44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 13, 2022 10:00AM
- May/13/22 11:52:10 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are acting on illegal trade across the border. In fact, we have invested in CBSA. I do not have the numbers in front of me, but we have confiscated firearms at the border in unprecedented numbers. Why are we doing that? It is because we reinvested in CBSA, unlike the Conservatives, who actually made cuts to the border. Under their cuts, we could not stop firearms from coming into the country in the same way we can now.
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- May/13/22 11:52:50 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, although the legal firearms community is not surprised, it is once again disappointed by the NDP-Liberal government. Its gun registry 2.0 will not impact criminals and gangs responsible for gun violence. There are 2,300 businesses like Ellwood Epps that will be forced to hire more folks, which is yet another administrative burden, to do the government's work. Canada has a red tape law. I expect the minister to make the cuts.
Why do these businesses have to keep records for 20 years when Canadians have to keep tax returns for only seven years?
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- May/13/22 11:53:27 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to respond to that question. Businesses kept records about firearms purchases for many years, for decades, prior to the Harper government coming in and cutting that requirement. We know it is not a gun registry. We know police can use this tool. I remind hon. members of the amendment the Conservative Party put into Bill C-71 that says this is not a long-gun registry. It is in the bill, which the regulations have implemented.
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- May/13/22 11:54:07 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is firmly in favour of sanctions against Russia and stands with the Ukrainian people, but the sanctions need to punish the Russians, not Quebeckers.
Our farmers are being hit with a 35% surtax on fertilizer they bought from Russia and paid for before the war. It is costing our farmers an extra 35%, but it is costing Russia nothing. This measure is not penalizing Moscow. It is penalizing our farming villages.
Will the government give our farmers an exemption for orders placed before the war?
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- May/13/22 11:54:49 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, together with our allies, we are ensuring Russia's actions do not go unpunished. We announced strong tranches of sanctions against nearly 1,000 individuals and entities from Russia and Belarus, including Putin, his inner circle, Russian banks and members of the Russian Security Council. We have ended all export permits to Russia and we are removing Russian banks from the SWIFT system. We will continue to call on Russia to reverse course, withdraw its forces and choose diplomacy.
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- May/13/22 11:55:21 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think he grabbed the wrong sheet of talking points for his response.
We agree with the sanctions. What we are asking for is a no-brainer. The bill for the fertilizer the farmers bought predates the conflict. The federal government needs to exempt the farmers from the 35% surtax. It is as simple as that. It is not complicated.
Farmers also stand with the Ukrainian people, but they should not be penalized for orders they placed before the war, when no one could imagine the horrors that would unfold in Europe in 2022.
Can the government at least tell the farmers that they will not have to pay for this?
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- May/13/22 11:56:03 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question and his work at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.
We are of course working closely with the industry. We must first ensure that we are not providing companies with any incentives to continue doing business with Russia, in light of the illegal war on Ukraine started by President Putin.
We also want to ensure that farmers have access to fertilizer at a fair price. We will continue to work with the industry to find a good solution.
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- May/13/22 11:56:33 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, recently I spent time in Springhill. All the businesses had concerns about the state of our economy. They need workers, both unskilled and skilled. They need regulatory changes for their products. They need relief from extreme inflation. They need answers, not talking points about the United States or the rest of the world, and they need the government's hand out of their back pocket.
How will the government create good policy, not more handouts, and let small businesses flourish?
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- May/13/22 11:57:06 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been there for our small businesses throughout the pandemic and we continue to be there today. If the member opposite would like examples, let him read the budget. Inside the budget he will find that what we are doing is increasing access to one of the lowest small business tax rates in the G7. We have a 9% small business tax rate in this country, and now even more businesses will be able to enjoy and have access to it.
I think that all small businesses appreciate the health of our economy right now. Our economy is doing extraordinarily well at the moment. We have the highest growth in the G7, and our entrepreneurs are thankful for that.
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- May/13/22 11:57:46 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, government documents have revealed the Liberals paid out tens and tens of millions in bonuses to public service executives last year: 89% of executives got bonuses, despite the departmental result report showing overall departments missed over half of their targets. There is no clean drinking water on reserves: bonus. There is no fix to the Phoenix pay system: bonus. Vital PPE is thrown in the trash: bonus.
Why is the government so hell-bent on paying taxpayers' money to reward failure?
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- May/13/22 11:58:22 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has, of course, one of the finest public services in the world. We have professionals who have been able to help support Canadians throughout the troubling times that we have had during the pandemic. We are very proud of our public service. Of course, we want to make sure that public servants are compensated fairly and if they have a compensation system that if they do meet their targets, of course, they are being compensated appropriately. We are very lucky to have such a professional public service.
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- May/13/22 11:59:01 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, guess what? The same government documents show that only 5% of regular public servants, non-executives, got bonuses despite being the ones who are doing all the work. The Liberals paid out millions in bonuses to the government executives who failed to meet over half their goals. The only other place we could find people getting rewarded so well for such failure is in the Liberal cabinet.
Why is the government rewarding so much failure with so many taxpayers' dollars?
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- May/13/22 11:59:34 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am just trying to understand my hon. colleague who knows the many issues regarding Canada's public service. Is he suggesting that we should compensate folks who do not meet their targets? I am certain that is not what he suggested.
What we are really talking about is our fabulous public service that has worked very hard and has helped Canadians through very tough times. We are certainly making sure that they are continuing to do the proper work that they do to serve Canadians and serve all of us here.
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- May/13/22 12:00:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are celebrating National Nursing Week from May 9 to 15.
This week gives us an opportunity to recognize and show our gratitude to nurses, who make enormous sacrifices to protect us. Canadians working in the health care field constantly demonstrate dedication. They put themselves and their families at risk by working very long hours, often in difficult conditions, to help Canadians get through the worst of the pandemic.
Can the Minister of Health tell us more about the crucial role that nurses play in our health care system and how the government is supporting them?
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- May/13/22 12:00:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my wonderful colleague from Fredericton for the excellent work that she does.
I also want to thank all nurses. It is very important to acknowledge the work that they do during National Nursing Week and during every week of the year.
I also want to acknowledge Linda Silas, the president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, and her entire team. I thank them for giving me the opportunity to speak with them just a few days ago.
I must also mention that on top of thanking nurses, we need to support the work that they do. That is why we are creating a new position of chief nursing officer, a position that the former Conservative government unfortunately abolished, and are increasing the amount of student loan forgiveness for nurses in rural areas by 50%.
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- May/13/22 12:01:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the price of gas in my riding has crept above $2 a litre.
Since I am in a rural riding, my constituents cannot use public transportation to get to work or activities. Unlike the Prime Minister and his ministers, ordinary Canadians do not have drivers. They have to pull out their wallets every time they go to the pumps.
This government is out of touch. When will it make changes to make gas more affordable for Canadians?
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- May/13/22 12:02:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that we need to combat climate change, which is why we put a tax on pollution.
I think it is worth pointing out the majority of Canadians receive more in rebates than they pay. I also want to remind my colleague that most of the taxes on gas are provincial, not federal, and we need to respect jurisdictions.
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- May/13/22 12:02:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there was a failure of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority's Hydro One conduit project. Three independent engineering firms have confirmed that the failure was due to the lead engineer, CIMA, which was both the design engineer and the bridge consultant. We are told that CIMA was allowed to continue as the lead consultant on the failure review of which they were the subject.
Why were engineering reports ignored? Was there a conflict of interest? Why was no recourse sought for the taxpayer from CIMA?
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- May/13/22 12:03:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will endeavour to get more information and will respond to the member in a quick manner.
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- May/13/22 12:03:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research require Taiwanese funding applicants to falsely specify their nationality as “Taiwan, Province of China”. Taiwan is not a province of China; Taiwan is Taiwan.
Six months ago, I wrote to the Minister of Health and six months later this mislabelling continues. Why has the minister failed to intervene to stop this blatant mislabelling of Taiwan?
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