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View Garnett Genuis Profile
CPC (AB)
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the excellent member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.
As the party that received the most votes in the last election, the Conservative Party is working hard to lead constructively in this minority Parliament and use its increased clout to drive conversation and solutions on vital challenges facing this country. One of those is the Canada-China relationship. Recognizing that our existing standing committees often have a full agenda, are designed to focus on specific individual policy areas, and very likely will not start their operations until well into the new year, we believe that this Parliament must strike a special committee right now to study all aspects of the Canada-China relationship, and to study them on an ongoing basis. Of particular importance to me would be the way that Canada can be a stronger voice on the world stage for human rights and to counter the efforts of China's government throughout its repressive political model around the world.
China's current political model is straight out of George Orwell's book, 1984, with constant surveillance and a system of social credit where one's every action is monitored, and the ability to do any basic activity is dependent on a social score assigned by the party. All activity, all investment, all speech, all opinion, everything, is intended to be under the thumb of the state. The state does not recognize the bounds of the law or commitment, including commitments to other countries.
The Prime Minister has expressed admiration for China's so-called basic dictatorship and his hand-picked ambassador led a company which was heavily dependent on contracts from Chinese state-owned companies. I wonder if Dominic Barton and our Prime Minister read 1984 during their childhood and thought that it sounded like a great place to live.
China's repressive political system is not what the Chinese people want. It is not what the people of other Asian and African nations want, even though citizens of other nations face the increasing imposition of Chinese government-backed actors on their countries. Orwellian authoritarianism is not what Canadians want. It is not what almost anyone wants. Therefore, we must stand together against this oppressive political model. Our party stands unapologetically for the advancement of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. This is in our interests and is reflective of our values.
I would like to highlight some of the key problems we see today which necessitate the engagement of this Parliament through the creation of this special committee. I will comment on the situation of Uighurs, Tibetans, Christians, Hong Kongers, students, Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners and people in neighbouring and regional countries.
The Chinese government is detaining Uighur Muslims in concentration camps. This is a further step in a long-running effort to destroy their culture and their faith. Every Ramadan, Uighur Muslims have faced repression of their right to fast in an attempt to impede this important expression of personal piety.
Under the Liberal government, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board put over $48 million of Canadian pension money into Hikvision and Dahua, companies that are working closely with China's military and playing a significant role in Uighur imprisonment. When this was raised in question period earlier this year by my colleague from Calgary Shepard, the government said that the pension board's job is to focus on return on investment, but I believe that the government should hold our pension board to basic standards of morality.
As the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, I cannot accept the government's blasé attitude toward our pension fund's participation in the construction of mass detention and concentration camps in our own time. This is precisely the kind of Islamophobia that the government should be seized with.
We are seeing the escalating persecution of Tibetans, including the continuation of a long-standing policy of repression of religious, cultural and linguistic freedoms. One of the latest developments is the effort by China's government to control the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Essentially, the atheist, materialist, Marxist government purports to be able to determine the Dalai Lama's succession by knowing and identifying his reincarnation. This would be comical if it was not deadly serious. Indeed, we have seen this before with the real Panchen Lama being disappeared and the Chinese government advancing its own candidate instead. This is one of many serious violations of religious freedom that we see in Tibet.
We must not neglect the escalating devastating persecution of Christians in China. Violations of religious freedom can take two predominant forms. One form is the old Maoist way of trying to explicitly eradicate religion. The more common current model is where religious movements are allowed to maintain the external ceremonial aspects of religion but are required to always conform their teaching to the state doctrine. Essentially, they say that it is fine to be a Christian as long as the teachings and attributes of Xi Jinping are put ahead of the teachings and attributes of Christ. Christian movements that refuse this conformist approach face repression.
We see repression of individual believers as well as the violent destruction of churches, such as the Golden Lampstand Church, and also the destruction of houses of worship for other faith communities. Efforts to eradicate religion and to co-opt and control religion are a serious violation of fundamental human rights. They are unacceptable in China, in Canada or anywhere else. Our defence of religious freedom must always include the freedoms of Christians, an aspect often left out.
Let us talk about the situation in Hong Kong. Hong Kong entered into the one country, two systems framework in 1997. The Government of China has repeatedly violated this agreement in so many respects, undermining the autonomy of Hong Kong. People in Hong Kong have highlighted to me how police there seem to have taken on the attributes of mainland military police instead of Hong Kong's own separate police force.
Protestors in Hong Kong are concerned about violation of the one country, two systems framework and have five concrete demands: the withdrawal of the extradition bill; stop labelling protestors as rioters; drop charges against protestors; conduct an independent inquiry into police behaviour; and implement genuine universal suffrage for the legislative council and the chief executive. We support these objectives and especially we wish to highlight the importance of meaningful universal suffrage.
Many of Hong Kong's legislators are elected in so-called functional constituencies, whereby essentially a few insider companies get to pick the legislators. On this side of the House, we stand with the people of Hong Kong and we support universal suffrage. I asked the minister twice today if she supports universal suffrage and real democracy in Hong Kong. She talked about the right to protest, but she refused twice to answer my question on the issue of universal suffrage.
I have many concerns about the state of freedom of speech at universities in Canada, but this challenge is made significantly worse when foreign governments act to undermine freedom of speech on Canadian campuses. The dependence of many universities on the revenue associated with international students and the dependence of academics studying China on visa access to China are points of significant vulnerability.
When a well-known Tibetan student, Chemi Lhamo, was elected as president of the U of T Scarborough student union, she faced an orchestrated campaign of harassment. When a student group called McMaster Muslims for Peace and Justice at McMaster University organized an event to highlight Uighur abuses, efforts were made to disrupt the event. The Chinese consulate in Toronto praised this action, saying, “We strongly support the just and patriotic actions of Chinese students.” There was no response from Canada to this gross abuse of our sovereignty by the consulate.
More recently, ahead of a visit to the Chinese embassy in Ottawa, members of the Carleton International Relations Society were asked not to raise controversial topics.
University students must embrace a role that they have traditionally occupied as thoughtful provocateurs for justice. We think of the freedom riders of the civil rights movements or the students who faced down tanks during the 1989 pro-democracy protest in Tiananmen Square.
University campuses and the presence there of many international students from China should create opportunities for free and open dialogue, dialogue which, when free and open, will lead to the advancement of freedom and democracy, human rights and the rule of law. However, this dialogue cannot happen if universities and student groups are subject to foreign pressure and manipulation. Preserving the integrity of our academic institutions is something in which there is a pressing national interest, and I hope this special committee would specifically take on the situation at our universities involving Canadian and international students who are studying there.
Taiwan, a free Chinese democracy, is a beacon of hope in the region. Taiwan is the example of all that China could be, a free and open society which preserves and celebrates China's ancient and beautiful civilization. However, unfortunately the Chinese government increasingly tries to interfere in the domestic affairs of Taiwan. Last year, Air Canada caved to a demand by the Chinese government to list Taiwan as part of its territory, with no response from Canada.
I have spoken frequently about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and particularly about the issue of organ harvesting and trafficking, which requires urgent action.
Finally, the colonial policy of the Chinese government throughout Africa and Asia is a pressing concern of many people in those countries and many Canadians from various backgrounds. It is ironic that China's government is actually using a similar colonial approach that colonial European powers used in China in the past. The Chinese government is imposing multi-decade leases on vital infrastructure, which gives it ongoing leverage over internal affairs.
The Liberal government, by pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Chinese government-controlled Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, is not only failing to oppose this program; it is actively funding it. The government's response to our proposal of a cross-cutting committee focusing specifically on this problem is to suggest that parliamentarians or the House are ill-suited to respond to this problem. I believe that the government is ill-suited to respond to this challenge, and that is why parliamentary scrutiny is required.
We reject any admiration about basic dictatorship and we believe in the principle of parliamentary scrutiny over the executive. Thankfully, in a minority Parliament where the government got only one-third of the votes, we as the opposition have the power to assert that principle of parliamentary sovereignty and we will.
View Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Profile
BQ (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with the member for Saint-Jean.
I think that multiple factors have contributed to the very real problem with the Canada-China relationship, whether it be in trade or diplomatic relations. One of the most significant of those factors is likely the fact that Canada is having a hard time understanding that China has become a major world power. I think it is important to understand the phenomenon to know how all this began. For a long time, China's national project, as it was called, involved transforming an empire into a country that would continue to integrate more and more outlying areas. That is how it was, historically speaking.
That caused problems for minorities, as we know, but these were basically internal issues that did not really disrupt the international order. China opened its borders to international trade primarily in the 1990s. This process began in the 1980s, but it accelerated dramatically in the 1990s and 2000s. Since then, the country has seen tremendous growth. It has been doing a lot of catching up and is now on the path to technological dominance in certain sectors. It is very important to understand what China's power is based on.
China's case is somewhat unique in that it has a vast pool of cheap labour at its disposal, due to demographic pressures exerted by rural populations, which have been migrating to cities over the past 20 years and more. China's policy basically consists of attracting as much direct foreign investment as possible. Most of the factories built in China produce goods for export to other markets, such as the United States, Europe and some Asian countries.
We are also seeing the emergence of a Chinese middle class that is huge by western standards. It is about 250 million strong. That is humongous. There is something I should clarify, however. China is often portrayed as just a successful example of trade openness. It is worth noting that the aggressive investment-seeking policy that has enabled China to take its place in the world was largely planned out by Beijing, which maintains strict capital controls. This allows it to control the exchange rate and keep it from rising. That is a problem that the world at large will have to address someday.
As a side note, after the Second World War, monetary matters and trade matters were split up, and two separate institutions were created to control them. After the Second World War, the great 20th-century economist John Maynard Keynes warned the authorities, and it turns out he was right. Now let me get back to China.
The Chinese strategy has always been to combine openness to trade with aggressive state intervention. China's strategy was well planned, and, for the most part, the state controls direct foreign investment within its borders. I also want to point out that there is another issue we need to address. This might be the elephant in the room. If one of our committees can take this on, why not? China's presence on the world stage also serves the interests of many multinationals that benefit from low Chinese wages to put downward pressure on labour costs in other manufacturing countries.
China also offers multinational corporations an excellent opportunity to relocate their businesses within its borders. We are all familiar with made-in-China products. I would not be surprised if many of the products in our parliamentary gift shop were made in China. This affects all areas of activity, such as mass distribution, as in the case of Walmart, as well as biotechnology companies. China is actually accumulating various technologies as Chinese companies acquire licences and by making massive investments in countries rich in natural resources such as rare earth elements. In technology, for example, the U.S. has had a negative trade balance with China since 2007, so for more than 10 years.
In a show of China's regional power, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation held a highly successful meeting in Qingdao, China, the same weekend as the G7 summit fiasco in La Malbaie. One decision at this meeting was to adopt common tools. The Chinese president made one announcement after the other.
This new empire and China's new power policy have increased tensions with other countries. Some examples are tensions in the China Sea, increased control over Hong Kong and a hardened position on Taiwan. At the same time, the regime is centralizing and strengthening.
Canada has not managed to adapt in response to all of these changes. However, Canada and China have traditionally had good relations. Canada recognized that the People's Republic of China was the true government of China one year before the Americans. The Americans continued to claim that the Taiwanese government, post-Chiang Kai-shek, was the true representative of China. Taiwan occupied China's seat on the UN Security Council until 1971.
Just two years ago, relations were still rather good. During the Prime Minister's visit in 2017, the Chinese media gave him a pet name. At the time, there was even talk of undertaking a free trade agreement between Canada and China. That would not have been a good idea. The Bloc Québécois would have rejected the idea, but it is a good indication that relations were far from bad.
Ever since then it has been a series of blunders, gaffes and indecision from Canada, and relations began to deteriorate. They are now ice cold. China adopted a series of retaliatory measures following the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, blocked imports of Canadian canola and in June 2019, suspended all imports of Canadian meat. That hurt Quebec because the pork industry was exporting large quantities to China. Half of Canadian pork exports come from Quebec.
The Prime Minister tried to call the President of China, who did not return his call. Even the U.S. asked for Ms. Meng's extradition. The U.S. president has said that he is prepared to intervene and release Ms. Meng if this would result in a good trade deal for the U.S. with China. Canada has always defended itself by stating that the judiciary is independent of the administrative branch and that the government would not intervene, a position that was undermined by the U.S. president's comments.
Furthermore, not having an ambassador in China was not helpful. Even if the conflict with China has real repercussions on trade, this is not a trade conflict per se. It is a diplomatic conflict that must be resolved through diplomacy. In this regard, not having a Canadian ambassador in China for almost 10 months is gross negligence and a serious mistake.
Did Canada have a choice in going ahead with Meng Wanzhou's arrest? That may be a matter for debate. The independence of the judiciary is central to the proper functioning of any lawful society. However, Meng Wanzhou's case is rather unusual because she is not accused of a common law offence.
When the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and imposed harsh sanctions against Iran prohibiting all other nations from doing business with it, Canada, Europe and most other countries condemned the decision and said they would not follow suit. However, by arresting Meng Wanzhou for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, Canada is endorsing the U.S. decision it condemned.
For years, the Americans imposed a strict embargo against Cuba and even penalized North American enterprises that did business with Cuba. Canada has always refused to co-operate with Washington by enforcing this extraterritorial law, which had a much greater impact on local populations than on the Cuban regime.
Once again, was Canada right to arrest Meng Wanzhou?
That is a legitimate question. We think a special multi-party committee that can take the time to study this issue thoroughly is a good idea.
View Glen Motz Profile
CPC (AB)
Mr. Speaker, before I begin on the issues of this opposition day motion today, I just want to take the opportunity to thank the constituents of Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner for their overwhelming support that returned me to the House. My thanks to the many volunteers who worked on my campaign. I hope I will do justice in Ottawa for them and the Conservative team. I want to thank my friends and family as well for their continued support.
Before I get into the issues I wanted to make you aware, Mr. Speaker, that I will be sharing my time today with my friend the member for Wellington—Halton Hills.
I rise today to address the motion put before the House, a motion that is timely and one that I wholeheartedly support. That is the matter of China.
This is an issue that has been mismanaged by the Prime Minister and the entire Liberal government to date. While all international issues are complex, and there are certainly deep connections in our industries to China as suppliers, manufacturers, consumers and more, there are principles and values that should always be respected.
All members of this House have taken an oath to ensure the safety and security of all Canadians. We cannot ensure that safety and security if we ignore our duties and defer difficult choices. It is for that reason, and for the fact that the Liberal government has completely failed to act or lay out any strategy, that the Conservatives have brought forward a motion for the House, not the Prime Minister but the House, to determine the truth and way forward on Huawei, on China and on ensuring that Canada can stand up for its values and its rights.
The evidence on why there is a security threat from China is public and available for all Canadians and parliamentarians to understand. The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security heard from experts on threats facing Canada. To quote Ray Boisvert, the former assistant director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS, on whether there is a threat from China, he said:
There's also the issue that China is now in the age of self-admitted “sharp power”, and they exercise that power with very little reservation anymore. There's no longer even a question of hiding their intentions. They are taking a very aggressive approach around resources and intellectual property, and they also are very clear in dealing with dissidents and academics. They've arrested some of them, and they punish others, including academic institutions in North America, at their will, so I think there's a value challenge that Canadians have to consider along with the economic opportunities discussion.
The “sharp power” that Mr. Boisvert referred to has been reported in the news and highlighted in a number of articles. For example, Beijing has openly organized pro-Communist regime protesters in Canada. One such protest was led by a former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister, whom CSIS had raised concerns about given his close ties to China.
China has created pro-Communist regime lobby groups like the Canadian Chinese Political Affairs Committee, which publishes pro-China and pro-Huawei articles, suggesting that there was a wave of anti-China hate crimes and that Chinese Canadians were living in fear. These claims were made with the support and direction of the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto.
These are not the actions of friends or allies, but rather raise serious concerns about the intent and trust between our countries. Not only are they working to undermine the truth and publishing falsehoods in our newspapers, but we know that Communist China has state-sponsored actors actively working to undermine Canadian economic interests.
In 2013, the former Nortel campus was taken over by the Department of National Defence. There were numerous delays in moving to the new location, no doubt hampered by the discovery of listening devices throughout the building.
Nortel was studied by cybersecurity experts who directly linked the demise of Canada's largest technology company, Nortel, to state-sponsored attacks to steal intellectual property. This information was used by foreign competitors to undercut Nortel, and investigators into cyber-attacks on the firm pointed the finger directly back to Huawei, the same firm now wanting to profit from and build our mobile telecommunication networks.
China has also been linked to the theft of our research discoveries and to pressure tactics on Canadian university researchers.
Through researchers sent by China, as well as through funding agreements, China can exert pressure on Canadian academics, steal research and direct more opportunities back into its own institutions.
In 2019, Huawei funded $56 million in academic research here in Canada. This prompted a direct warning from CSIS that there was a serious security concern over this partnership and the theft of research and intellectual property. As far as I know, there are still no guidelines from the federal government on how those research agreements with Huawei and the Chinese Communist government organizations should be managed.
It does raise the question, though, that if our national security and intelligence service can be concerned about research agreements, surely the infrastructure that will carry sensitive commercial, economic and social information for the next 20 years is even more critical to protect.
Why has the Liberal government not been able to come to a decision in the last four years? Is the theft of research at academic institutions more sensitive than the daily banking information, phone calls, text messages, emails and more that travel through our work and personal telecommunications infrastructure on a daily basis?
Are we willing to trust that the Communist regime in China will not attempt to do what it has done for decades, to use technology and cyber-espionage to benefit its own companies and the state?
It was not China's repeated violations of Canada that disrupted our relationship with the Communist regime. Canada's relationship with China had been declining for many years, not just because of the threats they issue on our soil to Chinese-born Canadians with family back home or China's outright attacks on Canada through cyber-based espionage, but through its open threats toward Canada's economic interests, our social systems and the human rights and values our country cherishes.
Former Chinese ambassador Lu Shaye warned Canada to “stop the moves that undermine the interests of China.” He suggested that the arrest and detention of Huawei's CFO in Vancouver was backstabbing a friend, and warned of repercussions if the federal government banned Huawei.
I have to say China's Communist regime certainly does not act like a friend. It steals from us, abuses us, threatens Canadians and detains our citizens in that country. That is not how our friends act.
What kind of repercussions could China exact on us? How about what China has already done, namely blocking canola by two of our largest producers, Richardson International and Viterra, with false claims of pests, and blocking exports of soybeans, peas, pork and beef? The economic value of our agriculture exports to China is in excess of $5 billion. Clearly, China knows that it can hurt Canada.
Our response to date has been almost nothing. Farmers are losing their homes, some are selling their farms and some are taking their lives. The response from the government is nothing.
There is endless evidence of the threat that the Communist Chinese government poses to Canada by exerting its “sharp power” and overt attempts to hurt our economy, to push us to accept its way of doing things without question. We would be fools to accept the Chinese government's abuse in the hopes that it might one day turn into a good relationship.
The proposal to strike a new committee would allow all parties in this House to work together, something I know the Liberal Prime Minister wants because he said so in his Speech from the Throne. He said that Canadians were expecting this of us in the House.
Now it is time for the Liberals to put their words into action. Striking a special committee would let us look at all aspects of the issues. Economic, diplomatic, legal and security issues would otherwise span many committees. We cannot allow another year to go by without action and a plan for Canada to deal with these issues.
I urge all members of the House to support the creation of a special committee and to establish it quickly so that we can get to work and address the long-standing issues between our two countries.
View Han Dong Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Han Dong Profile
2019-12-09 11:21 [p.71]
Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Oakville North—Burlington.
It is my pleasure to rise today to deliver my maiden speech in this hon. House as the member of Parliament for Don Valley North and to speak in support of the Speech from the Throne.
I would like to begin by thanking the people of Don Valley North for placing their trust in me to be their voice in Ottawa. I am incredibly humbled by this great responsibility, and I will strive every day to ensure that the perspectives, concerns and diverse opinions and beliefs of my community are thoughtfully and comprehensively represented in this House.
Throughout this fall's campaign, just like all of my hon. colleagues, I had the chance to speak to residents through the breadth and width of my riding about issues they cared most about, from traffic congestion and community safety to housing affordability and providing more support for our seniors.
The residents of Don Valley North and Canadians from coast to coast to coast have made it very clear. They asked all of us in this House to work together to address the issues that matter most to them and their families, and they expect us to deliver results not soon, not down the road, but now. That is why I am proud of the ambitious agenda this government has presented to the House in the Speech from the Throne.
This government has set forward a plan to address the most pressing issues faced by us as a society today. These include fighting climate change, strengthening the middle class, walking the road of reconciliation, keeping Canadians safe and healthy and positioning our country for success on the international stage. Canadians have chosen to keep our country moving forward, and that is exactly what this government's plan will do.
While I stand in this House speaking of the mandate handed to us by the Canadian people, my mind turns immediately to an encounter I had on the campaign trail in Don Valley North. While knocking on doors on Van Horne Avenue, I met a young mother completing her final year of post-secondary studies. Although beaming with pride as she told me about her daughter and how much she has accomplished over the years in the face of adversity and challenges, I could see her eyes slowly begin to fill with tears. She told me about her anxieties with regard to the possibility of not being able to complete her studies because of recent cuts to the new OSAP funding by the current provincial government. She spoke about the skyrocketing costs of living and child care and her fears about the type of planet her children will inherit.
It is encounters like this that have brought me to public life, and indeed to this House.
My hon. colleagues will know that the fears and anxieties expressed by this young mother are not unique to my riding. Indeed, they are not unique to the people of Toronto, nor to Ontario, for that matter. They are concerns shared by many Canadians in every riding across this country.
Therefore, as we debate this ambitious plan set forward by the government, which directly addresses the concerns, hopes and aspirations of Canadians from across our country, I ask this hon. House to think about the people who sent us here.
As parliamentarians, we are presented with unique opportunities. We have been sent to Ottawa by our communities with the expectation that we will not only govern, but, more importantly, we will lead, and lead for them.
Future generations of Canadians will judge us not on the words delivered in this House today or tomorrow, but on how we addressed the defining challenges facing our generation.
As members of this hon. House, we have a clear mandate from the people, and that mandate demands action now.
On climate change, Canadians have demanded that we take immediate action to tackle the crisis head-on. That is why our government is committed to protecting the environment by setting a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, putting a price on pollution everywhere, protecting and conserving nature and reducing plastic pollution.
To address affordability and strengthen our middle class, we are taking action to invest in affordable housing and make it easier for more people to achieve the goal of home ownership.
We know that raising a family is expensive and saving for retirement is a challenge, and that is why we will make before-school and after-school programs and child care more affordable and accessible while also strengthening pensions for our seniors.
To keep Canadians safe and healthy, our government is taking direct action to crack down on gun crime, banning military-style assault weapons and helping municipalities to ban handguns, should they choose to, while also ensuring that all Canadians have access to high-quality, affordable health care by working with the provinces, territories, professionals and academia to ensure all Canadians have access to a good primary care doctor.
We know that as a government and as parliamentarians, we are not alone in taking leadership to provide a better future for Canadians. Across the country, countless community organizations are working tirelessly in helping Canadians who need and deserve our support.
In my riding of Don Valley North, organizations like the Armenian Community Centre, the Iranian Women's Organization of Ontario, the Centre for Immigrant and Community Services, Working Women Community Centre, Toronto North Local Immigration Partnership and Flemingdon Health are offering crucial services to new Canadians.
ACCES Employment, The Centre for Education and Training, and Springboard Employment Services are providing help to Canadians in search of employment and new skills.
Willowdale Community Legal Services, Adventure Place, Community Information Fairview, North York Harvest Food Bank and religious and cultural organizations are providing professional and social services to our country.
I am incredibly proud of the work those organizations and so many more in Don Valley North are doing. I am honoured to work alongside them as their member of Parliament to ensure all members of our community have an equal opportunity to succeed.
Our constituents are looking to us to lead. They are looking to us to take decisive action to create a better Canada where everyone, regardless of race, religion, sex, age or country of origin, can and will succeed. I am proud to say that the ambitious plan put forward by this government does just that.
View Pat Kelly Profile
CPC (AB)
View Pat Kelly Profile
2019-12-09 11:48 [p.75]
Mr. Speaker, I am going to share my time with the member for North Okanagan—Shuswap.
Though I rose briefly during Routine Proceedings last Friday, this is my first speech in the 43rd Parliament and I would like to take this occasion to give some additional words of thanks. As a temporary custodian of this seat in Parliament, I am deeply honoured to have the enormous responsibility of representing some 140,000 residents as part of a centuries-old tradition of protecting citizens by checking the otherwise unlimited power of the Crown. Parliaments exist in order to ensure that the Crown and its agent, the government, cannot impose itself on citizens without their consent. That consent is granted through votes in this incredible institution.
Once again, I thank the voters of Calgary Rocky Ridge for electing me to be their servant in the House. I also wish to thank the 270-odd volunteers who assisted my election campaign. I thank them for their support, for their commitment to their community and for their love of their country. I could not have done it without them. I would like to thank the other candidates who contested the election in Calgary Rocky Ridge for giving the voters choice, without which there is no democracy.
Finally, I wish to thank my family. My three daughters, it seems I began the last Parliament with three young girls who are now three young women. My loving wife, Kimberley, I thank for her love, her understanding, her patience, her unwavering support and for always keeping it real in the Kelly house. To my parents, Marnie and Duane Kelly, I thank them for their constant love and encouragement.
Today we are debating last Thursday's Speech from the Throne. My response to the Speech from the Throne is coloured by the recent experience of having knocked on a little under 30,000 doors with my re-election team. What I heard on the doorsteps is what informs my remarks and my impressions of the Speech from the Throne.
To be blunt, the government has virtually no support in my riding. That is simply a fact and it is supported by the election results. I knocked on doors in the communities of Calgary Rocky Ridge in every provincial and federal election over the last 30 years as an activist and in 2015 and 2019 as a candidate, and I have never experienced anything quite like it.
It was never easier. People have never been more forthright in coming forward and identifying themselves as Conservative supporters. However, at the same time, I have never had more difficult conversations on doorsteps than I did in this election with people who suggested that they intended to support me, my party and my leader.
For most candidates in most elections, conversations with our own supporters are the easy ones, but not in 2019 in Calgary Rocky Ridge. Some of the conversations I had with supporters were downright heartbreaking. I spoke with people who had not worked in years. I heard from people who told me that they were on the verge of losing their homes. I talked with people whose spouses were working in Texas and coming home for a couple of weekends a month or were working in the Middle East or other parts of the world and only coming home a few times over the course of a year.
I talked with a man who has lived in his neighbourhood for 20 years and he said that since 2015, seven previously stable families on his block had come apart in divorce. Economic stress and anxiety from unemployment and failing businesses have taken their toll on families, tearing apart the very fabric of our communities.
I spoke with people who openly and candidly expressed their despair, anger and incredulity over what they see as a failure of their country to respect their province. For decades, Alberta has welcomed Canadians from across Canada and indeed people from around the world to be a part of Alberta's economic opportunities. It has transferred much of that wealth back to other provinces and continues to do so despite a recession that has been going on for five years.
My constituents are demanding action. They cannot wait. They made it abundantly clear to me that regardless of which party was to form a government after the election, they would expect me to speak clearly and without ambiguity about just how devastating these past four years have been.
They expect me to be candid about just how upset they are with their federal government. They told me that they wanted the no-more-pipelines bill reversed. They told me they were stunned that a tanker ban on Alberta exports was brought in while tankers continued to bring in oil to eastern refineries from Saudi Arabia.
They told me that they could not understand why a government was running such large deficits at a time of economic expansion. They told me that they were appalled by the constant parade of ministers to the Ethics Commissioner, by a Prime Minister prepared to bully his own cabinet and break the law just to get his own way, and by the way the Prime Minister's personal conduct never matches his moral preening.
They told me, at door after door, that the Prime Minister is a constant source of embarrassment on the world stage, and that they do not believe that he is up to the diplomatic challenges of our times, because they believe that he is fundamentally an unserious person.
With the campaign behind us, with the country's divisions laid bare in a minority Parliament, last week the Prime Minister had an opportunity to acknowledge the failings of the last Parliament, which cost him seats and votes in every region of the country.
He had an opportunity to chart a new course to address the concerns of Canadians who rejected his government's track record. Instead, he delivered a speech full of the same flowery language and grand aspirations that we heard throughout the last Parliament with only a few inadequate words for my constituents in a partial sentence, kind of as an afterthought, where he claimed that the government would “also work just as hard to get Canadian resources to new markets and offer unwavering support to the hard-working men and women in Canada's natural resources sectors, many of whom have faced tough times recently”.
Really? “Unwavering support” and “have faced tough times recently”, is that it? Since 2015, hundreds of thousands of energy workers have lost their jobs. Over 100,000 of them are out of work in Alberta right now. There is $100 billion in energy investment that has left Canada since the Liberal government took office.
Encana, which was once Canada's largest company, and TransCanada PipeLines are changing their names to remove “Canada” from their business names and relocating to the United States because that is where the work is. However, all the Prime Minister had to say in his Speech from the Throne was “unwavering support” and “tough times recently”?
The Prime Minister has been unwavering in his stated desire to phase out the natural resources sector, and he is succeeding. One incredibly insulting sentence that contained a flagrant untruth was all the Prime Minister had to say about this in his entire speech.
If the Prime Minister meant what he said about getting Canadian resources to market, it would require him to undo much of the work of the last Parliament. It would require him to repeal Bill C-69 or implement every single one of the Senate amendments that were rejected last spring.
It would require him to repeal Bill C-48. It would require him to champion Canada as a reliable source of ethically extracted resources and to disown his own prior anti-Canadian-energy rhetoric. It would require him to actually take concrete steps to ensure Trans Mountain could be completed. It would require him to apologize for chasing its private sector proponent out of Canada and for having to send $4.5 billion to Texas so they could compete with us by building pipelines elsewhere.
The Liberals think they deserve some kind of credit for buying a pipeline that should never have been for sale in the first place. I can assure them that not one single person I met in my riding, where pipelines are a huge issue, thought that buying it was anything other than a last-ditch solution to a problem 100% of the Liberals' own making.
To sum up, the throne speech contains nothing for my constituents. I received a strong mandate from the people of Calgary Rocky Ridge, and I expect them to hold me to a high standard. My constituents expect nothing less.
View Arif Virani Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Arif Virani Profile
2019-12-09 12:17 [p.79]
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be back in this chamber and I want to start by thanking my constituents in Parkdale—High Park for returning me for the second time to this chamber. It is an honour and a privilege to serve them, one I do not take lightly.
I also thank the most important people in my life in terms of getting me to where I am today, the people who gave me guidance as a young child and then as a young man: my parents, Lou and Sul Virani. My dad just celebrated his 78th birthday this past Saturday. I thank my sister Shakufe. My immediate family has been a rock of support through all of this.
I will confess that it has been a little more troubling and difficult for my youngest son this go-round. In 2015, he was one year old and did not have much conscious memory of what transpired then. This go-round, he was five and missed his dad a great deal during the election, as did my eight-year-old son. However, it is for them that I do this work and for children around the country that we all do this work. It is important to keep them in mind. I love Zakir and Nitin very much. I am not wearing a shirt with cufflinks today, but I have the cufflinks with their initials on them in my pocket, as I always do on important occasions.
The most important person is obviously my significant other, my wife Suchita, who has been a rock of support. We do not come from a political family, but she has, nevertheless, been steadfast and by my side constantly throughout this entire endeavour, even to the point of pulling the vote on election day this past year, which was a first for her. I thank my wife Suchita. I love her dearly. I thank her for allowing me to do what I do, serving this country and my riding.
We have just had the Speech from the Throne, which contains a series of initiatives the government is pursuing. I want to highlight six of them. Members will recollect from the previous Parliament that I remain a litigator who likes to stay organized in his prepared comments.
My first point is climate action. We know that climate action is urgent. The country heard about it during the course of the campaign and prior to it. We know we need to take bold action, and we have taken the steps toward that bold action. However, I am going to highlight one important thing because it dovetails with the message sent to us by constituents right around the country: what they are looking for in returning a minority Parliament is more co-operation, and there is no monopoly on a good idea. We need to take best practices from across the aisle, across the country and around the world and implement them as best practices here in Canada.
I will point to one. We have taken some very bold action with our carbon price in our plan to phase out coal and our initiatives in the just transition. One thing we need to do was not contained in our platform but the platform of a party opposite, the NDP. It talked about a climate accountability mechanism that government would report to. That is exactly the kind of mechanism that is worth studying. I was at COP24 last year in Katowice, and that is the model that is used in Britain that was championed at COP24. I brought that idea back to Parliament and immediately started talking about it. I am glad to see it in the platforms of other parties. It is the kind of idea that we need to take up, because there is nothing more pressing than addressing climate change as an initiative.
My second point from the throne speech is that affordability rang true throughout the country. This is not only germane to my riding, or the city of Toronto or urban centres; this rings true regardless of where one is, from region to region, rural to urban. I would point to a very important commitment in the throne speech that was reiterated when the throne speech was read, which is that the very first act we will be taking as a government is to reduce the taxation burden on low- and middle-income Canadians. How are we doing that? We are increasing the basic personal exemption.
Again, it is not a partisan issue, but I will point out a subtle difference that lays bare the difference between the two major parties in this chamber. Conservatives presented the same idea and would have had it universally applicable. Liberals said it is a great idea, but we are going to make it applicable to everyone, except for the top 1%. Why? It is because we fundamentally believe in targeting our measures toward those who need it the most.
We were criticized in the past, perhaps fairly, for having a middle-class tax cut that applied to people earning between $42,000 and $85,000 roughly, if I remember correctly from the last Parliament. People said, rightfully, that low-income people need taxation relief as much as anyone else. We are delivering that in this campaign platform and with this first initiative. That subtle difference, by ensuring that the benefit goes to those who need it the most and not those who do not need it, is what definitely identifies us as a centrist Liberal Party attempting to address the needs of the most vulnerable.
The third point I want to touch on is housing. Housing is critical. The issue I heard time and time again when I knocked on doors during the last campaign was housing. Whether it was support for housing, affordable rental housing or the ability for people to buy their first homes, people are feeling the pinch. They are feeling squeezed out of the housing market.
It is incumbent upon all of us to address that pinch clearly and vigorously. We are doing just that with a $55-billion plan that is 12 years deep to address housing.
The campaign is over. It is time to implement those policies, starting with the Canada housing benefit, which will be a portable benefit so that a person is not attached to a particular apartment or unit. People take that benefit with them wherever they move in a riding, in a city or around the country.
The fourth important theme is critical. It is gun control. I want to talk about this a little bit, because when we speak about gun control, we are speaking about the needs of all Canadians. This need not be a rural/urban issue.
I was so excited to get going on the throne speech that I neglected to mention that I would be splitting my time with the hon. member for Vaughan—Woodbridge. I congratulate him on his return to the House.
With respect to gun control, this past Friday was a noted anniversary. It was the 30th anniversary of the Montreal massacre.
I remember that time 30 years ago very clearly, because my sister was a young student at McGill University. Since she was in Montreal at the time, many people called to make sure Shakufe was okay, that she was safe. We knew she was okay, because she had let us know. We were lucky; our family was lucky.
There are 14 families who were changed forever that evening. What troubles me is that sometimes people think that while Jacinda Ardern has done really well on gun control, hot on the heels of a brutal massacre in New Zealand, we do not need to wait for another massacre to act. We have had our share of troubles. We continue to have our share of troubles, such as 30 years ago in Montreal and on January 29, 2017, in Quebec City.
We have had incidents of people being slaughtered through guns that are used only for the purposes of mass killing. Those are not hunting rifles; those are not legitimately pursued weapons; those are weapons that have no place in Canadian society. We made a bold commitment to get rid of military-style assault weapons. That was reiterated in the throne speech and I am determined to ensure that we see that through its course, and see it through quickly.
However, it does not just stop there. As a Toronto member of Parliament, I believe firmly in the need for gun control. Yes, there are many facets that contribute to the gun problem and to violence in cities like mine. There are gang problems and there are border control problems, but part of the problem is also the availability of readily accessible handguns that serve no place in a city like Toronto, or in many of our urban centres and centres otherwise.
This issue impacts our communities, including our racialized communities. It affects mental health and those who pass on by suicide. It dovetails with domestic violence, particularly violence perpetrated against women. We will address all of those issues by addressing the nub of the issue, which is gun control.
The fifth theme that I want to touch on is indigenous reconciliation. I was very proud to see that reiterated again in the speech, as it needs to be. This will take seven generations to resolve. We made gigantic progress in the last Parliament, in terms of addressing monetary needs, boil water advisories, child welfare legislation and the Indigenous Languages Act, which I was very privileged to work on as the parliamentary secretary to the then minister of heritage. What I learned on that file is that, notwithstanding my own background on equity issues and on fighting discrimination, we will get nowhere in this country in rectifying all sorts of other issues that deal with inequality unless we address the core and foundational issue, which is 400 years of colonialism and racism fomented against indigenous people.
The sixth theme I wanted to talk about is pharmacare. In an effort to reach across the aisle, we have heard about this from many different parties in this House. The time is now to address the lacuna in our current situation of policy. In the entire OECD, we stand alone as the only country that supports medical care and not medicine with publicly financed support. That is a minority of one that I personally do not want to be in and I know the colleagues opposite share that view.
Exploring dental care is another fine suggestion that was brought forward in the NDP campaign platform. It was mentioned in the throne speech and I believe it is worth exploring.
Mr. Speaker, you know that I came to this chamber as a human rights and constitutional lawyer. You know, because we served together, that I came here as a refugee from Uganda and that I have taken advantage of the opportunities that were provided to me in this fine country and I have worked to make it better. We have made great strides over the last four years, but there is so much more work to be done.
I just want to finish on this note and say four things that I thought about after getting re-elected, which I would commit to myself, my constituents and this chamber.
The first is to continue to speak out about what I have always believed in: fighting discrimination, promoting equality and making Canada more inclusive for all.
The second is to continue to champion human rights, both here and abroad, at every opportunity that presents itself.
The third is to ensure that housing is not a fanciful ideal, but is something that manifests for people in my community.
Finally, the fourth is to ensure that we will always work harder, faster and more ambitiously on climate change because climate change is the most pressing issue of our time.
In a spirit of co-operation and collegiality, I offer congratulations to all the new members and returning members to this House. I hope to work with all members collaboratively to better this nation and this Parliament.
View Stephanie Kusie Profile
CPC (AB)
View Stephanie Kusie Profile
2019-12-09 12:49 [p.85]
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to indicate that I will be splitting my time with the member for Elgin—Middlesex—London. I look forward to those remarks as well.
I cannot begin without thanking the constituents of Calgary Midnapore for sending me here again. I am so very overjoyed to be back in the House representing them. I am truly grateful.
My parents are my constituents, so my mom is probably watching. I promise to be extra good in the House at this time.
I am very sad for my family today. My mother is from Quebec and my father is from Saskatchewan. It is not uncommon for Canadian families to have one parent from the west and the other from the east. We heard a similar story on the other side of the House last week. Families becoming divided has become a Canadian story, and that is very sad. We are divided because the other side of the House spent the past four years playing all kinds of political games. The government split us right in half. It pit regions against one another. That is truly sad.
My region, the west, and more specifically Alberta, where the energy sector has no support, obviously comes to mind. Also coming to mind are several bills, such as Bill C-69, which makes it practically impossible to start new projects. There is Bill C-48, which makes it practically impossible to build a pipeline and transport oil. That is very sad. The carbon tax is another example. Bills that impede the energy sector have serious consequences on families and individuals. Bills like these are completely destroying families and people's lives. The government claims to want to eliminate poverty, but it is actually creating poverty with these kinds of bills.
On more than one occasion, the Prime Minister has said one thing to one part of the country and the opposite to another. The President of the United States called that behaviour “two-faced”. The President of the United States and Canadians have seen those two faces.
With the Speech from the Throne, the Prime Minister had an opportunity to put the country on a new path. Sadly, he let that opportunity pass him by. However, he had previously taken certain steps in that direction. He specifically appointed a minister of provincial relations. He held numerous meetings with various provincial premiers. The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister promised to listen carefully to what the premiers had to say. The Speech from the Throne would have been the perfect opportunity to prove that they had listened. Unfortunately, the speech shows nothing of the kind. The situation is different from what it was before the election.
There were words, but not much was said. There were platitudes, like talking about the good of our community and clichés such as “no challenges are too big.” There were also false attempts to show empathy and understanding for regions. There were parts of the speech that said that as much as Canadians had instructed us to work together, they had also spoken clearly about the the importance of their regions and their local needs.
What did Canadians say when they spoke? Did they say how their father had not been able to find a job in three years because the corporation he was working for left because of instability due to political regulations? Did they say how their neighbours could not get out of a deep depression because they had spent their entire retirement savings on just surviving? Did they say that they sent a suicide note to their member of Parliament because they had absolutely given up hope of ever finding a job?
We do not know, and we will never know, because it was not in the Speech from the Throne.
The speech said that regional needs and differences really mattered. Today's regional economic concerns are both justified and important. However, in what year on the planetary spacecraft will Canada's energy workers get an apology from the Prime Minister; when he sheds a tear for those who have committed suicide because they are completely destitute or for the women and children who have been beaten because, after years of not having a job, dad finally snapped? What year on this spaceship is that? Is that when we will know that regional differences really matter? For now, we do not, because the speech does not say so.
This was the opportunity to demonstrate action, and if not action, true understanding, and if not true understanding, at least respect. It would not have taken much: a timeline for the TMX pipeline or a promise to look into the national energy corridor. However, it was not there.
We can pretend that the world is simple and that the solutions to Canada's problems need not be complex or detailed, but that is not true. We can pretend that we do not need one another and that we are not dependent on one another, but that is not true either. Anyone who denies those facts will suffer for it eventually, even if they refuse to acknowledge it today.
This is not the way of Albertans.
What a great day to be in the House, the day when my predecessor and now premier, the incomparable, the Hon. Jason Kenney, is here to get a fair deal for Alberta. He brings with him my counterpart, minister of children's services and MLA for Calgary-Shaw, Rebecca Schulz. Together Minister Schulz and I will work tirelessly for the children of this nation.
We Albertans love Canada. We have always been proud to work hard and to share the fruits of our labour with the nation, to do our part for Confederation. We have never told others how to live their lives or that their way of life is not welcome in our country.
We will not let the Prime Minister divide us and we will not let the government push us out of Confederation. We will not allow that to happen. The government had an opportunity to do something profound, to say something profound and to unify, and it did not.
That is why I am sad today. I am a woman from Alberta. My mother is from Quebec and my father is from Saskatchewan. I am here for unity. I am here for Canada. Unfortunately, the throne speech is not.
View Sukh Dhaliwal Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Sukh Dhaliwal Profile
2019-12-09 15:40 [p.111]
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.
I want to start by congratulating all members elected to the 43rd Parliament, and you, Mr. Speaker, on your appointment as the Deputy Speaker. I want to thank the residents of Surrey—Newton for once again putting their faith in me to represent them as their member of Parliament. I am honoured to be back and to be able to work hard on their behalf. I am proud to represent one of the most diverse ridings in Canada.
That said, I would like to take a moment to extend my heartfelt greetings to all who recently celebrated the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Milad un Nabi, which is celebrated to commemorate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him. I also want to wish all those who are celebrating a very merry Christmas and happy holidays.
Voters across Canada have given us a responsibility to work together to grow our economy and better support their families so that it is easier for them to save, get an education, buy their first home and have a good retirement. This is the mandate Canadians have given us, and the throne speech we heard from the Governor General last week lays out a road map to help get this done.
In the previous Parliament, this Liberal government laid a foundation that has made the lives of Canadians better. With over one million new jobs created and record investments in programs and services that Canadians need, such as health care, the CPP and infrastructure, we have made progress. While the other side did nothing but oppose, our government delivered results.
This Parliament is an opportunity for all members to support the needs of Canadians and support the programs and services Canadians want. We will provide better health care and more affordable housing. We will lower taxes for those who need it the most and continue our record investments in infrastructure and public transit. We will address climate change while creating good-paying jobs.
Most importantly for residents in my constituency of Surrey—Newton, our government will take steps to ban assault weapons and give cities the power to ban handguns. My constituents have said loud and clear that these types of weapons do not belong in our neighbourhoods.
On this note, I want to acknowledge the hard work of my friend and former minister, Ralph Goodale. Ralph worked hard to make sure Canada remained a safe and welcoming country. Every time I went to him with an issue or concern, he listened intently and worked with me to find solutions. Two years ago, when I spoke with Ralph about the policing needs for Surrey, he was clear that this government would support the wishes of the municipal government, whether it was delivering 100 new police officers, as the previous government failed to do, or offering its support to the City of Surrey as it looked at transitioning to a local police force.
I am confident that the member for Scarborough Southwest, the recently appointed Minister of Public Safety, will take on this role with just as much passion and focus as our friend Ralph Goodale.
I know all members on this side are passionate about doing what is best for Canadians. The actions laid out in last week's throne speech will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians. Canada's economy is growing, and we continue to have a low unemployment rate. We are going to further cut taxes so that Canadians and those most in need can keep more of their hard-earned money.
We need to make sure that our young people can turn their dreams of owning a home into a reality. That is why we will work hard to address affordability and invest in affordable housing so it will be easier for families to buy their first homes.
Parents want to give their children every opportunity for a good education and a chance at making their dreams come true. This government shares that same desire. That is why are going to make before-school and after-school care more affordable and accessible.
To help seniors retire with the dignity they deserve, we are going to strengthen pensions so they can live with confidence, not fear.
The health of every Canadian is paramount. We are going to work with provinces and territories to make sure all Canadians can access a family doctor. We will introduce mental health standards in the workplace and make sure workers can get mental health care when they need it.
Finally, we will take steps to introduce and implement national pharmacare so that Canadians have the drug coverage they need. These are the steps we are going to take to make sure families have the support they need.
However, as I mentioned earlier, families in Surrey—Newton want tougher gun laws in order to reduce gun-related violence on our streets. It is time we took bold action to do that. That is why we will ban military-style assault weapons and introduce a buyback program. This is the action we need to take to tackle guns and gangs and keep Canadians safe.
All these steps combined make a path that will lead Canada to a brighter future where everyone will have a fair chance at getting ahead. This is what Canadians wanted and this is what we will do.
I am proud to stand in support of this plan and I request each member of this House to support it so that we can be a force for good in Canadians' lives and make their lives better.
I want to congratulate each member who was elected to the 43rd Parliament. I wish them all the best.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
View Gérard Deltell Profile
CPC (QC)
View Gérard Deltell Profile
2019-12-09 16:10 [p.115]
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to see you here in the House. Of course, I am also pleased to see all of my colleagues.
I would have preferred it if the results of the election had been different, but the people have spoken, even though a majority of them voted for the official opposition party.
I would like to echo what my colleague said earlier and congratulate you on your appointment as Deputy Speaker of the House. You are currently acting as Speaker. I think everyone recognizes your good judgment and your keen understanding of human nature. You are a man that we are pleased to work with here in the House.
I want to inform the House that I will be sharing my time with a brand new MP, the member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley. One day I will table a motion to cancel each every riding name that is too long to say in the House. I am sure it will get unanimous consent.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Mr. Gérard Deltell: I am very pleased to be back in the House. I sincerely thank the people of Louis-Saint-Laurent who placed their trust in me for a second time. People can say what they will, but it always warms my heart to see the number of people who voted for me increasing from one minute to the next when the ballots are counted. A person also cannot help but feel a little pang when that number drops a bit. I would like to thank the people who put their trust in me to represent them in the House of Commons a second time.
I was born and raised in Louis-Saint-Laurent and that is also where I raised my family and where I still live today. In the heart of that riding is the indigenous community of Wendake. I represent that community with pride, honour and enthusiasm. I think it is an inspiration to first nations people and others when it comes to living together in harmony. Wendake is a model, an example, an inspiration to Canada and the entire world.
Every year in the riding of Louis-Saint-Laurent, people are closely involved in charity work. I was with Guy Boutin last weekend, a businessman who works with the Fondation Le Petit Blanchon, an organization that helps children from families that are struggling. Once again, I saw how generous the people of Quebec and Louis-Saint-Laurent are.
This is my second time running in a federal election, but it is the fifth mandate I have been given by my fellow citizens. I was elected three times in the riding of Chauveau. In fact, I want to acknowledge the people who gave me the immense privilege of representing them in the Quebec National Assembly exactly 11 years and one day ago, on December 8, 2008. I served in that role for seven years. A few of my former colleagues from the Quebec National Assembly now sit in the House of Commons. It is not that I do not like them, but I thought they were doing a good job in the National Assembly. They should have stayed there. However, the voters decided otherwise.
Now let me speak from the heart about my family. A political career is simply not possible without a supportive and understanding family. Let me start with my partner, Pascale. I am going to make the same joke I make every time: that's Pascale with an e. The first time I said that, 11 years ago, everyone burst out laughing. Now, no one bats an eyelash. My partner Pascale has been with me every step of this magnificent adventure. In politics, there are highs and super-highs, but there are no lows. Basically, either things are going well or they are going very well.
Of course, I also have two children, Béatrice and Jean-Philippe, who are now accomplished adults. They are so dear to me, and I love them so much. They are doing very well for themselves. I am lucky. It is a privilege to have such generous and caring children.
Lastly, I would like to talk about my parents, who are 95 and 96 years old and who have been my unwavering supporters for the past 55 years. This year was the first time they were not able to be there when I cast my ballot. It was a tradition. They were not able to attend the swearing-in either. Everyone who was at the swearing-in, including the hard-working volunteers without whom I would not be in this place, could see how much I care for my parents. Even now, in their later golden years, they regularly watch the debates of the House of Commons on television. I must say they sometimes have some pretty harsh things to say about the government, but I am not here to talk about that.
It is with great honour and privilege that I welcome the new mandate I received from the people, a mandate I will serve in the House of Commons.
As I said, the night of the election, I did a live interview on Radio-Canada with Patrice Roy.
I was clear: We must work together.
This is the clear message we received, because although the government was elected with the most seats, the official opposition received more votes. We have to keep that in mind. The government lost nearly one million votes. We had 600,000 more votes in this election. We now have representation in each and every area of this country. We are the true national party in the House of Commons and are proud of it. This was accomplished a month ago under the strong and proud leadership of the hon. Leader of the Opposition, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle. We are proud of that and have to keep it in mind in our debates.
I hope the government will keep in mind that although it is in office, it has to look around closely because more people voted against it than for it. It is the first time in Canadian history that a government has had such low approval in getting into office. We should keep that in mind.
During the previous Parliament, I had the great privilege of serving under our current leader and also under the hon. Rona Ambrose, as leader of the official opposition, who entrusted me with some big responsibilities. I was the critic for employment, Treasury Board and finance.
Now I can say that I was so nervous to be the critic of the finance minister. Who could say that? I remember my mathematics teacher in grade 6 in high school, who would have said that if I became the finance critic for the official opposition in the House of Commons, I would finally have done something right with respect to calculation. It was a real honour and privilege to serve during the last mandate.
I had the privilege of covering the finance portfolio. In politics, you never ask your leader for anything, but in conversation, I indicated that I had done the rounds and that if, by chance, I could do something else, I would be happy. I am honoured to be the shadow minister for intergovernmental affairs. This portfolio is of utmost importance to the future of this country, especially in this Parliament.
National unity in this country has unfortunately never been worse off. I must say that although members are making their maiden speeches and everyone has nice things to say about everyone else, the unity problems are the fault of the current government. The government's four years of bad decisions, pointless provocations and combative discussions with provincial governments have pitted the provinces against each other. The Bloc Québécois ended up making a resurgence. Even just a few months ago, the idea of Wexit was lore, a joke.
It is no longer funny. When we talk about Brexit, it is no longer a folkloric issue; it is a true reality of the political agenda in Canada, thanks to the government. That is not good for this country.
To us, national unity is a major issue that we have to address head on.
I must say—and I am very pleased to do so—that the Prime Minister giving this mandate to the Deputy Prime Minister is a good sign. Observers all agree that the Deputy Prime Minister, an MP from Toronto, has been given more authority, taken on more responsibility, to say the least. After the Prime Minister, she quite likely has the most authority in this cabinet. She has been entrusted with the responsibility of intergovernmental relations. That is a good thing, a good sign.
We expected to see in the Speech from the Throne a clear statement on the Prime Minister's intention to give this trustworthy person that mandate. That did not happen. The Speech from the Throne has nothing but rhetoric about Canadian unity, how we need to work together and be good neighbours. That is not exactly what we expected. We expected more.
That is why I have a message for this government, which keeps saying that it is reaching out to the opposition and wants to hear its suggestions. Our country is the global champion of free trade. Canada has 50 agreements with 50 different countries. That is fantastic for Canada's economy. What is incomprehensible is that our provinces cannot do business with one another. That is preposterous.
Our political party, under the leadership of the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, the leader of the official opposition, has proposed that there be a federal-provincial conference on January 6 to lay the foundation for interprovincial free trade agreements. The one thing I want to ask of this government during this mandate is that it inspire us. It should run with our idea to make Canada the global leader of free trade and the country of interprovincial free trade for the good of all Canadians.
View Kody Blois Profile
Lib. (NS)
View Kody Blois Profile
2019-12-09 16:39 [p.119]
Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that I will be splitting my time with the member for St. Catharines.
What a privilege it is to be here today at the centre of democracy in our country as the elected representative of the great people of Kings—Hants. Located on the shores of the Bay of Fundy and Minas Basin, Kings—Hants is home to the highest tides in the world; to Acadia University, one of Canada's top-ranked undergraduate institutions; the birthplace of hockey, in Windsor; a wine industry that is gaining international recognition; and a dynamic and diverse agricultural sector that is the backbone of our economy and a key piece of our identity.
I would invite all members of the House, and indeed all Canadians, to come and visit us in Nova Scotia where diverse cultures co-exist, extraordinary seafood abounds, breathtaking vistas await and exceptionally friendly people will serve as their host. They will not be disappointed.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to congratulate you on being elected. I am glad we will be able to rely on you to hold us accountable for ensuring the highest possible degree of decorum in the House.
I would like to thank the people of Kings—Hants for the support and confidence they have placed in me. I recognize both the privilege and the responsibility that accompany this role. I will be putting all my energy into serving them and all Canadians in the days ahead.
All parliamentarians can attest to the importance of families and having their support as we take on this important role as lawmakers in this chamber. I am so fortunate to have the love of a supportive family and friends in Nova Scotia, especially my fiancée Kimberly and my mother Shelley. Without them, I would not be the one standing in the House. I know they are back home in Nova Scotia, watching proudly today.
I would also like to recognize my volunteers. All of us have volunteers who help us get to this place, to be privileged. I want to thank all my volunteers at home who are watching today.
Finally, I have two special people looking over me today in the chamber. My father, Gordon, passed away when I was 14 years old and I recently lost my grandfather, Leroy, in January. Both were incredible supporters. They never missed a hockey game or softball game. I know they are watching from above today and I hope they are proud.
Canadians sent us here to work on the issues that matter most to them. I am proud to be a member of the Liberal Party, and I am eager to work with all MPs under the leadership of the Prime Minister as we strive to improve the lives of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
I want to talk about the importance of continuing the good work our government has done to support the middle class and those working to join it. I grew up in a working-class family. My father was a truck driver and my mother is an administrative assistant at the local school. I saw first-hand how hard they worked to ensure I had a better future. In fact, there were times when we did not even have enough money to pay for the groceries. Therefore, I am proud to be a member of the governing party that is focused on supporting people who need help the most.
I want to tell a story of a single mother I met during the campaign. Her name is Sarah and she is working two jobs to support her two girls. Sarah was in tears on the doorstep when explaining to me how the Canada child benefit was allowing her to buy healthier groceries and to put her two girls in soccer.
Our government's policies have lifted 250,000 seniors out of poverty. Child poverty in Canada is at an all-time low. At the same time, we have created over one million jobs and unemployment is near an all-time low. We know there is more work to be done, but when we invest in people and put money in the pockets of those who need the help, they spend it and drive our economy forward.
I am 28 years old. I am one of the youngest members of this House and I am proud to be a member of a party that is taking concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. I want my children and grandchildren to have a future and an environment we are all proud of. In the same breath, we need to be mindful of ensuring that no one is left behind, and that our rural communities and residents can afford our necessary transition. This will not be an easy balance, but it is necessary to ensure we can all move forward united together.
Health care is on the minds of Canadians across the country. This was a prominent issue on the doorsteps in Kings—Hants. Recruitment and retention of family physicians in rural areas of our country is a top priority for many. As we know, health care is a challenge not only in Canada but across the western world. While the provinces administer health care, it is vital that the federal government be a willing partner to support their efforts, and I am proud to say that our government has been, and will continue to be, a strong partner with the provinces.
For example, in Nova Scotia, since the Canada health accord was signed in 2016, there has been more money than ever before transferred to the province to support health care. I say this knowing that there is more work to be done. Between our commitment to launch a national pharmacare plan and to provide more money to support the recruitment of rural doctors, I know our efforts will improve health care in this country.
My riding, Kings—Hants, is home to three indigenous communities, namely the Sipekne'katik, Glooscap and Annapolis Valley nations. I believe that all members, not just the Government of Canada, have a duty to forge strong relationships with indigenous communities because of the special constitutional relationship we share.
No other Prime Minister or government in Canadian history has done more to support indigenous communities and work toward true reconciliation. Our critics will say not enough has been done, but the legacy of neglect and the impact of the residential school system cannot be turned around in four years. Our government will continue the hard work needed to bring meaningful change and long-lasting opportunities to these communities, which represent the fastest-growing segment of the Canadian population.
As part of our government's efforts to make life better for all Canadians, we committed to make historic investments in infrastructure. I am proud to see that work is well under way on significant infrastructure projects in Kings—Hants. The twinning of Highway 101 at Windsor will save lives. The new Lantz interchange will ease traffic congestion. The new recreation complex in Windsor-West Hants and the new aquatic centre in East Hants will increase opportunities for people to lead healthier lives. Completed major projects, like the new interchange in New Minas, the renovated science facility at Acadia University and the rebuilt wharf in Halls Harbour have all led to increased economic prospects.
Finally, I want to speak about agriculture. Kings—Hants has the largest concentration of agricultural producers east of Montreal. It is the backbone of our economy and a key piece of our identity. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Kentville Research and Development Centre has been providing vital support to Nova Scotia's agricultural sector for over 100 years. The facility has developed 60% of the strawberry varieties grown in Canada and identified the Honeycrisp apple, a high-value apple well suited to the maritime climate.
Importantly, our government recently opened a research winery at the facility to support Nova Scotia's burgeoning wine sector. I look forward to working with the Minister of Agriculture, and indeed all members of this House, on the issues that matter to farmers and on the initiatives that will support and continue to grow the agricultural sector.
Yes, there are and will be challenges for Canadians to face every day, but with those challenges come opportunities. That is why it is important that we all work collaboratively in this House to make a positive difference for all the people we represent.
View Jenny Kwan Profile
NDP (BC)
View Jenny Kwan Profile
2019-12-09 17:09 [p.124]
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the people of Vancouver East for returning me to this House with a strong mandate.
I would like to take a moment to congratulate all members of this House for being here today. I look forward to working with the new and returning members, because I do believe that a better Canada is possible.
It is a privilege and an honour for me to bring the voices of Vancouver East to Ottawa as their representative. Vancouver East is one of Canada's most diverse and progressive communities in the country. I am so very proud of our record here in Vancouver East. We fight hard for what we believe in. Whether it is with respect to a call for a national affordable housing program, climate action to tackle the climate emergency, justice for indigenous peoples, calling out the government for taking indigenous kids to court, demanding action on the calls for justice for the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, or electoral reform so that every vote would count, we speak with a united and strong voice in Vancouver East on these issues.
I have no doubt that my colleague, the member for Courtenay—Alberni, would join with me on this call as well, and I will be splitting my time with him today.
Before I get too deep into the throne speech, I would like to give a shout-out to the Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall. Just last month, it was formally designated as a national historic site. People who had been displaced and interned were at the ceremony that day. It was incredibly moving. This recognition is so important on so many levels. It is a piece of history that all Canadians should learn about.
On a similar note, I hope the government will also work with the community to get the city's application for Vancouver's Chinatown to be designated as a UNESCO historic site. That would be something that we would all be proud of. It would showcase this diverse and multicultural community and the Canadians who helped contribute in building this great nation of ours.
Today, we are in a minority government situation. The people of Canada have sent a clear message to the current government: business as usual is not good enough. We all listened intently to the throne speech that was delivered last week. Unfortunately, like me, the people of Vancouver East were left wanting after this throne speech. Over the last four years, we have heard lots of pretty words and big talk. Sadly, there were no actions to match those words.
For example, the throne speech talks about the need for reconciliation. In the last four years, we heard over and over again that the new nation-to-nation relationship is the most important relationship for the Liberal government, yet over and over again we saw the government fail to take action to match those words. If reconciliation is the most important thing for the current government, then why on earth is it continuing to take indigenous children to court? How does that make sense? How does it justify that kind of action? Why is it the people in Grassy Narrows, who are suffering from mercury poisoning, are not getting immediate action from the government so they can have clean drinking water? I do not mean a bottle of water; I mean a permanent solution.
Why are indigenous people continuing to live in poverty and in mouldy housing? Canada is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. In Vancouver alone, this year's homeless count identified more than 2,000 homeless people and more than 600 who are living on the streets, 40% of whom are indigenous. With indigenous women and girls getting murdered and going missing, reconciliation means that indigenous people must have access to safe housing. All Canadians across the board are being hit by the housing crisis. High rents and low vacancy rates mean that even working professionals have precarious housing. Never mind saving for ownership, many people are one paycheque away from being homeless themselves.
Almost one in four homeless in Vancouver are actually seniors. Imagine that: seniors today are finding themselves in the streets without a home, and the number is growing. To address the crisis today, we need robust funding for the whole spectrum of housing, from social housing to co-op housing to purpose-built rentals, and real paths to home ownership for Canadians.
We want no more delaying of funding flow and no more rhetorical advantages, double-counting or word games. It is not good enough that the Liberals choose to spend 19% less than the Harper government on affordable housing and that much of this decline was in programs that are targeted to low-income households. It is not good enough that we saw a $325-million, 14% reduction in funding for assistance for housing needs programs.
According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, it is clear that the vast majority of the remaining national housing strategy funding will not flow until after 2024. That is another election cycle away. Funding in 2024 will not help anyone in my community struggling to find affordable housing today, tomorrow, next week, next year or the year after. They cannot wait years. They need action now.
We need emergency funding so that we can build modular housing for the people in Oppenheimer Park. These are people who have been living in tents for more than a year now, and the cold and wet weather is here. Imagine that.
The 58 West Hastings project has been waiting for federal funding for years now. We have funding commitment from the city and we have funding commitment from the province, but the federal government is missing in action. It is nowhere to be found. We need the federal government at the table, working with the city, the province and the non-profits to deliver housing.
UNYA, the Urban Native Youth Association, is a fantastic organization in my riding that has been working diligently to support urban indigenous at-risk youth. Its space is oversubscribed and it needs a new centre. Youth need safe housing as well. The city and the province are in support of its work, and again we need the federal government at the table.
In Vancouver East there are some 47 co-ops, with a total of over 1,600 units. All but five were constructed before the Liberals cancelled the national affordable housing program in 1993. The Liberals also promised in 2015 to renew operating agreements with Canada's co-op housing providers. Unfortunately, they only signed short-term agreements, and now we are back to where we started. Real action is needed. We need long-term agreements and stable funding with subsidies so that we can ensure that the existing units remain affordable.
In short, homelessness is systemic and structural, caused by a failure of government to meet the needs of the people it serves.
I hope we can work together in the minority government in order to better address the housing crisis across the country.
On the opioid crisis, we need the government to get on with it. We need to declare a national health emergency, and it would be so good if, at a minimum, the government got on with a pilot program on safe supply so that we can start the work to save lives. It would be so good for the government to support the front-line workers who are burning out there right now by providing resources to them so that they can continue with this critical work.
Let us not judge people for who they are. Let us get on with saving lives. Let us look at each other with humanity and say that we can do better.
On pharmacare, I challenge any member in this House to tell me that they did not come across someone at a doorstep who said that they needed affordable medication. The government can do this. It has been promising this for decades. The New Democrats have been pushing this hard. Our critic for health has been pushing this hard. I urge the government to utilize this minority government to make that happen: single-payer, universal pharmacare for all.
Today we also put forward a suggestion on dental care. Instead of giving a tax reduction for people earning over $140,000 on their annual income, let us reduce that to $90,000, and let us redirect those dollars so that we can bring forward a dental care program that will support some 4.3 million people in Canada. Would that not be something, if we could get to work on all of this?
We are putting forward these suggestions in the spirit of co-operation and saying to the government that it is a minority government and New Democrats are here to work with it. Let us work for the people and make the changes.
View Tom Kmiec Profile
CPC (AB)
View Tom Kmiec Profile
2019-12-09 17:40 [p.129]
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House.
I want to begin by thanking my constituents for sending me back here. I received one of the strongest results in Canada. I want to thank all of them for showing me that support and for helping me out on the campaign trail. I thank my volunteers and my supporters and of course my family, without whom I would not be able to stand here in the House. This is the second term that I will be serving in the House of Commons.
I want also to take the time to thank all Calgarians and all Albertans for sending back a strong Conservative team of 33 out of 34 members of Parliament. They have chosen very wisely in this Parliament to make sure that their voice is heard on the floor of the House of Commons in the Parliament of Canada. Albertans will no longer be taken advantage of.
Before I continue, Madam Speaker, I want to say that I am splitting my time with the member for Durham. I am sure he will have many important contributions to make to this debate, and also no doubt will provide the perspective of Ontarians on what their expectations are in the Parliament of Canada.
The Speech from the Throne was a very deep disappointment, a slap in the face to Albertans. We have faced some of the hardest economic times our province has faced in multiple generations. Albertans are used to downturns in the oil and gas sector. They are used to downturns in the energy sector. That is nothing new. When I moved to Alberta in 2005, it was something that every single energy worker would tell me. I remember in the last downturn, they would say to save for the next downturn, to put aside some money to weather it. It would come and go and the boom would come back. Projects would get built. We would have new opportunities to grow the economy to create well-paying middle-class jobs in the energy sector.
We have seen a government in the past four years that has failed to do that. We have seen a government that has made it its intention to phase out the energy sector, despite the fact that oil and gas companies invest in renewable energy and invest in their people. We will find no other companies as interested in maximizing the knowledge, the abilities and the type of work that people will be doing. I always tell people back home and all those whom I visit all across Canada that we spent a generation convincing young men and women that it was worth their while to pursue a degree in science, technology, engineering and mathematics because there would be well-paying jobs waiting for them when they finished. When they went into the private sector, they had co-operative jobs and internships ready to go. Some of them did not even finish their degrees and they already had six-figure salaries in engineering jobs waiting for them in oil and gas at the Suncors of the world.
Now we have heard terrible news. Haliburton announced that it was shutting down its cement operations in Alberta. We have news from companies like Suncor Energy. Encana has renamed itself and is moving to the United States. It has already moved most of its board of directors down there. Decisions are being made there for a Canadian company. It was once what we would say in French le fleuron, the main natural gas company in Canada and now those decisions are being made in Denver. Trans Canada dumped “Canada” from its name because it no longer has faith in doing business in Canada. Now it is called TC Energy to hide the fact to American investors that it is a Canadian-based company. That is a lost opportunity. I have come here to make sure that opportunity rings out again in these hallways and that there is opportunity for Albertans within Confederation, within a united Canada.
On every single street I was on and at most of the doors I went to, people would talk about it. People are fed up with being taken advantage of. I have said on the floor of the House of Commons before that people in Alberta are tired of being treated like colonials. We are not colonials. We have made an immense contribution to Canada. Over $600 billion has been transferred out of our province. Albertans do complain about it; it is just something that we do. It is true. We want to be able to create the wealth and then we are okay to share a slice of that wealth with the rest of Canada to make a contribution to Confederation. We contribute more than our fair share right now and all we are asking is that the government listen. Premier Kenney, who is here today in Ottawa, is making five simple requests, none of which happened to be in the throne speech. The federal government has listened to none of them. These are not new things. These are things that the premier has repeatedly asked for.
One request is to remove the cap on the stabilization fund. The Government of Alberta at the moment is forced into deficit spending as it is closing its deficit, which is something the current federal government is incapable of doing. Removing the cap on the stabilization fund would allow the province to get that money back, the “over-contribution”, I would call it, into Confederation, so that we can stabilize our health care system, our education system and the social services that Albertans depend on.
These are extremely important things that must be done. The premier has asked for a major significant amendment to Bill C-69 to ensure that certain major projects will not fall under the Bill C-69 rules. The “no pipelines” bill, as it is called in Alberta, ensures that there are no new projects being proposed. When I go into downtown Calgary and I talk to managers, directors and people making the decisions on whether to pursue a project in Canada, they say that there is no thought about any new projects being suggested for the Canadian market.
Most of the well-paying jobs in the oil and gas sector are in construction. Brand new projects that come online cost tens of thousands so that people can be hired for the length of the construction season to build it. For the past four years, all the government has to show for it is that it has expropriated one pipeline company and taken over Kinder Morgan's TMX contract. After dithering for years and trying to block the pipeline from being built, suddenly, the Liberal Party had a deathbed conversion. Suddenly the government is now in favour of building a pipeline, but only one pipeline. It cancelled energy east. It cancelled Enbridge's northern gateway. It cancelled more kilometres of pipeline than it actually had built. The only one that is kind of pitter-pattering away on getting built is really the last major energy infrastructure project in Canada. The same thing happened with LNG with well-paying jobs. For a generation we have been convincing people to go into the STEMs.
We also spent a heck of a lot of time convincing people to move from other parts of Canada and from parts of the United States to Alberta and earn a living there. We do not have the advantage of beautiful provinces like British Columbia which has the mountains and the ocean. Alberta is just rolling foothills and they are pretty flat on the east side. However, what we did have was an excellent quality of life, an excellent opportunity to work in a sector that was always trying to do its best, on the cutting edge of everything. There are wildlife biologists and people interested in environmental remediation. Those are the people I met at the doors, people who worked for oil and gas companies trying to remediate the land. They were proud of the work they were doing and the contributions they were making to ensure that with every single project that came online, at some point the land would be remediated and returned as close as possible to its original state.
Suncor was one of those great companies that managed to do that and earned an environmental certificate two provincial governments ago. Now there are wild bison on the territory, something we had not seen for an extremely long time. It is a bison population, by the way, that is healthier in the wilds of Wood Buffalo National Park.
This throne speech has very, very little for Albertans, so we will be looking for the government to actually reach out to Albertans and make an effort, a true effort, at bridging the gap between what Albertans are feeling and seeing on the ground, the experiences they have had over the past four years, and what we expect from the minority Parliament. There is an entire province right now that is feeling neglected. We are not asking for a handout. We are asking for the federal government to get out of our way and let us create the wealth. Let us create the jobs, well-paying private sector jobs that we have been known for over the past two decades.
It has been amazing to see how fast Calgary has grown even since I moved there. I represent the deep southeast suburbs of Calgary. There are entire communities that did not exist when I moved there. There is a hospital that was built in my riding. It did not exist back in 2005. Some 30,000 to 40,000 people have moved into my area. Cranston, Mahogany, Auburn Bay, Seton, Rangeview and Copperfield are communities that did not exist before.
Tens of thousands of people chose Calgary. They chose Alberta for those well-paying jobs in the energy sector. We have diversified our economy much more than people could ever believe.
The oil and gas sector is a much smaller proportion of Alberta's economy than it was back in 1997. We have diversified our economy. We were moving in the right direction, and we have a federal government that has impeded our ability to continue to create that wealth.
This throne speech is just not good enough. There is not enough concrete action in it that would actually provide any certainty or comfort for the people back home who have lost their jobs and whose severances have run out. They are finding no opportunities to work in the sector where they have spent 20 years, between their education and their early career opportunities, to actually make something of themselves and contribute to their families.
I will be proudly voting against the throne speech, because it has nothing in it.
View Michelle Rempel Garner Profile
CPC (AB)
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my constituents in the riding Calgary Nose Hill for giving me a very clear mandate to do one thing: to stand up for them, fight for them and their voice here in this place.
I received the mandate of over 70%. I went door to door. People who I know had voted Liberal or NDP in the past looked me in the eye and we had a serious conversation at the door. They told me that they had never voted Conservative before, but they were going to vote for me because it was really bad. They needed me to fight for them. My way of thanking them is not just saying it here. It is to do that, to fight for them every day.
To the 98 new members of Parliament in this place, I want to talk about what it is like at home. I want to talk to them about what it is like to have 175,000 people who work in the primary industry of their province suddenly out of work, in a very short period of time. It is not because of commodity prices, as the Prime Minister so glibly said this morning. I will get to that. It is because of policies that were set here.
What we do here reflects on how people live in every part of the country. What happened in the last Parliament for the people in my riding meant trauma, suicide, homes lost, jobs lost and families lost. What we do here matters. I will fight for the people in my riding.
Right now in my province we are seeing some of the highest unemployment rates in the country sustained. It is happening and not because of commodity prices. If it were because of commodity prices, then why is the United States doing so well with its natural resource sector? It is because of instability and political decisions that have made it impossible for the energy sector to sustain employment. That is why. It is because of the decisions made here.
In 2017, Alberta's suicide rate was 14.9 per 100,000 people, just over three points higher than the rest of Canada. That is up really high. In 2016, there was a project by the Calgary Police Service called “Operation Northern Spotlight”. It was to help sex workers in the city. Let me read a story.
A woman who entered the sex trade in 2016, and it has gotten worse since then, said, “I never thought I would be here. I never thought I would have to hide from my family, telling them that my cleaning job runs late every night. I am here because this would have been an easy $350. I had a great job, then the jobs crisis hit and I got laid off. Two weeks later, my husband lost his job as well. The bills did not stop coming.” The problems have not stopped in my riding.
I will be splitting my time with the member for Battle River—Crowfoot.
We sit here, and yesterday's throne speech was a slap in the face. I got scrummed in the media yesterday. I heard, “It was more of a tone-setting document.” If it were a tone-setting document, it was tone-deaf for every person in my riding. It did not say anything about what the government was going to do to reverse the policies that create the instability that puts the people in my riding out of work. That needs to change.
If we are not willing to change that, then what is happening in my province is going to continue to grow. My province is saying it does not see itself in this country, our country does not have our back, and asking why it should be part of it. It will continue to fester. It is because of the decisions that are being made to put the people in my riding out of work.
People in this place say that it is a dirty industry and that the province should diversify its way out. Then they go fill up their car with Saudi oil, while they drink their kale smoothie with its component parts imported from California, while they promote their industry, like aerospace, with planes that create greenhouse gas emissions, or the auto sector, with cars that create greenhouse gas emissions, or while they go to Walmart and buy a cheap Chinese T-shirt that is created where there are the some of the highest greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
They are hypocrites. Anybody who says that the people in my riding have dirty jobs and do not have the right to work is a hypocrite, because nobody is willing to take climate action individually in this country. They are putting the entire responsibility on the people in my riding and saying that it is good, that this is what it is going to take to get this job done, and it will not.
The people in my province have a right to work. They have a right to prosper. I am sick and tired of this debate. Nothing on climate change is happening while my province and the people in it bear the entire cost and responsibility, and we do nothing. It has to stop.
I am going to tell you one thing, Mr. Speaker: It is going to stop one way or another. One way or another, it is coming to a head.
To everybody in here who thinks that what is happening in my province is just a separatist movement, just a few fringe people, I say that it is not just a fringe. People do not feel that they have a place in this country. They do not feel like they have a fair deal. Do colleagues know what they see? They see the hypocrisy that I just mentioned. They see a Prime Minister who fights for jobs with SNC-Lavalin and stands alleged of bribing Moammar Gadhafi's son with prostitutes. They see the former fisheries minister signing special deals over clam fishing that brought him ethics commission violations. They see scandal after scandal, special deal after special deal.
Then there are the people who say that people in their riding have been out of work. In Alberta, there are 175,000 people.
I do not know how many lobster fishers there are in this country, but when something happens to fisheries, we get angry. We all do here. We say that we have to fix this. They cannot stay out of work. When something happens in the auto sector, we do not say that cars create greenhouse gas emissions and we should just let that industry die. We do something about it.
When has it become acceptable to let an entire province's industry die while the rest of the country looks like a hypocrite? It has to stop. Otherwise, we will face a national unity crisis. We are in one.
I want to let the people in this House know what that looks like. The premier of my province is rightly talking about a fair deal for Alberta, and autonomy, and I support him in that.
Here is what Alberta opting out of the CPP looks like. We are the net contributor to the CPP in the country. Having higher premiums across the country means that people will not be able to retire until later ages, and that is because the Prime Minister has put them in this position.
We need to scrap Bill C-69. We need to scrap Bill C-48 and we need to understand the wealth that the energy sector creates. It creates receptor capacity for clean technology. It displaces energy from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela and if we are talking about transition and climate change, Canadian energy and what my province does are at the heart of that equation. It should not be killed. Why would we kill the heart of what Canada can contribute to when it comes to this?
Enough is enough. I will stand here for however long this Parliament lasts. I will stand up for the rights of my province because that is why I am here. Colleagues stand up and give their thanks for having been sent here, but I was not sent here to just collect a salary or stand up and just seal-clap and vote. Constituents sent us here to fight.
I am going to fight for my province and the people of my riding. If that means saying we need more autonomy and we need the equalization payment formula looked at, then I will do that. If everybody here says that they will not do that, that they will not give my province a fair deal, then I am going to tell them right now that the people in my province are going to say enough is enough. The choice is for every single person in this House. It starts here and it ends here.
I implore the people in the House to realize that what was in that throne speech was not good enough. It is not going to cut it. It is not going to fix it. It is going to take smart, tough conversations; otherwise, it is over.
My colleague from Malpeque just made an appeal for unity, and I want to tell him this: I am not here and the people on this side of the House are not here to make life politically expedient for the Liberals in a minority situation. We are here to fight for the people of our provinces, and our provinces are Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, B.C., Ontario, and every part of this country that sees Alberta as a strong part of Confederation. We will not let this continue.
I ask people who are watching today to support me by signing petition e-2303 at e2303.ca, which would send a message to every person in the House to do just that. Let us talk about setting a tone. It is time for Alberta to have a fair deal.
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