44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 14, 2021 10:00AM
- Dec/14/21 2:24:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is right. If the Liberals do the exact same thing they did with steel, aluminum and softwood lumber, Canada's auto workers run the risk of losing well-paying jobs, because the government talks a good game but takes no action.
Why is the minister not at the U.S. Congress right now, working directly with U.S. senators and representatives to convince them that protecting Canada's industry is a win-win situation?
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- Dec/14/21 2:25:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is precisely why I was in Washington, D.C., working with the American government and working with congressional leaders to make the case for Canada. The Deputy Prime Minister and I just released a letter last week to the congressional leadership indicating that we would stand up and introduce retaliatory measures should we need to do that.
Members have seen this government work. When we were faced with section 232 tariffs, we stood up for Canadian jobs. We will always stand up for Canadian jobs.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Dec/14/21 2:25:33 p.m.
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I will have to start asking everyone to put an earpiece on if that is what it takes to keep everybody quiet. It seemed to work so well.
The hon. minister has about 15 seconds left, if she wants to finish up.
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- Dec/14/21 2:25:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are not going to take any lessons from the Conservatives. We stood up against section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. We were successful then. We are prepared to stand up for national interests now, and we will be successful this time too.
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- Dec/14/21 2:26:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister revealed his strategy for the Bill 21 dispute: in the early stages, let the opponents duke it out without getting too involved, so as not to give the Government of Quebec the chance to claim federal interference.
For now, the Prime Minister is not interfering at the federal level because he knows full well that this is Quebec's jurisdiction. We know it and he knows it. Knowing that, will the Prime Minister promise not to interfere in legislative disputes that do not fall under his jurisdiction? In other words, will he mind his own business?
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- Dec/14/21 2:26:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our position has always been clear: No one should lose their job because of what they wear or their religious beliefs.
What is happening in Chelsea is that a community is rallying to defend one of its members, a teacher. Obviously, there are some difficult discussions ahead. We are continuing to monitor the situation closely. Quebeckers are defending their interests in the courts.
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- Dec/14/21 2:27:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can say whatever he wants about Bill 21. Honestly, we are used to it, but at least it does not go beyond this place.
However, Bob Rae, the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, went too far in sullying Quebec's international reputation. He claims that Bill 21 quite simply violates the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
Quebec will not allow itself to be insulted by Canada's representative to the UN, especially given that Quebeckers pay for that representation. Will the Prime Minister call on Bob Rae to explain his completely unacceptable comments?
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- Dec/14/21 2:27:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and our government have always been clear: We will allow this to play out in the courts. Some Quebeckers are defending their rights before the courts and our position is clear. This bill was adopted by the Quebec National Assembly and we will leave it up to the courts.
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- Dec/14/21 2:28:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today's fiscal update is an opportunity for the government to respond to inflation, which is driving up the cost of living and making it harder and harder for Canadians to make ends meet. In particular, vulnerable seniors are feeling the impact of inflation because of the government's clawback of their GIS. We have heard stories from seniors who are struggling to put food on the table and who are struggling to stay in their homes, many of whom have already lost their homes.
We have been fighting the government since August. When will the government commit to fixing the clawback and ending it so that seniors are no longer put in this vulnerable position?
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- Dec/14/21 2:29:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the pandemic began, our government acted very quickly to help millions of Canadians, including seniors, especially the most vulnerable. We have stepped up to support them with payments and historic investments, on top of the other boosts we delivered for seniors.
When it comes to the CERB and GIS, we know it has been challenging for some seniors this year. However, as I have said before in the House, we are committed to finding the right solution to support those affected. We will have more to share with the House soon. We will always have their backs.
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- Dec/14/21 2:29:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the economic update is an opportunity for the government to address inflation, which continues to drive up the cost of living. In particular, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find affordable housing. The government has tools to address this crisis.
Will the Prime Minister commit to responding to the crisis with appropriate measures?
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- Dec/14/21 2:30:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to making life more affordable for Canadians. That is why we have invested in child care agreements around the country, it is why we support our seniors and it is why we made a historic investment of $72 billion in the national housing strategy. We will continue to make housing affordable and ensure that housing affordability is a priority for our government and for all Canadians.
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- Dec/14/21 2:30:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' failed relationship with the United States continues to go backward. The Conservatives have been warning about trade challenges for years, yet the Liberals called an election instead of spending time in the U.S. building relationships and standing up for Canada. The trade minister is now warning that Canada should “prepare for the worst”. The Conservatives had a Canadian buy American exemption and a softwood lumber agreement. Despite photo ops and feel-good words, the trade minister comes back empty handed every time from the United States.
How much worse does the trade minister expect it to get?
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- Dec/14/21 2:31:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are not going to take any lessons from the Conservatives on this. When we were negotiating NAFTA, the Leader of the Opposition said that we should just capitulate and take any agreement. On this side of the House, we will make sure that we get a good agreement for Canadian workers and for Canadian businesses. We have done that before and we are going to do it again.
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- Dec/14/21 2:31:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we should not be surprised that the Canada-U.S. relationship is not a priority and is failing. It was not even mentioned once in the throne speech and the U.S. is our biggest trading partner. A small manufacturing business in my riding of Kelowna—Lake Country exports to the U.S. military and will be affected by the buy American policies. It is being failed by the Minister of Small Business and by the Minister of International Trade. That is right; it is the same minister.
When will the minister get off her hands, do her job and stand up for Canadian businesses?
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- Dec/14/21 2:32:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, throughout the pandemic, as hard as it has been for Canadians all across this country, on this side of the House we have stood up for small businesses. We have provided unprecedented supports so they can continue to operate, keep their people on payroll and pay their bills. We have incredibly strong programs to help Canadian businesses start up, scale up and access new markets, including programs for women entrepreneurs and Black entrepreneurs.
This is about helping the Canadian economy recover. We are doing it on this side of the House, and I challenge my colleagues to join us in supporting our small businesses.
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- Dec/14/21 2:33:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, facts are facts.
The countervailing duties that the United States is imposing on Canadian softwood lumber are a slap in the face to our industry; they have doubled. The money is being collected at the border rather than being invested in our businesses. As is the case with inflation and the labour shortage, the government is not interested in this issue because it is not interested in the economy.
Will the Prime Minister commit today to resolving this issue before the holidays?
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- Dec/14/21 2:33:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear: Canada's forestry sector and its workers are incredibly important to the Canadian economy. We have also been very clear that the tariffs the U.S. has levied against us are unjustified. We have defended our interests. We defended them in CUSMA, before the NAFTA panels and before the WTO. It has been ruled that Canada is a fair trading partner.
We are going to continue to stand up for Canadian forestry workers and the industry, which employs so many incredible Canadians across the country.
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- Dec/14/21 2:34:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister visited the United States.
After his Minister of International Trade visited Washington and after the Minister of Finance talked about imposing retaliatory measures, nothing has been done to eliminate the U.S. countervailing duties. It has been one failure after another.
I call on the Prime Minister to rise and tell the House what the next steps will be in resolving this issue.
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- Dec/14/21 2:34:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I share my hon. colleague's concerns; we all do. The forestry workers in his riding and in ridings represented by all parties of the House are of primary concern to us.
I want to reassure my hon. colleague that we are looking for an outcome that is acceptable to the industry and to workers. I encourage the member opposite to work with team Canada.
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