44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 28, 2022 11:00AM
- Mar/28/22 3:05:53 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, over the last year Nunavut has experienced a record high number of water advisories. Iqaluit residents have not known if their water is safe to drink for over six months. The government has long promised to make infrastructure funding for the north a priority, but has failed. Why do moms in Iqaluit still have to bathe their babies in bottled water?
63 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:06:20 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, our government has been engaged with the City of Iqaluit, the government of Nunavut and other officials on this very important issue. We believe that in Canada everyone deserves the right to safe, clean drinking water, and we are there to assist at every step of the way however we can. We are there for Nunavut.
62 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:06:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, this government obviously does not want to help and protect francophone minority communities in Canada.
After postponing the introduction of its bill to modernize the Official Languages Act, supposedly to take the January ruling into account, now it is appealing that ruling. The minister did not take any questions from journalists at a press conference this morning. Why?
Is the Minister of Official Languages capable of defending the rights of francophones within her own government?
77 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly committed to protecting and promoting official languages, especially in minority situations.
We recently introduced Bill C‑13 to modernize the Official Languages Act. We learned of the order from the Federal Court of Appeal last Friday. We will take the time to review and consider the next steps.
55 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:07:51 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the wine and cider industries in Canada are in trouble. If the plan for the federal government to put a cork in the excise sales tax for those wineries goes through on January 1, up to 50% of those wineries could close. In the Bay of Quinte riding in Prince Edward County, we have 40 wineries and five cider companies. In Canada, those industries generate $11.5 billion worth of income, four million tourists a year and over 50,000 jobs.
Will the government commit to fixing the excise tax exemption for wine and cider production or will it simply pour an industry down the drain?
108 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:08:29 p.m.
- Watch
- Re: Bill C-8
Mr. Speaker, the tourism sector is critical to this country. The Canadian economy will not fully recover until the tourism sector does. I understand the importance of the wine economy to the tourism economy.
Let me say I had the pleasure and the opportunity to attend dozens of pre-budget consultations, and the good news is that we will have an announcement of the budget in the coming days. If Conservatives want to support Canadians, they should support and vote for Bill C-8 today or at the latest tomorrow.
90 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:09:03 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as part of its commitment to a high standard of ethics and accountability, the government absolutely needs to protect whistle-blowers. These are the ones who expose cases of serious wrongdoing. Could the President of the Treasury Board update the House on what she is doing to safeguard whistle-blowers?
52 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:09:34 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hard-working, hon. colleague for Pontiac for the question. Those who disclose serious wrongdoing must be protected. Canadian law provides a secure and confidential process for disclosing serious wrongdoing in the federal government and offers protection from acts of reprisal. Our government has strengthened these processes by improving training, transparency and monitoring. We are going to continue improving the whistle-blower protections and supports, including exploring possible amendments to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.
82 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:10:15 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, nearly two years ago, the government signed an agreement with the Pacheedaht First Nation in my riding. They committed to build and co-manage a $22-million Coast Guard facility on their territory near Port Renfrew. Chief Jeff Jones is rightly concerned because the federal government has provided no funding and discussions have stopped. Following last year's devastating container spill, coastal protection is needed now more than ever.
Why has the government delivered zero funding and stopped talking with the Pacheedaht?
84 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:10:53 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member that after 10 years of very little investment in the Canadian Coast Guard, it is our government that has renewed the fleet. We are building 31 new, large vessels. The Coast Guard is working with many coastal communities, hand in hand, to develop guardianship programs so those communities can be eyes and ears on the ground and help with the important spill response and accident response that the Coast Guard is responsible for. We appreciate the community's help with that.
The Coast Guard's 60th anniversary is this year. Let us celebrate that, too.
104 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:11:47 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, tomorrow we are expecting the government to release its plan for emissions reductions. Without seeing it, unfortunately we know that it will fail to meet the urgency of the climate emergency. It is clear on the science that net-zero by 2050 is the wrong target. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made it clear that the only way to hold to the 1.5°C we agreed to in the Paris agreement, and which is what we hope will be a livable level of climate disruption, is to make rapid, deep cuts by 2030, which Canada currently does not have.
Will the government tell us when it will update the target to meet the demands that we agreed to at COP26 in Glasgow?
127 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:12:33 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would say to the House that, through the efforts of millions of Canadians from coast to coast to coast, Canada has successfully flattened its emissions curve. However, as we are seeing from the immediate devastating impacts of a changing climate, I would agree with the hon. member that we need to do more on a faster timeline. That is why our government committed to table the 2030 emissions reduction plan at the end of March 2022, informed by consultations on key emissions reduction numbers. The hon. member will know that the end of March is coming soon.
100 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:13:12 p.m.
- Watch
That does it for question period today.
I do want to remind members, when talking about other ministers or members of the House of Commons, that we do not use their first or last names.
35 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:13:29 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.
Considering the answers given by the Minister of Health in the House today, I am sure that if you were to seek it, you would find unanimous consent of the House to allow the Minister of Health to immediately table all of the scientific documentation recommending the federal vaccine mandate, as he promised to do last week.
66 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:13:43 p.m.
- Watch
All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.
Some hon. members: Nay.
18 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:13:59 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am rising to add to my point of order of last week concerning the coalition agreement between the Liberal and New Democratic parties.
On Thursday, I asked whether the Chair would indicate whether it would be helpful, in approaching a ruling, to know whether there were any signed versions of the agreement or additional side deals. In this morning's edition of The Hill Times, it was reported that this backroom coalition deal is, despite public appearances otherwise, a signed agreement.
Allow me to offer a selection of three quotations from the newspaper. One:
The Liberals and the NDP stunned Canadians across the country last Tuesday by announcing they signed a confidence and supply agreement which will allow the Liberals to govern until...2025...
Number two:
[The Prime Minister's] decision to sign this agreement with the NDP came as a total surprise for caucus members.
Number three:
The [Liberal caucus] meeting lasted about 90 minutes, during which [the Prime Minister] informed MPs about his decision to sign the agreement.
Earlier today, CTV reported that the leader of the NDP, the now moderate wing of the Liberal Party, said that he is confident that the Prime Minister will follow through on the deal because he “got it in writing”.
The only thing worse than a backroom deal is a secret backroom deal.
Last week, I called upon the government to come clean with the House and with all Canadians by tabling the signed agreement and any other side deals. I renew that call here and now. Canadians need to know the full truth.
The Liberals' silence to date on my point of order in fact speaks volumes. I hope they are not just relying on friends in the wings to do their bidding. The government must come clean to the House and defend and explain this unprecedented arrangement.
In closing, I ask for unanimous consent to table the Hill Times article published today entitled, “'No difference left between the Liberals and the NDP' after confidence and supply agreement, say some Liberal MPs.”
349 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:16:06 p.m.
- Watch
All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.
Some hon. members: Nay.
The Deputy Speaker: The member for New Westminster—Burnaby is rising on a point of order.
35 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:16:23 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, this is the danger for the Conservatives when they prolong what has been a frivolous point of order.
The official opposition House leader was last week telling the House that this was some kind of coalition government that the NDP and Liberals had put into place. Today, he has contradicted himself by stating that it is indeed a confidence and supply agreement, thus contradicting everything he said last week saying it was a coalition government.
We have basically come to the end of what has been a series of frivolous and vexatious points of order. It is very true that this is a confidence and supply agreement. It is very true that this is a practice we have seen in numerous Canadian provinces and in other countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
At no point, with confidence and supply agreements, has there ever been the kind of attempt to put a frivolous point of order in place as the official opposition House leader has attempted to do. I was thinking that what he was actually doing was rising to thank the NDP for getting dental care for 30,000 people in Barrie—Innisfil, for getting a Canada pharmacare act for people in Barrie—
211 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:17:51 p.m.
- Watch
We are getting far into debate on this one. I want to render a decision as soon as I can on this.
The hon. opposition House leader is rising.
29 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/28/22 3:18:01 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I will believe it when I see it.
For the Speaker's reference, in the first paragraph I did refer to the coalition agreement between the Liberal and New Democratic parties. I have not changed a thing.
39 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
