44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 24, 2023 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise tonight to talk about a really difficult year that we had in my riding of Courtenay—Alberni.
We know that ocean temperatures around the world have been rising rapidly. It is a record year for air temperatures, ocean temperatures and wildfires globally.
We watched with horror as we saw wildfires rage across Yellowknife and Hay River and Nova Scotia, coast to coast to coast. My riding was no different. This included Highway 4 at Cameron Bluffs in my riding, which separated my riding from the west coast to the east coast along the Alberni Valley. That fire started, really, at full rage on June 6. It had a tremendous impact on the communities and on small business.
We know that the PBO projected just 10 years ago that climate emergencies would cost Canadians about $900 million a year. Here we are, and we are into multi-billions of dollars. This has an impact on the economy, the ecology and the ecosystem. We are seeing, right now, that the PBO projects that, so far, climate emergencies have cost Canadians between $20 billion and $25 billion.
I think about the impact that has on our communities. Of course, we need to take real action when it comes to climate change. We need to make sure that we invest heavily in clean energy and transition away from fossil fuels.
We also need to make sure that the impact of climate emergencies is not shouldered by the most vulnerable or by small businesses. That is why I am here tonight.
The communities of Tofino, Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, Clayoquot, Yuułuʔiłʔath, Toquaht, Huu-ay-aht, Hupačasath, Tseshaht, Uchucklesaht and Port Alberni have all been heavily impacted by wildfires in my riding.
In just Tofino and Ucluelet, they identified that the cost was $44 million, and that was on August 16. We are talking two months in. It took a long time before the highway could get cleared and people could move. Supply chains were heavily impacted.
Currently, Canada does not have a rapid response emergency fund for small businesses when it comes to climate emergencies. We know that there will be a lot more emergencies.
I cannot imagine the suffering of people in Hay River and in Yellowknife. They were even more impacted. We need to find a fund.
When I ask small business owners who should pay for this climate emergency rapid response fund, and if it should be an increase in taxes, the flat-out answer is no when I give them the alternative. That is to charge an excess profit tax on oil and gas, which has had record revenues and record profits. Shift that revenue to help support small businesses that have been impacted.
I believe we can have hope in taking on climate action really wholeheartedly after a year such as this. We need to.
However, SMEs cannot shoulder the burden. Right now, they have asked for an extension on the CEBA loan. They are still not getting that refundable portion, which they need by the end of next year.
I was just talking to Scott Stewart, who runs True North Distilleries. He needs the CEBA loan extended. His distillery also pivoted to help provide sanitizer for public health agencies through the pandemic. They just cannot absorb this kind of punishment.
We need to make sure that we are supporting small business with urgency, especially with the impact of climate-related emergencies. The CEBA loan extension is one part; we should provide a fund that can move rapidly and pivot, so that we can help support these small businesses.
We have seen Britain charge an excess profit tax on oil and gas. We know the Conservatives are not going to support that. We cannot even get Liberals to do that in Canada. It is time for the Liberal government to step in and provide resources to support those small business owners, who really are the economic drivers of our small communities.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his advocacy for firefighters. I would also like to thank all of the first responders across Canada who keep us safe, including the brave volunteer firefighters whom so many communities across our country depend on. Our government recognizes the important role that first responders play, and we will continue to support them.
I would like to point out that one member of our government in particular has taken a leadership role in supporting firefighters across the country. The member for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne has crossed the country meeting with firefighters. After discussing with them the urgent needs they are facing, she presented a bill in this House to develop a national framework to actively support research, education and cancer screenings, with the goal of improving access for firefighters to cancer prevention and treatment.
The government continuously reviews the tax system to ensure that it remains fair and efficient. On that point, I would add that the member for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne is in touch with the minister responsible on the topic of firefighter tax credits.
I cannot emphasize enough the important role of first responders in facing the realities of climate change, most notably in the form of increasingly frequent wildfires. In fact, Canada is experiencing more extreme wildfires, and according to the data, this trend will only continue as the climate changes.
The 2022 budget included significant funding to support our firefighters, as well as support for provinces, territories and indigenous communities to mitigate, monitor and respond to fires.
The budget included nearly $40 million to train 1,000 new firefighters and integrate indigenous traditional knowledge into fire management, as well as $308.2 million to acquire firefighting equipment, such as vehicles and aircraft, including nearly $40 million specifically for first nations communities.
These very concrete actions will help ensure greater volunteer safety in the line of duty and will help ensure a higher degree of emergency preparedness in communities across Canada.
Since 2015, the federal government has invested over $100 billion in its fight against climate change and in environmental protection.
What is more, our emissions reduction plan is ambitious but achievable. Our goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure Canada reaches net zero by 2050.
Our government will continue to take action to protect our communities and support first responders, including the volunteer firefighters who keep us safe and protect our homes.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for talking about my bill, Bill C-310, on the volunteer firefighter tax credit. I hope the government comes to its senses and prioritizes the over 100,000 volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers, because inflation is having a huge impact on them.
In terms of supporting our volunteers, we need to look at new ways to tackle forest fires with the climate emergencies we are seeing. Coulson Group, which is in my riding in Port Alberni, is currently one of the global leaders on night firefighting. It wants to create a quick reaction force and support Canada's rapid response to forest firefighting in Canada.
I asked the Minister of Emergency Preparedness to come to the Alberni Valley. I hope my colleague can help encourage that to happen so he can learn from the best in the business and learn how Canada can mitigate and put out forest fires, because the quicker we can put out forest fires, the quicker we can reduce emissions. We do not talk enough about that connection when it comes to tackling climate change.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again thank the member opposite for his advocacy and leadership. I know he is working closely with government members, including the member for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne and the Minister of Emergency Preparedness, on Bill C-310 and on other measures that will ensure greater tax fairness for our first responders. I also know that we will continue to work in this direction through various other means. We have Bill C-224, which addresses this.
There are many actions that our government has taken and will continue to take. I encourage collaboration between my NDP colleague, whom I respect enormously, and members of government and cabinet in order to advance this cause.
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- Oct/24/23 6:38:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since October 7, Israelis have not been able to mourn their dead in peace. Every day we are learning more about the sickening and horrifying brutality of Hamas and the Hamas terrorist attacks. We mourn the loss of so many bright lights, including so many people who were working for peace. We want to see the hostages come home now.
Only a few miles away from where Hamas committed these terrorist attacks, Israeli military bombs are now raining down on homes in Gaza. More than 2,000 children in Gaza have been killed in the past two weeks. Families have been eradicated. Half of Gaza's homes have been destroyed.
A few days ago, 18 people were killed in an Israeli military air strike on a Greek Orthodox church, where 200 vulnerable people had sought shelter. Bombs fall next to schools and hospitals. Children are experiencing mass trauma. Surgeries are performed with no anaesthetic and with vinegar from the corner store. Humanitarian aid is desperately needed. Palestinians are not able to mourn their dead either because the bombs keep falling.
My city of Edmonton is grieving. In my community of Edmonton, I know of at least eight families who have, together, lost over 100 people, 100 family members in the siege of Gaza. We need a ceasefire now.
Dehumanization of the enemy is a terrible feature of wars and genocides. It is already evident in this war, with Hamas militants spitting on and torturing their victims. It is disgusting. It is horrifying. The Israeli defence minister is using words such as “human animals”. The Israeli president has said that the “entire nation” of Gazans is responsible for Hamas.
There is a straight line between dehumanization and the hate crimes we are seeing around the world. We know that hate crimes against Jewish Canadians have massively increased since October 7. It is heartbreaking to see what is happening in the world. The National Council of Canadian Muslims says that reports of hate crimes against Muslims have increased by 1,000%.
I am deeply concerned by the silencing of Jewish and Palestinian people, particularly of women and of women's voices across Canada, in the media, on social platforms and in public discourse. This is a a time for us who are not Palestinian and who not Jewish to listen and to learn. We need a ceasefire.
Our call for a ceasefire does not mean we do not want the end of Hamas. Of course we do. However, the people of Gaza are not Hamas. The children of Gaza are not Hamas. Palestinians are not Hamas. They deserve, as all people do, to live, to thrive, to be free and to be safe. They do not deserve this.
These bombings will not make Israelis safe either. Collective punishment does not make anyone safer.
Canada must do better. We must recognize the broader context of this war and the ongoing occupation in which we have so much work to do. Before this war, Gazans were severely restricted in their movement by Israel.
Israel still occupies the West Bank, where illegal settlements are being built. As rockets have fallen on towns in Israel, settlers have attacked Palestinian residents of the West Bank. The occupation has enormous costs, most importantly in lives, but also in long-term security. I urge the government, now, to finally call for a ceasefire.
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- Oct/24/23 6:42:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Edmonton Strathcona for the passion, compassion, intelligence and wisdom she brings to this subject, not only today but every day, and for the ongoing work we are attempting to do together in a really horrific situation.
Canadians were shocked to see the unspeakable atrocities that were committed by the terrorist organization Hamas. Hamas is recognized by Canada and by others as a terrorist organization, and we unequivocally condemn the brutal terrorist attack against Israel. Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law. That international law, the international humanitarian law and other laws, is very clear that a civilian is a civilian. Palestinian and Israeli civilians needs to be protected and we need to keep this in the front of our minds every day, even as Canadian hearts are broken and our minds are taxed as we attempt to find solutions to the situation.
We continue to work with our allies and our friends, primarily to de-escalate the situation. We have been working extremely hard to get Canadians and other foreign nationals out of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. We will continue to do that work. We have also been continuing to work feverishly on getting humanitarian aid into Gaza, and this has been a trying and difficult situation. For no other reason than to get humanitarian assistance into the area, the Prime Minister today called on the international community to say that humanitarian pauses on hostilities need to be considered. What the Prime Minister said was echoed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We are looking for the best ways Canada can engage in the situation to ensure that humanitarian assistance can be provided.
As I said, we have been working with our allies and our partners for over two weeks now to find a way to de-escalate the situation. The foreign affairs minister has been in the region twice. She has been to Israel and to Jordan, as well as to discussions with the Palestinian authority. Most recently, she was in Egypt at a peace conference and today was in the UAE. Her goal is to support Canadians and bring them home as they want to come home. She has been there to witness the human impact of the violence, to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to work with our partners, as I said, to de-escalate.
That is what we will be doing and will continue to do.
The safety and security of Canadians is first, but it is not the last. What we will continue to do is find ways for Canada to engage constructively in the situation in order to help. As the Speaker will be well aware, Canada was one of the first countries to offer humanitarian assistance, with an immediate $10 million and a further $50 million. We are in the top five countries in humanitarian assistance, but we have to get it in. That is why the government and the Prime Minister say that the world needs to find a way to do a humanitarian pause on the hostilities. That would allow such aid to travel into the war-torn area without causing further vilification of others there.
This is what we will do. We will continue to fight for this. We want to ensure that Palestinian civilians and Israeli civilians are cared for and are safe and secure as they move to the day after and find the best way to solve the situation.
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- Oct/24/23 6:46:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have one very short question and then one that is a bit longer. The first question is this: What on earth is the difference between a humanitarian pause and a ceasefire? Stop dropping bombs on kids. That is the same thing. Why can the government not use the word “ceasefire”? Why can the government not say what so many people in our country have been urging it to say: “ceasefire”? We need a ceasefire now, and if it needs to call it a humanitarian pause, it is going to have to explain why that is different from a ceasefire.
For years, New Democrats have asked Canada to end arms sales to Israel while the occupation continues. For years, we have been asking it to condemn illegal settlements, to call for an end to settler attacks, to ban trade of products from illegal settlements and to end the blockade of Gaza, and still the Liberals have remained silent.
Once again, call for a ceasefire. The children of Palestine need the Liberals to stand up now.
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- Oct/24/23 6:47:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. People are dying. Children are dying, on both sides of the border. Our goal is not to play games. Our goal is not to have semantics. Our goal is to get humanitarian assistance to a war-torn part of the world.
This is not a conventional war. This is a war between a democratic state and a listed terrorist organization. We do not negotiate with terrorist organizations. Maybe members of the New Democratic Party would like to do that, but this government does not do that. What we will do is ensure safety, security and long-term viability in this very difficult situation.
I have been in this area of the world six times. I have worked in Palestine and worked in Israel. I will continue to do that, and this government will continue to stand up for every civilian regardless of where they live in that part of the world.
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- Oct/24/23 6:48:51 p.m.
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The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).
(The House adjourned at 6:49 p.m.)
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