44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 12, 2023 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to seek unanimous consent from the House to change my vote from last night on Bill C-56, Division No. 606, from nay to yea. I ran out of time and was unable to make that change then. I hope the House will allow me to change my vote.
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- Dec/12/23 12:08:42 p.m.
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Is it agreed?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
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- Dec/12/23 12:08:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to comment on the remarks made by the member for Winnipeg North, who referred to the nature of the Conservatives' vote on one of the aspects of the many votes that were held in the House on Friday. He simply mentioned the Conservatives' vote.
The Conservatives mentioned Standing Order 18, which says that no member may—
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- Dec/12/23 12:09:27 p.m.
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The member needs to get to the reason he is rising on a point of order, because, for now, this seems to be a matter of debate.
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- Dec/12/23 12:09:33 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would have liked to be part of the debate on the earlier point of order to talk about Standing Order 18, which the Conservatives mentioned and which, according to them, prevents members from reflecting on a vote.
We cannot criticize a vote, but we can talk about it. We can talk about the position a member took during a vote. The member for Winnipeg North did not criticize the vote. He simply pointed out that the Conservative Party took a particular position on a particular vote.
The House should not oppose what the member for Winnipeg North said. That is why I am rising. I want to add my voice to what was said earlier about the standing order the Conservatives mentioned.
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- Dec/12/23 12:10:25 p.m.
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The Chair will take this intervention under advisement and get back to the House with an answer if necessary.
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- Dec/12/23 12:10:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it would be worth our while to discuss this bill. I would like the member for Winnipeg North to tell me about his vision for the free trade agreement with Ukraine. We obviously agree on the bill, though it still has some shortcomings. The Bloc Québécois has long objected to the fact that private companies can sue governments under free trade agreements by claiming that a government's legislation is detrimental to a company's trade. We see this as a mistake that needs to be corrected.
Is my colleague willing to study this issue and make improvements?
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- Dec/12/23 12:11:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as the member is likely aware, there are very serious limitations as to what we can do with respect to making changes. The simple reason for this is that we have an agreement that is signed off on, and it is more of a ratification process. I do not know the details of what kind of modifications would, in fact, be acceptable without having to sign a different agreement.
Having said that, the real benefits of the agreement for both Canada and Ukraine deal with everything from infrastructure to high-tech companies, as well as many agricultural benefits. In essence, it enhances opportunities for both countries to be able to develop stronger and healthier trade links.
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- Dec/12/23 12:12:09 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, the other thing I very much appreciate about this trade agreement is the chapter that talks about trade and indigenous peoples. I understand that modernizing the agreement is important, and ensuring that indigenous peoples are allowed economic opportunities through this trade agreement is particularly important.
Will the member make sure that, when his party is creating the bilateral committee, it will include indigenous representation from all indigenous groups?
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- Dec/12/23 12:12:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am confident in knowing that, when we talk about trade agreements, economic development and the social impacts of these agreements, a wide spectrum of things are considered. These include the absolutely critical role, as the Prime Minister himself has indicated, of ensuring that we operate as two governments, making sure that indigenous and Canadian interests are being served well.
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- Dec/12/23 12:13:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague spoke about the obsession that the Conservatives have around pricing pollution, which will actually take money out of the pockets of his constituents. He also spoke about the influences from the Trumpist MAGA Republicans in the U.S. Is the member at all concerned that the Conservatives seem to be advocating for the far right in this country, which supports Russia, as well as big oil instead of constituents?
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- Dec/12/23 12:14:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question, and that is the reason I would reference a pattern. What we have actually seen is that the Conservative Party of today is not the same Conservative Party even of Stephen Harper. Under the current leadership, it continues to move farther to the right.
The MAGA right is very real. It is a movement that is in the United States, and it is coming north. The one who is selling it the most today is the leader of the Conservative Party, and the price on pollution is an excellent example of that.
A bunch of Conservatives travel the country saying that they are going to get rid of the price on pollution and make things more affordable; in fact, it is just not true. A vast majority of Canadians would actually have less disposable income as a direct result of the Conservatives' policy, yet they would not know that from what they are being told by the Conservative movement today. Canadians need to be made aware of it. American-style politics is coming north through the leader of the official opposition.
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- Dec/12/23 12:15:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, of course, different sovereign states disagree from time to time about policy. Last summer, the Canadian ambassador to Ukraine was actually summoned, and the President of Ukraine publicly and repeatedly expressed his extreme displeasure over the fact that this government granted a sanctions waiver for a turbine that was to facilitate the export of Russian gas. This was a very serious issue for the Government of Ukraine. One does not summon an ambassador lightly, but that is what the Ukrainian government did.
The member is sort of on his high horse about how, somehow, we should never disagree with a country that we are friends with. Of course, Canada supports Ukraine; Conservatives support Ukraine. However, this member is now saying that we should do exactly what the government wants.
I want to ask the member: Where was he last summer? Did he make any statements about the sanctions waiver? What, if anything, did he have to say when the Canadian ambassador to Ukraine was summoned by President Zelenskyy to express his displeasure?
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- Dec/12/23 12:16:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am not going to accept the changing of the channel. At the end of the day, whether it is the President of Ukraine, the Ukrainian ambassador to Canada or the Canadian Ukrainian Congress, not to mention millions of Canadians, they can see the behaviour of the Conservative Party today when it comes to the Canada-Ukraine agreement and the line-by-line allotments of support to Ukraine. The Conservative Party has been nothing but a disappointment; the far right has taken over the party on certain policies, and this is one of them.
I say shame on the Conservative Party for not getting behind this and continuing to have that unanimous support. Rather, it caters to the far right. I think that does a disservice to all of Canada.
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- Dec/12/23 12:17:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I rise for this third reading debate, I have to express my deep disappointment at the inflammatory rhetoric that we hear from the Liberal government. Its members are desperately trying to change the channel from the misery that they have brought to Canadians, whether in terms of the millions of Canadians visiting food banks or the 800,000 people in Ontario who have to rely on a food bank now. This would be the same as the fourth-largest city in Ontario being completely dependent on the food bank to survive. That is the result after eight years of the Liberal government.
Liberals try to change the channel about a principled decision by the Conservative Party to vote against this free trade agreement. There are many reasons to do so. Of course, we have talked about the fact that there is a reference to carbon pricing and carbon leakage. There is also, as the Liberals like to call it, the polluter pays principle, with policies that those who pollute the environment should bear the cost of that pollution. Most Liberals say that emitting carbon is pollution. Therefore, as Ukrainians are in the middle of a war and are trying to heat their homes, the Liberal government is saying that they are polluters, because most Ukrainians use carbon-based fuels for heating.
We get to have a principled objection to this free trade agreement on that basis alone. There are many other reasons we would be opposed to it that we have not debated in great detail. Opposition parties get to vote against what they consider to be bad legislation. The Liberals say it is no big deal that there are some references to carbon pricing and carbon leakage. However, what will they do in the next trade agreement they try to sign? This is the first time carbon pricing and carbon leakage have ever been in a trade agreement. Is it in the free trade agreement with the European Union, the CPTPP, our trade agreement with the United States or any other trade agreement that Canada has ever signed? No, it is not.
This is the first time Liberals have put it into a trade agreement. What will it be the next time? Will Liberals mandate a certain carbon tax within a trade agreement? That is what they are trying to do. The Liberals are desperately trying to entrench the carbon tax and their version of carbon pricing into international trade agreements. What will be the next step they take on that?
We get to oppose that on principle. The really despicable thing that has happened as a result of this is that the Liberals suggest that this is the Conservative Party not supporting Ukraine and, in fact, somehow supporting Vladimir Putin and Russia. That kind of toxic rhetoric is actually quite despicable. The Liberals should be ashamed that they are using it on the very principled position that Conservatives have taken on this free trade agreement.
As we know, there are two other parties in the House that have supported this free trade agreement, so this is actually going to pass. Our vote will cause no harm to Ukraine as we voice our principled opposition to the Liberal government's obsession with carbon taxes and carbon pricing.
When we look at—
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- Dec/12/23 12:21:38 p.m.
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The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader on a point of order.
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- Dec/12/23 12:21:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, seriously? Wow.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Dec/12/23 12:21:47 p.m.
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Order. I have recognized the hon. parliamentary secretary for a point of order. Let us hear what he has to say.
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- Dec/12/23 12:21:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member is, if not directly, then indirectly, talking about how the Conservative Party has voted. It was ruled earlier that we cannot do that.
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- Dec/12/23 12:22:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. These far left, megadisruptive tactics from this member have no place in the House. He should be ashamed of himself.
The member in question was talking about his own decisions, which the other member has done, and he says this should be allowed.
Again, I encourage these far left-importing tactics—
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