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Mr. Damien Kurek (Battle River—Crowfoot, CPC)

Mar/24/22 7:58:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as always, it is an honour to be able to stand in this place to address the important issues facing my constituents, Albertans and all Canadians. I stand today to talk about the Senate, and specifically the question that I asked back in December related to the Senate election that the Province of Alberta held last October. This is something that is unique to Alberta admittedly, but I appreciate the opportunity to talk a bit more about it here today. On October 18, Albertans made a choice. They elected three, what we consider, senators in waiting. They are, by name, Pam Davidson, Erika Barootes and Mykhailo Martyniouk. Significant precedent suggests that Albertans are able to make that choice. However, in the response given by the minister who responded this past December, I was once again incredibly disappointed by the ignorance, arrogance and how out of touch the Liberals are when it comes to the issues that western Canada faces. The response basically said that the Liberals do it better, that they have all the answers, that they blame Stephen Harper for all the problems our country faces and, therefore, it is actually the Conservatives' fault. That is not acceptable. My constituents share often how frustrated they are with the status of the federation. They share often how they feel like Canada has failed Albertans. They share often how they feel there is little our country can offer them and that it may not even be worth our federation sticking together. I am a proud Canadian. I am also a proud Albertan. I find it a travesty that there are those, and a growing number under the leadership of the current Liberal government and Prime Minister, now an NDP-Liberal coalition, who have made it so that more Albertans all the time are deciding that they would be more willing to give up on our country than fight for it. These are serious issues that, unfortunately, the Liberals seem to dismiss, not only issues like appointing democratically elected senators to Canada's upper chamber in our bicameral legislature known as the Senate, but issues each and every day, whether it be the energy industry, the Ottawa knows best mentality or the imposition of the carbon tax on Albertans when Albertans made it very clear they did not want it. The list goes on and on. There is such a host of challenges that the province of Alberta faces, there are even more people today. In fact, since the announcement Monday evening where the NDP-Liberal socialist eco-left coalition was announced, I have heard from many more constituents who are asking, “What is the point in fighting?” When it comes to the specific question I asked back in December, Albertans deserve this, Albertans need this and, for the sake of our country, Alberta needs to be respected. I would simply ask the minister this. Will he take a moment and recommend to the Liberal Prime Minister to put his partisanship aside and understand that Alberta has a unique status within our federation and appoint to the vacant seat for Alberta in the Senate one of Canada's democratically elected senators?

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Ms. Pam Damoff (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)

Mar/24/22 8:03:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak tonight on the matter of Senate appointments from the province of Alberta. Let me start by saying that this government strives to appoint outstanding people who represent the diversity of this country. We are committed to vibrant and inclusive representation in the Senate. The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, established in 2016, plays an important role in ensuring representation by providing the Prime Minister with non-binding, non-partisan, merit-based recommendations for Senate appointments that meet a high standard of integrity and collaboration. As members know, under Canada's Constitution, senators are appointed by the Governor General. By convention, the Governor General's power is exercised on the advice of the Prime Minister. One of the Senate's fundamental roles is to serve as a chamber for the representation of regional interests. This government believes that a less partisan Senate would be able to fulfill this role and other roles more effectively. That is why, in 2016, the government introduced the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments to provide non-partisan, merit-based recommendations for Senate appointments for the Prime Minister's consideration. Moreover, in recognition of the important role the Senate plays in regional representation, the advisory board provides unprecedented and equal opportunity for all provinces and territories to participate by recommending individuals from their jurisdictions to serve. In fact, two of the five advisory board members are selected from the province or territory in which a vacancy arises. The provinces and territories are given an opportunity to engage in the process by providing a list of individuals for consideration as provincial or territorial members of the advisory board. The advisory board for Alberta may consider the Senate election nominees against the established criteria for current or future vacancies. However, these individuals, the ones the hon. member spoke about tonight, like all others, would still need to formally apply through the online application process to be considered by the board as a potential candidate for an appointment to the Senate. Canadians may also nominate an individual for a Senate appointment, though nominees would still need to submit their own application to be considered. This process is the same for everyone and everywhere across Canada, including Alberta. All applications are reviewed using the same assessment criteria, which are publicly available online. These include constitutional eligibility requirements, a range of merit-based criteria established by the government and additional considerations, such as gender, indigenous and minority representation and bilingualism, to ensure the Senate increasingly reflects Canada's diversity. The government remains committed to the non-partisan and merit-based Senate appointment process in place, and we are confident this process will continue to result in a less partisan and more effective institution to serve Canadians. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments for its continued work in the service of parliamentary democracy on behalf of all Canadians.

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Mr. Damien Kurek

Mar/24/22 8:06:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of things I suggest the member takes seriously. First, there is very little that is equal about our Senate. She is right in the sense that it was meant to be a regional balance in the country, as intended when the Fathers of Confederation and those involved with the foundations of our country created a structure to ensure there was regional representation. It does not exist today. Second, as the member referred to an independent advisory committee, I note there was a very clear process, called a democratic election, that selected those individuals who deserved to be in the Senate representing Alberta, and they have applied through the Prime Minister's process. It is absolutely essential for the sake of the unity of our country that they be appointed to our Senate to make clear that Albertans' voices matter. When it comes to the issues that our country faces, the government talks big but unfortunately has failed to deliver each and every time, and it is tearing our country apart.

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Ms. Pam Damoff

Mar/24/22 8:07:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to stress again that the Senate plays its intended role of sober second thought. The independent Senate advisory board provides advice to the Prime Minister on candidates for Senate appointments. I would remind the hon. member that senators are not democratically elected according to our Constitution. The advisory board reviews applications in provinces and territories where there are planned or current vacancies. Canadians have the opportunity to apply directly for a Senate appointment on a year-round basis through an open application process based on merit-based criteria and requirements under the Constitution. This is important because the Senate is critical in representing regional and minority interests. Also, all nominees for a Senate appointment must submit an online application. Our government remains committed to restoring public trust in the Senate by moving toward a less partisan and more independent Senate.

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Mr. Martin Shields (Bow River, CPC)

Mar/24/22 8:08:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to speak in the House, and tonight I am speaking about something I asked in question period and statements I made in the House. It has to do with the RCMP. Outside of Ontario and Quebec, many municipalities have the RCMP with a municipal contract. We respect the RCMP, and I have worked with it as a municipal leader and a mayor in my community. It is a fantastic community force within our municipal structures. However, it had been without a contract for almost five years, and then the federal government settled the contract, which means it had a huge retroactive piece to it. The municipalities were not part of that negotiation. The federal government was. This is a huge retroactive settlement that the RCMP deserves. It deserves this settlement. However, the municipalities that contract with the police were not part of this. I had somebody remind me it was sort of like something that happened in the Boston Harbor in 1774 or 1775, the Boston Tea Party, where the people living in Boston were upset about taxation without representation. That is what the municipalities feel like. I heard from the mayor and city council in Brooks, Strathmore, Acme, Kneehill County and many more who have spoken to me. St. Mary's in Nova Scotia is also very concerned, so this is countrywide. How would this affect the taxpayers? We are talking about a 5% to 10% tax increase. The St. Mary's community said 11% is what it would cost as a tax increase. We are talking about property tax and business property tax. It is one of the most regressive taxes we have. We have communities that have been suffering with COVID and businesses that have endured lockdowns and supply disruptions. Now business and property owners are facing anywhere from a 5% to an 11% tax increase. This is brutal on our small businesses. These is an extreme challenge for homeowners. We talk about the number of economic challenges we have in our communities coming out of COVID, and they are facing a retroactive pay increase that was negotiated by the federal government. The federal government negotiated this agreement. That is great. It is deserved, but the federal government should pay for this retroactive pay. It should not come back to the municipalities that were not involved in this negotiation. It should not come back to the property owners and the small business owners at this extremely frustrating time to be in a small business and survive. The federal government negotiated it. The municipalities were not part of that process. They should not get the bill for this.

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Ms. Pam Damoff (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, Lib.)

Mar/24/22 8:12:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we recognize we are all facing challenging times with increased costs of policing across Canada and operational pressures on our officers to keep our communities safe. As the member is aware, under our Constitution, provinces are responsible for the administration of justice, including policing matters. The Government of Canada is collaborating closely with more than 150 municipal contract jurisdictions and with all provinces and territories to support them in addressing the many challenges facing police service. Policing services are delivered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under a contracted cost-sharing arrangement between the Government of Canada and each jurisdiction that has opted to have the RCMP as their police of jurisdiction. The historic first collective agreement between the Government of Canada and the National Police Federation, the bargaining agent for RCMP members, went into effect on August 6, 2021. It marks the first time RCMP members have received a pay increase since 2017. The agreement provided a reasonable economic increase and market adjustments to address wage differences that existed between RCMP members and reservists and other police services across Canada. As a result of the agreement, RCMP salaries are now consistent with other police services across Canada. We know that policing costs are significant for all communities, including municipalities that contract RCMP police services. That is why federal officials kept partners informed throughout the collective bargaining process starting in 2017, including on anticipated salary increases to help them plan accordingly. Our government has committed to meeting with contract policing partners, including municipalities, in the coming weeks to discuss the implementation of the collective agreement, including their specific situations and needs. Our government will continue to work with contract police and jurisdictions on the impacts of the agreement. In closing, I want to emphasize that ensuring the safety and security of our communities is paramount. The Government of Canada will continue to support the RCMP and all jurisdictions to meet this objective. This is a goal we all share collectively and continues to be one of the highest priorities of our government.

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Mr. Martin Shields

Mar/24/22 8:14:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are many parts of what I heard from the parliamentary secretary that I absolutely agree with. It is a tremendous force, and the negotiations for the settlement needed to happen. It was deserved, absolutely. The part that I would disagree with was the piece about communication with partners. When I talked to municipality leaders, mayors and reeves in my area, they said they not a part of it. The organizations that represent the municipalities in Alberta, which I used to be the vice president of, were not involved in the process or in communication with the federal government. Municipalities were saying they were not part of this organization in the sense of communication. If the federal government was communicating, it was not to the organizations in the province of Alberta and other provinces. It was not the municipalities themselves. We look to the federal government to deal with this retroactive pay and pay for it.

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Ms. Pam Damoff

Mar/24/22 8:15:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we appreciate the financial planning challenges and the complexities of the implementation of the collective agreement, and we are mindful of the significant costs it represents for municipalities, provinces and territories. We continue to collaborate extensively with officials at all levels in contract policing jurisdictions throughout this process. I want to make it clear that the Government of Canada remains committed to the public safety of all Canadians across the country and remains proud of the services that the RCMP provides to our contract jurisdiction partners. We remain steadfast in our commitment to continue our collaboration with our contract partners and will begin meeting with them in the coming weeks to discuss further their respective financial situations. Our objective is clear: We will meet with jurisdictions in a meaningful way to enable open dialogue with the aim of supporting their ability to meet their financial obligations under the contracts.

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The Deputy Speaker

Mar/24/22 8:16:29 p.m.
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A motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 8:16 p.m.)

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