44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2024 10:00AM
- May/2/24 3:16:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In question period, we repeatedly heard Conservatives from Alberta refer to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions with false titles, and I know you will be ruling on that, but this is despite that overdose deaths have gone up 319% since Conservatives got elected—
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- May/2/24 6:58:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot say enough about how hard working my colleague from North Island—Powell River is, and I will mention the advocating she has done for veterans and for the people at 19 Wing in Comox. I also represent Courtenay in the Comox Valley, where many military veterans and military personnel live. I also represent the CFMETR navy base at Nanoose. From all of us, I want to thank all those who serve, and their families. I think we can all agree that we appreciate the work they do.
Ombud Lick highlighted, in his report, the serious situation that the military is facing. He cited that how we treat military families and military personnel is “an issue of national security”. We know, during the decade under the Conservatives, that there were cuts and that the treatment of our military and of veterans was appalling.
I hope my colleague can speak about how the government has also failed and how we need to urgently repair the damage done to those military personnel and their families, and speak about how we owe it to them to ensure they have a safe place to live.
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- May/2/24 7:52:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for advocating for military veterans and their families. It is greatly appreciated.
I want to go back to 2015. I recall knocking on doors and meeting military personnel living in the Comox Valley in my riding, and they could not find housing. People were struggling then.
It takes long-out planning and thought, and the Liberals have failed to do that. They inherited a failed plan or no plan, if one wants to call it that, when it comes to housing for military personnel.
Does my colleague regret that his government did not put more foresight into building housing units for military personnel? What would he do differently, moving forward, so that we could honour those people who are serving our country?
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- May/2/24 7:59:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I asked earlier and I just want an answer. What would the Conservatives do in terms of offering a plan?
We want to work with the Conservatives on this to ensure that we build housing for military personnel and their families and, of course, for those who have served, our veterans, whom we are always indebted to for the remainder of their lives. Does my colleague suggest an idea or a plan that he would like to present or discuss in the House that we could possibly work together on?
We would like to see public lands kept in public hands. Those public lands should absolutely be prioritized for military personnel, veterans and indigenous peoples. Does my colleague agree with that?
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- May/2/24 8:11:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his service to our country as an officer in the Canadian Air Force. His office is right across the hall from mine, so we spend a lot of time together, and I appreciate his work.
We know that no veteran should be living on the street. Someone who has served our country should not be homeless. We know that 67% of homeless people in my community of Port Alberni are indigenous. As my colleague from Churchill—Keewatinook Aski just raised, even if we were to double indigenous housing right now there would still not be enough housing to house indigenous people. That is absolutely shameful in a country like ours.
I have talked about, and the government talks about this in its budget, using public lands, but they have to be in public hands. It should prioritize military personnel, veterans and indigenous peoples.
I asked this question earlier, and a Conservative colleague said Conservatives were waiting until their platform gets rolled out in the next election. I get stuff done here all the time. I am not waiting for the next election to get things done. I think we can work together now. I do not think we can wait until an election next year.
I am putting my hand out and extending an olive branch to my colleague in the hope that he will work with me to put pressure on the government to do the right thing when it comes to public lands and getting our priorities in order. Will my colleague accept that olive branch instead of waiting until an election is called?
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- May/2/24 8:18:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will never not take the opportunity to again stand up for military families, the important role they play and the important work they do. We all owe them a ton of gratitude.
A report that just came out from the ombudsman made it very clear that it is actually a national security threat that we do not take care of our military personnel. We need to really elevate the conversation, and we need the government to act.
One thing I continue to talk about is that one opportunity is using public lands and using them urgently. We have them at bases. We have them in communities right around our country. It actually would be prudent for the government to act on developing a plan and getting started right away to ensure that our military personnel have a safe and affordable place to live. They should be able to save money when they are in the military and actually put money aside for their retirement so they can have a good retirement. We want them to have a good retirement for the sacrifices they have made.
Does my colleague support using public lands for prioritizing military veterans, service members and their families?
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- May/2/24 8:21:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise and speak on behalf of the people of my riding.
However, it is 8:20 on a Thursday night, and I really do not want to be here, actually. I am here because of the mess that is being created in Union Bay, in my riding. We have an outfit that is ship-breaking and that is not in a proper facility. It does not have a floating dry dock. It is not meeting international standards, because we do not have them in Canada when it comes to ship-breaking. In fact, we could be a leader when it comes to ship-breaking in our country, the proper, responsible ship-breaking, taking apart ships and recycling them properly. We do not do that.
We have a really incredible group of people in our riding who are taking on the role of government, really, because the government is lacking in providing regulations to protect them. The Concerned Citizens of Baynes Sound has been active on this. Marilynne Manning, Ray Rewcastle, Ashlee Gerlock and so many others have been advocating for the government to stop the ship-breaking outfit, because it is a threat to the sensitive ecosystem of Baynes Sound, and also for the Comox Valley Regional District to seek an injunction to stop them. Daniel Arbour, the local area representative, who is phenomenal, has been working with international organizations, trying to bring ideas to the government to fill the regulatory gaps that are there.
The K’ómoks First Nation has asked for this to immediately stop. The Province of B.C. has an abatement order against this company. We also just got a letter from Tla'amin Nation asking that this outfit stop its activity. They are on the other side of the Salish Sea.
There is no support and no social licence in our region for this. The federal government actually named Baynes Sound an ecologically and biologically sensitive ecosystem back in 2012. It cited that it needs protection. This is an absolutely critical area when it comes to jobs; 50% of B.C. shellfish are actually produced there, in this area, in my riding. It is also the last herring spawning fishery on the whole coast of British Columbia. It is absolutely critical that we protect it.
DFO is actually ignoring its own research and recommendations by allowing this hazardous, polluting industry to continue doing what it is doing in Baynes Sound. It is going against its own studies and recommendations. Again, there are no European ship-recycling regulations, something I tabled a motion calling for.
I am going to read a quote from Chek News:
Deep Water Recovery, the company taking apart derelict vessels in Union Bay, has been hit with a pollution abatement order from the province.
The company is illegally allowing toxic effluent to run off into Baynes Sound and the marine environment, B.C.’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has found.
Discharges from the ship-breaking operations are collected in sump pits, which occasionally overflow with untreated effluent. Testing of that runoff confirmed high concentrations of pollutants, including copper, iron, zinc and cadmium.
A letter came out from Nathan Cullen, our former colleague here in the House, who is now B.C. Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, and George Heyman, B.C. Minister of Environment and Climate Strategy. They are calling on the government to take action. They said, “the Province cannot act in isolation. Direct and immediate action and engagement is required by the federal government”. They also said, “In a multi-jurisdictional framework such as this, it is critical that municipal, provincial, and federal agencies work together to ensure that the interests of the public, First Nations, and the environment are protected”.
Guess who is missing: the federal government. It has been missing in action while this is taking place.
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- May/2/24 8:29:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they are tearing apart a boat in a sensitive fish habitat zone right now in Union Bay.
Back to the letter from the Province of British Columbia, it cites that:
Direct and immediate action and engagement is required by the federal government as it relates to potential discharge to the marine environment, protection of marine habitat, and the transportation of vessels to this site. In particular, measures must be implemented to ensure that ships are not transported to facilities that lack the capability to handle them properly and safely.
It calls for immediate action from the federal government. This letter was written in February. We are in May.
The Tla'amin are alarmed by the potential environmental impacts of this operation, the lack of regulatory oversight that allows its placement in an ecologically sensitive area and that they were not consulted on any permitting related to this operation. I will be giving this letter to the parliamentary secretary after this debate.
It is time for the federal government to act. I have not seen anything like this in almost nine years as a member of Parliament. It is absolutely shameful.
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