44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 3, 2022 10:00AM
- May/3/22 2:31:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, people are paying the price of rising fuel costs and of climate change, while the big oil companies are making record profits. Imperial Oil has earned its biggest profits in 30 years. Cenovus earned $1.6 billion in profits.
Why does the government continue to give more subsidies to these companies, instead of putting an end to oil subsidies?
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- May/3/22 2:32:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government is working with all sectors of the economy to reduce greenhouse gases, but also to grow the economy. We are working with the steel sector, the oil sector and all sectors to ensure we have a very strong economy in the future.
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- May/3/22 2:32:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will ask the Minister of Public Safety the same question I asked yesterday, a question that he suspiciously avoided answering.
Did any minister or members of their political staff speak with Justice Rouleau before his appointment as commissioner on the inquiry into the Emergencies Act?
Did they discuss what kind of evidence the inquiry would or would not seek, including documents covered under cabinet confidence or solicitor-client privilege?
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- May/3/22 2:33:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can assure my hon. colleague that the government is fully committed to being transparent around the events and circumstances that led to the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
Last week, we launched the public inquiry, affording Justice Rouleau broad powers to compel witnesses, documents and information, including some classified information, should he choose to ask for it.
Our intention is to shine a light on those events and it would be, I think, a point of departure to hear the Conservatives recognize that there was an emergency. We fulfilled our responsibility to protect Canadians.
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- May/3/22 2:33:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he is avoiding the question again, but I will move on.
This past weekend, Ottawa saw the so-called “Rolling Thunder” protest come and go without major incident. During the "freedom convoy” protest, the government claimed that it needed the Emergencies Act because it needed to compel tow truck drivers to remove the protesters.
Over this last weekend, we saw many vehicles towed without needing the Emergencies Act, yet another blow to this government's fabricated claims.
If the government did not need extraordinary powers to get the tow trucks, what did it need them for?
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- May/3/22 2:34:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to all frontline police officers, including members of the RCMP, who ensured that we were able to maintain public safety over the course of the past weekend.
Of course, there are big distinctions between what occurred last weekend and what occurred last winter, which was a national emergency.
We invoked the Emergencies Act after we received advice from law enforcement. Once it was invoked, we were able to restore public safety, and now we will ensure that there is transparency in the accountability of that decision.
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- May/3/22 2:35:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the minister claimed that Liberals invoked the Emergencies Act because they needed it, yet there was a large protest, related to the winter one that he just referred to, this past weekend, and as far as I am aware, no one remains camped out on the roadways around Parliament. This is in direct contradiction to what the minister is claiming. As this weekend showed, with leadership and coordination between government and police, peace and order can be maintained.
There was clearly a failure by the Liberals to show leadership during the winter protest, as the minister refers to it, and they used the Emergencies Act to bail themselves out.
Is that not right?
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- May/3/22 2:35:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would point out that, notwithstanding the fact that public safety was maintained, there were enforcement actions taken last week as a result of some individuals who, again, crossed the line and broke the law.
It would be, again, an opportunity for the Conservatives to recognize, finally, after months of denying it, that there was an emergency. Collectively, we have a responsibility and a burden as parliamentarians to uphold the law. That is exactly what we did when we invoked the Emergencies Act, and now we will ensure that there is transparency, so that all Canadians can be reaffirmed in that decision.
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- May/3/22 2:36:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, MPs continued to work from right here in Parliament throughout the winter protest. In fact, I would walk across Wellington Street at least once a day, with my infant son in a stroller, to come to work.
If the threat was as serious as the government is now making it out to be, did the Minister of Public Safety knowingly put my life and those of my infant son and every single person who works here in danger?
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- May/3/22 2:37:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I am very relieved that my colleague was able to access the Hill with the additional protection and safety that was offered by the RCMP, by the Parliamentary Protection Service and by the Sergeant-at-Arms, but there is a big difference between what some of us were able to experience on the Hill and what was going on off the Hill.
There can be no doubt that people who live in Ottawa had their lives completely upended by the illegal occupation here, and that people who lived in border communities had their lives upended. That was because individuals broke the law to a point of a national emergency. That is why we invoked the Emergencies Act. We did it to protect Canadians.
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- May/3/22 2:37:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, there were protests in downtown Ottawa. The police, the City and the various stakeholders managed the situation effectively and quickly. It was simply a matter of leadership.
However, last January, the government was completely overwhelmed by the events on Parliament Hill and hid behind the Emergencies Act.
Will the Prime Minister finally admit that he failed to show leadership?
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- May/3/22 2:38:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are many differences between last winter's protest and last weekend's, which was much smaller.
Last winter's blockade and occupation were illegal. We listened very respectfully to what the police forces told us. Then we very carefully made the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. That decision was necessary. Now we will collaborate with all transparency efforts.
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- May/3/22 2:39:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not an answer.
Again, the protest this past weekend was orderly. It was simply a matter of leadership. The Minister of Public Safety said, “first of all, we are relieved because of the good work of the police forces on the ground, including the RCMP, which added resources to assure everyone that public safety would be maintained.” That is what he is repeating today.
How can he still claim today that it was really necessary to invoke the Emergencies Act for the January events?
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- May/3/22 2:39:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the short answer is that it was necessary.
There was a lot of disruption at the border. There was a lot of disruption to the economy. There was a lot of disruption to public safety for many Canadians. Those are the reasons why we invoked the Emergencies Act. It was not an easy decision to make. It was a tough, but necessary decision.
Now, we on this side of the House will be transparent during the inquiry into this process.
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- May/3/22 2:40:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in March we were lamenting the fact that immigrants in Quebec had to wait 28 months for the federal government to process their permanent residency applications. Now, just a few weeks later, that delay has jumped to 31 months. The feds are 31 months and 29,000 files behind, some of which have been languishing since 2009.
There is an immigration crisis. The minister cannot just say that everything is fine. He cannot just try to pass the buck. These figures are from his own department.
Can the minister at least name the problem and acknowledge that yes, there is an immigration crisis?
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- May/3/22 2:40:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps now would be a good time to talk about the Canada‑Quebec accord.
Quebec is entitled to 28% of the new permanent residents that arrive each year and chooses to welcome 13% of them. It selects 74% of the immigrants who settle in Quebec, and this includes their language skills. The federal government transfers Quebec nearly $700 million a year, with no conditions, for the facilities that provide settlement services such as francization.
We, on this side of the House, will continue to work with Quebec instead of picking fights like the Bloc Québécois.
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- May/3/22 2:41:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party says the Bloc wants to pick a fight. The parliamentary secretary just said that the immigration crisis is Quebec's fault. They are the ones picking a fight.
The federal government is currently in court over cases that have dragged on since 2009. That has nothing to do with François Legault's targets; his party did not even exist in 2009. It is not Philippe Couillard's fault either; he had not yet returned to politics. It is not Pauline Marois's fault; it has been going on longer than that.
The system is broken. It has been broken for a long time. When will the federal government take a good look at its own actions instead of blaming Quebec?
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- May/3/22 2:42:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I really enjoy my colleague's energetic style in the House. His position is an honourable one.
As we on this side of the House have said on more than one occasion, immigration is essential to our economy.
As the member knows, Quebec sets its own immigration targets. Last year, the province welcomed nearly 50,000 new permanent residents. This year, Quebec has significantly increased its immigration targets, which will reduce wait times.
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- May/3/22 2:42:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, three things are certain in life: death, taxes and federal government delays in bringing in temporary foreign workers.
However, there is nothing more predictable. Spring arrives at about the same time every year, as does the harvest. Every time, the federal government seems surprised. Every time, farmers face the same delays. Every year, they wonder if the workers will arrive on time.
Ottawa's machinery is broken. If they do not want to fix it, they should transfer the file to Quebec.
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- May/3/22 2:43:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that immigration is an integral part of addressing the labour shortage.
IRCC is prioritizing work permit processing for in-demand occupations in industries such as health, agriculture, food and seafood production.
I would like to remind the House that in the first quarter of 2022, we processed more than 100,000 work permit applications. That is nearly double the number of work permits processed over the same period last year.
We will continue to ensure that Canadian employers have access to the workers they need.
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