44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 4, 2023 11:00AM
- Dec/4/23 3:05:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the Conservatives claim, our government has always been clear regarding jobs created by investments like LG and Stellantis. In a recent article, Yakabuski writes, “These workers will only be here for a matter of months. The plant could not be built without them, or at least not in time for battery production to be up and running by 2025. They will not 'steal' jobs from Canadian construction workers nor occupy any of the 2,500 permanent jobs”.
I know the opposition leader has a hard time showing respect to journalists, but maybe the Conservatives should stop fearmongering and read The Globe and Mail.
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- Dec/4/23 4:14:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have had over 133 witnesses and 120 hours of hearings on the issue of the energy transition. The Conservatives had nothing to say to any energy worker.
When we brought the Canadian Labour Congress, the Conservatives shut them down. When the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers came, the Conservatives shut them down. When the carpenters union came to speak, they shut them down. When the International Trade Union Confederation came, they shut them down. When the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs came, they shut them down. It was New Democrats who brought representatives from the coal transition. The Conservatives had no interest at all in hearing from workers.
This legislation is about workers having a seat at the table, and the Conservatives have turned to gong-show gibberish politics to stop workers from having a seat at the table. I want to ask my hon. colleague why he thinks the Conservatives have fallen down the rabbit hole of conspiracy in their attempts to stop workers from having a seat in a discussion about their future.
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- Dec/4/23 4:15:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is also shameful that they have looked to exclude workers across the country from a conversation that is very much about the future of their jobs and the future of their industries. It is about building a strong economy for the future, one that will create jobs and economic prosperity in every part of the country. It is shameful that the Conservatives have worked very actively to ensure that workers have no voice in this conversation.
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- Dec/4/23 4:16:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this has been on the floor of the House of Commons and in front of committee, but there has been a moving target on this, particularly with the Supreme Court's reading on the Impact Assessment Act, which has reopened whether there is any validity to this law whatsoever or if we are going to just end up putting the country into another couple of years of legal morass where nothing gets done. Nothing will get done for any workers in Canada. Nothing will get done for any projects in Canada. Nothing will get done for any provinces in Canada. Nothing will get done in Canada.
The government is happy with that. The government is used to that. The government has created that atmosphere across this country. That is what needs to stop in this country. The fact is we need to get things done here again. This is one more laden bill that basically says that we do not want anything to happen in Canada, but not to worry, workers, they are on their side, even though workers will not have any jobs at the end of their agenda. It is a ridiculous scenario. We need to have it examined clearly in the House of Commons, particularly with the interpretations from the Supreme Court of Canada, to see if this is legitimate legislation in the first place.
Could the minister stand up and tell us if he has anything resembling an advanced ruling on this?
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- Dec/4/23 4:20:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, labour and workers across the country are incredibly frustrated with the circus-type antics of the Conservative Party, which are holding up discussion and debate and preventing witnesses from appearing before the committee.
The president of the Canadian Labour Congress recently said, “By holding up this bill continuously, the Conservatives are not speaking for workers on this issue. They are not making sure workers have a choice or ability to have robust debate as they are holding up this bill. It is incredibly frustrating, it is disrespectful to workers who are worried about their futures and it is disrespectful to communities. We need it to stop.”
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- Dec/4/23 4:33:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to apologize to Luke and Steve. For a year and a half, there was nobody from the Conservatives speaking for workers. They were not interested in hearing workers. Now, we are hearing about Luke—
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- Dec/4/23 7:40:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that workers are asking to be part of the process of a necessary transition. We are in a climate crisis and a transition is required. What they are asking for is to be part of the discussion. Jobs are being lost. There are 45,000 jobs in the energy sector that have already been lost, with at least 1,500 more being lost this year. We know that many more jobs are expected to be lost, while the oil and gas industry racks up record profits.
What I am trying to understand is whether the member agrees that workers deserve to have a voice in this process. If so, why are we seeing the Conservatives blocking important legislation and the committee where the voices could come forward so we could see a path moving forward that would involve the workers who are impacted?
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