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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Apr/26/22 12:08:39 p.m.
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Resuming debate, the hon. member for Humber River—Black Creek.

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Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.)

Apr/26/22 12:08:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to see you in the chair and pleased to be back in the House. I hope everybody had a restful period of time and we are all back here now. As I rise in the House today to speak to this year’s budget, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mississauga—Streetsville, a wonderful new member of Parliament we have here who is doing great things and who is great to work with. Several weeks ago, when it was announced that our Liberal government had made a supply agreement deal with the New Democratic Party, I was concerned about that, and I made that known. I am a firm believer in helping and supporting not just Canadians, but those all over the world as we continue, but I am also, like many of my colleagues, a very strong believer in fiscal responsibility. With our country still in an unknown due to COVID, a war on Ukraine, and any other potential things that could come our way, I was unsettled about how we could meet those needs and still remain financially responsible as a government. I have to congratulate my hon. colleague, the Minister of Finance, as I no longer have those concerns because she struck the perfect chord in this budget. My concerns about the arrangements that we had made on the supply deal and the impact it was going to have on the direction of our government were very much unfounded, because we were able to produce a budget that, yes, delivered on things that mattered to other people but, importantly, we were fiscally responsible, and I was very pleased with all of that. Before I speak further on the budget, I want to mention page 101, which says “Protecting Our Freshwater”. It might sound like an odd thing to be concerned about as a Toronto member, but we have to be concerned about our lakes. It is an ongoing subject that I have been involved with for some time when it comes to the invasion of sea lamprey in our lakes and the agreements that we had between Canada and the U.S. We were not paying our share to ensure that the invasive sea lamprey were not allowed to continue to cause the kind of damage that they do in the Great Lakes. I have been lobbying on that issue with my former staff member Greg McClinchey and others. With the help of the member for Niagara Centre and his continued persistence, it is in the budget, with significant funds that will truly be our support in dealing with invasive species like that. I want to congratulate Mr. McClinchey and the member for Niagara Centre for pushing it over the line. I am glad it is done. It does not matter who gets the credit if it gets done, and it is going to make a difference in the Great Lakes and our cities. The other issue that matters a lot to the residents of Humber River—Black Creek is that all of the provinces have finally signed an agreement for affordable day care, something with which I go back to the previous prime minister Martin, trying to get child care then. That was at least 12 years ago. Well, we finally got it over the finish line and we have agreements with all of the provinces and the territories for an early learning and child care infrastructure fund in the budget. It is going to make a huge difference in the lives of residents in Humber River—Black Creek. Many of the parents in Ontario will be able to save an average of $6,000 per year per child by the end of 2022. What I see as most important for the residents of Humber River—Black Creek is the fact that many of the families have had to have one member of the partnership stay home, and I know that these women, many of them, wanted the opportunity to go to work. They could not find child care that was affordable. Well, now they will have child care that is affordable. They will be able to go back to school. They will be able to pursue a career. It will make a huge difference in their lives. Otherwise, they had to wait until their children were significantly grown up in order to be able to actually get on to work. When we look at seniors in poverty, which is an issue we have talked a lot about over the many years I have been here, every year we manage to reduce the number of seniors in poverty. However, if we turn around and make sure, and this is what we are doing with child care, that we provide women and men the opportunity to work, because their children are going to be in a safe day care, an affordable day care opportunity, they can go to work and contribute to their pensions from early on, not having to wait until their children are completely grown up and out of the house before they can go to work. The cost of child care has been exorbitant and parents were simply having to make a choice. They could earn money, but they would pay it all out in child care, so it just did not make any sense for them to go forward. The more Canadians are working, the better our economy will be. Since our government took power in 2015, we have brought forward six other budgets. Many of them have included great things that have helped the residents of Humber River—Black Creek, such as the Canada child benefit. We should not forget all the families that are benefiting throughout this country. We have helped 435,000 families out of poverty since 2015 and continue to provide almost $7,000 per child to families this year. We are increasing the minimum wage. We have also increased the amounts for the GIS and the old age security pension, things that matter to many people. We have made investments in workers. As a result of the pandemic, we realized just how important it is to have paid sick days. We can keep our head in the sand all we want, but the reality is that if people are sick and have to pay rent and put food on the table, they are going to go to work, sick or not, and that is very unfortunate. Having 10 paid days of sick leave for federal and private sector employees will make a difference in the lives of many Canadians as we move forward. We are increasing climate action incentive payments. Most families in my riding are going to receive over $800. I am certainly talking to them about paying attention to how they file their income tax, because there is almost $800 coming back as a result of the carbon tax that they continue to hear people criticize. It is putting money back into the pockets of many people. I talk a lot about how important it is to use a budget to be fiscally responsible, but also to give people a hand up as we move forward, and dental health is one that we as a party and certainly I have talked about many times. I talk to people in my riding who are having a tough time and cannot get a job. They have missing teeth, and even when they try to pull themselves together to present themselves for a job, clearly they do not present themselves well because they do not have the money to have proper dental health care. We, as Liberals, have talked about it, and I think this agreement we have is a major boost. Yes, it is going to cost a lot of money, but if it makes people's mental health and physical health better as a result of having proper dental care, I think it makes a huge difference. We are phasing it in, again, in a fiscally responsible way. I think those things are very important as we move forward. On housing, I cannot tell members how happy I am to see the amount of money going into housing, and how well we are doing with that. It is a huge subject. If people do not have a place to live or a roof over their head, it does not matter what else we do for them; that is what they need, so investing in affordable housing and making it all move forward is an extremely important thing. I am thrilled to see the amount of money that is going into housing. Co-op housing in particular is something that I have a real interest in. I would like to see a lot more of that built throughout the country, especially in Humber River—Black Creek, for the residents there. Madam Speaker, I can see that my time is up. Thank you very much for the opportunity. I think it is a great budget, and I am very proud to stand and support it.

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Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)

Apr/26/22 12:18:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, following the NDP-Liberal agreement and alliance and the announcements made about pharmacare and dental care, there is something missing in the budget, namely a recurrent and unconditional increase in health transfers. This an important, basic and unanimous request by Quebec and the provinces, to which the government is responding only in a roundabout fashion. That is not what this government is doing with its noble proposals. In fact, no one is opposed to dental care or pharmacare. However, there are things that are the exclusive purview of the provinces and that could have been managed by Quebec and the provinces according to their respective priorities. Does my colleague not think that it would have been better for all the provinces and Quebec to simply meet their request and transfer the money to the provinces so that they can pay for and manage these programs themselves? As we have been asking for a long time, and as the Bloc Québécois is repeating yet again, would it not have been better to increase health transfers on a recurrent basis so that we can properly manage our health care systems?

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Hon. Judy A. Sgro

Apr/26/22 12:19:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I do not want to be too blunt about it, but the reality is that the federal government passes millions and millions of dollars down to the provinces for health care and so on, but the provinces' priorities are not always the same priorities that we at the federal level maybe think they should be. On the issue of dental care, many of the provinces probably would have never got around to doing it because it is all about decisions. I am glad that we are supporting something this important. We were headed in that direction, and I suspect in the next election we would have been covering off dental care, but we were able to move forward sooner and it is that much better.

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Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP)

Apr/26/22 12:20:36 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-248

Madam Speaker, I thank the member, as well as Greg and others at the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, for their hard work on sea lamprey and getting that accomplished. I appreciate the member's continual work on that for the Great Lakes. With that, I would like to ask the member about my private member's bill, Bill C-248, which is coming up. It is on a national urban park that would protect one of the last areas of the Great Lakes. It is supported by Caldwell first nation, and was supported unanimously by the City of Windsor just yesterday through a motion. I am hoping we can bring this bill to committee. I would ask my colleague about how important national urban parks are. Given that this one will not require any funds, as it would be an assembly of public land, will it get the support to go to committee and be investigated for our national urban parks?

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Hon. Judy A. Sgro

Apr/26/22 12:21:31 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-248

Madam Speaker, the member for Windsor West and I have been working together for I do not know how many years now. We very often have similar thoughts. I would be very interested to see what is in the bill. To find the opportunity to dedicate land as a national park is a wonderful idea. I look forward to seeing what is in the bill my hon. colleague has brought forward and to hopefully support it with him.

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Ms. Yvonne Jones (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Northern Affairs, Lib.)

Apr/26/22 12:22:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member's speech really goes to the heart of where many Canadians are. What she is hearing in her riding is very similar to what I have heard across my riding. When we talk about affordability now, we know that it is increasingly harder for so many families and sectors in our society. I would ask the member to highlight for us some of the things in this budget that would make it easier for Canadians, seniors and families to be able to continue through what have been very trying times.

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Hon. Judy A. Sgro

Apr/26/22 12:22:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I can say that over the last last two and a half years that we have been dealing with the pandemic, nothing has made me more proud of our government than the amount of help that we put out there for people who were losing their jobs or did not have jobs to go to any longer. With the monthly support they received and the help that we gave to businesses, the job numbers are now back up to pre-1974 levels, and a lot of that is because this government handled the pandemic and those challenges the correct way.

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez (Mississauga—Streetsville, Lib.)

Apr/26/22 12:23:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, today I am here to highlight three areas from budget 2022. Before I do that, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Humber River—Black Creek for her lovely words. To start, I would like to share a story about a Mississauga resident named Norma. Norma immigrated here to Canada in 1989 with her family. She had previously completed a bachelor's degree in nursing in the Philippines. However, since her foreign credentials were not recognized here in Canada, she had to work really hard to go back to school for additional studies while working and raising her family. After a lot of sacrifice, dedication and perseverance, she finished her schooling and college, and passed her board exams. Norma's credentials were eventually recognized as those of a registered nurse. The woman I am referring to is my mom. Many Filipinos and immigrants like my mom come to Canada to build a better life for families. I am excited to share that in budget 2022 we propose to provide $115 million over five years, with $30 million ongoing, to expand the foreign credential recognition program. This would help up to 11,000 internationally trained health care professionals per year to get their credentials recognized and find work in their field. It would also support projects, including standardized national exams, easier access to information, faster timelines and less red tape. That would reduce barriers to foreign credential recognition for health care professionals. There are many immigrants like my mom who have the critical skills and/or experience required to fill the job and labour shortages we have in this country today. In a 2009 report, the Canadian Nurses Association predicted that Canada could see a shortage of 60,000 full-time nurses by 2022 as a result of retirement projections. We know that this has been further impacted by the negative effects of the pandemic. This pandemic has really shown the public the value of nurses and health care professionals in our overall health care system. As such, I want to take a moment to thank our frontline workers, who continue to take care of our families and loved ones, and who have carried the greatest burden during the COVID pandemic. Their hard work and dedication are truly appreciated. I also want to thank my mom for sacrificing so much for John and I. After seeing her 25 years of service in the long-term care industry, I am so happy that she is now enjoying her retirement with my dad and the grandchildren. Another major concern that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic was family and intimate partner violence. Family and intimate partner violence is any type of controlling or threatening behaviour, physical or sexual violence, or abuse between intimate partners or family members. In 2020, police in Peel, which includes my riding of Mississauga—Streetsville, responded to more than 18,000 incidents of family and intimate partner violence. This averages about 50 disputes every day, or two per hour. Most incidents never get reported. Over 85% of the incidents reporting this type of violence are from women, with the highest report rate being from those between the ages of 25 and 34. This includes women of any race, sexual orientation, religious or economic background. This happens mostly to women, and it threatens our basic right to live free of violence. Between 2015 and 2019, there was a 12% increase in the rate of intimate partner disputes reported to Peel Regional Police. This has increased further during the pandemic. It has been reported that 44% of women 15 years of age and older who have been in an intimate partner relationship have reported experiencing some sort of psychological, physical or sexual violence in the context of an intimate relationship. It has been proven that violence and abuse can lead to poor physical and mental health, serious injuries and even homicide. COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for those experiencing gender-based violence, and the organizations that provide support and services to them. Our government moved swiftly to ensure those facing gender-based violence have a safe place to turn. To date, the government has provided a total of $100 million in emergency funding to over 1,200 organizations, including shelters; indigenous shelters, both on and off reserve; sexual assault centres; women's organizations; and other organizations delivering essential frontline supports to women and children experiencing violence and abuse across the country. The Department for Women and Gender Equality contributed an additional $9.5 million from its program budget to support the high demand. Since April 2020, this funding has helped frontline organizations maintain capacity, so that the nearly 800,000 women and children across this country experiencing violence had a place to turn. This funding has ensured that critical services to those in need will continue, but the work does not stop here. That is why budget 2022 allocates funds to develop an action plan to end gender-based violence. Budget 2022 proposes to provide $539.3 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to Women and Gender Equality Canada to enable provinces and territories to supplement and enhance services and supports within their jurisdictions to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors. These funds will also assist to address family and intimate partner violence, and I hope that in this House we can all work together to stop abuse against women in all forms. I thank my mom for giving me the tools to choose a partner in my life who loves, respects and supports me for who I am. Last month at the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in Mississauga, a man intent to “kill terrorists” attacked Muslim worshippers during their prayers. The man had an axe, bear spray and numerous sharp-edged weapons. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, since 20 men took that man down as he let loose a stream of bear spray. This incident has shaken and greatly disturbed the residents and constituents in my riding of Mississauga—Streetsville. This is just one of many unacceptable incidents that have occurred regarding religion-based hate crimes. Canada has also experienced more targeted hate since the pandemic. The public health crisis further exposed and exacerbated issues related to community safety and discrimination in Canada, including hate crime. The Canadian centre for justice and community safety statistics found police-reported hate crimes targeting race or ethnicity rose 80% in 2020 compared with 2019, and they accounted for the bulk of the national increase. Hate crimes targeting East or Southeast Asian people went up 301%; those targeting Black people went up 92%; and those against South Asian people went up 47%. The number of anti-indigenous hate crimes reported to police jumped 152% during the first year of COVID-19. In budget 2022, $85 million will be allocated over four years to launch a much required anti-racism strategy and national action plan. This action plan will combat hate, and the funds are allocated specifically to fight racism, discrimination and hate. I hope that in this House we can all work together to end racism, discrimination and hate in all forms. I thank my mom for teaching me to be strong and to stand up for myself in the face of hate and racism over the years. Very recently, my mom experienced blatant racism when she went door knocking for me. The hate and slander that she experienced while a door was being slammed in her face was absolutely unacceptable. That incident could have traumatized her and stopped her, but she kept going. I thank her for continuing to stand up for me. I thank my mom for showing John and me what is possible in this country and for travelling with dad to two different continents to provide us with a better life. All John and I ever wanted was for her to be proud of us. As an early Mother's Day gift, I dedicate my maiden speech to her, to my grandmother Lola in heaven, and to our not so little girl, Cassidy.

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Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Apr/26/22 12:33:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague. She has just made a remarkable speech. It was so very touching and inspiring. We do not hear enough speeches like this. I would like to commend her and sincerely thank her. I would like to get back to something she mentioned that is a major concern, namely women who are victims of intimate partner violence. Thanks to the funds allocated to housing, a frontline shelter for women who are victims of intimate partner violence was built in my riding. It will be able to take in nine women and their children. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of resources. Every day in Quebec, a woman experiencing intimate partner violence gets turned away from a resource and has to return home to a toxic relationship because of a lack of resources. Does my colleague not think that we should work even harder to get the government to provide more funding for resources for families and women who are victims of intimate partner violence?

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Apr/26/22 12:34:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his feedback and for his question. I am excited to say that, as a part of our budget 2022, we are certainly investing in Canadians and making life more affordable. Specific to housing, I can say that we are allocating 25% specifically to women to ensure that they can continue to be supported in Canada.

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Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Apr/26/22 12:35:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to acknowledge what a moving and powerful speech my colleague across the way gave. I have shared some of the experiences, certainly as an indigenous woman, in terms of racism in this country. It takes a lot of courage to talk about those things in such a raw, open and giving way. I have a question about the funding that has been provided specifically for gender-based violence. One of my concerns, and I have raised this publicly several times, is the fact that in this budget there were zero additional dollars provided for murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. This is something that has been acknowledged as a genocide, certainly by the Prime Minister of this country, and human rights groups have acknowledged it internationally. I am wondering what my colleague thinks of that. Does she support the need to provide additional funding to address this ongoing genocide?

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Apr/26/22 12:36:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I can actually attest to what my hon. colleague just described. I visited Winnipeg and saw what was going on there. I listened to the stories of those people impacted in her community. As I mentioned, in the funding we are definitely going to be focusing on providing supports to women in that way. I look forward to this being the beginning of a very strong conversation to continue to advocate for that, and I will certainly assist her and other colleagues in the House in that fashion.

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Ms. Yvonne Jones (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Northern Affairs, Lib.)

Apr/26/22 12:37:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really want to thank my colleague for Mississauga—Streetsville for that very powerful speech today on the budget and for all the advocacy that she does for women and families in this country for funding and stronger supports. How does the member feel this budget will have a positive impact on women, especially women who are suffering through violent relationships in communities across Canada?

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Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Apr/26/22 12:37:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned, I am very excited for what we have in our budget to really support and make a difference in our communities, specifically for those who are impacted by gender-based violence. In my riding of Mississauga—Streetsville, there are tremendous organizations that we will continue to support and fund. That would certainly go a long way not just for the women in our community, but for their families and everyone that they touch.

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Mr. Michael Kram (Regina—Wascana, CPC)

Apr/26/22 12:38:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to rise in this chamber and to represent the people of Regina—Wascana. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today on the budget. My grandmother would always say to me, when I was growing up, “If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all.” While that may be good advice for getting along with the neighbour kids, it does not work so well as an opposition member of Parliament. I would like to at least partially take some of my grandmother's advice today and focus on one area of the budget on which I think there is broad agreement. That is the need for Canada to support Ukraine as it defends itself from the Russian invasion. When the finance minister was presenting her budget earlier this month, I believe she received one standing ovation from both sides of the House, and that is when she said that the Russian army invading Ukraine needed to be vanquished. I agree. Vladimir Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine is completely and totally unacceptable. Countries around the world, including Canada, need to do their part to ensure that free and democratic countries are not overrun and annexed by a dictator like Vladimir Putin. The finance minister went on to say that it was the brave people of Ukraine who would be doing the fighting against convoys of Russian tanks rolling into their country. There is one fundamental principle the minister did not mention in her budget speech that I believe everyone needs to understand. Every time one of those Russian tanks is destroyed by the Ukrainians, it is soon replaced by another Russian tank rolling off the assembly line. If we are going to help the Ukrainians win this war and make the world a safer place for our children and grandchildren, then it is not enough to simply destroy the Russian tanks and other weapons on the front lines. We must also stop Vladimir Putin's ability to buy more of them. Tanks cost money. Bombs cost money. Battleships cost money. Where does Vladimir Putin get his money to buy all these weapons? By far, the biggest source of funding for the Russian war machine is oil and gas exports to western Europe. That is Vladimir Putin's steady paycheque. That is Vladimir Putin's spending money: oil and gas exports to western Europe. In fact, western Europe imports approximately 3.4 million barrels of oil and gas every day from Russia. The money western Europe spends on this oil and gas goes toward Vladimir Putin's war machine. He spends the money on tanks, bombs and battleships, all of which go toward the Russian war efforts against the Ukrainian military and toward committing atrocities against Ukrainian civilians, such as the bombing of a hospital maternity ward in Mariupol and the slaughter of civilians on the streets of Bucha. If the international community could figure out a way to send an additional 3.4 million barrels of oil and gas to western Europe, we could seriously inhibit Russia's ability to wage war. How can the international community make up this shortfall? Canada alone could provide almost that entire amount from just four projects. These four projects have been debated many times in the House over the past few years. They are the Keystone XL pipeline, the energy east pipeline, the northern gateway pipeline and the Trans Mountain expansion. All four of these projects have either been cancelled or significantly delayed over the past several years because of the government's Bill C-69, Bill C-48 and other roadblocks it keeps putting in the way. Recently, the Minister of Natural Resources announced that Canada would increase oil exports to western Europe by only 300,000 barrels per day from existing infrastructure. Unfortunately, the minister has also described this increase as a short-term solution and only a temporary measure to help our friends and allies fighting in Ukraine. I would strongly caution the government against reverting back to its old policy of keeping Canadian oil and gas in the ground, for a couple of reasons. First, no one knows when this war will end. As many of us probably learned in high school history class, when World War I broke out, all of the experts of the day said that the war would be over by Christmas. Four years later, the war was still raging. Today, we are 62 days into the current conflict and it would be foolish for anyone to try to predict with any degree of accuracy when this war will be over. It could very well be the case that our allies in western Europe will need oil and gas for the foreseeable future from countries other than Russia. Second, even if the war were to end tomorrow, it would be foolish for us not to learn from our past mistakes. One of the reasons why the world is in this situation is because, for far too long, peace-loving democratic countries have fallen into the bad habit of relying on petty dictators for their energy needs. All the while, Canadian oil and gas has stayed in the ground. If this country could increase its oil and gas exports by 3.4 million barrels per day and displace Russian exports to western Europe, it raises the question of what Canadians could do with this extra money. The short answer is they could do whatever they wanted. Many people who work in the natural resources sector would love the opportunity to pay down their mortgages, save for their children's education or take a well-deserved vacation, especially after the last two years. It is not just oil and gas workers in the private sector who would benefit. In my home province of Saskatchewan, in any given year between 10% and 15% of the provincial government's budget comes from natural resource royalties. That is money that can go toward roads, schools, hospitals and other services that people rely on. Over a decade ago, when resource royalties were at their height, the provincial Government of Saskatchewan announced that it would build a new children's hospital in Saskatoon. This hospital opened just a few years ago and it has since helped thousands of children. I believe that the vast majority of people who let their names stand to run for public office do so with good intentions to make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren, but we all know what they say about good intentions. The cost of our inaction could not be more clear and the contrast could not be more stark. Instead of oil and gas revenues going toward bombing children's hospitals in Mariupol, they should be going toward building hospitals here in Canada. Clearly, any objective observer would have to agree that Canada has a tremendous amount of potential to do a great deal of good on the world stage. It is not necessary for democracies in western Europe or the rest of the world to rely on petty dictators for their energy needs. It is not necessary for them to fund the war machine of Vladimir Putin or any other hostile regime. Canada can be a force for world peace and stability by simply extracting and exporting the resources that we have in this country literally sitting beneath our feet and not doing anyone any good. If Vladimir Putin's army is to be vanquished, to use the finance minister's term, then we need to get serious about building pipeline capacity in this country so that western Europe and the rest of the world can buy their oil and gas from Canada instead of from Vladimir Putin's Russia.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Apr/26/22 12:47:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with the member that what is happening in Ukraine today is horrific in nature. I believe that inside the chamber there is virtually unanimous desire and willingness to support Ukraine in whatever way we can to get through this very difficult time. It goes far beyond Ukraine's borders, but impacts the entire free world. We wish Ukrainians the very best, and we will continue to support them in whatever way we can. The member is trying to give an impression that if Canada were to export oil today, money going to Russia would dry up. We all know that even if the political will and the desire of Canadians as a whole was to have that happen, it could not happen overnight. I wonder this. Could the member provide his thoughts and comments in regard to that? We do not want to say something that ultimately we know we cannot deliver.

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Mr. Michael Kram

Apr/26/22 12:48:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad to hear that all parties in the House support the people of Ukraine. Certainly, dictators cannot roll their tanks into neighbouring countries, take over and expect to think that is okay. As for the issue with displacing Russian oil and gas going to western Europe, I believe that the four projects I mentioned should have been built years ago. I do not see why that could not have been done years ago. I do not see why it has to be so difficult for private sector businesses in this country to build pipelines or other major projects. It should be a lot easier and it should have been done a long time ago.

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Mr. Yves Perron (Berthier—Maskinongé, BQ)

Apr/26/22 12:49:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech. I listened to him talk about building pipelines to solve the war in Europe. We need to understand that, if we start building pipelines today, that will not have an effect on the current war. He said that we should have done it a long time ago. With all due respect, is my colleague aware of global warming and the world crisis we are in? Has he seen what I have seen, and what everyone in the country saw last year in British Columbia with the floods and forest fires? Does he not think that we should start transitioning and stop the most polluting projects? The most polluting projects are those involving the oil sands. We have nothing against his region. I understand the hon. member, who is only standing up for his constituents. We are prepared to invest in his region to begin a transition. I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about this. Is he open to discussion?

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Mr. Michael Kram

Apr/26/22 12:50:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think we can all agree that there has to be a transition to clean energies at some time, but I am of the belief that global warming and the energy transition are long-term problems that require long-term solutions. The war in Ukraine is not a long-term problem. People are literally being bombed to death today in Ukraine, so I think we need to prioritize the war in Ukraine for the foreseeable future. I would also say that while some countries are transitioning away from oil and gas, that is clearly not the situation today in western Europe. About 3.4 million barrels of oil and gas every day are being exported from Russia to western Europe. That oil and gas creates greenhouse gas emissions just like from anywhere else in the world. Not only is our policy of keeping oil and gas in the ground bad for the war in Ukraine, but it is not doing any good for global warming because Europeans are just buying their oil and gas from Russia.

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