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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 71

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 13, 2022 10:00AM
  • May/13/22 11:56:03 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question and his work at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. We are of course working closely with the industry. We must first ensure that we are not providing companies with any incentives to continue doing business with Russia, in light of the illegal war on Ukraine started by President Putin. We also want to ensure that farmers have access to fertilizer at a fair price. We will continue to work with the industry to find a good solution.
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  • May/13/22 11:56:33 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, recently I spent time in Springhill. All the businesses had concerns about the state of our economy. They need workers, both unskilled and skilled. They need regulatory changes for their products. They need relief from extreme inflation. They need answers, not talking points about the United States or the rest of the world, and they need the government's hand out of their back pocket. How will the government create good policy, not more handouts, and let small businesses flourish?
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  • May/13/22 11:57:06 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been there for our small businesses throughout the pandemic and we continue to be there today. If the member opposite would like examples, let him read the budget. Inside the budget he will find that what we are doing is increasing access to one of the lowest small business tax rates in the G7. We have a 9% small business tax rate in this country, and now even more businesses will be able to enjoy and have access to it. I think that all small businesses appreciate the health of our economy right now. Our economy is doing extraordinarily well at the moment. We have the highest growth in the G7, and our entrepreneurs are thankful for that.
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  • May/13/22 11:57:46 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, government documents have revealed the Liberals paid out tens and tens of millions in bonuses to public service executives last year: 89% of executives got bonuses, despite the departmental result report showing overall departments missed over half of their targets. There is no clean drinking water on reserves: bonus. There is no fix to the Phoenix pay system: bonus. Vital PPE is thrown in the trash: bonus. Why is the government so hell-bent on paying taxpayers' money to reward failure?
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  • May/13/22 11:58:22 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has, of course, one of the finest public services in the world. We have professionals who have been able to help support Canadians throughout the troubling times that we have had during the pandemic. We are very proud of our public service. Of course, we want to make sure that public servants are compensated fairly and if they have a compensation system that if they do meet their targets, of course, they are being compensated appropriately. We are very lucky to have such a professional public service.
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  • May/13/22 11:59:01 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, guess what? The same government documents show that only 5% of regular public servants, non-executives, got bonuses despite being the ones who are doing all the work. The Liberals paid out millions in bonuses to the government executives who failed to meet over half their goals. The only other place we could find people getting rewarded so well for such failure is in the Liberal cabinet. Why is the government rewarding so much failure with so many taxpayers' dollars?
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  • May/13/22 11:59:34 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am just trying to understand my hon. colleague who knows the many issues regarding Canada's public service. Is he suggesting that we should compensate folks who do not meet their targets? I am certain that is not what he suggested. What we are really talking about is our fabulous public service that has worked very hard and has helped Canadians through very tough times. We are certainly making sure that they are continuing to do the proper work that they do to serve Canadians and serve all of us here.
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  • May/13/22 12:00:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are celebrating National Nursing Week from May 9 to 15. This week gives us an opportunity to recognize and show our gratitude to nurses, who make enormous sacrifices to protect us. Canadians working in the health care field constantly demonstrate dedication. They put themselves and their families at risk by working very long hours, often in difficult conditions, to help Canadians get through the worst of the pandemic. Can the Minister of Health tell us more about the crucial role that nurses play in our health care system and how the government is supporting them?
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  • May/13/22 12:00:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my wonderful colleague from Fredericton for the excellent work that she does. I also want to thank all nurses. It is very important to acknowledge the work that they do during National Nursing Week and during every week of the year. I also want to acknowledge Linda Silas, the president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, and her entire team. I thank them for giving me the opportunity to speak with them just a few days ago. I must also mention that on top of thanking nurses, we need to support the work that they do. That is why we are creating a new position of chief nursing officer, a position that the former Conservative government unfortunately abolished, and are increasing the amount of student loan forgiveness for nurses in rural areas by 50%.
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  • May/13/22 12:01:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the price of gas in my riding has crept above $2 a litre. Since I am in a rural riding, my constituents cannot use public transportation to get to work or activities. Unlike the Prime Minister and his ministers, ordinary Canadians do not have drivers. They have to pull out their wallets every time they go to the pumps. This government is out of touch. When will it make changes to make gas more affordable for Canadians?
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  • May/13/22 12:02:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that we need to combat climate change, which is why we put a tax on pollution. I think it is worth pointing out the majority of Canadians receive more in rebates than they pay. I also want to remind my colleague that most of the taxes on gas are provincial, not federal, and we need to respect jurisdictions.
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  • May/13/22 12:02:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there was a failure of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority's Hydro One conduit project. Three independent engineering firms have confirmed that the failure was due to the lead engineer, CIMA, which was both the design engineer and the bridge consultant. We are told that CIMA was allowed to continue as the lead consultant on the failure review of which they were the subject. Why were engineering reports ignored? Was there a conflict of interest? Why was no recourse sought for the taxpayer from CIMA?
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  • May/13/22 12:03:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will endeavour to get more information and will respond to the member in a quick manner.
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  • May/13/22 12:03:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research require Taiwanese funding applicants to falsely specify their nationality as “Taiwan, Province of China”. Taiwan is not a province of China; Taiwan is Taiwan. Six months ago, I wrote to the Minister of Health and six months later this mislabelling continues. Why has the minister failed to intervene to stop this blatant mislabelling of Taiwan?
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  • May/13/22 12:04:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very glad to receive this question from a member who is normally less interested in health. Obviously his interest in health will be followed up on, and I look forward to working with him on this particular matter.
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  • May/13/22 12:04:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine is a stark reminder that there is no room for complacency and that we must work with our allies to advance the cause of global peace and security. This week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is in Germany to participate in G7 and NATO meetings. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs inform the House about our government's work to coordinate efforts across these critical forums?
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  • May/13/22 12:05:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Kitchener—Conestoga for his excellent work. The Minister of Foreign Affairs attended the G7 meetings to discuss the Russian invasion; ongoing peace and security issues in Africa, Asia and the Middle East; and the fight against climate change. In Berlin, the minister is also meeting with our NATO allies to discuss how best to align our efforts to support Ukraine. Canada will tirelessly continue to support efforts to bring peace and stability in Ukraine and around the world.
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  • May/13/22 12:05:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada Border Services Agency has reversed, without notice, a long-standing policy of servicing smaller ports across Canada. This is forcing visitors to travel longer distances and pay hundreds of dollars more in fuel to report at the limited remaining CBSA sites. This decision is having a significant negative impact on Canada's cruise businesses, which have been hit hard after two years of pandemic travel restrictions. Will the minister reverse this decision before people pay the price?
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  • May/13/22 12:06:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the moments I had, I could not find the statistics, but I know that the number of border crossings being opened has increased significantly. We are working to ensure that we have border crossings open, because we recognize that there are economic impacts when these crossings are closed. I am happy to work with the hon. member to ensure that we are aware of the exact problems he has, and I am happy to speak to him after question period.
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  • May/13/22 12:06:46 p.m.
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That is all the time for question period this week. The hon. government House leader.
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