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Context: House Hansard - 102 - Sep/26/22

Sep/26/22 6:41:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, from experience in my riding with all the flood and fire events I have witnessed in my years as a member of Parliament, I can speak to the importance of groups such as the Red Cross in helping people in these disasters. It is often the Red Cross that really does a lot of the work in relocating people, putting people up in accommodation and feeding them while they are forced out of their homes. Donations to the Red Cross would be very welcome. Tonight we are talking more about what we can do in this place to help the people of Atlantic Canada.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis (Cumberland—Colchester, CPC)

Sep/26/22 6:42:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from the NDP for his kind words and for reaching out to those in my riding and the rest of Atlantic Canada who have been significantly affected by hurricane Fiona. I think it interesting we all appear to be on the same page here. When we find out that the government can no longer manage these programs and there is an impossibility to get the money to people, will the NDP stand with the Conservative Party and ensure those Atlantic Canadians get what they need to rebuild their lives?

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Mr. Richard Cannings

Sep/26/22 6:42:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Cumberland—Colchester represents the area where my mother's family came from, my ancestors, so I appreciate that. It is important to work together in this place to get help for Canadians when they need it. One example I did not give is the Town of Oliver in my riding, which had a landslide that caused $10 million in damage. It did not qualify under DMAF for funding, and there were years of lobbying on my part. I tried to help them. The government eventually changed DMAF so that small communities can now access funding of under $20 million. It was too late for Oliver, but those changes can be made, and we need to work here together to make changes when Canadians need them.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Sep/26/22 6:43:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I used to live in the Lower St. Lawrence region. There were times when the high tide coincided with a snow storm. We saw shorelines, garages and houses be swept away by the water. That was a lot less severe than what the Atlantic provinces and eastern Quebec experienced this weekend. Catastrophic events like these now tend to occur more and more frequently because of climate change. My question to my hon. colleague is this: Does he think Canada is investing enough money to help polluters pollute less? Should we invest more to support innovating businesses that develop green technologies in Quebec and Canada?

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Mr. Richard Cannings

Sep/26/22 6:44:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously we need to put a price on pollution and make sure the processes, companies and individuals causing climate change around the world pay for that pollution so that we can do the things necessary to combat climate change. That is the mitigation part of climate change. Tonight I have been talking about the adaptation aspect. We are stuck with the climate change we have right now. Right now, it is close to a 1.5° rise. If we stopped all our carbon emissions today, as I could only hope, we would still in this place where we would be having hurricanes and forest fires over the next centuries. We have to do both.

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Ms. Laurel Collins (Victoria, NDP)

Sep/26/22 6:45:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my support and solidarity to the people of Atlantic Canada. I went to high school in New Brunswick and university in Nova Scotia. I have family and friends on the east coast, and it is heartbreaking to see the devastation caused by hurricane Fiona. I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to those who have lost loved ones, to the families who have had their homes destroyed and to everyone impacted by the destruction and upheaval of this extreme weather event. About a million Atlantic Canadians are without power, and we must do everything we can to support the families and communities that are hurt by this disaster. I want to thank my colleague, the member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay. He outlined clearly how disasters of this scale impact us all. We are calling on the government to not only provide immediate support to those who need it but also to look to the future. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more severe. It is costing communities. It means that we have to replace and rebuild with more resilient infrastructure. Over the next 30 years, major storms and floods could cost Canada $108 billion. Every report that comes out on the costs of the climate crisis shows that these costs are going to be astronomical, and it is important to emphasize that this is of national importance. The federal government must take a leadership role. It is so much less expensive to make proactive investments in climate resilience than to pay for the costs of destroyed infrastructure, but more than that, it also saves lives. It is why we are calling on the government to increase investments in disaster resilience. It is why we want to see meaningful action on the climate crisis. As I watched the videos and saw pictures, I could not help but think about the atmospheric river and the floods that hit British Columbia last year. It was less than a year ago that we were in an emergency debate on the floods in B.C.. We just have to look around the world right now at the floods in Pakistan, the increasing frequency of climate fires, the increasing severity of extreme weather events. These disasters are just a glimpse of what our future looks like. Hundreds of people died in the heat dome in B.C.. People have lost their lives in floods and storms and forest fires. The government must significantly increase funding for the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund. It needs to urgently create a separate funding stream to assist provincial, territorial, indigenous and municipal governments so that they can take proactive action to strengthen infrastructure to meet the challenge of extreme weather events, of rising sea levels, of forest fires and other devastating natural disasters caused by the climate emergency, and we are in a climate emergency. We are in a climate emergency, yet the government is not acting as though we are. We cannot continue down the road that consecutive Liberal and Conservative government have set us on. As the government hands out billions of dollars to profitable oil and gas companies, as it teams up with the Conservatives to oppose a windfall tax on the record profits of oil and gas companies, the Liberal government keeps saying that it believes that climate change is real, but it does not matter what one believes if one is not taking climate action. The Liberals emphasize that they are different from the Conservatives, but with the severe impacts of the climate crisis unfolding right in front of our eyes, they will not take the action that matches the scale and the urgency of this crisis. While Canadians are struggling with the cost of living, while Atlantic Canadians are dealing with the devastating impacts of hurricane Fiona, the government is handing over billions of our taxpayer dollars to the very corporations that are fuelling the climate crisis. This is billions of dollars in subsidies that could be spent on climate action, climate solutions, climate resilience and support for the communities impacted by these disasters. The Liberals and the Conservatives are opposing the policies that would actually make a difference for Canadians. The Liberals refuse to actually match the scale of this crisis, the urgency of this crisis, with the kind of action needed, the kind of action that would keep warming below 1.5°C. The hard truth is that Canada is not on track to meet our climate targets and that these climate targets are not adequate to keep global warming below 1.5°C. The Liberals like to talk about believing in climate change, but we need to see action. The decisions that we make today will determine whether there is a livable future for our children and our grandchildren. These disasters are just a glimpse at the future. We stand with the people of Atlantic Canada. We will work across party lines to ensure you have the support you need in these unimaginably difficult times. We will push the government to start treating the climate emergency like the emergency that it is. We will fight for you and for our collective future.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Sep/26/22 6:52:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what we have before us is an emergency debate to deal with what is taking place in Atlantic Canada and parts of Quebec today. I am hopeful that throughout the next number of hours, members will provide their thoughts on how the government can enhance support, quite frankly. We heard the Prime Minister and other ministers talk about our military, matching Red Cross donations and the tremendous amount of communication that is going on between ministerial offices and premiers' offices and other stakeholders. The member seemed to focus her attention on the issue of climate change, and yes, we recognize it. We are not Conservatives. We do not deny climate change, but that is for another debate. My question to the member is this: Does she have any thoughts or ideas specifically that she would like to see helping the people of Atlantic Canada and parts of Quebec?

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Ms. Laurel Collins

Sep/26/22 6:53:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see that members from every party in the House are standing together in support of Atlantic Canadians. We are here together to support everyone in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and P.E.I. However, if the member expects me to be silent about the fact that the climate crisis is one of the reasons we are seeing these increasingly extreme and increasingly frequent weather events, and if this government is going to continue to ignore the causes of these extreme natural disasters, well then, we are in trouble.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis (Cumberland—Colchester, CPC)

Sep/26/22 6:54:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, times are often difficult in Atlantic Canada. That said, we understand that it is hard for people to afford transportation. We often live in single-family dwellings that have to be heated, but we do not have natural gas coming to a significant number of homes, and buying a car is very difficult. We often say in Atlantic Canada that people buy a beater car to get through, which is around $2,500. How are they going to afford an electric vehicle to help support this? I would also like to understand how tripling the carbon tax is going to cause a one-third decrease in the number of hurricanes in Atlantic Canada.

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Ms. Laurel Collins

Sep/26/22 6:55:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Atlantic Canadians and Canadians across this country are struggling. They are struggling with the cost of living. They are struggling not being able to access dental care. They are struggling because they cannot put food on the table and cannot afford to pay their rent. These are very challenging times, which is why New Democrats have been calling on this government to implement a windfall profits tax for the big banks, the big grocery stores, the big box stores and the big gas companies. This is essential so that we can put money back into people's pockets. The carbon tax is a crucial piece of a climate plan, and in the last election the Conservatives actually acknowledged that, but it is not silver bullet. Unfortunately, we need a government that is actually going to take action that matches the scale of the crisis.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Sep/26/22 6:56:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what we saw this weekend is but an example of what could happen more and more frequently if we keep being short-sighted, governing according to the latest polls and reacting instead of being proactive. That being said, large investments are being made supposedly to help the environment. I am thinking of carbon capture plants that actually produce more carbon than they can capture. I wonder what my colleague thinks about these solutions that, in the end, are not as green as advertised and what she would propose instead.

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Ms. Laurel Collins

Sep/26/22 6:57:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question. I am sorry but I will continue in English. The member brings up a really important point. The current government has proposed handing over billions of dollars to big oil and gas companies for carbon capture, utilization and storage. This is not a climate solution. Reports have shown that this is just a giveaway to big oil and gas. We need to invest those billions of dollars the government seems set on handing over to profitable companies into climate solutions and policies that will make a difference. The science is clear. We have the technology, the answers and the ability to meet our climate targets if we actually take the action.

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Mr. Yasir Naqvi (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Sep/26/22 6:58:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of National Defence. While it is always an honour to speak in this place, I deeply wish it was under different circumstances. Canadians from coast to coast to coast have seen the terrible images coming out of Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec over the weekend. Homes have been destroyed by fallen trees, had their roofs blown off by extreme winds or been swept out to sea. We also tragically had reports from authorities that people in several provinces, such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, have passed away as a result of the storm. Let me say that our thoughts are foremost with their families and loved ones. We are thinking of them, we feel their pain and we will be there to help and support them. Hurricane Fiona was an unprecedented storm, unlike anything that has struck our shores before. I expect we will hear many more stories from my colleagues here tonight, from Atlantic Canadians, about how this storm affected the lives of those they represent, members like you, Mr. Speaker, and I look forward to listening to them. As the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, I would like to start by providing an update to the House with some of the latest news from our officials. Let me first say that the Minister of Emergency Preparedness has been very active and involved in this matter from the beginning. Since we knew that there was a hurricane coming our way, he has been actively engaged, working with officials and working with other ministries, and we will hear from the Minister of National Defence, to coordinate our efforts to be ready once the storm hit Canada, not only working within the federal government but working very closely with the provincial governments and local authorities to ensure that they had all the support necessary. Unfortunately, the minister is unable to be here. As many would know, he had knee surgery. However, he remains engaged and active, and I am working very closely with him. I wish him a speedy recovery. In terms of the storm that hit Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec, recovery efforts are ongoing across the Atlantic provinces. As of 3:30 this afternoon, eastern daylight time, we understand that power outages are affecting approximately 171,000 customers in Nova Scotia, 75,000 customers in Prince Edward Island, 6,800 customers in New Brunswick and 220 customers in Newfoundland and Labrador. There are zero affected customers reported in Quebec at this moment. States of local emergency remain in place at both Port aux Basques and Cape Breton. Thirteen first nation communities have reported impacts due to hurricane Fiona, and Indigenous Services Canada is working with those communities directly. Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army are supporting shelters and feeding operations across the Atlantic provinces. Two weather disturbances are expected on the September 26 and September 27 over Atlantic Canada, which may impact recovery efforts. Weather is expected to improve by September 28. All levels of government are committed to continue working closely together to ensure that impacted communities are able to recover as quickly as possible. At the federal level, we have approved requests for assistance from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to assist in the local response, and I am confident we will hear more details from the Minister of National Defence when she has the opportunity to speak. In addition, Transport Canada's national aerial surveillance program is providing support to assess the storm's damages in multiple provinces. The Canadian Coast Guard has also made resources available to assist where needed. We also remain in close contact with all affected provinces as they continue their response and remain highly engaged on the news. There are ongoing, direct communications taking place, not only at the officials level between the federal government, the provinces and of course local emergency authorities, but I can also tell members that our ministers in the Canadian government are speaking with the premiers and their counterpart ministers on a regular basis. This is a team-Canada approach to deal with a very significant impact on our country. In addition to this direct support to the provinces, our government has also announced that we will be matching all donations to the Canadian Red Cross for 30 days following this disastrous event. Through this program, the Red Cross will seek to address more immediate requirements for support for affected Canadians and their families. Of course, we know how generous Canadians are. Right here in my community of Ottawa Centre, I am hearing from many individuals who want to know how they can help in the response and recovery. We encourage Canadians to donate to the Canadian Red Cross. The Canadian Red Cross, as many of us know, has previously been a partner to the Government of Canada in response to disasters like British Columbia's 2021 flooding and the Fort McMurray wildfires in Alberta. It has demonstrated an ability to provide impactful support to a significant number of people. I would also like to recognize the efforts of all other partners involved in the ongoing response and recovery efforts. We know so many organizations like local NGOs, church groups and social service clubs are involved and engaged in helping the recovery. In the end, that is what communities and neighbours do for each other. Our government commends the many NGOs that are already at work providing assistance to people affected by hurricane Fiona. We know that while the storm is over, the response and recovery are truly just beginning. While it will take time for the full scope of the damage to be known, we recognize that provinces have already expressed concerns about the cost. We continue to work closely with the affected provinces to identify all of the available federal resources that can help with the response and the recovery. Our priority is to ensure the well-being of all affected Canadians, and we are committed to being there for them, now and throughout the recovery process. Through the disaster financial assistance arrangements, the federal government can provide cost-sharing support when a natural disaster is so great that it challenges a province's ability to financially respond to it on its own. We stand ready to begin those conversations with the provinces, and we intend to be highly responsive to any request we receive. Helping each other in difficult times, just like we are seeing in our eastern provinces now, is just what Canadians do. That is what makes us so proud to be Canadian. I encourage all members to continue to show their support for Atlantic communities during this exceptional time. Everyone in the House knows that we will get through this. We will get through this together and build even better communities in Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec.

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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Sep/26/22 7:07:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as someone who has been a Cape Bretoner much of my life and is now a British Columbian, I have seen the climate crisis hit communities I know and love really hard. It is heartbreaking. I want to extend thanks to all in this House for the solidarity in supporting Atlantic Canadians at this critical time and for continuing to support them, because the people of Lytton, whose town burned down last summer, have still seen nothing. Some of those people are still paying the bank for the mortgage on the house they no longer have. A lot of people need help and they need it because of the climate emergency. My colleague is speaking on behalf of the government, and I do appreciate the advance work that the Minister of Public Safety tried to do to get provinces to act early. In Atlantic Canada, it worked and people were warned. It did not work in B.C. People were not warned of the heat dome. Right now on the Environment Canada website is a completely inadequate consultation document that calls on Canadians to help the government put in place adaptation strategies by the year 2030. Will the hon. parliamentary secretary agree with me that we needed those adaptation plans yesterday and not in eight years?

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Mr. Yasir Naqvi

Sep/26/22 7:09:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, our focus right now is to provide the necessary help so those who are affected, and there are many unfortunately, can recover, and to restore power and get fresh water back to them so they can get to their workplaces. In our effort, we have learned, as the member stated, that when we prepare for emergencies like these, our response is better and we can prevent the loss of life and hopefully loss of property as well. That is ongoing work. We know climate change is having a huge impact. That is why having thoughtful, thorough, evidence-based adaptation strategies is what we need, and that is what we are working toward.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis (Cumberland—Colchester, CPC)

Sep/26/22 7:10:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate and thank the member opposite for Ottawa Centre for his kind thoughts and words. I have a couple of very important questions that I think Atlantic Canadians would really like answers to. First, exactly how will funds be paid to those people who make claims? Will the federal government be paying them directly, or will they be funnelled through the provinces? Second, and perhaps more importantly, why did we choose the Canadian Red Cross? This is not meant to be disparaging to the Red Cross, but we know very clearly, especially in small towns across the country and Atlantic Canada perhaps in particular, that food banks are out there helping out and there are often volunteer fire brigades that run on a donation basis. The Red Cross is a large, multinational corporate entity, and perhaps some of the profits will be eaten up through bureaucracy. I guess the question is, why choose the Red Cross? Does that not create a discrepancy for the smaller institutions that are acting locally and really providing help at the coalface, as it were?

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Mr. Yasir Naqvi

Sep/26/22 7:11:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me first of all extend my gratitude to the member opposite. I know his community has been directly hit and he has been actively trying to help his constituents. I have offered my assistance to him. I am available if he needs any information. I know that just this morning, the Prime Minister and I, along with the member for Ottawa South, visited Hydro Ottawa crews that were going to Truro, Nova Scotia, to his community, to help. I hope that will have an impact. The Canadian Red Cross is a national organization. It has a very strong partnership with the Government of Canada. It has demonstrated a capacity to deal with large-scale events, like the one we are facing right now, and help a large number of people. That is why it is important that we work with it so that support can be provided right away to those who are impacted. Of course, local community organizations play a very important role and are part of the recovery effort, but at this moment we need to make sure that people are safe as quickly as possible and that power is restored. They have comfort centres available, and food and shelter also.

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Mr. Yves Perron (Berthier—Maskinongé, BQ)

Sep/26/22 7:12:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first, I want to say that the Bloc Québécois and I stand with all those affected. We need to assist them by providing the funding they need. We will be there to work with the government as needed. I would like to know what my colleague plans to do about shoreline erosion. For a long time now, we have been calling on the government to invest and to give the provinces and territories money to improve shoreline protection, since events like this will happen again. I even tabled a petition on this topic during this session. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

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Mr. Yasir Naqvi

Sep/26/22 7:13:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. As I was saying earlier, we need to continue to invest in adaptation strategies. We know that weather-related events impacted by climate change are becoming more frequent because climate change is real. We need to make sure we are not only fighting pollution by not making pollution free and not only curbing pollution to fight climate change, but investing in building resilient infrastructure, whether shorelines, dams or bridges. That is the important work the Ministry of Emergency Preparedness is focused on, and it will continue to do that work in an effective way so that all Canadians are safe at all times.

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Hon. Anita Anand (Minister of National Defence, Lib.)

Sep/26/22 7:14:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be here this evening to take part in this emergency debate. I will start by saying that our thoughts are with all those affected by hurricane Fiona. I was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, in the heart of the Annapolis Valley, and I am devastated to see the damage that is being wrought on the Atlantic provinces and eastern Quebec. I would also like to echo the words of many colleagues today in extending the deepest thanks to the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as first responders, search-and-rescue volunteers and emergency managers, all of whom are working so hard to keep people safe and to help with the recovery during this exceptional time. I have been in touch with Premier Houston and Premier Furey and reiterated that the Canadian government is here to help. We will work closely with all regions to support the recovery, and I want Canadians who are watching this at home to know that our government and the Canadian Armed Forces remain vigilant and ready to respond and rise to the challenge, as they always do. Over the past few days, we have seen images of devastating damage wrought by hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec. As a Nova Scotian myself, my thoughts are with everyone suffering and affected in Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec. We stand with them. We are here for them. We continue to help the provinces that need us. Let me take things province by province. I will say that all three branches of the Canadian Armed Forces are activated and ready to assist, as required. What are they? They are the Joint Task Force Atlantic, the 5th Canadian Division, the Canadian Rangers, local reserve units, the Royal Canadian Air Force's aircraft and crew and the Royal Canadian Navy's ships, small vessels and crew. They are all on standby and helping where they are needed. In terms of the province-by-province work the Canadian Armed Forces are involved with in Nova Scotia and, in fact, in Cape Breton, yesterday morning, a Canadian army reconnaissance team was on the ground evaluating the damage of the hurricane and identifying which military capabilities would be best deployed and where. Yesterday, we confirmed that our Canadian Armed Forces would provide equipment and personnel to help with re-establishing electricity, roads and bridges, if required by the Province of Nova Scotia, with approximately 100 Canadian Armed Forces personnel. Our personnel are there for the province. They are available to assist the province if required. In fact, what we have is up to 100 personnel for each of the affected provinces. We are making sure that the Canadian Armed Forces are there for Atlantic Canada. The lead Canadian Armed Forces elements were ready to begin tasks this morning, and the CAF was present in communities in Nova Scotia as of this morning also. Moving now to P.E.I., the next province to submit an RFA with the federal government, the Canadian Armed Forces deployed immediately last night to help with removing vegetation and debris from roadways to help restore the power grid, and with repairing roadways as required. As of right now, over 100 CAF personnel are in the province, and lead CAF elements are in P.E.I. They got straight to work today to help provincial authorities, in conjunction with local authorities, of course. As for Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland provided a request for assistance yesterday, and our Canadian Armed Forces have been activating resources and personnel to provide physical impact assessments and immediate on-the-ground support to local authorities to ensure the well-being and safety of residents in the province. Let me talk about HMCS Margaret Brooke. HMCS Margaret Brooke sailed from St. John's this morning to conduct wellness checks in four communities on the south coast. That will begin tomorrow, as requested by the province. The decision to send HMCS Margaret Brooke will be based on ongoing assessments by regional and provincial authorities and military leadership. Although it has just completed a long deployment in the Arctic as part of Operation Nanook, it stands ready to support Canadians in need. In Quebec, the Canadian Rangers continue to provide us with up-to-date information, so that we remain ready to assist the province, if asked. As the situation evolves, we remain ready to respond in provinces that may need our help. We will continue to collaborate closely with provinces and other partners. I promise all Canadians that we will always do whatever we can to help. We thank the members of the Canadian Armed Forces and everyone involved in these efforts for their hard work and dedication to their fellow Canadians. This is an all-hands-on-deck effort, and I know that our Canadian Armed Forces will rise to the challenge, as they always do.

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