44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 12, 2022 10:00AM
- May/12/22 3:17:35 p.m.
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If we are asking for clarification, we are getting into debate here.
The hon. Minister of Immigration. Fair is fair.
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- May/12/22 3:17:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if you go to the Conservative Party platform from the last election, you will not find a commitment to resettle any particular number of Afghan refugees.
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- May/12/22 3:18:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, misleading the House is a serious matter, and the member for Kitchener Centre continues to mislead this House on environmental matters. I have the report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, and I do know that he has not indicated that the Trans Mountain pipeline is not economically viable. If the member has a different report, I would ask him to table it in the House, or else recant his comment in front of the House.
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- May/12/22 3:18:36 p.m.
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We are getting into lots of different debate here, but let us clarify. In this chamber, “misleading the House” is said a lot, whether right or wrong. If members are accusing someone of deliberately misleading the House, that is saying someone is lying, and that cannot be said in the House of Commons.
I believe the member for Kitchener Centre has a comment.
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- May/12/22 3:19:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would be glad to send the member the PBO report that makes it really clear that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion only makes sense if the—
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- May/12/22 3:19:08 p.m.
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We are getting into debate here again.
I believe the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands also has a point of order.
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- May/12/22 3:19:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to be clear, I am rising in support. I put my hand up on the point of order when the hon. member from Calgary alleged something about the statement by the member for Kitchener Centre that cannot be said in this House.
I also read the report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, but if I commented on the facts of the matter, it would be entering into debate.
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- May/12/22 3:19:45 p.m.
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I thank the member for the intervention.
The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay.
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- May/12/22 3:19:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have enormous respect for you and I am not trying to enter into debate. I stand by everything I said in the House.
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- May/12/22 3:20:09 p.m.
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It being 3:20 p.m., pursuant to order made on Thursday, November 25, 2021, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the amendment to the amendment to the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-11.
The question is on the amendment to the amendment. Shall I dispense?
Some hon. members: No.
[Chair read text of amendment to the amendment to House]
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I declare the amendment to the amendment defeated.
The next question is on the amendment. May I dispense?
Some hon. members: No.
[Chair read text of amendment to House]
The Deputy Speaker: If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the amendment be adopted on division, I invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader.
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- May/12/22 3:35:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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I declare the amendment defeated.
The next question is on the main motion.
May I dispense?
Some hon. members: No.
[Chair read text of motion to House]
The Deputy Speaker: If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
The hon. member for Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek.
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- May/12/22 3:48:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.
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- May/12/22 4:00:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been quite a week around here. I already know the answer to this question, but I have an obligation to ask the government House leader the Thursday question.
What price have he and his Liberal Party paid in selling their collective souls to their partners in the NDP to determine this week's schedule?
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- May/12/22 4:01:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am always happy to stand and answer a Thursday question, even when the member opposite is not excited to ask it.
This evening, we will continue, and hopefully complete, debate at second reading of Bill C-13, concerning official languages.
Tomorrow, we will commence debate on Bill C-18, an act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada. We will return to this debate next Wednesday.
At noon on Monday, we will resume debate on Bill C-14, which deals with electoral representation in Quebec.
Next Tuesday and Thursday shall be allotted days.
Finally, pursuant to Standing Order 81(4), I would like to designate Thursday, May 19, for consideration in committee of the whole of the main estimates for the Department of Public Works and Government Services. Furthermore, the debate for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will take place on the evening of Monday, May 30.
If the member opposite has any ideas on how to make this place work or has any ideas on how we can improve legislation, I am always here to hear it. Unfortunately, to this point in time, nothing has come forward.
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- May/12/22 4:02:33 p.m.
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When the debate on the opposition motion was interrupted, the hon. member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent had eight minutes remaining.
The hon. member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent.
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- May/12/22 4:02:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to resume debate on our motion to establish, or re-establish, the Canada-China parliamentary committee in order to study issues directly affecting our country's relationship with this very strong, yet concerning global power.
We would like to re-establish this committee, which was struck in the last Parliament but was disbanded when the Prime Minister called an unnecessary election that cost Canadians over $600 million and ended up being nothing more than a cabinet shuffle. The committee still managed to table three reports on the topics of espionage, the relationship with Hong Kong and the Uighur tragedy.
I would also like to remind you that this government has had five foreign affairs ministers in the past six years. This is in no way a negative assessment of the people who have held that position, quite the contrary. They are people of quality and goodwill, for whom I have esteem and respect.
It should be noted, however, that the fact that we have had five different foreign affairs ministers has an impact on our country's credibility in the eyes of the world, especially when it comes to an issue as sensitive as our relations with China. We hope that the current Minister of Foreign Affairs will stay in that role long enough to build a truly meaningful bilateral relationship with our partners.
Now I would like to talk about the committee that would study issues of importance to all Canadians.
First, the economy. We know that China is one of Canada's economic partners, and not a small one. China is our second-largest economic partner in terms of both imports and exports. Our great friend, ally and neighbour, the United States of America is, of course, the first.
When the economy is directly tied to our trade relationship with a superpower like China, we cannot pretend nothing is going on there. If the committee wants to, it can study economic issues and tackle the supply chain head-on. We know the whole world is experiencing serious supply issues, not just because of the pandemic, but also because of tense relationships between certain countries. I will say more about that later.
We need to be able to get to the bottom of this supply problem, which is causing very serious damage not only to our economy, but also to the daily lives of Canadians. When our businesses do not have access to the parts they need, it delays manufacturing, pushes prices up and creates inflation. The committee needs to address these things. We are talking about our second largest trading partner.
We also have concerns about safety, as my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint‑Charles mentioned this morning. We also have to think about the Arctic, which the committee studied in the previous Parliament. China has a presence in our territory, in our waters and on our Arctic lands, which makes no sense. We must exercise our sovereignty and get to the bottom of this, because our national security is at stake.
We also have concerns about our telecommunications and the possibility of spying by China, which may have taken place or could take place here in Canada. We need to be careful and vigilant and get to the bottom of things, which is what a parliamentary committee does.
The same goes for natural resources. Our country, which is rich in people and natural resources, is in direct competition with China, which does not have the same manufacturing quality standards, nor the same respect for the environment or human rights.
When our primary competitor slashes wages left and right and can sell its natural resources for a much lower price than would be possible for us, since we respect people and the environment, it is time to investigate. This is especially important when it is a matter of rare metals or the metals of the future, such as lithium.
Canada is full of these natural resources, and it is up to us to develop them intelligently, with domestic secondary or tertiary processing facilities. We know that China also has a lot of natural resources, and it is up to us to study the situation in order to improve it globally.
This brings me to the climate. Canada is responsible for 1.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. If Canada were to shut down tomorrow morning, the entire planet might be better off because there would be 1.6% less pollution. China, on the other hand, produces 27% of greenhouse gas emissions. That is a massive amount.
As China's economy expands, the country is producing even more pollution and moving towards energy resources like coal, which is highly polluting. Even if Canada does a thousand things to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, nothing will change if China continues to pollute non-stop, without attempting to reduce its emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions do not need a passport to travel around the world.
Yes, we support Canada's efforts, but we also realize that if other countries are not making an effort, then pollution will not go down. At the end of the day, it is the planet that pays.
In closing, what has been happening since February 24 does have an impact on international relations. Ever since Putin's Russia decided to illegally invade the peaceful and non-aggressive country of Ukraine and wage war on it, there have been global consequences. I know that we will have the opportunity to discuss this at another time. For example, Canada's economy and natural resources could be helping Europe at present. Instead, European countries are currently subsidizing Putin's war through their dependence on Russia's natural resources. Yes, this war has a direct impact on our relations with China.
To conclude, we believe that it would be a very good thing if the House unanimously, if possible, decided to vote in favour of our motion. Unfortunately, the government does not want to reinstate the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations. Reinstating this committee would make it possible for us to closely examine the strong relationship that we have with our second-largest trading partner. This relationship must be based on the economy, but also on respect for human rights, national security and the future of our natural resources.
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- May/12/22 4:10:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want the hon. member's comments on what is an underlying issue in this kind of debate, which is that criticism of the Chinese government is criticism of Chinese people. It is felt by the diaspora community and promoted particularly by the Chinese government that any criticism of the Government of China and the Communist Chinese Party is in fact a criticism of the Chinese as a people. I am interested in his comments on that.
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