44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 19, 2023 11:00AM
- Jun/19/23 8:40:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to address the question by the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona regarding the impact assessment process and coal mining.
I want to assure the member that the government will continue to lead the global effort to phase out coal-powered electricity and the mining of thermal coal, and to ban thermal coal exports from and through Canada as swiftly as possible, and no later than 2030.
In June 2021, the government issued its policy statement on the new thermal coal mining or expansion projects, stating that these projects are likely to cause unacceptable environmental effects within federal jurisdiction and are not aligned with Canada's domestic and international climate change commitments. Canada is taking decisive action to address climate change, and we will consider the policy statement in deciding whether to designate any new thermal coal mines or expansions under the Impact Assessment Act.
With respect to metallurgical coal mines, we will consider designating any new mines or expansions that have the potential to release selenium into the environment. Canada has a rigorous federal impact assessment process that considers the positive and negative environmental, economic, social and health impacts of mining projects, among others. The type of projects subject to this process are identified in the regulations known as the project list under the Impact Assessment Act.
Summit Coal Inc.'s proposed summit mine 14 project near Grand Cache is a metallurgical coal mine, not a thermal coal mine, and is well below the threshold identified in the project list that would automatically trigger a federal assessment process.
In August 2022, a number of first nations wrote the Minister of Environment and Climate Change about the proposed summit mine 14 project, and requested we consider designating it for assessment. To support our consideration of this request, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada provided the minister advice about the project informed by science, indigenous and community knowledge, input from the proponent, and consultation with Alberta, other jurisdictions and potentially affected indigenous groups.
On November 14, 2022, the minister decided, after carefully considering the scientific analysis and advice from the agency, to not designate the project. His response and the analysis that the agency provided him are publicly available on the Canadian impact assessment registry in support of transparency and accountability.
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- Jun/19/23 8:44:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to preventing and managing pollution from industrial sectors. Effluent from coal mines in Canada can be a source of pollution that harms aquatic life, specifically fish and fish habitat.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is developing coal mining effluent regulations under the Fisheries Act. These regulations would reduce the risks to fish and fish habitat by limiting levels of harmful substances in coal mining effluent. Once in place, they will apply to the 28 existing coal mines in Canada and to all future coal mine expansions and new coal mine projects.
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- Jun/19/23 8:46:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Elmwood—Transcona for his question and his ongoing advocacy on behalf of his constituents.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we quickly introduced the Canada emergency response benefit, or CERB, and ended up helping more than eight million Canadians. When it came to delivering the benefit, we knew that speed was of the essence. We knew that we needed to get money into the hands of Canadians quickly so that they could feed their families and pay their bills.
We were clear from the onset that eligibility would be verified at the back end, once tax data became available. This approach kept workers attached to their jobs and positioned our economy to come roaring back. Since day one, we have treated all cases individually and fairly to ensure that Canadians were not placed in financial hardship. We have also been committed to responsible financial stewardship. That is why we developed a comprehensive four-year plan to support post-payment verification activities on the CERB.
By late 2021, we estimated that about 1.8 million people had an outstanding amount, owing between $500 and $2,000 as a result of CERB advanced payments. That is when we began to notify people who had an obligation to repay. When we started the post-payment verification process in January of last year, we asked people who had received the benefit to assess their own eligibility and voluntarily repay what they owed, and many people did just that. To date, ESDC has sent out 1.8 million overpayment notices of CERB advance payment reconciliation for an amount of $3.1 billion as of June 16, 2023, and $2.17 billion has already been repaid.
While we recover overpayments, we are doing everything we can to avoid causing undue hardship to Canadians. We are continuing to take an empathetic, people-first approach. When a person facing repayment tells the CRA that they are struggling financially, the agency will assess the person's ability to pay, based on their entire situation, and that includes family size, current income and assets. In addition, we are not imposing penalties or interest on overpayments. We treated Canadians with compassion and understanding when we created these benefits and we are continuing to do that now.
Once again, I thank the member for Elmwood—Transcona for his ongoing advocacy on behalf of his constituents.
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- Jun/19/23 8:50:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we were clear from the onset that we would recover CERB overpayments without any interest or penalties. To prevent undue hardship, flexible repayment options are available. People can establish repayment schedules based on their financial situation and their ability to pay.
We understand that some Canadians may still be struggling to make ends meet, and they will be treated with compassion and understanding. We will continue to take a responsible approach to ensure a fair process.
I thank the member opposite for his advocacy.
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- Jun/19/23 8:54:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his empathetic agreement that our government has no greater responsibility than to keep Canadians safe. If there is one thing that everyone here can agree on, it is that the threats we face today are many, complex and rapidly evolving. Our military must evolve with them.
That is why we have been working to ensure that our brave people in uniform have what they need to defend this country and its citizens, now and into the future. Since launching Canada's defence policy of “Strong, Secure, Engaged” in 2017, we have committed to invest significantly in our people and in the equipment, infrastructure and programs that set them up for success.
Our defence policy commits to increasing Canada's defence spending by 70%. Through SSE, our military has been able to count on sustained and reliable investments to meet evolving security challenges, with a funding model that offers the flexibility to adapt to changing situations.
In January we announced that Canada is acquiring a fleet of 88 F-35 fighter jets with the United States government, and Lockheed Martin with Pratt & Whitney. These state-of-the-art jets will ensure our air force's ability to protect Canada from a broad range of threats for decades to come.
In March, the Prime Minister also announced a $7.3-billion investment to upgrade and build new infrastructure that would house this fleet of F-35 fighter jets.
This is just one part of a broader, nearly $40-billion plan to modernize Canada's NORAD capabilities, in close collaboration with our partners in the United States.
At sea, we continue to work on delivering a new fleet of 15 Canadian surface combatants for our navy. Three Arctic and offshore patrol ships have been delivered to the navy, with three more in production. On land, we are equipping the Canadian army with a new and modern fleet of 360 armoured combat support vehicles. These will serve as ambulances, mobile repair and vehicle recovery vehicles, as well as engineer support vehicles and command posts for both domestic and international operations.
We will continue to move quickly because the threats we face continue to evolve rapidly. No matter the domain and no matter the challenge, we are committed to ensuring our armed forces have the modern equipment they need to protect Canada's interests, as well as global peace and security.
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- Jun/19/23 8:58:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course we are not just investing in equipment; we are also investing in our people.
Everyone in uniform deserves a workplace where they feel protected, respected and empowered. That is why we are taking concrete steps across the defence team to eliminate unacceptable behaviours like sexual misconduct, harassment and discrimination.
In her first biannual report, which was released last month, external monitor Madame Jocelyne Therrien found:
A significant level of tangible activity within National Defence as it responds to the hundreds of recommendations from external reviews on sexual misconduct in CAF ranks.
We are also investing in our women and men in uniform. Our government has raised military pay and benefits and is spending over $140 million on improving the CAF health care system. We have increased funding for military family resource centres and added mental health and counselling supports for military families.
Canada's defence policy makes it clear that—
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