in particular in the manufacturing sector in Ontario, and in other parts of the country.We have invested in a supercluster in southwestern Ontario that looks precisely at advanced manufacturing. We are doing a great job at promoting our manufacturing
Mr. Speaker, that member is a seasoned elected official and he should know very well that the RCMP operates independently of government.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member in question informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for NorthumberlandPeterborough South for her advocacy.Earlier this month, I was honoured to celebrate with the Williams Treaties chiefs, community members and the Government of Ontario the settlement of all of these longstanding claims. Achieved through dialogue and in partnership, it includes financial compensation, recognition of treaty harvesting rights, and entitlement to add additional reserve lands.Canada and Ontario apologized for the negative impacts of these treaties. As Chief Kelly LaRocca said, this settlement agreement marks the beginning of healing for our people.
Mr. Speaker, we have never compromised national security and we never will.Canada has a strong track record when it comes to protecting and enforcing our security. We have experts and we are going to work on that.Investments are very important and we are open to global investments that will contribute to our economy and growth. The 5G network is an important technology and we are investing in it. However, we will ensure
Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons could please tell this House what we will be looking at for the rest of this week and next week, that would be appreciated.
Mr. Speaker, our primary goal since the beginning has always been to get a good deal for Canada and for Canadians. We held for a good deal and we got a good deal.This agreement will be good for our economy, good for Canadian families and good for our middle class. It will preserve jobs, foster growth, expand the middle class and support people working hard to join it.
Mr. Speaker, our goal is to make accessibility a reality across federal jurisdictions, so that all people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can fully participate and be included in society. Bill C-81 will help us reach that goal. This legislation represents a significant, historic advancement in federal disability rights legislation. Our government will provide $290 million over six years to further the objectives of the new legislation once it is given royal assent.I am proud that our government has delivered on this important mandate commitment.
Mr. Speaker, as I have clearly stated, and as the Prime Minister also stated, it was last week that the member informed us that he was addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand the importance of high-growth mining companies in supporting middle-class families and helping us transition to a clean economy. I hear from resource exploration companies that greater investment certainty would ensure that Canada attracts more of the finite pool of resource exploration dollars available globally. In light of the fall economic statement, could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources update us on recent actions the government is taking to protect Canada's position as a top destination for exploration and mining?
Most negative speeches
Mr. Speaker, it is extremely disappointing that the party opposite would politicize the loss of jobs at GM. It is a very disappointing situation. We will always stand up for workers, but I would encourage the member opposite to go to GM's website, where it supports putting a price on pollution. Maybe the Conservatives should figure out that it should not be free to pollute. We need to stand up for the environment. We need to stand up for the economy. We need to stand up for our kids.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have failed to manage our Canadian border and the price tag is staggering. By the end of next year, the Liberals will have spent $1.1 billion of taxpayers' money to deal with illegal border crossers and that does not include any provincial money. Why is the Prime Minister spending more money on illegal border crossers than on getting our homeless veterans off the streets?
Mr. Speaker, GM's decision to close its Oshawa plant is extremely discouraging and our thoughts are with the women and men who are affected, their families and their communities. We have heard that this is part of GM's global restructuring plan and may impact workers in the U.S. and globally. This is extremely troubling news. We feel for everyone who is impacted by this decision.Right now our priority is auto workers and their families. We are working with all partners to support our auto workers, their families and Oshawa during this difficult time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for NorthumberlandPeterborough South for her advocacy.Earlier this month, I was honoured to celebrate with the Williams Treaties chiefs, community members and the Government of Ontario the settlement of all of these longstanding claims. Achieved through dialogue and in partnership, it includes financial compensation, recognition of treaty harvesting rights, and entitlement to add additional reserve lands.Canada and Ontario apologized for the negative impacts of these treaties. As Chief Kelly LaRocca said, this settlement agreement marks the beginning of healing for our people.
Mr. Speaker, on June 17, 2014, Conservatives approved the northern gateway pipeline to export to the Asia-Pacific.On November 29, 2016, the Liberal Prime Minister cancelled the northern gateway pipeline. He had a choice, but he killed that pipeline outright, which could have prevented the current price discount on Canadian oil.When the Liberals were elected, three companies planned to build pipelines in Canada. The Liberals chased them all away.Will the Liberals immediately withdraw their no more pipelines Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will get her chance to ask questions in 10 months.It seems that every other member in this House is hearing about the negative effects of the carbon tax, except the Liberal front bench. The CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said, The federal carbon pricing system as it is structured further weakens our investment position. The Canadian Trucking Alliance said, The federal system creates competitive issues between Canadian and U.S. carriers.Does the transport minister still claim he has not heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, what is the point of rushing through accessibility legislation if the government is not going to put its money where its mouth is? The Liberals keep failing Canadians who live with disabilities. In the fall economic update, there is no mention of new obligations, let alone funding for the CRTC to maintain its existing responsibilities. This is unfair, and it is insulting to Canadians who are waiting for implementation of Bill C-81. Why will the Liberals not take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that institutions like the CRTC are accessible to everyone?
Mr. Speaker, it is important to remind my esteemed colleague that in 2015, during the election campaign, we were debating whether Canada was in a recession or heading into one.That is the legacy that the Conservative government left behind, a legacy of policies that failed by virtually every measure. There is no word strong enough in either French or English to describe just how badly they failed on growth, job creation and export development. As for the social deficit, the Conservatives never lifted a finger to reduce inequality in Canada. Instead, they made it worse.We will take no lessons from the previous government and the Conservative Party. Our record speaks for itself.
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member just said is patently false. We are investing in the automotive industry in Canada. With an investment of about $400 million, we have been able to attract $5.6 billion in investments since taking office. It is therefore false to say that we are no longer attracting investment.Through the strategic innovation fund, we are creating opportunities for Canadian technology and for Canadian workers and their families.
Mr. Speaker, the news out of Oshawa is devastating. GM has shown contempt for workers. What is worse is that the Liberal government should have known that GM would soon be closing its doors. Rather than supporting Canadian families, the Liberals threw billions of dollars at rich corporations, like GM, without any guarantee that those corporations would maintain jobs.Why do the Liberals continue to put the interests of rich corporations ahead of the well-being of Canadian workers?
The Prime Minister's tweet was not only silly, it was actually pretty stupid, and it is causing a lot of problems at our borders. In addition to the problems, Mr. Speaker, the crisis is causing huge delays for immigrants and refugees who are actually following the rules and want to come to Canada legally.With a $1.2-billion price tag, and actual refugees being forced to the back of the line, what is it going to take for the current Prime Minister to realize that the crisis at the border, which his tweet created, needs to be fixed?
Mr. Speaker, it is simply unbelievable that the Prime Minister and his government were unaware of a major crimes investigation involving a Liberal member of Parliament, an investigation involving drug money, an investigation involving international terrorism. This is an international incident involving national security. Does the Prime Minister really expect us to believe that an investigation of this nature would not have been red flagged to his office? When did he or his office first learn of this serious criminal investigation into a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government needs to stand up and fight for workers. Yesterday, Dairy Farmers of Canada called on the Prime Minister not to sign the USMCA until the U.S. oversight of our dairy system has been removed. This is about our food sovereignty. This clause will have devastating and crippling consequences on our industry here in Canada.I have a simple question. Will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and make sure that the oversight clause is removed quickly?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday I moved a motion in this place, and it appeared that members from both the government and the official opposition sides had not supported the motion. However, it is now known that the appearance of opposition was completely unintentional. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I think you will find the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion. I move:That, the House recognize that 81 years ago Imperial Japanese army forces raped an estimated 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women and girls and approximately 300,000 people were killed; that, after the Nanjing massacre, the military sexual slavery system of the Japanese military expanded rapidly, and an estimated 200,000 women from Korea, the Philippines, China, Burma, Indonesia and other Japanese occupied territories were tricked, kidnapped or coerced to work in brothels to serve as comfort women to the Imperial Japanese army; that western eye witnesses in Nanjing described the atrocities as hell on earth; that the House of Commons, in 2007, unanimously passed a motion in recognition that the Imperial armed forces of Japan used women as sex slaves during the Second World War; therefore, in the opinion of the House, the government formally acknowledge this by declaring December 13 of each year as Nanjing massacre commemorative day in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals killed northern gateway and energy east, the two pipelines to new markets, and they failed to get a single shovel in the ground for Trans Mountain. They created this crisis.Now, the Liberals are passing the no more pipelines Bill C-69, which will do exactly what that name says. It will make sure that no new pipeline is ever proposed or built in Canada again. Premiers, the private sector, economists and experts all agree. If anything the member just said were true, he would scrap Bill C-69 today. Will he do it? Will he get rid of the no more pipelines Bill C-69, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, it was last week we were informed.
Mr. Speaker, these are numbers that come from the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada. Therefore, truly the entire refugee system in Canada is in a crisis and there is no end in sight, regardless of what the minister says. If $1.1 billion and a six-year wait time is not enough to close the loophole, what number would it take before the Prime Minister realizes the Liberals have to do something to stop this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberal Party's plan is not working. Investments in Canada are disappearing like snow on a sunny day.While Canadian investment in the U.S. is up by 66%, American investment in Canada has dropped by a massive 50%. Overall, private sector investment has fallen off a cliff in this country. That is what the so-called Liberal plan is doing for Canada.Why does the government continue to stubbornly push this measure, which will hurt our investors?
Mr. Speaker, families in my community are not polluters. The St. John's Board of Trade, the Chamber of Marine Commerce, multiple municipal associations, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the National Airlines Council of Canada are all stakeholders who have publicly said the carbon tax will hurt their businesses.Will the transport minister start listening to the concerns of Canadian businesses, or does he still claim he cannot hear them?
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, pursuant to the order made Tuesday, November 27, we will debate the 66th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.We will then finish the debate on Bill C-86, the second budget implementation bill, at third reading.Tomorrow morning, we will start the second reading debate of Bill C-87, an act respecting the reduction of poverty.On Monday, we will commence debate at second reading stage of Bill C-88, concerning the Mackenzie Valley.Last, next Tuesday shall be the final allotted day in the supply cycle.
Mr. Speaker, media reports indicate that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East were connected to a larger investigation involving laundering drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. With an investigation touching on drugs, money laundering and international terrorism, it is simply not believable that no one in the government was made aware of this serious investigation, so I ask again: when did the Prime Minister or his office first learn about this serious crimes investigation involving a Liberal MP?
Mr. Speaker, we have learned that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East came to light as a result of a police wiretap. The wiretaps were part of an OPP investigation into particularly shady guys suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. When did the Prime Minister's Office first learn about this serious investigation involving a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, is it an international obligation to have 32% of asylum seekers buy a plane ticket from Nigeria to New York and then take a bus to get to Roxham Road? That has nothing to do with any international obligation.So far, this has cost $1.1 billion in federal money, not to mention the provincial contribution, and it is not over. The problem is that these people have to stop coming here illegally.Will the government take responsibility and fix this problem?
I will take this opportunity to clarify a misconception promulgated by the member opposite.Mr. Speaker, those who are seeking asylum in this country, who have asked for the protection of Canada, are processed through an entirely separate system than those who are waiting in other streams of migration. There is no interference in those processes.It is very important to recognize that we have actually made enormous progress, under our current Minister of Immigration, on improving response times and processing times. The system is working well.
Mr. Speaker, we need Bill C-69 for industry to know before they start a project what the rules and regulations are, and to make sure that when they are investing, the rules are clear. The previous government would play games and have no record to show for it. In 2006, basically, 90% of our oil went to the United States. In 2015, guess what? Ninety per cent of our oil was still going to the United States. We will take no lessons on how to do it from the previous government.
Mr. Speaker, six months after flooding devastated their community, the people of Grand Forks are still recovering from the impacts of that flood. With winter setting in and the next potential flood only six months away, they are extremely anxious to get a firm commitment of support from the federal government. Can the government commit to working with the people of Grand Forks and the Boundary to support their recovery and mitigation efforts through infrastructure and public safety programs?
Mr. Speaker, I just came from Washington, where Canada is being known for its concessions right now, and that is what that deal is about. The decline of the automotive sector, including General Motors' most recent cutthroat tactics, has become routine business in Canada. Under successive Liberal regimes, Canada has sunk to 10th in automotive manufacturing. With half a million jobs lost already, nothing seems to move the government to urgency.Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he is considering a plan despite being handed one a year ago by his automotive adviser, ironically funded by workers now being fired.Could the minister explain why the Prime Minister has done nothing over the past year
Mr. Speaker, in a recent ranking of 80 energy producing jurisdictions, B.C. dropped to 58th and Alberta dropped 29 spots to 43rd. Respondents blame the high costs of regulatory compliance, taxes and energy. Now, Ontario is feeling Liberal economic mismanagement. In its fourth straight month of decline, the manufacturing sector is at its slowest pace in two years.Why is the Prime Minister heading down the road of higher taxes, increased energy costs, and burdensome regulations that will only further deter investment?
Mr. Speaker, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member in question informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, well, if GM really did support the Liberal carbon tax, why is it not staying around to pay it? It is a very simple question. There will be no carbon tax on GM, because it is leaving and it will not have to pay the carbon tax. It is leaving behind the workers who will have to pay the carbon tax and other businesses that will have to pay the carbon tax. However, the wealthy CEOs are always happy to leave and to leave the costs behind for everyone else. When will the Liberals start standing up for workers and consumers and give them a break from this costly Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, in recognition of the fact that our planet is facing no greater battle than the fight against climate change, over 230,000 people have signed the Pact for the Transition. This deeply inspiring, non-partisan movement calls on those who sign up to make an individual effort to protect the Earth and demands that the federal government do its part to fight climate change.Our leader, Jagmeet Singh, signed the pact today and has pledged to do everything he can to honour that commitment.When will the minister share her whole-of-government plan for the environment?
Mr. Speaker, I had to laugh when I heard the minister talk about cuts we made. We did not make cuts. We rationalized because the border was under control and there were no problems.Then there was that prime ministerial tweet, which has cost us $1.1 billion to date, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who has done his homework.That amount does not even include the $600 million absorbed by Quebec and Ontario.One of these days, they are going to have to stop blaming us for everything that goes wrong. The report reveals the truth, and it is exactly what we have been saying.When will the Prime Minister take responsibility, do his job, and fix the problem?
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want to know is whether the party opposite read the UN climate report. Do they understand that climate change is real? Do they understand the economic impact? There was just a report in the United States by climate scientists and by federal U.S. agencies that said the U.S. is at risk of losing 10% of its economy to the impacts of climate change. We also have a $30-trillion opportunity of clean growth.I wish the party opposite would understand that climate change is real, that we need a serious plan, and that we need to take action to grow our economy and protect our environment. What is the member's plan?
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada always stands ready to support provinces when they are working with local communities to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters. The provinces and municipalities have the first line of responsibility to determine what is necessary, but they call upon the Government of Canada to assist them, including with the disaster financial assistance arrangements, and the Government of Canada will always, in every case, be there.
Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, it was last week that the member told us he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs. The member knows very well that the government does not direct investigations of this nature.
Mr. Speaker, New Zealand is the latest of Canada's security allies to do the right thing and ban Huawei from its 5G networks, yet the Liberals refuse to put the security of Canadians first and do the same. Giving the Chinese government access to our 5G network is both irresponsible and wrong. When will the government join our allies and say no way to Huawei?
Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons could please tell this House what we will be looking at for the rest of this week and next week, that would be appreciated.
Mr. Speaker, as I have clearly stated, and as the Prime Minister also stated, it was last week that the member informed us that he was addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, it was last week that we were informed, and the member has told us that he is addressing certain challenges and receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support that he needs.
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has proven that the federal government totally underestimated the cost of the wave of migrants, and we are only talking about federal spending. Quebec is the one covering the big costs: education, housing and social assistance. Ottawa set aside $50 million for the provinces. Ontario alone is asking for $200 million, and Quebec has received 12 times as many migrants as Ontario.When will Canada stop laughing at Quebeckers and compensate us like everyone else?
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask again whether the party opposite understands just how serious climate change is. Does the party opposite understand the $30-trillion economic opportunity of climate action? We need to act. We need to do it because it is the right thing to do for our environment. It is the right thing to do for our economy. It is the right thing to do for our kids.Everyone wants to know: What is the Conservative Party's climate plan?
Mr. Speaker, once again, it is unfortunate to see the politicization of this economic decision that has affected a number of countries, including the United States and South Korea.We are standing up for Canadian workers. We are examining all possibilities. Indeed, GM retains a very large footprint in Canada, and as a government we are investing in the auto sector across Canada, particularly in Ontario, to maintain high-quality jobs and to make sure that we are ready for the car of the future.
Mr. Speaker, we can do both. We can grow the economy and we can tackle climate change. We are doing it. Our emissions are going down and we are growing the economy. With Canadians, we have created more than 550,000 jobs. Ours is the fastest-growing economy in the G7, and we are taking serious action to tackle climate change. I am extremely proud that next week I will be going to the climate negotiations in Poland, where we are going to take action with the international community to tackle climate change. We owe it to our environment. We owe it to the economy. We owe it to our kids.
Mr. Speaker, once again, we will take no lessons from the other side on attracting investments in our manufacturing sector.We took the old automotive innovation fund, which was underused in the Harper years because it was so hard to use, and created a new strategic innovation fund that we are applying across a variety of sectors, but in particular in the manufacturing sector in Ontario, and in other parts of the country.We have invested in a supercluster in southwestern Ontario that looks precisely at advanced manufacturing. We are doing a great job at promoting our manufacturing
Mr. Speaker, I am very worried that the Liberal government does not seem to be taking security matters seriously. The OPP was investigating a shady guy suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing when its wiretap revealed that the Liberal member for Brampton East had accumulated significant gambling debts. The RCMP even asked the OPP about the large amounts of money that the Liberal member was gambling with at the casino.When did the Prime Minister find out, not from the member himself, about the RCMP's investigation into a member of his own party?
Mr. Speaker, that member is still a member of the Liberal caucus. However, today, it is clear that the RCMP and the Ontario police were aware of the gambling debts run up by the Liberal member for Brampton East, which surfaced as part of a larger investigation into the laundering of drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. Surely the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the national security adviser or someone in this government must have been told about this investigation involving a Liberal government MP. When were the Prime Minister and his cabinet informed of this investigation?
Mr. Speaker, the government wants to sign the free trade agreement with the Americans tomorrow, but no one has even seen the final version. Dairy producers are worried because the latest version of the agreement gave the Americans oversight of our dairy system.Since the Liberals have made a habit of betraying Quebec farmers, we cannot trust them and will certainly not give them a blank cheque.Can the Prime Minister confirm that this provision has been removed, or has he once again gone back on his word?
Mr. Speaker, there are two very important ways to mislead, either by the misrepresentation of facts or by the omission of important facts.Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister very important and very specific questions about exactly when he and his office first learned that the member of Parliament for Brampton East was under RCMP investigation. He refused to fully answer the question. This is the same tragic pattern that Liberal prime ministers follow whenever facing scandal. To the Prime Minister, who promised to be different, when did his office first learn that his MP was under police investigation?
Mr. Speaker, that member is a seasoned elected official and he should know very well that the RCMP operates independently of government.
Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals took office, we have seen the biggest decline in Canadian energy investments in 70 years. Because of excessive taxes and regulations, investors no longer see Canada as a good investment.However, the impacts of the Prime Minister's policies affect every sector. This was made clear when General Motors decided to stop production at our award-winning plant in Oshawa. These policies jeopardize thousands of good-paying Canadian jobs.Why is the Prime Minister choosing to impose taxes and regulations that will deter investment in our economy, and provide no hope for workers in Oshawa? Where is his plan?
Mr. Speaker, the transport minister claims he has never heard any concerns about the Liberal carbon tax, yet we know the National Airlines Council of Canada has said, [I]ntroducing a national carbon tax would exacerbate Canadian aviations already severe competitiveness problems, and the CEO of WestJet has said, They need to be very careful that they don't kill an industry that is so important to economic growth.Does the minister still claim he has never heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, $400 million worth of cuts is some rationalization. The cuts resulted in delays at the border and longer wait times. We made constructive investments to ensure border security and fulfill our international human rights obligations.This might not be all that important to my colleague, but members on this side of the House care very much about border security and are committed to meeting our international obligations.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for St. John's East for his really hard work here in Ottawa.In the fall economic statement, our government expanded the mineral exploration tax credit for five years. This extension will provide junior mining companies and investors with greater certainty, which is vital for the future of mines and will create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians, including in northern Ontario. We are bolstering the sector's competitiveness and making sure Canada remains a world-class destination for mining investments. We stand firmly behind the sector and the hard-working Canadians it employs.
Mr. Speaker, when I asked the Liberal parliamentary secretary for the environment why his government was exempting large industrial corporations from its carbon tax, he replied that if they had to pay the tax, we could potentially have jobs leave and it will do nothing for emissions. It turns out for once that the Liberal parliamentary secretary is absolutely right, because the two largest export sectors in Canada, energy and autos, which are not exempted, are now seeing jobs leave just as he predicted. Will the Liberals extend the exemption to protect the jobs of all Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her hard work in the fight against climate change. We must tackle climate change, and we do have a plan.We have a plan to eliminate coal and invest in renewable energy, to put a price on pollution and to make historic investments in public transit, green infrastructure and clean technology. We have a lot of work to do.I am happy that we can work with the NDP, but it would be better if the Conservatives joined us too.
Mr. Speaker, what happens when it comes time for the Liberal Prime Minister to stand up for Canada? Radio silence. New Zealand has taken a stand and banned the use of equipment from Chinese-owned Huawei in its 5G network because it poses a significant risk to national security. Our Five Eyes allies are doing the same, including the United States and Australia.We know that the Prime Minister admires China's dictatorship, but will he ban Huawei from our 5G network and stand up for Canada's interests for once?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising this incredibly important issue. We have made major investments to increase infrastructure on reserves, as well as for indigenous Canadians who live off reserve. We have invested an additional $200 million a year in first nations housing. We are working with the Assembly of First Nations on a strategy. We have invested $500 million over the next 10 years for Métis and an additional $400 million over 10 years for Inuit. We are building houses.
Mr. Speaker, today, we learned that the mess the Prime Minister created at the border will cost Canadians more than $1.1 billion, and that does not even include the millions of dollars it is going to cost the provinces. That is over $1 billion that will not be spent on the priorities of Canadians, priorities like helping our seniors, our veterans or actual refugees whose lives depend on them being able to come to Canada.When will the Prime Minister own up to the fact that we have a big problem at our border and when will he fix it?
Mr. Speaker, our government is open to investment that will grow our economy and create good middle-class jobs, but never at the expense of our national security. When it comes to telecommunications services, we promised Canadians we would improve the quality, coverage and price of their services, no matter where they live. Clearly, 5G is an emerging technology that plays an important part in our meeting that promise and responding to the explosion of consumer and industrial demand for faster and higher-capacity mobile networks. However, we follow the advice of our public security officials, and we will work only with partners who pass muster with them.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a long and proud tradition of providing protection to those who need it most by providing refuge to the world's most vulnerable people. The suggestion that the global migration of tens of millions of people fleeing persecution is the result of a tweet is kind of silly.We have a plan. We have invested $173 million in ensuring that Canadian laws are upheld and that the security of our country is maintained. The plan is working. We have seen a significant reduction over the past several months in the number of people presenting themselves irregularly at our border
Mr. Speaker, repeating the same scripted non-answer only raises the suspicion of Canadians that the Liberal government is hiding something. The Prime Minister promised to set the bar on ethics high. He said that we must avoid conflict of interest, the appearance of a conflict of interest.The Liberal MP for Brampton East was appointed to the finance committee by the Prime Minister, where he asked troubling questions of senior law enforcement officials about how to avoid detection. This raised red flags with the RCMP. How do Liberals expect us to believe they saw nothing to worry about and that the media somehow know more about this scandal that the Prime Minister's own office does?
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the government will be signing the new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico. That is happening tomorrow, yet there is still no firm commitment from the government about compensation for our dairy farmers.The government has abandoned them three times in a row, in its agreements with North America, the Pacific region and Europe. It must take responsibility for these three betrayals.Will it make a formal commitment to fully compensate our supply-managed farmers for their losses under these three agreements
Mr. Speaker, we are focused on getting our energy sector up and running, and investing in our energy sector.That is why, at this moment, the Minister of Natural Resources is in discussions with indigenous communities in B.C., to make sure that the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline moves forward in the right way, something the Conservatives do not understand and never got. For them, it was only a suggestion to actually have discussions with indigenous communities.We know that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. We know we must have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities to move forward. That is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, after several years of significant cuts to both staffing and funding for the agencies responsible for managing this, the CBSA, IRCC and IRB, we are restoring the capacity of those institutions, agencies and departments to deal with this issue. The plan is working. As a result of our reinvestments, we have created real efficiencies in how these people are being processed, and we are working diligently to find new and better ways to improve efficiency in the system so that we may uphold Canadian law, Canadian values and
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is well aware that we are the party that implemented supply management, and we are the party that is going to defend it. It is important to note that the Americans wanted to destroy our supply management system, and our negotiators and government made sure that did not happen. We also understand that there will be an impact on our farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them. We have and will continue to support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, that is some more wishful thinking by the Liberals. The result is that 2,500 people lost their jobs in the auto sector this week and 3,000 others lost their jobs in the aerospace sector two weeks ago.Let us talk about the wishful thinking of the Liberals, who claim that budgets balance themselves. I will give this government a chance to tell us when the budget will finally balance itself.
Mr. Speaker, once again I repeat that our hearts go out to the men and women who have been affected by the GM closure in Oshawa.As the Conservatives well know, this decision was part of GM's global restructuring plan, affecting their operations across the border and around the world.I would point out to the hon. member that we have doubled the number of jobs created in the auto sector over the last three years. We have done more in three years for the auto sector than the Conservatives were able to do in 10 years. We have attracted billions of dollars in investment, $3.3 billion in the auto sector in our first three years.
Mr. Speaker, the Williams Treaties First Nations have been fighting in court for more than 25 years to redress injustices involving compensation, land and harvesting rights dating back to 1923. Our government understands that negotiation, rather than litigation, is the best way to right historical wrongs and settle past grievances. Out-of-court negotiations began in March 2017.Can the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations update the House on the efforts made by our government to accelerate reconciliation with the Williams Treaties First Nations?
Mr. Speaker, our government has defended our supply management system from the strong American attempt to dismantle it. Our poultry, eggs and dairy farmers provide the highest-quality products for Canadians at a reasonable price, and keep the rural areas strong. We understand there will be an impact on the farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them to make sure the supply management system continues to expand through the centuries.
Mr. Speaker, the fact that I do not speak French does not diminish my commitment to bilingualism.As promised in our Strong, Secure, Engaged defence policy, we restored full university status to the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. We are giving ourselves the tools we need to recruit the top francophone talent in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, we have never compromised national security and we never will.Canada has a strong track record when it comes to protecting and enforcing our security. We have experts and we are going to work on that.Investments are very important and we are open to global investments that will contribute to our economy and growth. The 5G network is an important technology and we are investing in it. However, we will ensure
Mr. Speaker, our goal is to make accessibility a reality across federal jurisdictions, so that all people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can fully participate and be included in society. Bill C-81 will help us reach that goal. This legislation represents a significant, historic advancement in federal disability rights legislation. Our government will provide $290 million over six years to further the objectives of the new legislation once it is given royal assent.I am proud that our government has delivered on this important mandate commitment.
Mr. Speaker, for all the rhetoric and hysteria that is now emerging about irregular migration, it is important to understand who these people are. For example, nearly 40% of the people who have presented themselves at our borders seeking asylum are children. Canada's response is to uphold the rule of law to ensure that our processes are fast, fair and final, as well as efficient, and we deal with those individuals to ensure they have adequate housing and shelter and are treated with the humanity that Canadians expect of us.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows better. From day one, we have taken steps to make Canada's automotive manufacturing sector more globally competitive and innovative. We have proven our support for innovation in the auto sector because we know it drives economic growth and it creates opportunities for Canadians.Under our government, Canadian operations have received more than $5.6 billion in investments, creating and maintaining tens of thousands of good, middle-class jobs.Going forward we have a plan for Canada to be a global leader in making cars of the future, automated, connected and clean.
That is not an answer for dairy farmers in Canada, Mr. Speaker.Liberals say they are on track to sign the USMCA tomorrow but they do not even know what we are signing onto. Wording is changing and the Canadian interpretation and the U.S. interpretation are not lining up. No wonder the Prime Minister does not even want to attend the signing ceremony, when we do not even know what the text is.Canadians know one thing for sure. If we sign with destructive steel and aluminum tariffs in place, we are losing our best chance to eliminate them. The reasons not to sign this deal are stacking up. Will the Prime Minister stand up for Canadian jobs and not sign this shifty agreement?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our leader, Jagmeet Singh, was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend a meeting of all party leaders to discuss the situation that Franco-Ontarians are facing.Everyone agreed that Doug Ford's decisions are a threat to the empowerment of Ontario's francophones. However, where are the new measures to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians? That is what everyone is waiting for.What will it take for the Liberals to publicly announce that they are willing and able to provide 50% of the funding to build a French-language university in Toronto?
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows full well, that is exactly what we are doing, and that is why the number of asylum seekers has gone down. My colleague should think about his own obligations before he starts citing statistics. The Conservatives' rhetoric on asylum seekers is troubling. It should be noted that more than 40% of the people crossing Canada's border are children. The penny-pinching of Mr. Harper's Conservative government, which cut $400 million from border security, resulted in backlogs. We are addressing those problems.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand the importance of high-growth mining companies in supporting middle-class families and helping us transition to a clean economy. I hear from resource exploration companies that greater investment certainty would ensure that Canada attracts more of the finite pool of resource exploration dollars available globally. In light of the fall economic statement, could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources update us on recent actions the government is taking to protect Canada's position as a top destination for exploration and mining?
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is fully aware that we have strongly supported the supply management system in this country. We made sure that the American attempt to destroy our supply management system did not succeed. We also understand that dairy farmers have some problems and we are going to make sure they are fully and fairly supported.We will continue to make sure that we support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.We had a very good meeting yesterday with the Prime Minister and the opposition party leaders. I attended this meeting, which was held entirely in French. We can see that 50 years later, the Official Languages Act is having a positive impact.With respect to the French-language university, we have always said that it is a very good project, and we took it into account when we were developing our official languages action plan. It is now up to Ontario to ask that it be made a priority. We are always willing to work with Ontario.
Mr. Speaker, I assure my colleague that we are in talks with the Government of Quebec. I was in Quebec City last week. I met Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, and we had a positive discussion. We will continue to work with the Government of Quebec to make sure that we cover the reasonable costs associated with this irregular migration. Quebec has been a leader and a great partner for Canada. We value its co-operation and we will respect its commitments.
Mr. Speaker, now more than ever in Canada, we must stand up to defend and strengthen our two official languages. Canadians understand that it is important to protect our rights and they know that their government must protect our national identity.Can the Minister of National Defence talk about the measures being taken to ensure that the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces are able to operate in an environment where both official languages are equally valued?
Mr. Speaker, one year ago the Prime Minister said everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Northern communities do not believe it because most of them still do not have year-round highway access, and people still live in overcrowded homes that are falling apart or full of mould.The Liberals keep neglecting northerners. Why do they not invest the billions needed now to close the housing gap on reserves and in northern communities?
Mr. Speaker, our primary goal since the beginning has always been to get a good deal for Canada and for Canadians. We held for a good deal and we got a good deal.This agreement will be good for our economy, good for Canadian families and good for our middle class. It will preserve jobs, foster growth, expand the middle class and support people working hard to join it.
Mr. Speaker, it is extremely disappointing that the party opposite would politicize the loss of jobs at GM. It is a very disappointing situation. We will always stand up for workers, but I would encourage the member opposite to go to GM's website, where it supports putting a price on pollution. Maybe the Conservatives should figure out that it should not be free to pollute. We need to stand up for the environment. We need to stand up for the economy. We need to stand up for our kids.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have failed to manage our Canadian border and the price tag is staggering. By the end of next year, the Liberals will have spent $1.1 billion of taxpayers' money to deal with illegal border crossers and that does not include any provincial money. Why is the Prime Minister spending more money on illegal border crossers than on getting our homeless veterans off the streets?
Mr. Speaker, GM's decision to close its Oshawa plant is extremely discouraging and our thoughts are with the women and men who are affected, their families and their communities. We have heard that this is part of GM's global restructuring plan and may impact workers in the U.S. and globally. This is extremely troubling news. We feel for everyone who is impacted by this decision.Right now our priority is auto workers and their families. We are working with all partners to support our auto workers, their families and Oshawa during this difficult time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for NorthumberlandPeterborough South for her advocacy.Earlier this month, I was honoured to celebrate with the Williams Treaties chiefs, community members and the Government of Ontario the settlement of all of these longstanding claims. Achieved through dialogue and in partnership, it includes financial compensation, recognition of treaty harvesting rights, and entitlement to add additional reserve lands.Canada and Ontario apologized for the negative impacts of these treaties. As Chief Kelly LaRocca said, this settlement agreement marks the beginning of healing for our people.
Mr. Speaker, on June 17, 2014, Conservatives approved the northern gateway pipeline to export to the Asia-Pacific.On November 29, 2016, the Liberal Prime Minister cancelled the northern gateway pipeline. He had a choice, but he killed that pipeline outright, which could have prevented the current price discount on Canadian oil.When the Liberals were elected, three companies planned to build pipelines in Canada. The Liberals chased them all away.Will the Liberals immediately withdraw their no more pipelines Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will get her chance to ask questions in 10 months.It seems that every other member in this House is hearing about the negative effects of the carbon tax, except the Liberal front bench. The CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said, The federal carbon pricing system as it is structured further weakens our investment position. The Canadian Trucking Alliance said, The federal system creates competitive issues between Canadian and U.S. carriers.Does the transport minister still claim he has not heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, what is the point of rushing through accessibility legislation if the government is not going to put its money where its mouth is? The Liberals keep failing Canadians who live with disabilities. In the fall economic update, there is no mention of new obligations, let alone funding for the CRTC to maintain its existing responsibilities. This is unfair, and it is insulting to Canadians who are waiting for implementation of Bill C-81. Why will the Liberals not take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that institutions like the CRTC are accessible to everyone?
Mr. Speaker, it is important to remind my esteemed colleague that in 2015, during the election campaign, we were debating whether Canada was in a recession or heading into one.That is the legacy that the Conservative government left behind, a legacy of policies that failed by virtually every measure. There is no word strong enough in either French or English to describe just how badly they failed on growth, job creation and export development. As for the social deficit, the Conservatives never lifted a finger to reduce inequality in Canada. Instead, they made it worse.We will take no lessons from the previous government and the Conservative Party. Our record speaks for itself.
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member just said is patently false. We are investing in the automotive industry in Canada. With an investment of about $400 million, we have been able to attract $5.6 billion in investments since taking office. It is therefore false to say that we are no longer attracting investment.Through the strategic innovation fund, we are creating opportunities for Canadian technology and for Canadian workers and their families.
Mr. Speaker, the news out of Oshawa is devastating. GM has shown contempt for workers. What is worse is that the Liberal government should have known that GM would soon be closing its doors. Rather than supporting Canadian families, the Liberals threw billions of dollars at rich corporations, like GM, without any guarantee that those corporations would maintain jobs.Why do the Liberals continue to put the interests of rich corporations ahead of the well-being of Canadian workers?
The Prime Minister's tweet was not only silly, it was actually pretty stupid, and it is causing a lot of problems at our borders. In addition to the problems, Mr. Speaker, the crisis is causing huge delays for immigrants and refugees who are actually following the rules and want to come to Canada legally.With a $1.2-billion price tag, and actual refugees being forced to the back of the line, what is it going to take for the current Prime Minister to realize that the crisis at the border, which his tweet created, needs to be fixed?
Mr. Speaker, it is simply unbelievable that the Prime Minister and his government were unaware of a major crimes investigation involving a Liberal member of Parliament, an investigation involving drug money, an investigation involving international terrorism. This is an international incident involving national security. Does the Prime Minister really expect us to believe that an investigation of this nature would not have been red flagged to his office? When did he or his office first learn of this serious criminal investigation into a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government needs to stand up and fight for workers. Yesterday, Dairy Farmers of Canada called on the Prime Minister not to sign the USMCA until the U.S. oversight of our dairy system has been removed. This is about our food sovereignty. This clause will have devastating and crippling consequences on our industry here in Canada.I have a simple question. Will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and make sure that the oversight clause is removed quickly?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday I moved a motion in this place, and it appeared that members from both the government and the official opposition sides had not supported the motion. However, it is now known that the appearance of opposition was completely unintentional. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I think you will find the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion. I move:That, the House recognize that 81 years ago Imperial Japanese army forces raped an estimated 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women and girls and approximately 300,000 people were killed; that, after the Nanjing massacre, the military sexual slavery system of the Japanese military expanded rapidly, and an estimated 200,000 women from Korea, the Philippines, China, Burma, Indonesia and other Japanese occupied territories were tricked, kidnapped or coerced to work in brothels to serve as comfort women to the Imperial Japanese army; that western eye witnesses in Nanjing described the atrocities as hell on earth; that the House of Commons, in 2007, unanimously passed a motion in recognition that the Imperial armed forces of Japan used women as sex slaves during the Second World War; therefore, in the opinion of the House, the government formally acknowledge this by declaring December 13 of each year as Nanjing massacre commemorative day in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals killed northern gateway and energy east, the two pipelines to new markets, and they failed to get a single shovel in the ground for Trans Mountain. They created this crisis.Now, the Liberals are passing the no more pipelines Bill C-69, which will do exactly what that name says. It will make sure that no new pipeline is ever proposed or built in Canada again. Premiers, the private sector, economists and experts all agree. If anything the member just said were true, he would scrap Bill C-69 today. Will he do it? Will he get rid of the no more pipelines Bill C-69, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, it was last week we were informed.
Mr. Speaker, these are numbers that come from the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada. Therefore, truly the entire refugee system in Canada is in a crisis and there is no end in sight, regardless of what the minister says. If $1.1 billion and a six-year wait time is not enough to close the loophole, what number would it take before the Prime Minister realizes the Liberals have to do something to stop this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberal Party's plan is not working. Investments in Canada are disappearing like snow on a sunny day.While Canadian investment in the U.S. is up by 66%, American investment in Canada has dropped by a massive 50%. Overall, private sector investment has fallen off a cliff in this country. That is what the so-called Liberal plan is doing for Canada.Why does the government continue to stubbornly push this measure, which will hurt our investors?
Mr. Speaker, families in my community are not polluters. The St. John's Board of Trade, the Chamber of Marine Commerce, multiple municipal associations, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the National Airlines Council of Canada are all stakeholders who have publicly said the carbon tax will hurt their businesses.Will the transport minister start listening to the concerns of Canadian businesses, or does he still claim he cannot hear them?
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, pursuant to the order made Tuesday, November 27, we will debate the 66th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.We will then finish the debate on Bill C-86, the second budget implementation bill, at third reading.Tomorrow morning, we will start the second reading debate of Bill C-87, an act respecting the reduction of poverty.On Monday, we will commence debate at second reading stage of Bill C-88, concerning the Mackenzie Valley.Last, next Tuesday shall be the final allotted day in the supply cycle.
Mr. Speaker, media reports indicate that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East were connected to a larger investigation involving laundering drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. With an investigation touching on drugs, money laundering and international terrorism, it is simply not believable that no one in the government was made aware of this serious investigation, so I ask again: when did the Prime Minister or his office first learn about this serious crimes investigation involving a Liberal MP?
Mr. Speaker, we have learned that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East came to light as a result of a police wiretap. The wiretaps were part of an OPP investigation into particularly shady guys suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. When did the Prime Minister's Office first learn about this serious investigation involving a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, is it an international obligation to have 32% of asylum seekers buy a plane ticket from Nigeria to New York and then take a bus to get to Roxham Road? That has nothing to do with any international obligation.So far, this has cost $1.1 billion in federal money, not to mention the provincial contribution, and it is not over. The problem is that these people have to stop coming here illegally.Will the government take responsibility and fix this problem?
I will take this opportunity to clarify a misconception promulgated by the member opposite.Mr. Speaker, those who are seeking asylum in this country, who have asked for the protection of Canada, are processed through an entirely separate system than those who are waiting in other streams of migration. There is no interference in those processes.It is very important to recognize that we have actually made enormous progress, under our current Minister of Immigration, on improving response times and processing times. The system is working well.
Mr. Speaker, we need Bill C-69 for industry to know before they start a project what the rules and regulations are, and to make sure that when they are investing, the rules are clear. The previous government would play games and have no record to show for it. In 2006, basically, 90% of our oil went to the United States. In 2015, guess what? Ninety per cent of our oil was still going to the United States. We will take no lessons on how to do it from the previous government.
Mr. Speaker, six months after flooding devastated their community, the people of Grand Forks are still recovering from the impacts of that flood. With winter setting in and the next potential flood only six months away, they are extremely anxious to get a firm commitment of support from the federal government. Can the government commit to working with the people of Grand Forks and the Boundary to support their recovery and mitigation efforts through infrastructure and public safety programs?
Mr. Speaker, I just came from Washington, where Canada is being known for its concessions right now, and that is what that deal is about. The decline of the automotive sector, including General Motors' most recent cutthroat tactics, has become routine business in Canada. Under successive Liberal regimes, Canada has sunk to 10th in automotive manufacturing. With half a million jobs lost already, nothing seems to move the government to urgency.Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he is considering a plan despite being handed one a year ago by his automotive adviser, ironically funded by workers now being fired.Could the minister explain why the Prime Minister has done nothing over the past year
Mr. Speaker, in a recent ranking of 80 energy producing jurisdictions, B.C. dropped to 58th and Alberta dropped 29 spots to 43rd. Respondents blame the high costs of regulatory compliance, taxes and energy. Now, Ontario is feeling Liberal economic mismanagement. In its fourth straight month of decline, the manufacturing sector is at its slowest pace in two years.Why is the Prime Minister heading down the road of higher taxes, increased energy costs, and burdensome regulations that will only further deter investment?
Mr. Speaker, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member in question informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, well, if GM really did support the Liberal carbon tax, why is it not staying around to pay it? It is a very simple question. There will be no carbon tax on GM, because it is leaving and it will not have to pay the carbon tax. It is leaving behind the workers who will have to pay the carbon tax and other businesses that will have to pay the carbon tax. However, the wealthy CEOs are always happy to leave and to leave the costs behind for everyone else. When will the Liberals start standing up for workers and consumers and give them a break from this costly Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, in recognition of the fact that our planet is facing no greater battle than the fight against climate change, over 230,000 people have signed the Pact for the Transition. This deeply inspiring, non-partisan movement calls on those who sign up to make an individual effort to protect the Earth and demands that the federal government do its part to fight climate change.Our leader, Jagmeet Singh, signed the pact today and has pledged to do everything he can to honour that commitment.When will the minister share her whole-of-government plan for the environment?
Mr. Speaker, I had to laugh when I heard the minister talk about cuts we made. We did not make cuts. We rationalized because the border was under control and there were no problems.Then there was that prime ministerial tweet, which has cost us $1.1 billion to date, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who has done his homework.That amount does not even include the $600 million absorbed by Quebec and Ontario.One of these days, they are going to have to stop blaming us for everything that goes wrong. The report reveals the truth, and it is exactly what we have been saying.When will the Prime Minister take responsibility, do his job, and fix the problem?
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want to know is whether the party opposite read the UN climate report. Do they understand that climate change is real? Do they understand the economic impact? There was just a report in the United States by climate scientists and by federal U.S. agencies that said the U.S. is at risk of losing 10% of its economy to the impacts of climate change. We also have a $30-trillion opportunity of clean growth.I wish the party opposite would understand that climate change is real, that we need a serious plan, and that we need to take action to grow our economy and protect our environment. What is the member's plan?
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada always stands ready to support provinces when they are working with local communities to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters. The provinces and municipalities have the first line of responsibility to determine what is necessary, but they call upon the Government of Canada to assist them, including with the disaster financial assistance arrangements, and the Government of Canada will always, in every case, be there.
Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, it was last week that the member told us he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs. The member knows very well that the government does not direct investigations of this nature.
Mr. Speaker, New Zealand is the latest of Canada's security allies to do the right thing and ban Huawei from its 5G networks, yet the Liberals refuse to put the security of Canadians first and do the same. Giving the Chinese government access to our 5G network is both irresponsible and wrong. When will the government join our allies and say no way to Huawei?
Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons could please tell this House what we will be looking at for the rest of this week and next week, that would be appreciated.
Mr. Speaker, as I have clearly stated, and as the Prime Minister also stated, it was last week that the member informed us that he was addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, it was last week that we were informed, and the member has told us that he is addressing certain challenges and receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support that he needs.
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has proven that the federal government totally underestimated the cost of the wave of migrants, and we are only talking about federal spending. Quebec is the one covering the big costs: education, housing and social assistance. Ottawa set aside $50 million for the provinces. Ontario alone is asking for $200 million, and Quebec has received 12 times as many migrants as Ontario.When will Canada stop laughing at Quebeckers and compensate us like everyone else?
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask again whether the party opposite understands just how serious climate change is. Does the party opposite understand the $30-trillion economic opportunity of climate action? We need to act. We need to do it because it is the right thing to do for our environment. It is the right thing to do for our economy. It is the right thing to do for our kids.Everyone wants to know: What is the Conservative Party's climate plan?
Mr. Speaker, once again, it is unfortunate to see the politicization of this economic decision that has affected a number of countries, including the United States and South Korea.We are standing up for Canadian workers. We are examining all possibilities. Indeed, GM retains a very large footprint in Canada, and as a government we are investing in the auto sector across Canada, particularly in Ontario, to maintain high-quality jobs and to make sure that we are ready for the car of the future.
Mr. Speaker, we can do both. We can grow the economy and we can tackle climate change. We are doing it. Our emissions are going down and we are growing the economy. With Canadians, we have created more than 550,000 jobs. Ours is the fastest-growing economy in the G7, and we are taking serious action to tackle climate change. I am extremely proud that next week I will be going to the climate negotiations in Poland, where we are going to take action with the international community to tackle climate change. We owe it to our environment. We owe it to the economy. We owe it to our kids.
Mr. Speaker, once again, we will take no lessons from the other side on attracting investments in our manufacturing sector.We took the old automotive innovation fund, which was underused in the Harper years because it was so hard to use, and created a new strategic innovation fund that we are applying across a variety of sectors, but in particular in the manufacturing sector in Ontario, and in other parts of the country.We have invested in a supercluster in southwestern Ontario that looks precisely at advanced manufacturing. We are doing a great job at promoting our manufacturing
Mr. Speaker, I am very worried that the Liberal government does not seem to be taking security matters seriously. The OPP was investigating a shady guy suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing when its wiretap revealed that the Liberal member for Brampton East had accumulated significant gambling debts. The RCMP even asked the OPP about the large amounts of money that the Liberal member was gambling with at the casino.When did the Prime Minister find out, not from the member himself, about the RCMP's investigation into a member of his own party?
Mr. Speaker, that member is still a member of the Liberal caucus. However, today, it is clear that the RCMP and the Ontario police were aware of the gambling debts run up by the Liberal member for Brampton East, which surfaced as part of a larger investigation into the laundering of drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. Surely the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the national security adviser or someone in this government must have been told about this investigation involving a Liberal government MP. When were the Prime Minister and his cabinet informed of this investigation?
Mr. Speaker, the government wants to sign the free trade agreement with the Americans tomorrow, but no one has even seen the final version. Dairy producers are worried because the latest version of the agreement gave the Americans oversight of our dairy system.Since the Liberals have made a habit of betraying Quebec farmers, we cannot trust them and will certainly not give them a blank cheque.Can the Prime Minister confirm that this provision has been removed, or has he once again gone back on his word?
Mr. Speaker, there are two very important ways to mislead, either by the misrepresentation of facts or by the omission of important facts.Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister very important and very specific questions about exactly when he and his office first learned that the member of Parliament for Brampton East was under RCMP investigation. He refused to fully answer the question. This is the same tragic pattern that Liberal prime ministers follow whenever facing scandal. To the Prime Minister, who promised to be different, when did his office first learn that his MP was under police investigation?
Mr. Speaker, that member is a seasoned elected official and he should know very well that the RCMP operates independently of government.
Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals took office, we have seen the biggest decline in Canadian energy investments in 70 years. Because of excessive taxes and regulations, investors no longer see Canada as a good investment.However, the impacts of the Prime Minister's policies affect every sector. This was made clear when General Motors decided to stop production at our award-winning plant in Oshawa. These policies jeopardize thousands of good-paying Canadian jobs.Why is the Prime Minister choosing to impose taxes and regulations that will deter investment in our economy, and provide no hope for workers in Oshawa? Where is his plan?
Mr. Speaker, the transport minister claims he has never heard any concerns about the Liberal carbon tax, yet we know the National Airlines Council of Canada has said, [I]ntroducing a national carbon tax would exacerbate Canadian aviations already severe competitiveness problems, and the CEO of WestJet has said, They need to be very careful that they don't kill an industry that is so important to economic growth.Does the minister still claim he has never heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, $400 million worth of cuts is some rationalization. The cuts resulted in delays at the border and longer wait times. We made constructive investments to ensure border security and fulfill our international human rights obligations.This might not be all that important to my colleague, but members on this side of the House care very much about border security and are committed to meeting our international obligations.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for St. John's East for his really hard work here in Ottawa.In the fall economic statement, our government expanded the mineral exploration tax credit for five years. This extension will provide junior mining companies and investors with greater certainty, which is vital for the future of mines and will create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians, including in northern Ontario. We are bolstering the sector's competitiveness and making sure Canada remains a world-class destination for mining investments. We stand firmly behind the sector and the hard-working Canadians it employs.
Mr. Speaker, when I asked the Liberal parliamentary secretary for the environment why his government was exempting large industrial corporations from its carbon tax, he replied that if they had to pay the tax, we could potentially have jobs leave and it will do nothing for emissions. It turns out for once that the Liberal parliamentary secretary is absolutely right, because the two largest export sectors in Canada, energy and autos, which are not exempted, are now seeing jobs leave just as he predicted. Will the Liberals extend the exemption to protect the jobs of all Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her hard work in the fight against climate change. We must tackle climate change, and we do have a plan.We have a plan to eliminate coal and invest in renewable energy, to put a price on pollution and to make historic investments in public transit, green infrastructure and clean technology. We have a lot of work to do.I am happy that we can work with the NDP, but it would be better if the Conservatives joined us too.
Mr. Speaker, what happens when it comes time for the Liberal Prime Minister to stand up for Canada? Radio silence. New Zealand has taken a stand and banned the use of equipment from Chinese-owned Huawei in its 5G network because it poses a significant risk to national security. Our Five Eyes allies are doing the same, including the United States and Australia.We know that the Prime Minister admires China's dictatorship, but will he ban Huawei from our 5G network and stand up for Canada's interests for once?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising this incredibly important issue. We have made major investments to increase infrastructure on reserves, as well as for indigenous Canadians who live off reserve. We have invested an additional $200 million a year in first nations housing. We are working with the Assembly of First Nations on a strategy. We have invested $500 million over the next 10 years for Métis and an additional $400 million over 10 years for Inuit. We are building houses.
Mr. Speaker, today, we learned that the mess the Prime Minister created at the border will cost Canadians more than $1.1 billion, and that does not even include the millions of dollars it is going to cost the provinces. That is over $1 billion that will not be spent on the priorities of Canadians, priorities like helping our seniors, our veterans or actual refugees whose lives depend on them being able to come to Canada.When will the Prime Minister own up to the fact that we have a big problem at our border and when will he fix it?
Mr. Speaker, our government is open to investment that will grow our economy and create good middle-class jobs, but never at the expense of our national security. When it comes to telecommunications services, we promised Canadians we would improve the quality, coverage and price of their services, no matter where they live. Clearly, 5G is an emerging technology that plays an important part in our meeting that promise and responding to the explosion of consumer and industrial demand for faster and higher-capacity mobile networks. However, we follow the advice of our public security officials, and we will work only with partners who pass muster with them.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a long and proud tradition of providing protection to those who need it most by providing refuge to the world's most vulnerable people. The suggestion that the global migration of tens of millions of people fleeing persecution is the result of a tweet is kind of silly.We have a plan. We have invested $173 million in ensuring that Canadian laws are upheld and that the security of our country is maintained. The plan is working. We have seen a significant reduction over the past several months in the number of people presenting themselves irregularly at our border
Mr. Speaker, repeating the same scripted non-answer only raises the suspicion of Canadians that the Liberal government is hiding something. The Prime Minister promised to set the bar on ethics high. He said that we must avoid conflict of interest, the appearance of a conflict of interest.The Liberal MP for Brampton East was appointed to the finance committee by the Prime Minister, where he asked troubling questions of senior law enforcement officials about how to avoid detection. This raised red flags with the RCMP. How do Liberals expect us to believe they saw nothing to worry about and that the media somehow know more about this scandal that the Prime Minister's own office does?
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the government will be signing the new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico. That is happening tomorrow, yet there is still no firm commitment from the government about compensation for our dairy farmers.The government has abandoned them three times in a row, in its agreements with North America, the Pacific region and Europe. It must take responsibility for these three betrayals.Will it make a formal commitment to fully compensate our supply-managed farmers for their losses under these three agreements
Mr. Speaker, we are focused on getting our energy sector up and running, and investing in our energy sector.That is why, at this moment, the Minister of Natural Resources is in discussions with indigenous communities in B.C., to make sure that the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline moves forward in the right way, something the Conservatives do not understand and never got. For them, it was only a suggestion to actually have discussions with indigenous communities.We know that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. We know we must have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities to move forward. That is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, after several years of significant cuts to both staffing and funding for the agencies responsible for managing this, the CBSA, IRCC and IRB, we are restoring the capacity of those institutions, agencies and departments to deal with this issue. The plan is working. As a result of our reinvestments, we have created real efficiencies in how these people are being processed, and we are working diligently to find new and better ways to improve efficiency in the system so that we may uphold Canadian law, Canadian values and
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is well aware that we are the party that implemented supply management, and we are the party that is going to defend it. It is important to note that the Americans wanted to destroy our supply management system, and our negotiators and government made sure that did not happen. We also understand that there will be an impact on our farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them. We have and will continue to support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, that is some more wishful thinking by the Liberals. The result is that 2,500 people lost their jobs in the auto sector this week and 3,000 others lost their jobs in the aerospace sector two weeks ago.Let us talk about the wishful thinking of the Liberals, who claim that budgets balance themselves. I will give this government a chance to tell us when the budget will finally balance itself.
Mr. Speaker, once again I repeat that our hearts go out to the men and women who have been affected by the GM closure in Oshawa.As the Conservatives well know, this decision was part of GM's global restructuring plan, affecting their operations across the border and around the world.I would point out to the hon. member that we have doubled the number of jobs created in the auto sector over the last three years. We have done more in three years for the auto sector than the Conservatives were able to do in 10 years. We have attracted billions of dollars in investment, $3.3 billion in the auto sector in our first three years.
Mr. Speaker, the Williams Treaties First Nations have been fighting in court for more than 25 years to redress injustices involving compensation, land and harvesting rights dating back to 1923. Our government understands that negotiation, rather than litigation, is the best way to right historical wrongs and settle past grievances. Out-of-court negotiations began in March 2017.Can the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations update the House on the efforts made by our government to accelerate reconciliation with the Williams Treaties First Nations?
Mr. Speaker, our government has defended our supply management system from the strong American attempt to dismantle it. Our poultry, eggs and dairy farmers provide the highest-quality products for Canadians at a reasonable price, and keep the rural areas strong. We understand there will be an impact on the farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them to make sure the supply management system continues to expand through the centuries.
Mr. Speaker, the fact that I do not speak French does not diminish my commitment to bilingualism.As promised in our Strong, Secure, Engaged defence policy, we restored full university status to the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. We are giving ourselves the tools we need to recruit the top francophone talent in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, we have never compromised national security and we never will.Canada has a strong track record when it comes to protecting and enforcing our security. We have experts and we are going to work on that.Investments are very important and we are open to global investments that will contribute to our economy and growth. The 5G network is an important technology and we are investing in it. However, we will ensure
Mr. Speaker, our goal is to make accessibility a reality across federal jurisdictions, so that all people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can fully participate and be included in society. Bill C-81 will help us reach that goal. This legislation represents a significant, historic advancement in federal disability rights legislation. Our government will provide $290 million over six years to further the objectives of the new legislation once it is given royal assent.I am proud that our government has delivered on this important mandate commitment.
Mr. Speaker, for all the rhetoric and hysteria that is now emerging about irregular migration, it is important to understand who these people are. For example, nearly 40% of the people who have presented themselves at our borders seeking asylum are children. Canada's response is to uphold the rule of law to ensure that our processes are fast, fair and final, as well as efficient, and we deal with those individuals to ensure they have adequate housing and shelter and are treated with the humanity that Canadians expect of us.
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows better. From day one, we have taken steps to make Canada's automotive manufacturing sector more globally competitive and innovative. We have proven our support for innovation in the auto sector because we know it drives economic growth and it creates opportunities for Canadians.Under our government, Canadian operations have received more than $5.6 billion in investments, creating and maintaining tens of thousands of good, middle-class jobs.Going forward we have a plan for Canada to be a global leader in making cars of the future, automated, connected and clean.
That is not an answer for dairy farmers in Canada, Mr. Speaker.Liberals say they are on track to sign the USMCA tomorrow but they do not even know what we are signing onto. Wording is changing and the Canadian interpretation and the U.S. interpretation are not lining up. No wonder the Prime Minister does not even want to attend the signing ceremony, when we do not even know what the text is.Canadians know one thing for sure. If we sign with destructive steel and aluminum tariffs in place, we are losing our best chance to eliminate them. The reasons not to sign this deal are stacking up. Will the Prime Minister stand up for Canadian jobs and not sign this shifty agreement?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our leader, Jagmeet Singh, was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend a meeting of all party leaders to discuss the situation that Franco-Ontarians are facing.Everyone agreed that Doug Ford's decisions are a threat to the empowerment of Ontario's francophones. However, where are the new measures to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians? That is what everyone is waiting for.What will it take for the Liberals to publicly announce that they are willing and able to provide 50% of the funding to build a French-language university in Toronto?
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows full well, that is exactly what we are doing, and that is why the number of asylum seekers has gone down. My colleague should think about his own obligations before he starts citing statistics. The Conservatives' rhetoric on asylum seekers is troubling. It should be noted that more than 40% of the people crossing Canada's border are children. The penny-pinching of Mr. Harper's Conservative government, which cut $400 million from border security, resulted in backlogs. We are addressing those problems.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand the importance of high-growth mining companies in supporting middle-class families and helping us transition to a clean economy. I hear from resource exploration companies that greater investment certainty would ensure that Canada attracts more of the finite pool of resource exploration dollars available globally. In light of the fall economic statement, could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources update us on recent actions the government is taking to protect Canada's position as a top destination for exploration and mining?
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is fully aware that we have strongly supported the supply management system in this country. We made sure that the American attempt to destroy our supply management system did not succeed. We also understand that dairy farmers have some problems and we are going to make sure they are fully and fairly supported.We will continue to make sure that we support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.We had a very good meeting yesterday with the Prime Minister and the opposition party leaders. I attended this meeting, which was held entirely in French. We can see that 50 years later, the Official Languages Act is having a positive impact.With respect to the French-language university, we have always said that it is a very good project, and we took it into account when we were developing our official languages action plan. It is now up to Ontario to ask that it be made a priority. We are always willing to work with Ontario.
Mr. Speaker, I assure my colleague that we are in talks with the Government of Quebec. I was in Quebec City last week. I met Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, and we had a positive discussion. We will continue to work with the Government of Quebec to make sure that we cover the reasonable costs associated with this irregular migration. Quebec has been a leader and a great partner for Canada. We value its co-operation and we will respect its commitments.
Mr. Speaker, now more than ever in Canada, we must stand up to defend and strengthen our two official languages. Canadians understand that it is important to protect our rights and they know that their government must protect our national identity.Can the Minister of National Defence talk about the measures being taken to ensure that the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces are able to operate in an environment where both official languages are equally valued?
Mr. Speaker, one year ago the Prime Minister said everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Northern communities do not believe it because most of them still do not have year-round highway access, and people still live in overcrowded homes that are falling apart or full of mould.The Liberals keep neglecting northerners. Why do they not invest the billions needed now to close the housing gap on reserves and in northern communities?
Mr. Speaker, our primary goal since the beginning has always been to get a good deal for Canada and for Canadians. We held for a good deal and we got a good deal.This agreement will be good for our economy, good for Canadian families and good for our middle class. It will preserve jobs, foster growth, expand the middle class and support people working hard to join it.
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Mr. Speaker, our primary goal since the beginning has always been to get a good deal for Canada and for Canadians. We held for a good deal and we got a good deal.This agreement will be good for our economy, good for Canadian families and good for our middle class. It will preserve jobs, foster growth, expand the middle class and support people working hard to join it.
Mr. Speaker, one year ago the Prime Minister said everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Northern communities do not believe it because most of them still do not have year-round highway access, and people still live in overcrowded homes that are falling apart or full of mould.The Liberals keep neglecting northerners. Why do they not invest the billions needed now to close the housing gap on reserves and in northern communities?
Mr. Speaker, now more than ever in Canada, we must stand up to defend and strengthen our two official languages. Canadians understand that it is important to protect our rights and they know that their government must protect our national identity.Can the Minister of National Defence talk about the measures being taken to ensure that the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces are able to operate in an environment where both official languages are equally valued?
Mr. Speaker, I assure my colleague that we are in talks with the Government of Quebec. I was in Quebec City last week. I met Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, and we had a positive discussion. We will continue to work with the Government of Quebec to make sure that we cover the reasonable costs associated with this irregular migration. Quebec has been a leader and a great partner for Canada. We value its co-operation and we will respect its commitments.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.We had a very good meeting yesterday with the Prime Minister and the opposition party leaders. I attended this meeting, which was held entirely in French. We can see that 50 years later, the Official Languages Act is having a positive impact.With respect to the French-language university, we have always said that it is a very good project, and we took it into account when we were developing our official languages action plan. It is now up to Ontario to ask that it be made a priority. We are always willing to work with Ontario.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is fully aware that we have strongly supported the supply management system in this country. We made sure that the American attempt to destroy our supply management system did not succeed. We also understand that dairy farmers have some problems and we are going to make sure they are fully and fairly supported.We will continue to make sure that we support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand the importance of high-growth mining companies in supporting middle-class families and helping us transition to a clean economy. I hear from resource exploration companies that greater investment certainty would ensure that Canada attracts more of the finite pool of resource exploration dollars available globally. In light of the fall economic statement, could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources update us on recent actions the government is taking to protect Canada's position as a top destination for exploration and mining?
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows full well, that is exactly what we are doing, and that is why the number of asylum seekers has gone down. My colleague should think about his own obligations before he starts citing statistics. The Conservatives' rhetoric on asylum seekers is troubling. It should be noted that more than 40% of the people crossing Canada's border are children. The penny-pinching of Mr. Harper's Conservative government, which cut $400 million from border security, resulted in backlogs. We are addressing those problems.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our leader, Jagmeet Singh, was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend a meeting of all party leaders to discuss the situation that Franco-Ontarians are facing.Everyone agreed that Doug Ford's decisions are a threat to the empowerment of Ontario's francophones. However, where are the new measures to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians? That is what everyone is waiting for.What will it take for the Liberals to publicly announce that they are willing and able to provide 50% of the funding to build a French-language university in Toronto?
That is not an answer for dairy farmers in Canada, Mr. Speaker.Liberals say they are on track to sign the USMCA tomorrow but they do not even know what we are signing onto. Wording is changing and the Canadian interpretation and the U.S. interpretation are not lining up. No wonder the Prime Minister does not even want to attend the signing ceremony, when we do not even know what the text is.Canadians know one thing for sure. If we sign with destructive steel and aluminum tariffs in place, we are losing our best chance to eliminate them. The reasons not to sign this deal are stacking up. Will the Prime Minister stand up for Canadian jobs and not sign this shifty agreement?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows better. From day one, we have taken steps to make Canada's automotive manufacturing sector more globally competitive and innovative. We have proven our support for innovation in the auto sector because we know it drives economic growth and it creates opportunities for Canadians.Under our government, Canadian operations have received more than $5.6 billion in investments, creating and maintaining tens of thousands of good, middle-class jobs.Going forward we have a plan for Canada to be a global leader in making cars of the future, automated, connected and clean.
Mr. Speaker, for all the rhetoric and hysteria that is now emerging about irregular migration, it is important to understand who these people are. For example, nearly 40% of the people who have presented themselves at our borders seeking asylum are children. Canada's response is to uphold the rule of law to ensure that our processes are fast, fair and final, as well as efficient, and we deal with those individuals to ensure they have adequate housing and shelter and are treated with the humanity that Canadians expect of us.
Mr. Speaker, our goal is to make accessibility a reality across federal jurisdictions, so that all people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can fully participate and be included in society. Bill C-81 will help us reach that goal. This legislation represents a significant, historic advancement in federal disability rights legislation. Our government will provide $290 million over six years to further the objectives of the new legislation once it is given royal assent.I am proud that our government has delivered on this important mandate commitment.
Mr. Speaker, we have never compromised national security and we never will.Canada has a strong track record when it comes to protecting and enforcing our security. We have experts and we are going to work on that.Investments are very important and we are open to global investments that will contribute to our economy and growth. The 5G network is an important technology and we are investing in it. However, we will ensure
Mr. Speaker, the fact that I do not speak French does not diminish my commitment to bilingualism.As promised in our Strong, Secure, Engaged defence policy, we restored full university status to the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. We are giving ourselves the tools we need to recruit the top francophone talent in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, our government has defended our supply management system from the strong American attempt to dismantle it. Our poultry, eggs and dairy farmers provide the highest-quality products for Canadians at a reasonable price, and keep the rural areas strong. We understand there will be an impact on the farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them to make sure the supply management system continues to expand through the centuries.
Mr. Speaker, the Williams Treaties First Nations have been fighting in court for more than 25 years to redress injustices involving compensation, land and harvesting rights dating back to 1923. Our government understands that negotiation, rather than litigation, is the best way to right historical wrongs and settle past grievances. Out-of-court negotiations began in March 2017.Can the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations update the House on the efforts made by our government to accelerate reconciliation with the Williams Treaties First Nations?
Mr. Speaker, that is some more wishful thinking by the Liberals. The result is that 2,500 people lost their jobs in the auto sector this week and 3,000 others lost their jobs in the aerospace sector two weeks ago.Let us talk about the wishful thinking of the Liberals, who claim that budgets balance themselves. I will give this government a chance to tell us when the budget will finally balance itself.
Mr. Speaker, once again I repeat that our hearts go out to the men and women who have been affected by the GM closure in Oshawa.As the Conservatives well know, this decision was part of GM's global restructuring plan, affecting their operations across the border and around the world.I would point out to the hon. member that we have doubled the number of jobs created in the auto sector over the last three years. We have done more in three years for the auto sector than the Conservatives were able to do in 10 years. We have attracted billions of dollars in investment, $3.3 billion in the auto sector in our first three years.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is well aware that we are the party that implemented supply management, and we are the party that is going to defend it. It is important to note that the Americans wanted to destroy our supply management system, and our negotiators and government made sure that did not happen. We also understand that there will be an impact on our farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them. We have and will continue to support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, after several years of significant cuts to both staffing and funding for the agencies responsible for managing this, the CBSA, IRCC and IRB, we are restoring the capacity of those institutions, agencies and departments to deal with this issue. The plan is working. As a result of our reinvestments, we have created real efficiencies in how these people are being processed, and we are working diligently to find new and better ways to improve efficiency in the system so that we may uphold Canadian law, Canadian values and
Mr. Speaker, we are focused on getting our energy sector up and running, and investing in our energy sector.That is why, at this moment, the Minister of Natural Resources is in discussions with indigenous communities in B.C., to make sure that the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline moves forward in the right way, something the Conservatives do not understand and never got. For them, it was only a suggestion to actually have discussions with indigenous communities.We know that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. We know we must have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities to move forward. That is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the government will be signing the new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico. That is happening tomorrow, yet there is still no firm commitment from the government about compensation for our dairy farmers.The government has abandoned them three times in a row, in its agreements with North America, the Pacific region and Europe. It must take responsibility for these three betrayals.Will it make a formal commitment to fully compensate our supply-managed farmers for their losses under these three agreements
Mr. Speaker, repeating the same scripted non-answer only raises the suspicion of Canadians that the Liberal government is hiding something. The Prime Minister promised to set the bar on ethics high. He said that we must avoid conflict of interest, the appearance of a conflict of interest.The Liberal MP for Brampton East was appointed to the finance committee by the Prime Minister, where he asked troubling questions of senior law enforcement officials about how to avoid detection. This raised red flags with the RCMP. How do Liberals expect us to believe they saw nothing to worry about and that the media somehow know more about this scandal that the Prime Minister's own office does?
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a long and proud tradition of providing protection to those who need it most by providing refuge to the world's most vulnerable people. The suggestion that the global migration of tens of millions of people fleeing persecution is the result of a tweet is kind of silly.We have a plan. We have invested $173 million in ensuring that Canadian laws are upheld and that the security of our country is maintained. The plan is working. We have seen a significant reduction over the past several months in the number of people presenting themselves irregularly at our border
Mr. Speaker, our government is open to investment that will grow our economy and create good middle-class jobs, but never at the expense of our national security. When it comes to telecommunications services, we promised Canadians we would improve the quality, coverage and price of their services, no matter where they live. Clearly, 5G is an emerging technology that plays an important part in our meeting that promise and responding to the explosion of consumer and industrial demand for faster and higher-capacity mobile networks. However, we follow the advice of our public security officials, and we will work only with partners who pass muster with them.
Mr. Speaker, today, we learned that the mess the Prime Minister created at the border will cost Canadians more than $1.1 billion, and that does not even include the millions of dollars it is going to cost the provinces. That is over $1 billion that will not be spent on the priorities of Canadians, priorities like helping our seniors, our veterans or actual refugees whose lives depend on them being able to come to Canada.When will the Prime Minister own up to the fact that we have a big problem at our border and when will he fix it?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising this incredibly important issue. We have made major investments to increase infrastructure on reserves, as well as for indigenous Canadians who live off reserve. We have invested an additional $200 million a year in first nations housing. We are working with the Assembly of First Nations on a strategy. We have invested $500 million over the next 10 years for Métis and an additional $400 million over 10 years for Inuit. We are building houses.
Mr. Speaker, what happens when it comes time for the Liberal Prime Minister to stand up for Canada? Radio silence. New Zealand has taken a stand and banned the use of equipment from Chinese-owned Huawei in its 5G network because it poses a significant risk to national security. Our Five Eyes allies are doing the same, including the United States and Australia.We know that the Prime Minister admires China's dictatorship, but will he ban Huawei from our 5G network and stand up for Canada's interests for once?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her hard work in the fight against climate change. We must tackle climate change, and we do have a plan.We have a plan to eliminate coal and invest in renewable energy, to put a price on pollution and to make historic investments in public transit, green infrastructure and clean technology. We have a lot of work to do.I am happy that we can work with the NDP, but it would be better if the Conservatives joined us too.
Mr. Speaker, when I asked the Liberal parliamentary secretary for the environment why his government was exempting large industrial corporations from its carbon tax, he replied that if they had to pay the tax, we could potentially have jobs leave and it will do nothing for emissions. It turns out for once that the Liberal parliamentary secretary is absolutely right, because the two largest export sectors in Canada, energy and autos, which are not exempted, are now seeing jobs leave just as he predicted. Will the Liberals extend the exemption to protect the jobs of all Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for St. John's East for his really hard work here in Ottawa.In the fall economic statement, our government expanded the mineral exploration tax credit for five years. This extension will provide junior mining companies and investors with greater certainty, which is vital for the future of mines and will create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians, including in northern Ontario. We are bolstering the sector's competitiveness and making sure Canada remains a world-class destination for mining investments. We stand firmly behind the sector and the hard-working Canadians it employs.
Mr. Speaker, $400 million worth of cuts is some rationalization. The cuts resulted in delays at the border and longer wait times. We made constructive investments to ensure border security and fulfill our international human rights obligations.This might not be all that important to my colleague, but members on this side of the House care very much about border security and are committed to meeting our international obligations.
Mr. Speaker, the transport minister claims he has never heard any concerns about the Liberal carbon tax, yet we know the National Airlines Council of Canada has said, [I]ntroducing a national carbon tax would exacerbate Canadian aviations already severe competitiveness problems, and the CEO of WestJet has said, They need to be very careful that they don't kill an industry that is so important to economic growth.Does the minister still claim he has never heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, that member is a seasoned elected official and he should know very well that the RCMP operates independently of government.
Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals took office, we have seen the biggest decline in Canadian energy investments in 70 years. Because of excessive taxes and regulations, investors no longer see Canada as a good investment.However, the impacts of the Prime Minister's policies affect every sector. This was made clear when General Motors decided to stop production at our award-winning plant in Oshawa. These policies jeopardize thousands of good-paying Canadian jobs.Why is the Prime Minister choosing to impose taxes and regulations that will deter investment in our economy, and provide no hope for workers in Oshawa? Where is his plan?
Mr. Speaker, there are two very important ways to mislead, either by the misrepresentation of facts or by the omission of important facts.Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister very important and very specific questions about exactly when he and his office first learned that the member of Parliament for Brampton East was under RCMP investigation. He refused to fully answer the question. This is the same tragic pattern that Liberal prime ministers follow whenever facing scandal. To the Prime Minister, who promised to be different, when did his office first learn that his MP was under police investigation?
Mr. Speaker, the government wants to sign the free trade agreement with the Americans tomorrow, but no one has even seen the final version. Dairy producers are worried because the latest version of the agreement gave the Americans oversight of our dairy system.Since the Liberals have made a habit of betraying Quebec farmers, we cannot trust them and will certainly not give them a blank cheque.Can the Prime Minister confirm that this provision has been removed, or has he once again gone back on his word?
Mr. Speaker, that member is still a member of the Liberal caucus. However, today, it is clear that the RCMP and the Ontario police were aware of the gambling debts run up by the Liberal member for Brampton East, which surfaced as part of a larger investigation into the laundering of drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. Surely the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the national security adviser or someone in this government must have been told about this investigation involving a Liberal government MP. When were the Prime Minister and his cabinet informed of this investigation?
Mr. Speaker, I am very worried that the Liberal government does not seem to be taking security matters seriously. The OPP was investigating a shady guy suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing when its wiretap revealed that the Liberal member for Brampton East had accumulated significant gambling debts. The RCMP even asked the OPP about the large amounts of money that the Liberal member was gambling with at the casino.When did the Prime Minister find out, not from the member himself, about the RCMP's investigation into a member of his own party?
Mr. Speaker, once again, we will take no lessons from the other side on attracting investments in our manufacturing sector.We took the old automotive innovation fund, which was underused in the Harper years because it was so hard to use, and created a new strategic innovation fund that we are applying across a variety of sectors, but in particular in the manufacturing sector in Ontario, and in other parts of the country.We have invested in a supercluster in southwestern Ontario that looks precisely at advanced manufacturing. We are doing a great job at promoting our manufacturing
Mr. Speaker, we can do both. We can grow the economy and we can tackle climate change. We are doing it. Our emissions are going down and we are growing the economy. With Canadians, we have created more than 550,000 jobs. Ours is the fastest-growing economy in the G7, and we are taking serious action to tackle climate change. I am extremely proud that next week I will be going to the climate negotiations in Poland, where we are going to take action with the international community to tackle climate change. We owe it to our environment. We owe it to the economy. We owe it to our kids.
Mr. Speaker, once again, it is unfortunate to see the politicization of this economic decision that has affected a number of countries, including the United States and South Korea.We are standing up for Canadian workers. We are examining all possibilities. Indeed, GM retains a very large footprint in Canada, and as a government we are investing in the auto sector across Canada, particularly in Ontario, to maintain high-quality jobs and to make sure that we are ready for the car of the future.
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask again whether the party opposite understands just how serious climate change is. Does the party opposite understand the $30-trillion economic opportunity of climate action? We need to act. We need to do it because it is the right thing to do for our environment. It is the right thing to do for our economy. It is the right thing to do for our kids.Everyone wants to know: What is the Conservative Party's climate plan?
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has proven that the federal government totally underestimated the cost of the wave of migrants, and we are only talking about federal spending. Quebec is the one covering the big costs: education, housing and social assistance. Ottawa set aside $50 million for the provinces. Ontario alone is asking for $200 million, and Quebec has received 12 times as many migrants as Ontario.When will Canada stop laughing at Quebeckers and compensate us like everyone else?
Mr. Speaker, it was last week that we were informed, and the member has told us that he is addressing certain challenges and receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support that he needs.
Mr. Speaker, as I have clearly stated, and as the Prime Minister also stated, it was last week that the member informed us that he was addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons could please tell this House what we will be looking at for the rest of this week and next week, that would be appreciated.
Mr. Speaker, New Zealand is the latest of Canada's security allies to do the right thing and ban Huawei from its 5G networks, yet the Liberals refuse to put the security of Canadians first and do the same. Giving the Chinese government access to our 5G network is both irresponsible and wrong. When will the government join our allies and say no way to Huawei?
Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, it was last week that the member told us he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs. The member knows very well that the government does not direct investigations of this nature.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want to know is whether the party opposite read the UN climate report. Do they understand that climate change is real? Do they understand the economic impact? There was just a report in the United States by climate scientists and by federal U.S. agencies that said the U.S. is at risk of losing 10% of its economy to the impacts of climate change. We also have a $30-trillion opportunity of clean growth.I wish the party opposite would understand that climate change is real, that we need a serious plan, and that we need to take action to grow our economy and protect our environment. What is the member's plan?
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada always stands ready to support provinces when they are working with local communities to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters. The provinces and municipalities have the first line of responsibility to determine what is necessary, but they call upon the Government of Canada to assist them, including with the disaster financial assistance arrangements, and the Government of Canada will always, in every case, be there.
Mr. Speaker, I had to laugh when I heard the minister talk about cuts we made. We did not make cuts. We rationalized because the border was under control and there were no problems.Then there was that prime ministerial tweet, which has cost us $1.1 billion to date, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who has done his homework.That amount does not even include the $600 million absorbed by Quebec and Ontario.One of these days, they are going to have to stop blaming us for everything that goes wrong. The report reveals the truth, and it is exactly what we have been saying.When will the Prime Minister take responsibility, do his job, and fix the problem?
Mr. Speaker, in recognition of the fact that our planet is facing no greater battle than the fight against climate change, over 230,000 people have signed the Pact for the Transition. This deeply inspiring, non-partisan movement calls on those who sign up to make an individual effort to protect the Earth and demands that the federal government do its part to fight climate change.Our leader, Jagmeet Singh, signed the pact today and has pledged to do everything he can to honour that commitment.When will the minister share her whole-of-government plan for the environment?
Mr. Speaker, well, if GM really did support the Liberal carbon tax, why is it not staying around to pay it? It is a very simple question. There will be no carbon tax on GM, because it is leaving and it will not have to pay the carbon tax. It is leaving behind the workers who will have to pay the carbon tax and other businesses that will have to pay the carbon tax. However, the wealthy CEOs are always happy to leave and to leave the costs behind for everyone else. When will the Liberals start standing up for workers and consumers and give them a break from this costly Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member in question informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, in a recent ranking of 80 energy producing jurisdictions, B.C. dropped to 58th and Alberta dropped 29 spots to 43rd. Respondents blame the high costs of regulatory compliance, taxes and energy. Now, Ontario is feeling Liberal economic mismanagement. In its fourth straight month of decline, the manufacturing sector is at its slowest pace in two years.Why is the Prime Minister heading down the road of higher taxes, increased energy costs, and burdensome regulations that will only further deter investment?
Mr. Speaker, I just came from Washington, where Canada is being known for its concessions right now, and that is what that deal is about. The decline of the automotive sector, including General Motors' most recent cutthroat tactics, has become routine business in Canada. Under successive Liberal regimes, Canada has sunk to 10th in automotive manufacturing. With half a million jobs lost already, nothing seems to move the government to urgency.Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he is considering a plan despite being handed one a year ago by his automotive adviser, ironically funded by workers now being fired.Could the minister explain why the Prime Minister has done nothing over the past year
Mr. Speaker, six months after flooding devastated their community, the people of Grand Forks are still recovering from the impacts of that flood. With winter setting in and the next potential flood only six months away, they are extremely anxious to get a firm commitment of support from the federal government. Can the government commit to working with the people of Grand Forks and the Boundary to support their recovery and mitigation efforts through infrastructure and public safety programs?
Mr. Speaker, we need Bill C-69 for industry to know before they start a project what the rules and regulations are, and to make sure that when they are investing, the rules are clear. The previous government would play games and have no record to show for it. In 2006, basically, 90% of our oil went to the United States. In 2015, guess what? Ninety per cent of our oil was still going to the United States. We will take no lessons on how to do it from the previous government.
I will take this opportunity to clarify a misconception promulgated by the member opposite.Mr. Speaker, those who are seeking asylum in this country, who have asked for the protection of Canada, are processed through an entirely separate system than those who are waiting in other streams of migration. There is no interference in those processes.It is very important to recognize that we have actually made enormous progress, under our current Minister of Immigration, on improving response times and processing times. The system is working well.
Mr. Speaker, is it an international obligation to have 32% of asylum seekers buy a plane ticket from Nigeria to New York and then take a bus to get to Roxham Road? That has nothing to do with any international obligation.So far, this has cost $1.1 billion in federal money, not to mention the provincial contribution, and it is not over. The problem is that these people have to stop coming here illegally.Will the government take responsibility and fix this problem?
Mr. Speaker, we have learned that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East came to light as a result of a police wiretap. The wiretaps were part of an OPP investigation into particularly shady guys suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. When did the Prime Minister's Office first learn about this serious investigation involving a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, media reports indicate that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East were connected to a larger investigation involving laundering drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. With an investigation touching on drugs, money laundering and international terrorism, it is simply not believable that no one in the government was made aware of this serious investigation, so I ask again: when did the Prime Minister or his office first learn about this serious crimes investigation involving a Liberal MP?
Mr. Speaker, it was last week we were informed.
Mr. Speaker, these are numbers that come from the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada. Therefore, truly the entire refugee system in Canada is in a crisis and there is no end in sight, regardless of what the minister says. If $1.1 billion and a six-year wait time is not enough to close the loophole, what number would it take before the Prime Minister realizes the Liberals have to do something to stop this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberal Party's plan is not working. Investments in Canada are disappearing like snow on a sunny day.While Canadian investment in the U.S. is up by 66%, American investment in Canada has dropped by a massive 50%. Overall, private sector investment has fallen off a cliff in this country. That is what the so-called Liberal plan is doing for Canada.Why does the government continue to stubbornly push this measure, which will hurt our investors?
Mr. Speaker, families in my community are not polluters. The St. John's Board of Trade, the Chamber of Marine Commerce, multiple municipal associations, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the National Airlines Council of Canada are all stakeholders who have publicly said the carbon tax will hurt their businesses.Will the transport minister start listening to the concerns of Canadian businesses, or does he still claim he cannot hear them?
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, pursuant to the order made Tuesday, November 27, we will debate the 66th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.We will then finish the debate on Bill C-86, the second budget implementation bill, at third reading.Tomorrow morning, we will start the second reading debate of Bill C-87, an act respecting the reduction of poverty.On Monday, we will commence debate at second reading stage of Bill C-88, concerning the Mackenzie Valley.Last, next Tuesday shall be the final allotted day in the supply cycle.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals killed northern gateway and energy east, the two pipelines to new markets, and they failed to get a single shovel in the ground for Trans Mountain. They created this crisis.Now, the Liberals are passing the no more pipelines Bill C-69, which will do exactly what that name says. It will make sure that no new pipeline is ever proposed or built in Canada again. Premiers, the private sector, economists and experts all agree. If anything the member just said were true, he would scrap Bill C-69 today. Will he do it? Will he get rid of the no more pipelines Bill C-69, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday I moved a motion in this place, and it appeared that members from both the government and the official opposition sides had not supported the motion. However, it is now known that the appearance of opposition was completely unintentional. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I think you will find the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion. I move:That, the House recognize that 81 years ago Imperial Japanese army forces raped an estimated 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women and girls and approximately 300,000 people were killed; that, after the Nanjing massacre, the military sexual slavery system of the Japanese military expanded rapidly, and an estimated 200,000 women from Korea, the Philippines, China, Burma, Indonesia and other Japanese occupied territories were tricked, kidnapped or coerced to work in brothels to serve as comfort women to the Imperial Japanese army; that western eye witnesses in Nanjing described the atrocities as hell on earth; that the House of Commons, in 2007, unanimously passed a motion in recognition that the Imperial armed forces of Japan used women as sex slaves during the Second World War; therefore, in the opinion of the House, the government formally acknowledge this by declaring December 13 of each year as Nanjing massacre commemorative day in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government needs to stand up and fight for workers. Yesterday, Dairy Farmers of Canada called on the Prime Minister not to sign the USMCA until the U.S. oversight of our dairy system has been removed. This is about our food sovereignty. This clause will have devastating and crippling consequences on our industry here in Canada.I have a simple question. Will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and make sure that the oversight clause is removed quickly?
Mr. Speaker, it is simply unbelievable that the Prime Minister and his government were unaware of a major crimes investigation involving a Liberal member of Parliament, an investigation involving drug money, an investigation involving international terrorism. This is an international incident involving national security. Does the Prime Minister really expect us to believe that an investigation of this nature would not have been red flagged to his office? When did he or his office first learn of this serious criminal investigation into a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
The Prime Minister's tweet was not only silly, it was actually pretty stupid, and it is causing a lot of problems at our borders. In addition to the problems, Mr. Speaker, the crisis is causing huge delays for immigrants and refugees who are actually following the rules and want to come to Canada legally.With a $1.2-billion price tag, and actual refugees being forced to the back of the line, what is it going to take for the current Prime Minister to realize that the crisis at the border, which his tweet created, needs to be fixed?
Mr. Speaker, the news out of Oshawa is devastating. GM has shown contempt for workers. What is worse is that the Liberal government should have known that GM would soon be closing its doors. Rather than supporting Canadian families, the Liberals threw billions of dollars at rich corporations, like GM, without any guarantee that those corporations would maintain jobs.Why do the Liberals continue to put the interests of rich corporations ahead of the well-being of Canadian workers?
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member just said is patently false. We are investing in the automotive industry in Canada. With an investment of about $400 million, we have been able to attract $5.6 billion in investments since taking office. It is therefore false to say that we are no longer attracting investment.Through the strategic innovation fund, we are creating opportunities for Canadian technology and for Canadian workers and their families.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to remind my esteemed colleague that in 2015, during the election campaign, we were debating whether Canada was in a recession or heading into one.That is the legacy that the Conservative government left behind, a legacy of policies that failed by virtually every measure. There is no word strong enough in either French or English to describe just how badly they failed on growth, job creation and export development. As for the social deficit, the Conservatives never lifted a finger to reduce inequality in Canada. Instead, they made it worse.We will take no lessons from the previous government and the Conservative Party. Our record speaks for itself.
Mr. Speaker, what is the point of rushing through accessibility legislation if the government is not going to put its money where its mouth is? The Liberals keep failing Canadians who live with disabilities. In the fall economic update, there is no mention of new obligations, let alone funding for the CRTC to maintain its existing responsibilities. This is unfair, and it is insulting to Canadians who are waiting for implementation of Bill C-81. Why will the Liberals not take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that institutions like the CRTC are accessible to everyone?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will get her chance to ask questions in 10 months.It seems that every other member in this House is hearing about the negative effects of the carbon tax, except the Liberal front bench. The CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said, The federal carbon pricing system as it is structured further weakens our investment position. The Canadian Trucking Alliance said, The federal system creates competitive issues between Canadian and U.S. carriers.Does the transport minister still claim he has not heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, GM's decision to close its Oshawa plant is extremely discouraging and our thoughts are with the women and men who are affected, their families and their communities. We have heard that this is part of GM's global restructuring plan and may impact workers in the U.S. and globally. This is extremely troubling news. We feel for everyone who is impacted by this decision.Right now our priority is auto workers and their families. We are working with all partners to support our auto workers, their families and Oshawa during this difficult time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for NorthumberlandPeterborough South for her advocacy.Earlier this month, I was honoured to celebrate with the Williams Treaties chiefs, community members and the Government of Ontario the settlement of all of these longstanding claims. Achieved through dialogue and in partnership, it includes financial compensation, recognition of treaty harvesting rights, and entitlement to add additional reserve lands.Canada and Ontario apologized for the negative impacts of these treaties. As Chief Kelly LaRocca said, this settlement agreement marks the beginning of healing for our people.
Mr. Speaker, on June 17, 2014, Conservatives approved the northern gateway pipeline to export to the Asia-Pacific.On November 29, 2016, the Liberal Prime Minister cancelled the northern gateway pipeline. He had a choice, but he killed that pipeline outright, which could have prevented the current price discount on Canadian oil.When the Liberals were elected, three companies planned to build pipelines in Canada. The Liberals chased them all away.Will the Liberals immediately withdraw their no more pipelines Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have failed to manage our Canadian border and the price tag is staggering. By the end of next year, the Liberals will have spent $1.1 billion of taxpayers' money to deal with illegal border crossers and that does not include any provincial money. Why is the Prime Minister spending more money on illegal border crossers than on getting our homeless veterans off the streets?
Mr. Speaker, it is extremely disappointing that the party opposite would politicize the loss of jobs at GM. It is a very disappointing situation. We will always stand up for workers, but I would encourage the member opposite to go to GM's website, where it supports putting a price on pollution. Maybe the Conservatives should figure out that it should not be free to pollute. We need to stand up for the environment. We need to stand up for the economy. We need to stand up for our kids.
Mr. Speaker, our primary goal since the beginning has always been to get a good deal for Canada and for Canadians. We held for a good deal and we got a good deal.This agreement will be good for our economy, good for Canadian families and good for our middle class. It will preserve jobs, foster growth, expand the middle class and support people working hard to join it.
Mr. Speaker, one year ago the Prime Minister said everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Northern communities do not believe it because most of them still do not have year-round highway access, and people still live in overcrowded homes that are falling apart or full of mould.The Liberals keep neglecting northerners. Why do they not invest the billions needed now to close the housing gap on reserves and in northern communities?
Mr. Speaker, now more than ever in Canada, we must stand up to defend and strengthen our two official languages. Canadians understand that it is important to protect our rights and they know that their government must protect our national identity.Can the Minister of National Defence talk about the measures being taken to ensure that the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces are able to operate in an environment where both official languages are equally valued?
Mr. Speaker, I assure my colleague that we are in talks with the Government of Quebec. I was in Quebec City last week. I met Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, and we had a positive discussion. We will continue to work with the Government of Quebec to make sure that we cover the reasonable costs associated with this irregular migration. Quebec has been a leader and a great partner for Canada. We value its co-operation and we will respect its commitments.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.We had a very good meeting yesterday with the Prime Minister and the opposition party leaders. I attended this meeting, which was held entirely in French. We can see that 50 years later, the Official Languages Act is having a positive impact.With respect to the French-language university, we have always said that it is a very good project, and we took it into account when we were developing our official languages action plan. It is now up to Ontario to ask that it be made a priority. We are always willing to work with Ontario.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is fully aware that we have strongly supported the supply management system in this country. We made sure that the American attempt to destroy our supply management system did not succeed. We also understand that dairy farmers have some problems and we are going to make sure they are fully and fairly supported.We will continue to make sure that we support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand the importance of high-growth mining companies in supporting middle-class families and helping us transition to a clean economy. I hear from resource exploration companies that greater investment certainty would ensure that Canada attracts more of the finite pool of resource exploration dollars available globally. In light of the fall economic statement, could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources update us on recent actions the government is taking to protect Canada's position as a top destination for exploration and mining?
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows full well, that is exactly what we are doing, and that is why the number of asylum seekers has gone down. My colleague should think about his own obligations before he starts citing statistics. The Conservatives' rhetoric on asylum seekers is troubling. It should be noted that more than 40% of the people crossing Canada's border are children. The penny-pinching of Mr. Harper's Conservative government, which cut $400 million from border security, resulted in backlogs. We are addressing those problems.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our leader, Jagmeet Singh, was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend a meeting of all party leaders to discuss the situation that Franco-Ontarians are facing.Everyone agreed that Doug Ford's decisions are a threat to the empowerment of Ontario's francophones. However, where are the new measures to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians? That is what everyone is waiting for.What will it take for the Liberals to publicly announce that they are willing and able to provide 50% of the funding to build a French-language university in Toronto?
That is not an answer for dairy farmers in Canada, Mr. Speaker.Liberals say they are on track to sign the USMCA tomorrow but they do not even know what we are signing onto. Wording is changing and the Canadian interpretation and the U.S. interpretation are not lining up. No wonder the Prime Minister does not even want to attend the signing ceremony, when we do not even know what the text is.Canadians know one thing for sure. If we sign with destructive steel and aluminum tariffs in place, we are losing our best chance to eliminate them. The reasons not to sign this deal are stacking up. Will the Prime Minister stand up for Canadian jobs and not sign this shifty agreement?
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows better. From day one, we have taken steps to make Canada's automotive manufacturing sector more globally competitive and innovative. We have proven our support for innovation in the auto sector because we know it drives economic growth and it creates opportunities for Canadians.Under our government, Canadian operations have received more than $5.6 billion in investments, creating and maintaining tens of thousands of good, middle-class jobs.Going forward we have a plan for Canada to be a global leader in making cars of the future, automated, connected and clean.
Mr. Speaker, for all the rhetoric and hysteria that is now emerging about irregular migration, it is important to understand who these people are. For example, nearly 40% of the people who have presented themselves at our borders seeking asylum are children. Canada's response is to uphold the rule of law to ensure that our processes are fast, fair and final, as well as efficient, and we deal with those individuals to ensure they have adequate housing and shelter and are treated with the humanity that Canadians expect of us.
Mr. Speaker, our goal is to make accessibility a reality across federal jurisdictions, so that all people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can fully participate and be included in society. Bill C-81 will help us reach that goal. This legislation represents a significant, historic advancement in federal disability rights legislation. Our government will provide $290 million over six years to further the objectives of the new legislation once it is given royal assent.I am proud that our government has delivered on this important mandate commitment.
Mr. Speaker, we have never compromised national security and we never will.Canada has a strong track record when it comes to protecting and enforcing our security. We have experts and we are going to work on that.Investments are very important and we are open to global investments that will contribute to our economy and growth. The 5G network is an important technology and we are investing in it. However, we will ensure
Mr. Speaker, the fact that I do not speak French does not diminish my commitment to bilingualism.As promised in our Strong, Secure, Engaged defence policy, we restored full university status to the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. We are giving ourselves the tools we need to recruit the top francophone talent in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, our government has defended our supply management system from the strong American attempt to dismantle it. Our poultry, eggs and dairy farmers provide the highest-quality products for Canadians at a reasonable price, and keep the rural areas strong. We understand there will be an impact on the farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them to make sure the supply management system continues to expand through the centuries.
Mr. Speaker, the Williams Treaties First Nations have been fighting in court for more than 25 years to redress injustices involving compensation, land and harvesting rights dating back to 1923. Our government understands that negotiation, rather than litigation, is the best way to right historical wrongs and settle past grievances. Out-of-court negotiations began in March 2017.Can the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations update the House on the efforts made by our government to accelerate reconciliation with the Williams Treaties First Nations?
Mr. Speaker, that is some more wishful thinking by the Liberals. The result is that 2,500 people lost their jobs in the auto sector this week and 3,000 others lost their jobs in the aerospace sector two weeks ago.Let us talk about the wishful thinking of the Liberals, who claim that budgets balance themselves. I will give this government a chance to tell us when the budget will finally balance itself.
Mr. Speaker, once again I repeat that our hearts go out to the men and women who have been affected by the GM closure in Oshawa.As the Conservatives well know, this decision was part of GM's global restructuring plan, affecting their operations across the border and around the world.I would point out to the hon. member that we have doubled the number of jobs created in the auto sector over the last three years. We have done more in three years for the auto sector than the Conservatives were able to do in 10 years. We have attracted billions of dollars in investment, $3.3 billion in the auto sector in our first three years.
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is well aware that we are the party that implemented supply management, and we are the party that is going to defend it. It is important to note that the Americans wanted to destroy our supply management system, and our negotiators and government made sure that did not happen. We also understand that there will be an impact on our farmers, and we are committed to fully and fairly supporting them. We have and will continue to support the supply management system in this country.
Mr. Speaker, after several years of significant cuts to both staffing and funding for the agencies responsible for managing this, the CBSA, IRCC and IRB, we are restoring the capacity of those institutions, agencies and departments to deal with this issue. The plan is working. As a result of our reinvestments, we have created real efficiencies in how these people are being processed, and we are working diligently to find new and better ways to improve efficiency in the system so that we may uphold Canadian law, Canadian values and
Mr. Speaker, we are focused on getting our energy sector up and running, and investing in our energy sector.That is why, at this moment, the Minister of Natural Resources is in discussions with indigenous communities in B.C., to make sure that the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline moves forward in the right way, something the Conservatives do not understand and never got. For them, it was only a suggestion to actually have discussions with indigenous communities.We know that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. We know we must have meaningful consultations with indigenous communities to move forward. That is exactly what we are doing.
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the government will be signing the new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico. That is happening tomorrow, yet there is still no firm commitment from the government about compensation for our dairy farmers.The government has abandoned them three times in a row, in its agreements with North America, the Pacific region and Europe. It must take responsibility for these three betrayals.Will it make a formal commitment to fully compensate our supply-managed farmers for their losses under these three agreements
Mr. Speaker, repeating the same scripted non-answer only raises the suspicion of Canadians that the Liberal government is hiding something. The Prime Minister promised to set the bar on ethics high. He said that we must avoid conflict of interest, the appearance of a conflict of interest.The Liberal MP for Brampton East was appointed to the finance committee by the Prime Minister, where he asked troubling questions of senior law enforcement officials about how to avoid detection. This raised red flags with the RCMP. How do Liberals expect us to believe they saw nothing to worry about and that the media somehow know more about this scandal that the Prime Minister's own office does?
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a long and proud tradition of providing protection to those who need it most by providing refuge to the world's most vulnerable people. The suggestion that the global migration of tens of millions of people fleeing persecution is the result of a tweet is kind of silly.We have a plan. We have invested $173 million in ensuring that Canadian laws are upheld and that the security of our country is maintained. The plan is working. We have seen a significant reduction over the past several months in the number of people presenting themselves irregularly at our border
Mr. Speaker, our government is open to investment that will grow our economy and create good middle-class jobs, but never at the expense of our national security. When it comes to telecommunications services, we promised Canadians we would improve the quality, coverage and price of their services, no matter where they live. Clearly, 5G is an emerging technology that plays an important part in our meeting that promise and responding to the explosion of consumer and industrial demand for faster and higher-capacity mobile networks. However, we follow the advice of our public security officials, and we will work only with partners who pass muster with them.
Mr. Speaker, today, we learned that the mess the Prime Minister created at the border will cost Canadians more than $1.1 billion, and that does not even include the millions of dollars it is going to cost the provinces. That is over $1 billion that will not be spent on the priorities of Canadians, priorities like helping our seniors, our veterans or actual refugees whose lives depend on them being able to come to Canada.When will the Prime Minister own up to the fact that we have a big problem at our border and when will he fix it?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising this incredibly important issue. We have made major investments to increase infrastructure on reserves, as well as for indigenous Canadians who live off reserve. We have invested an additional $200 million a year in first nations housing. We are working with the Assembly of First Nations on a strategy. We have invested $500 million over the next 10 years for Métis and an additional $400 million over 10 years for Inuit. We are building houses.
Mr. Speaker, what happens when it comes time for the Liberal Prime Minister to stand up for Canada? Radio silence. New Zealand has taken a stand and banned the use of equipment from Chinese-owned Huawei in its 5G network because it poses a significant risk to national security. Our Five Eyes allies are doing the same, including the United States and Australia.We know that the Prime Minister admires China's dictatorship, but will he ban Huawei from our 5G network and stand up for Canada's interests for once?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her hard work in the fight against climate change. We must tackle climate change, and we do have a plan.We have a plan to eliminate coal and invest in renewable energy, to put a price on pollution and to make historic investments in public transit, green infrastructure and clean technology. We have a lot of work to do.I am happy that we can work with the NDP, but it would be better if the Conservatives joined us too.
Mr. Speaker, when I asked the Liberal parliamentary secretary for the environment why his government was exempting large industrial corporations from its carbon tax, he replied that if they had to pay the tax, we could potentially have jobs leave and it will do nothing for emissions. It turns out for once that the Liberal parliamentary secretary is absolutely right, because the two largest export sectors in Canada, energy and autos, which are not exempted, are now seeing jobs leave just as he predicted. Will the Liberals extend the exemption to protect the jobs of all Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for St. John's East for his really hard work here in Ottawa.In the fall economic statement, our government expanded the mineral exploration tax credit for five years. This extension will provide junior mining companies and investors with greater certainty, which is vital for the future of mines and will create good, middle-class jobs for Canadians, including in northern Ontario. We are bolstering the sector's competitiveness and making sure Canada remains a world-class destination for mining investments. We stand firmly behind the sector and the hard-working Canadians it employs.
Mr. Speaker, $400 million worth of cuts is some rationalization. The cuts resulted in delays at the border and longer wait times. We made constructive investments to ensure border security and fulfill our international human rights obligations.This might not be all that important to my colleague, but members on this side of the House care very much about border security and are committed to meeting our international obligations.
Mr. Speaker, the transport minister claims he has never heard any concerns about the Liberal carbon tax, yet we know the National Airlines Council of Canada has said, [I]ntroducing a national carbon tax would exacerbate Canadian aviations already severe competitiveness problems, and the CEO of WestJet has said, They need to be very careful that they don't kill an industry that is so important to economic growth.Does the minister still claim he has never heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, that member is a seasoned elected official and he should know very well that the RCMP operates independently of government.
Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals took office, we have seen the biggest decline in Canadian energy investments in 70 years. Because of excessive taxes and regulations, investors no longer see Canada as a good investment.However, the impacts of the Prime Minister's policies affect every sector. This was made clear when General Motors decided to stop production at our award-winning plant in Oshawa. These policies jeopardize thousands of good-paying Canadian jobs.Why is the Prime Minister choosing to impose taxes and regulations that will deter investment in our economy, and provide no hope for workers in Oshawa? Where is his plan?
Mr. Speaker, there are two very important ways to mislead, either by the misrepresentation of facts or by the omission of important facts.Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister very important and very specific questions about exactly when he and his office first learned that the member of Parliament for Brampton East was under RCMP investigation. He refused to fully answer the question. This is the same tragic pattern that Liberal prime ministers follow whenever facing scandal. To the Prime Minister, who promised to be different, when did his office first learn that his MP was under police investigation?
Mr. Speaker, the government wants to sign the free trade agreement with the Americans tomorrow, but no one has even seen the final version. Dairy producers are worried because the latest version of the agreement gave the Americans oversight of our dairy system.Since the Liberals have made a habit of betraying Quebec farmers, we cannot trust them and will certainly not give them a blank cheque.Can the Prime Minister confirm that this provision has been removed, or has he once again gone back on his word?
Mr. Speaker, that member is still a member of the Liberal caucus. However, today, it is clear that the RCMP and the Ontario police were aware of the gambling debts run up by the Liberal member for Brampton East, which surfaced as part of a larger investigation into the laundering of drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. Surely the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the national security adviser or someone in this government must have been told about this investigation involving a Liberal government MP. When were the Prime Minister and his cabinet informed of this investigation?
Mr. Speaker, I am very worried that the Liberal government does not seem to be taking security matters seriously. The OPP was investigating a shady guy suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing when its wiretap revealed that the Liberal member for Brampton East had accumulated significant gambling debts. The RCMP even asked the OPP about the large amounts of money that the Liberal member was gambling with at the casino.When did the Prime Minister find out, not from the member himself, about the RCMP's investigation into a member of his own party?
Mr. Speaker, once again, we will take no lessons from the other side on attracting investments in our manufacturing sector.We took the old automotive innovation fund, which was underused in the Harper years because it was so hard to use, and created a new strategic innovation fund that we are applying across a variety of sectors, but in particular in the manufacturing sector in Ontario, and in other parts of the country.We have invested in a supercluster in southwestern Ontario that looks precisely at advanced manufacturing. We are doing a great job at promoting our manufacturing
Mr. Speaker, we can do both. We can grow the economy and we can tackle climate change. We are doing it. Our emissions are going down and we are growing the economy. With Canadians, we have created more than 550,000 jobs. Ours is the fastest-growing economy in the G7, and we are taking serious action to tackle climate change. I am extremely proud that next week I will be going to the climate negotiations in Poland, where we are going to take action with the international community to tackle climate change. We owe it to our environment. We owe it to the economy. We owe it to our kids.
Mr. Speaker, once again, it is unfortunate to see the politicization of this economic decision that has affected a number of countries, including the United States and South Korea.We are standing up for Canadian workers. We are examining all possibilities. Indeed, GM retains a very large footprint in Canada, and as a government we are investing in the auto sector across Canada, particularly in Ontario, to maintain high-quality jobs and to make sure that we are ready for the car of the future.
Mr. Speaker, I want to ask again whether the party opposite understands just how serious climate change is. Does the party opposite understand the $30-trillion economic opportunity of climate action? We need to act. We need to do it because it is the right thing to do for our environment. It is the right thing to do for our economy. It is the right thing to do for our kids.Everyone wants to know: What is the Conservative Party's climate plan?
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has proven that the federal government totally underestimated the cost of the wave of migrants, and we are only talking about federal spending. Quebec is the one covering the big costs: education, housing and social assistance. Ottawa set aside $50 million for the provinces. Ontario alone is asking for $200 million, and Quebec has received 12 times as many migrants as Ontario.When will Canada stop laughing at Quebeckers and compensate us like everyone else?
Mr. Speaker, it was last week that we were informed, and the member has told us that he is addressing certain challenges and receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support that he needs.
Mr. Speaker, as I have clearly stated, and as the Prime Minister also stated, it was last week that the member informed us that he was addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons could please tell this House what we will be looking at for the rest of this week and next week, that would be appreciated.
Mr. Speaker, New Zealand is the latest of Canada's security allies to do the right thing and ban Huawei from its 5G networks, yet the Liberals refuse to put the security of Canadians first and do the same. Giving the Chinese government access to our 5G network is both irresponsible and wrong. When will the government join our allies and say no way to Huawei?
Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, it was last week that the member told us he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs. The member knows very well that the government does not direct investigations of this nature.
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want to know is whether the party opposite read the UN climate report. Do they understand that climate change is real? Do they understand the economic impact? There was just a report in the United States by climate scientists and by federal U.S. agencies that said the U.S. is at risk of losing 10% of its economy to the impacts of climate change. We also have a $30-trillion opportunity of clean growth.I wish the party opposite would understand that climate change is real, that we need a serious plan, and that we need to take action to grow our economy and protect our environment. What is the member's plan?
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada always stands ready to support provinces when they are working with local communities to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters. The provinces and municipalities have the first line of responsibility to determine what is necessary, but they call upon the Government of Canada to assist them, including with the disaster financial assistance arrangements, and the Government of Canada will always, in every case, be there.
Mr. Speaker, I had to laugh when I heard the minister talk about cuts we made. We did not make cuts. We rationalized because the border was under control and there were no problems.Then there was that prime ministerial tweet, which has cost us $1.1 billion to date, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who has done his homework.That amount does not even include the $600 million absorbed by Quebec and Ontario.One of these days, they are going to have to stop blaming us for everything that goes wrong. The report reveals the truth, and it is exactly what we have been saying.When will the Prime Minister take responsibility, do his job, and fix the problem?
Mr. Speaker, in recognition of the fact that our planet is facing no greater battle than the fight against climate change, over 230,000 people have signed the Pact for the Transition. This deeply inspiring, non-partisan movement calls on those who sign up to make an individual effort to protect the Earth and demands that the federal government do its part to fight climate change.Our leader, Jagmeet Singh, signed the pact today and has pledged to do everything he can to honour that commitment.When will the minister share her whole-of-government plan for the environment?
Mr. Speaker, well, if GM really did support the Liberal carbon tax, why is it not staying around to pay it? It is a very simple question. There will be no carbon tax on GM, because it is leaving and it will not have to pay the carbon tax. It is leaving behind the workers who will have to pay the carbon tax and other businesses that will have to pay the carbon tax. However, the wealthy CEOs are always happy to leave and to leave the costs behind for everyone else. When will the Liberals start standing up for workers and consumers and give them a break from this costly Liberal carbon tax?
Mr. Speaker, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, once again, the member should know that the RCMP operates independently of government. The member in question informed us last week that he is addressing certain challenges and is receiving treatment from a health professional. We hope he receives the support he needs.
Mr. Speaker, in a recent ranking of 80 energy producing jurisdictions, B.C. dropped to 58th and Alberta dropped 29 spots to 43rd. Respondents blame the high costs of regulatory compliance, taxes and energy. Now, Ontario is feeling Liberal economic mismanagement. In its fourth straight month of decline, the manufacturing sector is at its slowest pace in two years.Why is the Prime Minister heading down the road of higher taxes, increased energy costs, and burdensome regulations that will only further deter investment?
Mr. Speaker, I just came from Washington, where Canada is being known for its concessions right now, and that is what that deal is about. The decline of the automotive sector, including General Motors' most recent cutthroat tactics, has become routine business in Canada. Under successive Liberal regimes, Canada has sunk to 10th in automotive manufacturing. With half a million jobs lost already, nothing seems to move the government to urgency.Yesterday, the Prime Minister said he is considering a plan despite being handed one a year ago by his automotive adviser, ironically funded by workers now being fired.Could the minister explain why the Prime Minister has done nothing over the past year
Mr. Speaker, six months after flooding devastated their community, the people of Grand Forks are still recovering from the impacts of that flood. With winter setting in and the next potential flood only six months away, they are extremely anxious to get a firm commitment of support from the federal government. Can the government commit to working with the people of Grand Forks and the Boundary to support their recovery and mitigation efforts through infrastructure and public safety programs?
Mr. Speaker, we need Bill C-69 for industry to know before they start a project what the rules and regulations are, and to make sure that when they are investing, the rules are clear. The previous government would play games and have no record to show for it. In 2006, basically, 90% of our oil went to the United States. In 2015, guess what? Ninety per cent of our oil was still going to the United States. We will take no lessons on how to do it from the previous government.
I will take this opportunity to clarify a misconception promulgated by the member opposite.Mr. Speaker, those who are seeking asylum in this country, who have asked for the protection of Canada, are processed through an entirely separate system than those who are waiting in other streams of migration. There is no interference in those processes.It is very important to recognize that we have actually made enormous progress, under our current Minister of Immigration, on improving response times and processing times. The system is working well.
Mr. Speaker, is it an international obligation to have 32% of asylum seekers buy a plane ticket from Nigeria to New York and then take a bus to get to Roxham Road? That has nothing to do with any international obligation.So far, this has cost $1.1 billion in federal money, not to mention the provincial contribution, and it is not over. The problem is that these people have to stop coming here illegally.Will the government take responsibility and fix this problem?
Mr. Speaker, we have learned that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East came to light as a result of a police wiretap. The wiretaps were part of an OPP investigation into particularly shady guys suspected of money laundering and terrorist financing. When did the Prime Minister's Office first learn about this serious investigation involving a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
Mr. Speaker, media reports indicate that the gambling debts of the Liberal MP for Brampton East were connected to a larger investigation involving laundering drug money destined for an extremist group in the Middle East. With an investigation touching on drugs, money laundering and international terrorism, it is simply not believable that no one in the government was made aware of this serious investigation, so I ask again: when did the Prime Minister or his office first learn about this serious crimes investigation involving a Liberal MP?
Mr. Speaker, it was last week we were informed.
Mr. Speaker, these are numbers that come from the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada. Therefore, truly the entire refugee system in Canada is in a crisis and there is no end in sight, regardless of what the minister says. If $1.1 billion and a six-year wait time is not enough to close the loophole, what number would it take before the Prime Minister realizes the Liberals have to do something to stop this crisis?
Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Liberal Party's plan is not working. Investments in Canada are disappearing like snow on a sunny day.While Canadian investment in the U.S. is up by 66%, American investment in Canada has dropped by a massive 50%. Overall, private sector investment has fallen off a cliff in this country. That is what the so-called Liberal plan is doing for Canada.Why does the government continue to stubbornly push this measure, which will hurt our investors?
Mr. Speaker, families in my community are not polluters. The St. John's Board of Trade, the Chamber of Marine Commerce, multiple municipal associations, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the National Airlines Council of Canada are all stakeholders who have publicly said the carbon tax will hurt their businesses.Will the transport minister start listening to the concerns of Canadian businesses, or does he still claim he cannot hear them?
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, pursuant to the order made Tuesday, November 27, we will debate the 66th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.We will then finish the debate on Bill C-86, the second budget implementation bill, at third reading.Tomorrow morning, we will start the second reading debate of Bill C-87, an act respecting the reduction of poverty.On Monday, we will commence debate at second reading stage of Bill C-88, concerning the Mackenzie Valley.Last, next Tuesday shall be the final allotted day in the supply cycle.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals killed northern gateway and energy east, the two pipelines to new markets, and they failed to get a single shovel in the ground for Trans Mountain. They created this crisis.Now, the Liberals are passing the no more pipelines Bill C-69, which will do exactly what that name says. It will make sure that no new pipeline is ever proposed or built in Canada again. Premiers, the private sector, economists and experts all agree. If anything the member just said were true, he would scrap Bill C-69 today. Will he do it? Will he get rid of the no more pipelines Bill C-69, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday I moved a motion in this place, and it appeared that members from both the government and the official opposition sides had not supported the motion. However, it is now known that the appearance of opposition was completely unintentional. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I think you will find the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion. I move:That, the House recognize that 81 years ago Imperial Japanese army forces raped an estimated 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women and girls and approximately 300,000 people were killed; that, after the Nanjing massacre, the military sexual slavery system of the Japanese military expanded rapidly, and an estimated 200,000 women from Korea, the Philippines, China, Burma, Indonesia and other Japanese occupied territories were tricked, kidnapped or coerced to work in brothels to serve as comfort women to the Imperial Japanese army; that western eye witnesses in Nanjing described the atrocities as hell on earth; that the House of Commons, in 2007, unanimously passed a motion in recognition that the Imperial armed forces of Japan used women as sex slaves during the Second World War; therefore, in the opinion of the House, the government formally acknowledge this by declaring December 13 of each year as Nanjing massacre commemorative day in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government needs to stand up and fight for workers. Yesterday, Dairy Farmers of Canada called on the Prime Minister not to sign the USMCA until the U.S. oversight of our dairy system has been removed. This is about our food sovereignty. This clause will have devastating and crippling consequences on our industry here in Canada.I have a simple question. Will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and make sure that the oversight clause is removed quickly?
Mr. Speaker, it is simply unbelievable that the Prime Minister and his government were unaware of a major crimes investigation involving a Liberal member of Parliament, an investigation involving drug money, an investigation involving international terrorism. This is an international incident involving national security. Does the Prime Minister really expect us to believe that an investigation of this nature would not have been red flagged to his office? When did he or his office first learn of this serious criminal investigation into a sitting Liberal member of Parliament?
The Prime Minister's tweet was not only silly, it was actually pretty stupid, and it is causing a lot of problems at our borders. In addition to the problems, Mr. Speaker, the crisis is causing huge delays for immigrants and refugees who are actually following the rules and want to come to Canada legally.With a $1.2-billion price tag, and actual refugees being forced to the back of the line, what is it going to take for the current Prime Minister to realize that the crisis at the border, which his tweet created, needs to be fixed?
Mr. Speaker, the news out of Oshawa is devastating. GM has shown contempt for workers. What is worse is that the Liberal government should have known that GM would soon be closing its doors. Rather than supporting Canadian families, the Liberals threw billions of dollars at rich corporations, like GM, without any guarantee that those corporations would maintain jobs.Why do the Liberals continue to put the interests of rich corporations ahead of the well-being of Canadian workers?
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member just said is patently false. We are investing in the automotive industry in Canada. With an investment of about $400 million, we have been able to attract $5.6 billion in investments since taking office. It is therefore false to say that we are no longer attracting investment.Through the strategic innovation fund, we are creating opportunities for Canadian technology and for Canadian workers and their families.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to remind my esteemed colleague that in 2015, during the election campaign, we were debating whether Canada was in a recession or heading into one.That is the legacy that the Conservative government left behind, a legacy of policies that failed by virtually every measure. There is no word strong enough in either French or English to describe just how badly they failed on growth, job creation and export development. As for the social deficit, the Conservatives never lifted a finger to reduce inequality in Canada. Instead, they made it worse.We will take no lessons from the previous government and the Conservative Party. Our record speaks for itself.
Mr. Speaker, what is the point of rushing through accessibility legislation if the government is not going to put its money where its mouth is? The Liberals keep failing Canadians who live with disabilities. In the fall economic update, there is no mention of new obligations, let alone funding for the CRTC to maintain its existing responsibilities. This is unfair, and it is insulting to Canadians who are waiting for implementation of Bill C-81. Why will the Liberals not take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that institutions like the CRTC are accessible to everyone?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will get her chance to ask questions in 10 months.It seems that every other member in this House is hearing about the negative effects of the carbon tax, except the Liberal front bench. The CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said, The federal carbon pricing system as it is structured further weakens our investment position. The Canadian Trucking Alliance said, The federal system creates competitive issues between Canadian and U.S. carriers.Does the transport minister still claim he has not heard these concerns?
Mr. Speaker, GM's decision to close its Oshawa plant is extremely discouraging and our thoughts are with the women and men who are affected, their families and their communities. We have heard that this is part of GM's global restructuring plan and may impact workers in the U.S. and globally. This is extremely troubling news. We feel for everyone who is impacted by this decision.Right now our priority is auto workers and their families. We are working with all partners to support our auto workers, their families and Oshawa during this difficult time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for NorthumberlandPeterborough South for her advocacy.Earlier this month, I was honoured to celebrate with the Williams Treaties chiefs, community members and the Government of Ontario the settlement of all of these longstanding claims. Achieved through dialogue and in partnership, it includes financial compensation, recognition of treaty harvesting rights, and entitlement to add additional reserve lands.Canada and Ontario apologized for the negative impacts of these treaties. As Chief Kelly LaRocca said, this settlement agreement marks the beginning of healing for our people.
Mr. Speaker, on June 17, 2014, Conservatives approved the northern gateway pipeline to export to the Asia-Pacific.On November 29, 2016, the Liberal Prime Minister cancelled the northern gateway pipeline. He had a choice, but he killed that pipeline outright, which could have prevented the current price discount on Canadian oil.When the Liberals were elected, three companies planned to build pipelines in Canada. The Liberals chased them all away.Will the Liberals immediately withdraw their no more pipelines Bill C-69?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have failed to manage our Canadian border and the price tag is staggering. By the end of next year, the Liberals will have spent $1.1 billion of taxpayers' money to deal with illegal border crossers and that does not include any provincial money. Why is the Prime Minister spending more money on illegal border crossers than on getting our homeless veterans off the streets?
Mr. Speaker, it is extremely disappointing that the party opposite would politicize the loss of jobs at GM. It is a very disappointing situation. We will always stand up for workers, but I would encourage the member opposite to go to GM's website, where it supports putting a price on pollution. Maybe the Conservatives should figure out that it should not be free to pollute. We need to stand up for the environment. We need to stand up for the economy. We need to stand up for our kids.