44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 29, 2022 10:00AM
- Mar/29/22 12:09:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to emphasize that there has been a team Canada approach to dealing with the crisis we are seeing in Europe today, and in particular in Ukraine. Canadians and provinces such as Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta are all talking about supporting refugees. Other discussions are ongoing. To that extent, it is really quite encouraging.
It is also important that we put out, as much as possible, accurate information. For example, the member made reference to a six-week processing time. We know the average is actually two weeks. That is a substantial difference. For the people who might be following this debate, this is to highlight the fact that Canada has done exceptionally well.
In fact, in 2020, I believe we resettled a third of all refugees worldwide here in Canada. We have demonstrated leadership in the past. I believe we will continue to demonstrate that leadership, and it is important for us all to recognize that it is two weeks. It is not six weeks.
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- Mar/29/22 12:19:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Vancouver East. I want to start by giving everyone in the House a picture of what the conflict in Ukraine has meant for the people of my constituency of Edmonton Strathcona.
As many will know, Alberta is the homeland of many Ukrainian-Canadians who chose to settle in our country. Edmonton Strathcona is the home of many incredible Ukrainians and also many Canadians who are not of Ukrainian descent, but who desperately want to help the people of Ukraine right now and feel a deep connection to the Ukrainian people.
It has been said many times in the House that Canadians have a special relationship with the people of Ukraine. We are the country where more people from Ukraine have settled than anywhere outside of Ukraine and Russia. I have seen that impact in my community over the last several weeks. I have seen it in the commitment from all sorts of Edmontonians to help Ukraine. At a tattoo shop in my riding, if someone gets a tattoo the shop makes a donation to Ukraine. At a garden shop, if someone buys a plant a donation is given in support of the people of Ukraine.
The support we have seen has been unparalleled. I am so proud of two Albertans: former premier Ed Stelmach and former MLA Thomas Lukaszuk, who chartered a Polish Airlines plane to go to Poland and assist Ukrainian refugees fleeing violence to come here. The efforts that Albertans have put forward to help the people of Ukraine warms my heart.
As all of us are horrified by the war crimes being committed by Vladimir Putin, crimes against humanity that are being committed against the Ukrainian people through no fault of their own, I think it is important that we take a moment in this place to recognize the kindness, generosity and beauty that we have seen from the Canadian people as they push to support Ukraine and Ukrainians.
I can say as well that, as parliamentarians and as the government, we need to do everything we can to help the people of Ukraine right now. On February 24, the world changed. We need to respond to that. The New Democratic Party has been calling for things such as humanitarian aid. I have been calling for immediate and long-term humanitarian aid, because we will have to help Ukraine rebuild when this conflict is finally over. We have been calling for complete sanctions to be properly enforced and to do everything we can, as fast as we can, to make Putin feel the pain of the actions he has taken. We have talked about the need for us, as Canadians, to give Ukrainians the tools they need to defend themselves. We need to assist them as they try to protect their sovereign country.
What we are talking about a bit more today is that we need to help Ukrainians come to Canada. We need to help Ukrainians flee the violence in their country. I have heard many times today that the people fleeing Ukraine right now are seniors, women and children. Just a few weeks ago, I was able to go to the Polish border. I was able to meet with some of these seniors, women and children who have been fleeing the violence in Ukraine. Colleagues will not be surprised to hear that it was utterly heart-breaking. It was utterly horrific to hear the stories of what has been done to the Ukrainian people.
I have a son who is 14 years old. I have told this story before, but I want to tell the people of the House about meeting this young boy who was 11 years old. He was with his two younger sisters and his mother. He was trying to explain in broken English, and with some help in translation, how he was going to take care of his family because his father had told him that he was the man of the house now and he needed to take care of his mother and sisters.
He was 11, and he was holding a stuffed animal. I struggle not to break down when I think about that, when I think about what it would be like if my son had to be in charge of taking care of his family and was not given the tools to do that, nor the help from the global community to do that.
We know we need visa-free travel. We know we need to do everything we can to help the people of Ukraine as they are fleeing violence right now. Visa-free travel is a big piece of that.
In 2018, the person who represented Edmonton Strathcona before me, Linda Duncan, called on the government to implement visa-free travel for Ukrainians. Let all of us in the House think about what the scenario would be for people trying to flee violence in Ukraine if the government had listened to the New Democratic Party in 2018 and had put in place visa-free travel in 2018 for our very special friends in Ukraine. We would not be in a situation where we have to argue about biometrics. We would not be in a situation where we have to say what is possible and what is not possible. We would be able to help the women, children and seniors in Ukraine get to Canada faster and more effectively right now. However, we did not do that. We did not do that in 2018, so we have to do it now. We have to take the action now that we should have done before. We have to move faster. We have to do more.
There is another thing we have to do for Ukrainians, who have been traumatized by war, have fled their country, have had to witness things they should never have had to see and have had to leave their fathers, husbands or brothers behind and do not know if they will ever see those people again. We need to support them once they get here.
When Ukrainian refugees come to Canada, they do not have access to health care supports in this country. Right now, Poland has accepted 2.3 million refugees from Ukraine. Poland does not have the size or the financial ability of Canada. It has accepted vastly more refugees than Canada has, and it is providing resources for Ukrainian refugees to access health care. Let me repeat that. Poland is taking in 2.3 million Ukrainian refugees and offering them limited health care supports. Canada is not doing that. Canada is blocking the ability for Ukrainians to come here and is not protecting them and not helping them as we should be once they get here.
That is shameful. That does not reflect the relationship we have with Ukraine. That does not reflect the words we hear from our Prime Minister, who says we are doing everything we can for Ukraine. Clearly we are not doing everything we can for Ukraine. Clearly there is more we could do.
I ask this to all of us in the House, in the government and in opposition: How can we work together? How can we find solutions not just to help the people of Ukraine, but to help the people of Ukraine who are trying to flee the violence, to help the people of Afghanistan who are trying to flee the violence and to help the people of all countries in the world who need help from Canada right now? How can we work together to be the country that we strive to be, to be the country that protects human rights, that protects people's lives and that helps people come to our country and contribute to our society?
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- Mar/29/22 1:31:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I have to present is from folks from Fox Creek and Swan Hills, two towns in northern Alberta. The petitioners say that the rising cost of heating their homes and other expenses, and the vast distances they must travel, are making life more expensive. They are calling on the government to recognize the fact that they live in northern Canada. They are currently 12 kilometres short of the arbitrary line that runs across Alberta, preventing them from claiming the northern living allowance. They are calling on the government to recognize Fox Creek and Swan Hills as being in the intermediate zone, so that they can claim the northern living allowance and deduct that from their income taxes.
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- Mar/29/22 2:17:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Friday is April Fool's Day, but Canadians across the country are not laughing because the NDP-Liberal carbon tax is going up. That means home-heating bills, electricity bills and already sky-high gas prices are all increasing. Inflation continues to rage out of control. The carbon tax coalition now has an agreement that will continue to trash our world-class energy industry.
While the new NDP Prime Minister ignores the pain of everyday Canadians, other countries and jurisdictions around the world, including 11 U.S. states, are cutting gas taxes, carbon pricing and even income and business taxes, all in an effort to reduce the cost of living. The Alberta government is also doing its part to help hard-working Albertans lower the price of fuel by eliminating the provincial gas tax while prices remain high.
The people in my riding are now looking to Ottawa to do the same, but the government wants to punish them for driving to work. Canadians need relief. The NDP-Liberal government must stop making Canadians' lives miserable and scrap this horrible April Fool's Day carbon tax hike.
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- Mar/29/22 2:24:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was going to say, our friendly Minister of Health loves numbers and so do I, so let me quote a few for the hon. member.
A family of four will receive up to $745 in Ontario in rebate. In my home province of Manitoba, that will be $830. In Saskatchewan and Alberta, it will be $1,100. We are fighting climate change and we are supporting affordability.
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- Mar/29/22 2:46:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member did not hear me when I cited some numbers from the various provinces a little earlier. This year, a family of four in Ontario will receive up to $745 in rebates. It will be $830 in my home province of Manitoba, and $1,100 in Saskatchewan and Alberta. We are fighting climate change and we are promoting affordability.
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- Mar/29/22 3:05:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows, the universal broadband fund is just that: connecting Canadians with high-speed Internet. I can advise the hon. member that we are well under way to meeting our targets of connecting 98% of Canada by 2026.
There are funds available under the CRTC and other programs for cell coverage, but right now we are focused on connecting Canada. We have a plan to connect all of Canada by 2030, and that plan is working. We have agreements in place with Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta and British Columbia. We are well under way.
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