44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 21, 2023 10:00AM
- Nov/21/23 3:05:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure that the Canadians who are watching the member are wondering what he is saying. Let me bring facts to the story.
From the moment we heard the allegations, we commissioned an independent investigation. We froze the funds of the institution. We accepted the resignation of the chair. The CEO has resigned.
We are going to get to the bottom of this. We are going to continue to have these companies in our country.
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- Nov/21/23 3:05:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the independent report revealed that multiple board members voted to funnel money from the fund to companies they had an interest in. This is scandalous.
In the face of evidence of self-dealing and corruption, the minister has not seen fit to fire anyone. Why? Which Liberal insiders is he protecting?
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- Nov/21/23 3:06:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is scandalous is the Conservatives making claims and allegations against people.
What a responsible government does when there are allegations is investigate. That is exactly what we did. We suspended the financing of the organization. The CEO has resigned. We have accepted the resignation of the chair.
We are going to get to the bottom of this. We are going to continue to help companies in this country. We will invest in green technologies.
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- Nov/21/23 3:07:14 p.m.
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Again, I hope that all members will be so kind as to listen to the hon. member ask his question, and to the answer.
The hon. member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent.
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- Nov/21/23 3:07:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years in power, unfortunately, ethical issues are a defining trait of this Liberal government. Unfortunately, the most recent example is the $1-billion fund for a green economy.
The Auditor General is conducting an investigation into the $40 million in mismanaged funds. The chair of the fund also gave her own company a $200,000 subsidy. She resigned because she was caught red-handed.
Canadians who are watching at home want a clear answer from the government. When and how will the government hold these people to account and pay back the money that they used to line the pockets of Liberal cronies?
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- Nov/21/23 3:08:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague from Louis‑Saint‑Laurent. He is an honourable man.
Today, the people of Louis‑Saint‑Laurent who are watching him are wondering about what he said, because he knows very well what the government did. As soon as the allegations were made, we commissioned an independent report to get to the bottom of things. We suspended the organization's funding. The CEO of the organization has resigned, as has the chair of the board of directors.
We are getting to the bottom of things, but we will continue to help our Canadian companies.
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- Nov/21/23 3:08:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, whether we are talking about my beautiful region of Madawaska or about Restigouche or elsewhere in the country, Canadian tourism companies are flourishing and continue to attract more tourists. They come from all over to visit every corner of our big, beautiful country. Our tourism industry represents a golden growth opportunity, so much so that the World Travel and Tourism Council predicts it could double its contribution to Canada's GDP by 2033.
Can the tourism minister tell us how our government is supporting Canadian tourism to attract more tourism to our country?
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- Nov/21/23 3:09:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is right. The tourism industry represents 1.9 million jobs, it is represented in every municipality in the country and it generates $266 million a day.
Yesterday, we launched the tourism growth program, a $108‑million fund that will be delivered by the regional economic agencies. These investments are designed to support businesses and organizations as they grow and offer authentic tourism experiences.
Tourism is not just about the economy, it is about pride.
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- Nov/21/23 3:09:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP-Liberal government spent $54 million on the arrive scam app and now the RCMP is investigating contractors. This is more evidence that after eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost.
Two senior public servants have accused each other of lying about who made the decision to hire GC Strategies. GC Strategies is a two-man company that does nothing and subcontracts all the actual work.
Will the minister responsible for this decision stand up now and explain to the House why GC Strategies was chosen?
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- Nov/21/23 3:10:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I am happy to explain to the House is how seriously our government takes allegations of inappropriate behaviour with taxpayers' money and contracting or subcontracting. We are obviously very pleased that the committee is looking into this matter. We are pleased that the Auditor General is also seized with this question.
We are also pleased that the Canada Border Services Agency, when these issues came to light, took the appropriate action with internal reviews and, as was appropriate, referred any and all of these circumstances to the appropriate authorities.
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- Nov/21/23 3:11:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, South Korea's ambassador told Windsor officials that the auto giant, Stellantis, will employ 1,600 workers from South Korea, not Canada, at the $15-billion subsidized battery plant. Every mom on a minimum wage, every couple struggling to pay their mortgage and every union assembly line worker will each pay $1,000 in taxes to subsidize these foreign workers.
After eight years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Will the Prime Minister ensure that all jobs at the Stellantis plant go to Canadian paycheques, not foreign workers?
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- Nov/21/23 3:11:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. They have done nothing for the people of Windsor. They have done nothing for the workers. They have certainly done nothing for the auto sector.
One thing that we have done is maximize opportunities for Canadians. Let me give the member some news. The CEO of the company just confirmed that there will be 2,500 Canadian workers at the plant and up to 2,300 to build the plant.
This is what I call working for Canadians.
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- Nov/21/23 3:12:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister should take a lesson from just about anyone willing to give it, and I will tell members why.
The unemployment rate in Windsor is 7%. They are bringing in 1,600 workers from Korea. This plant is going to cost $1,000 per Canadian family. Every unemployed union worker in Windsor could have these jobs. Instead, these incompetent, arrogant Liberals are giving the jobs to 1,600 Koreans.
Will the minister promise right now that the jobs will go to hard-working Canadians, not workers from any other country, including Korea?
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- Nov/21/23 3:13:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure that Canadians are shocked to hear the member again repeating falsehoods. Canadians know not to trust the Conservatives when it comes to jobs, when it comes to growth, when it comes to the auto sector.
Let me repeat, so that he can write down the numbers: 2,500 jobs at the plant and up to 2,300 to build the plant. That is what the CEO said. That is what we are going to do. We are going to build opportunity for Canadians.
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- Nov/21/23 3:14:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, leaders, parliamentarians and senior military personnel from the world's democracies gathered in my hometown of Halifax for the 15th annual Halifax International Security Forum. We came together for meaningful discussions on international security, defence, the role of women in peacekeeping, the threats of climate change and so much more.
Could the Minister of National Defence share with this House the important work that was done over the past several days in Halifax?
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- Nov/21/23 3:15:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Halifax for his terrific hospitality.
Indeed, last weekend, we welcomed world leaders and a terrific contingent of Canadian parliamentarians to the largest defence conference of democracies to the Halifax International Security Forum. This was not only a shining moment for Canada, but it was also a great day for the city of Halifax, because I had the opportunity to announce $26 million to establish the NATO defence innovation accelerator and $188 million for a new training centre for CFB Halifax, Canada's largest military base.
It was a terrific weekend for Canada's national defence and for the great city of Halifax.
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- Nov/21/23 3:16:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the window to address runaway climate change is rapidly closing, and as the environment commissioner clearly laid out, far too many of the Liberal government's climate strategies are falling far short of what is required. Now we have learned that the greener homes program, the federal fund that allows homeowners to retrofit their homes and install heat pumps, is already running out of money.
Will the minister commit to not only renewing this program's funding, but also fixing it so it finally works for low-income homeowners?
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- Nov/21/23 3:16:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, certainly, enhancing building efficiency is extremely important in the fight against climate change and in the appropriate utilization of our natural resources. We put into place a number of programs, including the oil and heat pump program, but also the green buildings program, which actually provides a $5,000 grant to Canadians to improve the energy efficiency of their home. The number one implementation is heat pumps. We sourced money for that program. It has been enormously popular. We will continue to receive applications, and of course we are going to look, as with every program, at the results and what we will do to supplement those things on a go-forward basis.
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- Nov/21/23 3:17:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's leading humanitarian aid agencies have united together to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. People in Nanaimo—Ladysmith are demanding action from the federal government.
All hostages need to be released and a ceasefire declared so that no more children are killed, but the Prime Minister does not seem to recognize the killing of over 13,000 innocent civilians and more than 1.7 million displaced is an atrocity and it must end now.
I will ask again. When will the Prime Minister call for a ceasefire?
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- Nov/21/23 3:18:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we saw horrific scenes on October 7, when Hamas attacked innocent Israelis. Of course, we also know Gaza is one of the worst places on earth to live in right now, so we need to make sure all civilians are protected. We need to make sure as well that humanitarian aid can be sent to Gaza.
We are seeing right now there are negotiations happening between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar. We look forward to seeing all hostages released and humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza.
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