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Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport, Lib.)

Dec/5/22 6:44:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I first want to thank my hon. colleague for her question, her leadership and her attention to this very important issue. I would also like to thank the other members of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women for the important work they are doing in studying the issue of safe sport for women and girls in Canada. I had the privilege of joining one of the meetings. I paid attention today to those meetings. The testimony was both extremely moving and terribly important for us all to listen to. I want to commend the courageous athletes who continue to tell their stories about the abuse they have suffered. I want them to know that we hear them; we see them and we absolutely believe them. I want to be clear that anyone who is a victim or witness to a criminal act should report that incident to the police immediately. In reality, this is a deeply personal issue for me. The objective of creating a safer sport free from abuse was my main motivation for entering the world of politics. As a society, we in Canada have a shared responsibility to promote a safe sporting environment for everyone. Our government responded to calls from Canadian athletes for an independent, centralized mechanism for violations of any provisions of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport. The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, or OSIC, was created in June under the leadership of Sarah-Ève Pelletier, who is a former member of the national artistic swimming team, a member of the Quebec bar and an accredited civil mediator. This office was created to end the culture of silence, to help provide a reliable mechanism for reporting abuse and mistreatment, and to ensure that victims are heard and supported. By April 1, 2023, all national sport organizations must sign on to the abuse-free sport program, which includes OSIC services. This is a condition of receiving funding from the Government of Canada. As of December 1, 2022, some 23 organizations have signed on, including Hockey Canada and Gymnastics Canada. Some have questioned OSIC's independence. Just like any administrative tribunal or court of justice supported financially by the federal government, from the Supreme Court of Canada to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, OSIC is an independent entity. Earlier I spoke to the personal nature of this concern. It was about seven years ago that I retired from sport. I had a long career in sport. I went to four Olympics for Canada, and indeed witnessed many things that I wish never happened. In 2016, the then minister of sport asked me to be part of a working group to develop a system to address the maltreatment in sport that was occurring. There first needed to be a universal code of conduct. We made recommendations to the federal government at that time. Those recommendations included having a universal code of conduct that was mandatory for all national sport organizations, ensuring that the system was fully funded by the federal government, as the Supreme Court is, and ensuring that it was independent of the government entirely. It is true that those things are the case today. Given that sport is a shared jurisdiction in Canada, we, along with provincial and territorial colleagues, should all be working together on this. In August 2022, building on the Red Deer declaration signed in February 2019, ministers agreed to work toward establishing an independent third party mechanisms in their jurisdictions for allegations of maltreatment in sport—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/5/22 6:48:04 p.m.
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The parliamentary secretary's time is up. The hon. member for Shefford.

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Ms. Andréanne Larouche

Dec/5/22 6:48:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would have liked to hear the parliamentary secretary admit in the answer he gave me this evening that the government will think about the request of parliamentarians, who are unanimous about the fact that these athletes must be given a voice. It is the Minister of Sport's responsibility to look into the management of sexual assault and sexual misconduct in sports for the good of the public. It is high time to act as a watchdog and recognize the distress and frustration felt by these athletes in the amateur circuit and by those who are overseen by programs subsidized by the federal government. The government must absolutely shed light on the management problems in sports organizations because this problem has been going on for far too long. We are talking about a right, and athletes are well within their rights to require such action from their government. In closing, I would like to say that I am sincere in offering the Minister of Sport our full co-operation in this necessary modernization of the sport policy. I also want to remind her that she would benefit from the recommendations of such a commission because it could enable the OSIC to really protect athletes. A real culture change—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/5/22 6:49:15 p.m.
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Order. I am sorry to interrupt the hon. member, but her time is up. The hon. parliamentary secretary.

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Secretary

Mr. Adam van Koeverden

Dec/5/22 6:49:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I once again want to commend the member from the Bloc Québécois for her attention to this important issue and concern. I also want to commend the other members of the status of women committee for their hard work on this issue. Absolutely no solution is off the table for me, the Minister of Sport, the government and all members of the House. We absolutely condemn violence, maltreatment and abuse in sport. We absolutely condemn what we heard in the testimony that was so troubling and moving. There is a solution for this. It lies within our power and obligation to step forward and make sure these stories continue to be told. We look forward to the recommendations from the committee following this important study. We thank its members again for this important work. I want to say it again. Absolutely no solution is off the table for the Minister of Sport, me and the government to ensure that sport continues and is safer in the future.

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Ms. Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo—Ladysmith, NDP)

Dec/5/22 6:50:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I recently asked the Prime Minister during question period why he is handing out billions of dollars of public money to big oil and gas, billions of dollars that could instead be used to invest in sustainable and clean energy options; could ensure solutions for the future that protect our planet; and could be used to provide workers, families and communities a transition to clean energy jobs. These necessary funds could be used toward building a stronger, more sustainable future for all. The government no longer has a choice but to make decisions that benefit our planet and people, not the ultrarich CEOs who are getting rich off the backs of Canadians. We are in a climate emergency, and we are seeing the impacts first-hand with warming oceans, forest fires, floods, droughts and heat domes, just to name a few. It is clear we no longer have time for delay. The response received from the Prime Minister provided little optimism that the government is treating this climate crisis with the seriousness and level of emergency required to ensure we have a planet to call home for the future. The damages done and the resulting impacts as a result of consecutive Liberal and Conservative inaction are unmistakable. In his response, the Prime Minister talked about prioritizing the decarbonization of big oil and gas. This is problematic, to say the least, with clear science showing that carbon capture will be inadequate in lowering greenhouse gas emissions to limit the earth’s warming to 1.5°C, which is needed to ensure our planet’s survival. Additionally, why are public tax dollars being used to subsidize the already excess profits being acquired by those who need it the least? Rich oil and gas CEOs do not need public tax dollars in addition to their excess profits. As I mentioned in my original question, a recent report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development confirms that paying big oil to reduce their emissions is a bad investment. Again, these funds could be used in endless ways to protect our planet and our futures. It is not just the NDP pointing out that big oil and gas are making unfairly taxed profits like never seen before. The chief executive of Shell recently said governments should tax energy companies, arguing that, if taxed appropriately, these funds could be used to support those most vulnerable. At a time when more and more are struggling with the increasing cost of living and the real impacts of the climate crisis, these funds could be used where they belong in helping people. Go figure that, even upon request from big oil and gas to be taxed appropriately, the government has not delivered. Others are calling on the federal government to tax the windfall profits of the oil and gas industry as well, including 350 Canada, Leadnow, Greenpeace Canada and so many Canadians. In fact, they have a petition coming forward, and it is signed by 35,000 Canadians who are asking the government to finally fairly tax the enormous profits of big oil and gas and to use these vital and necessary funds toward the ever-increasing costs of environmental disasters, such as that we most recently saw with hurricane Fiona, as well as a transition to a 100% clean energy future that does not leave anyone behind. In my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, the city of Nanaimo mayor, council and staff were recently recognized for their strong climate action by the climate disclosure project, receiving an A for its work. It has done work around waste reduction, active transportation and building energy efficiency. Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools have also done incredible work around environmental stewardship. I am wondering if the member can clarify when we will see the federal leadership we require to finally begin protecting our planet.

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Mr. Terry Beech (Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Dec/5/22 6:54:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to start by thanking my friend opposite for raising these questions. I used to represent the people of her riding as a municipal city councillor some 23 years ago in Nanaimo. In fact, I sat on the advisory committee to the environment there. The member and I have had some good discussions around various environmental issues, including climate change. I am glad we have a further opportunity to share some time in the chamber today. The federal government has committed to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies. At the same time, we are increasing investments in clean technology and clean energy production. I cannot cover the entirety of our plan to fight climate change and grow the economy in four minutes, but I would encourage anyone who is interested to read my reports on climate change and the environment and growing the economy, both of which are available at terrybeechmp.ca. It is also important to note that we are not just committed to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, but we have actually accelerated our previous timeline for doing so from 2025 to 2023, which is a matter of weeks away. In fact, we have already taken action to phase out nine tax measures supporting the fossil fuel sector to date. In budget 2022, as another example, the government committed to eliminating the flow-through share regime for fossil fuel activities. This means tax benefits available to companies and their investors will no longer be available after March 31, 2023, which is less than four months from now. At COP27 last month in Egypt, Canadian representatives also fought to prevent other countries from backing down on phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels and coal, which are still the single largest contributor to CO2 emissions globally. We are also on track to eliminate coal-fired energy in Canada within the next seven years. The reality is that our government has taken concrete action to fight pollution and to produce cleaner air for everyone. This is also why we introduced a price on carbon pollution across Canada in 2019. My friend opposite would be familiar with this approach, as B.C. has had a price on pollution since 2008. In fact, the carbon price has not only helped lower emissions per capita, but B.C. has enjoyed one of the fastest-growing economies in the country since it was implemented. An important part of this economic growth story is that a majority of Canada's clean-tech sector is actually located in British Columbia and accounts for billions of dollars in revenue each and every single year and tens of thousands of good, sustainable, high-paying jobs. It is a good analogy for how successful Canada can be as more of the world demands clean and sustainable sources of energy and solutions for fighting climate change. There really is no doubt that our approach is working. Industries are already being encouraged to become more emissions-efficient and to use cleaner technologies. This in turn encourages the development of new and innovative approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using energy more efficiently. This in turn creates new business development opportunities. The fact is that we cannot have a credible plan to grow our economy without also having a credible plan to protect the environment and to fight climate change. That said, we also know that we need to work with industry to find economically viable solutions and technologies. Carbon capture, utilization and storage, CCUS for short, is an important tool for reducing emissions in high-emitting sectors, especially if other pathways to reducing emissions are limited or unavailable. I would note that many respected global organizations support CCUS development, including the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Paris-based International Energy Agency. It will help not just the oil and gas sector to reduce emissions, but emission-intensive sectors like steel production, cement and other emission-intensive industries as well.

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Ms. Lisa Marie Barron

Dec/5/22 6:58:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member whom I have a deep respect for. Unfortunately, I do not think an example of concrete action is the Liberal government handing rich CEOs, the very ones who are profiting from globally destructive business practices, a subsidy of $2.6 billion to ineffectively clean up the mess they are making. That money is coming out of the pockets of Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet, and who, in many cases, are suffering the devastating effects of climate degradation. The B.C. Centre for Disease Control, for example, is creating a fact sheet to educate people about the health hazards of wildfire smoke and how to prepare themselves to cope with it every year. This is tragic. Meanwhile, the current government is handing oil and gas companies billions in subsidies and tax incentives. I will ask again: When will the government stop subsidizing big oil companies and start making them pay what they owe?

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Mr. Terry Beech

Dec/5/22 6:59:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, to directly answer the question, 2023 is when we are committed to removing all inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. I would also encourage anyone listening to this to look at our entire emissions reduction plan. There has been over 100 billion dollars' worth of investments into initiatives leading to a cleaner future, including in budget 2022, which took a number of important steps to mobilize private investments, including launching the Canada growth fund. The Canada growth fund is going to attract substantial private sector investment in Canadian businesses and projects to help seize the opportunities that are provided by building a net-zero economy, which is exactly what we are doing. I invite all members to read Bill C-32 if they have not already done so. The legislation would provide up to $2 billion in initial capitalization for the Canada growth fund. Not only will this help Canada fight against climate change, but it will also grow our economy and create jobs for Canadians, which is what we are trying to do in everything that we do.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Dec/5/22 7:00:26 p.m.
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The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 7 p.m.)

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