SoVote

Nov/6/23 6:44:40 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-34

Madam Speaker, at least this question relates, although obliquely, to the Investment Canada Act. With respect to the Nexen transaction, prior to that point in time, Canada had absolutely no rules about how state-owned enterprises could invest in Canada or if they even should be investing in Canada. When that transaction came forward and cabinet had to review it, we said to hold it because with this transaction, there were no rules for us to be guided by. Therefore, Stephen Harper at that time articulated a clear set of rules for when countries like China or state-owned enterprises from countries like China, Russia and Iran, which are hostile actors, want to invest in Canada. We established the first set of rules for that, and of course, that—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Nov/6/23 6:45:42 p.m.
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The hon. member for Rivière-du-Nord.

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Mr. Rhéal Éloi Fortin (Rivière-du-Nord, BQ)

Nov/6/23 6:45:50 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-34

Madam Speaker, Bill C‑34 will increase oversight and improve our international reputation. I wonder how much that might help us with our main financial partner, the United States, if we pass Bill C‑34 in its current form. What does my colleague think of that?

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Hon. Ed Fast

Nov/6/23 6:46:18 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-34

Madam Speaker, as we know, this bill would not measurably impact investments coming from the United States, because we have special carve-outs for our free trade partners. Having said that, it is important that we do have an act like that and that, from time to time, we review it—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Nov/6/23 6:46:37 p.m.
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Resuming debate, the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman.

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Mr. James Bezan (Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, CPC)

Nov/6/23 6:46:43 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-34

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise and close off debate today on Bill C-34, the amendments to the Investment Canada Act. I just want to say that, earlier today, I was very disappointed that, when we had our vote on the carbon tax, on taking it off constituents in my riding who have to pay the carbon tax on home heating, as we were asking for the same type of consideration for Manitoba as was given by the Liberal government to those in Atlantic Canada, the government would not extend those considerations to people across the Prairies. After eight long years of this government, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have had enough of this Prime Minister and his punitive carbon tax that continues to penalize Canadians, especially those low-income Canadians who are seeing everything up go in value. The cost of inflation is eating away at their paycheques. Their buying power in the grocery store, as well as in the housing market, continues to erode. I do have some concerns with Bill C-34, which I had hoped would have been addressed through amendments that were brought forward by the Conservatives. I just have to thank my colleague, the shadow minister of investment and industry, for the work that he has done on Bill C-34 in trying to strengthen it and make it better. It has been 14 long years since this bill was updated, eight of them under this Liberal government. I think all of us have concerns that the government has not taken issues around foreign investment and how it impacts things like national security very seriously. We know that it has not protected our critical infrastructure, which is at risk here if it falls under the control of foreign entities, especially those that are owned and controlled by their states. What we witnessed, right across this country, is that critical minerals continue to get bought by foreign entities and that those state-controlled operations, first and foremost, are beholden to the despots and dictators who control their countries, rather than produce those critical minerals for our supply chains here. Speaking of supply chains, this foreign investment act fails to address our economic sovereignty and how that relates to our overall national defence. If one looks at making sure that supply chains are protected, although Canada is a smaller economy compared to our allies, we still need to make sure that we are getting critical supplies to build everything within our—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Nov/6/23 6:49:36 p.m.
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I apologize but the hon. member's phone is either vibrating or making some sort of sound. The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman.

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Mr. James Bezan

Nov/6/23 6:49:56 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-34

Madam Speaker, it was foreign interference. We are talking about national security and, of course, we know that we have had foreign interference in our democratic institutions right here. It all ties in together very well. I will continue with how critical supply chains are. Although we may not be able to produce all things right here in Canada, we should be producing them at least within our Five Eyes, where we know there are the same security controls and concerns that we have here in Canada. Thus, we can ensure that we have control of things that are important for building defence infrastructure and national security infrastructure, as well as providing security and public safety for Canadians at large. Again, we fail to see that recognized to any great degree. All we have to do is look at the recent record of the Liberal government when it comes to foreign companies owning businesses here that have engaged in espionage and continue to raise major security issues. We can also look at what is happening in our universities and what happened at the Winnipeg labs, where the government allowed and gave work visas to people who were doing research on behalf of the People's Liberation Army. That is the Communist Party of China's military organization. Scientists from the PLA were put into our universities and the Winnipeg labs; they got information on all sorts of intel and then were able to take that back to mainland China. We have already talked about Sinclair Technologies, which provides a lot of the security screening equipment that we see at our embassies and that is used by the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency and our airports. That company was bought up by Hytera, but the government continued to award contracts to Sinclair Technologies, which was now under the control of Beijing. No one can forget about Huawei and the way the Liberals dithered, delayed and dragged their feet, kicking and screaming, until they finally banned Huawei from our 5G network here in Canada. This was after the United States raised red flags and banned it from its 5G network, as well as after Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom did so. Our Five Eyes partners stepped up and said, “We are banning Huawei, why aren't you?” However, there was no good answer coming from the government. It took another 24 months before finally making the decision to ban Huawei, which had incredible switches and back doors linking intel right into the PRC at its headquarters in Beijing. We could also talk about TikTok. It is an app that many of our young Canadians are familiar with, and it is used around the world. We banned it from all our devices here in Parliament and in the Government of Canada. However, I know that there is great concern being raised in the United States about this technology, which is still being used by our millennials and by generation X. We know that the PRC's socialist ideology has been instilled in and permeated through TikTok, and it has been promoted and used more and more. We have to take these things seriously, because these state-controlled enterprises are not so much worried about the consumer. They are definitely not worried about our democracy right here in Canada or our allies; they are doing everything they can to undermine it. I now want to talk about something that is very important to us, which is our critical minerals. We have large deposits of lithium across this country. We have already talked about Neo Lithium, which is now owned by Zijin Mining out of Beijing, and it is hoping to develop those mineral resources here and take them back to China rather than developing them in Canada. We have Sinomine here, which got access to three large lithium deposits in northwestern Ontario. I will give credit, because the government actually made it divest those resources and sell them back into Canadian control. However, the government still lets Sinomine operate in Canada. If the government is so concerned about Sinomine controlling those lithium deposits in Ontario, why was it not concerned about Sinomine, just in 2019, buying Tanco mines in Manitoba? It also has a mine just outside my riding, headquartered in my riding in Lac du Bonnet, that has lithium and 65% of the world's cesium. It also produces tantalum, which is used in electronics and warheads on nuclear missiles. All of the ore that they are producing right now in Manitoba is not refined in Manitoba. They ship it out raw, back to mainland China, and none of it ever comes back to Canada. This is something very concerning. The government turned a blind eye in 2019. Rather than looking at lithium and the Tanco mine, which, at that point in time, was U.S.-owned, and saying it wanted to make sure those critical minerals stay within Canadian or at least North American ownership, it allowed a Chinese company to come in here, buy it up and take all those resources straight back to China. That undermines our overall goal. The Government of Canada has a goal to produce more electric vehicle batteries, and the lithium being produced right now in Canada is actually all going to China, undermining our ability to sustain the critical supply line to the EV battery plants that are being built in Ontario. I just want to say that we do have a lack of coordination with the government, between its foreign investment plan and its Special Economic Measures Act, SEMA, which sanctions those who are responsible for gross human rights violations and for destabilizing peace and security in the world. We have things that have happened here in Canada. I will use Roman Abramovich as an example. He owned Evraz, the steel mills in western Canada. Again, we have not seen those holdings liquidated and provided to support Ukraine's war effort against the Russian invaders. We know there are Russian hawks out there who own things like Buhler Industries, which also sells out of Russia. Konstantin Babkin, one of the top people there, has been out there supporting Russia and denouncing Ukraine, yet they are still allowed to benefit from Canada's economy and our strong manufacturing industry.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Nov/6/23 6:57:17 p.m.
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It being 6:57 p.m., pursuant to order made earlier today, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the report stage of the bill now before the House. The question is on Motion No. 1. A vote on this motion also applies to Motion No. 2. Shall I dispense? Some hon. members: No. [Chair read text of motion to House] The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès): If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/6/23 6:58:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would ask for a recorded vote.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Nov/6/23 6:58:50 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-34

The recorded division on Motion No. 1 stands deferred. The recorded division will also apply to Motion No. 2. The question is on Motion No. 3. If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or wishes to request a recorded division, I invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/6/23 6:59:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we request a recorded division.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Nov/6/23 6:59:32 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-34

The recorded division on Motion No. 3 stands deferred. The House would normally proceed with the deferred recorded division on the report stage of the bill. However, pursuant to Standing Order 45, the recorded divisions stand deferred until Tuesday, November 7, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/6/23 6:59:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at 7:12 p.m., so we could start Adjournment Proceedings.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Nov/6/23 7:00:15 p.m.
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Is it agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.

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Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)

Nov/6/23 7:00:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on October 26, I asked the government to address the alarming incidents of anti-Semitism, intolerance and intimidation being displayed by pro-Hamas supporters. We are seeing on streets across Canada pro-Hamas rallies calling for the boycott or swarming of Toronto businesses just because they are owned by Jews. That is repulsive. Last week, we saw the offices of MPs and MPPs defaced. A Jewish woman was physically assaulted after leaving a peaceful rally at Queen’s Park. Only two days ago, for a second time in as many weeks, another Jewish-owned business in my riding was targeted, with an escalation from the first incident of simple harassment of staff and their customers to now vandalism. Next, will they break the windows? Tragically, we are about to mark the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht on November 9, the Night of Broken Glass, when Nazis unleashed a wave of violence, vandalism and arson on Jewish-owned businesses, homes and synagogues. They even desecrated Jewish cemeteries. What is the point of Canada’s hate propaganda laws if they are not enforced? With every incident left unanswered, there is more violence, more intimidating actions and more slogans propagating hate. It is sadly ironic that November is Holocaust Education Month, a month that provides an opportunity for Canadians to learn about what occurred to the Jewish people under the Nazis. It is to provide an opportunity to learn about anti-Semitism. Since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel, which killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands injured, Canadians have seen a number of pro-Hamas terror rallies on our soil. These rallies have glorified Hamas, a listed terror organization in Canada. As I noted earlier in question period, we hear genocidal chants at these pro-Hamas rallies, chants such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” That slogan is commonly understood as a call for the ethnic cleansing of Jews and the dismantling of the Jewish state. Furthermore, the chant’s origins are linked to Hamas and is regularly used by Hamas terrorists. On Oct. 9, at a rally at Nathan Phillips Square, right in front of Toronto City Hall, we heard calls for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, to carry out more attacks in Israel, just two days after its members had massacred over 1,400. In another chant, there was a call for the brigades to blow up Ben Gurion airport. These chants are clear examples of hate speech. They are in clear violation of Canada’s hate propaganda laws. As noted in a B’nai Brith release on October 10, “According to sources at the rallies, those in the crowd in Toronto embraced and lauded the individual who carried the flag of Hamas and others who displayed placards containing genocidal slogans.” Enough is enough. I asked the government today during question period why the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada has been silent on such grotesque displays of anti-Semitism and incitement. Even though he was literally up one minute before my question to answer a friendly Liberal question, he was either unable or unwilling to answer mine. Therefore, I will ask the parliamentary secretary my question. Has the minister discussed with his provincial and territorial counterparts the need to enforce Canada’s hate propaganda laws, yes or no?

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Mr. James Maloney (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)

Nov/6/23 7:04:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, let me just start from the beginning. The minister has spoken loudly and clearly, denouncing all forms of hate. If he does not believe me, he should follow him on Twitter and he will see what I am talking about. Everyone in this country has the right to live their life free from fear of attack or abuse because of who they are as an individual. I want to begin by condemning what we saw here on Parliament Hill this past weekend. The display of a swastika by an individual on Parliament Hill is unacceptable. We must always call out hateful imagery and this was appalling. Anti-Semitism is completely and utterly unacceptable. Hatred that targets people based on race, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability or any personal characteristic is counter to Canadian values. Everyone in Canada deserves a safe space to be themselves and to thrive. Unfortunately, hate, intolerance and racism, particularly anti-Semitism, exist in many ugly and dangerous forms throughout Canadian society and the world. Some are in plain sight, some are hidden. I have no doubt that for many in the Jewish community this has undermined their faith in what Canada stands for as a country. Our government is working to ensure that this hate does not gain momentum in this country. We are working with groups like CIJA to address the challenges we face. I can assure the member that the minister and I, and the entire government, take this issue seriously and have plans to address anti-Semitism, lslamophobia and all forms of hate in this country.

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Mr. Kevin Vuong

Nov/6/23 7:06:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my question is why the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada is not acting, taking action to ensure that our hate laws are being upheld. These hate propaganda laws already exist. They can be found in sections 318 and 319 of the Criminal Code of Canada. If the government feels existing laws are insufficient, then let us get to work. Let us create a new criminal offence that specifically targets the glorification of terrorism. Such a call has already been made by B'nai Brith Canada. This will send a strong and very clear message that such behaviour, whether targeted against Jews or any other community, will not be tolerated in our country. Canadians support the rule of law, not mob rule. Will the Liberal government stand up to escalating violence and anti-Semitism or does someone really have to get hurt before it finally acts?

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Mr. James Maloney

Nov/6/23 7:07:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, to suggest that any member from any side of this House, or a minister and a member of this government does not stand for the things that he is talking about, is outrageous. He should acknowledge the fact that this government, this minister, has stood firmly and proudly against all forms of hate and our government has taken significant steps in moving forward. I would ask this member to look hard at what we have done and what we are doing. He too will recognize that we are on the right path and taking all the steps necessary to fight the measures that he is talking about.

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Mr. Damien Kurek (Battle River—Crowfoot, CPC)

Nov/6/23 7:08:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as always, it is an honour to stand and represent the people of Battle River—Crowfoot, especially on such an important issue like what I asked last week in question period about the common-sense Conservative plan to axe the carbon tax on all home heating. Let me take things back to what happened here a number of weeks ago. The Prime Minister, instead of providing leadership and acknowledging that his carbon tax has failed to meet any of its objectives, decided to carve out a small portion of those who are disproportionately affected, there is no question, but exempt a few and leave 97% of Canadians to suffer his carbon tax pain. Home-heating oil and the dynamics associated with it is not a new conversation. Conservatives have consistently brought up the realities for so many Canadians, whether it has to do with home-heating oil, that small 3% of Canadians benefiting from the carbon tax exemption, propane, natural gas and other carbon-based fuels that heat so many homes across Canada during our cold winters. However, what we have seen over the last number of weeks is carbon tax chaos. The Liberals admitted that their plan is failing, that it drives costs up and that it has become unaffordable for Canadians, yet instead of taking the opportunity to vote in favour of the motion Conservatives brought forward last week, they continue to divide Canadians for their personal political gain. It is driving Canadians into energy poverty. In a country that is so richly blessed with natural resources, no Canadian should have to worry about turning the heat down so they can afford food at the grocery store, but that is the reality that the Prime Minister, the members of the government and the Liberal-NDP coalition have brought our country to. Last week, I asked a simple question of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages. I asked why he would suggest that he had not heard about whether or not the carbon tax was impacting Canadians' ability to pay their bills. I have learned since that question that people have reached out, including from the minister's own constituency, saying they have shared their concerns and pain with him, yet he refuses to respond or acknowledge it, as is the case with so many Liberals and their coalition partners in the NDP. The Liberal minister from Edmonton had his “let them eat cake” moment, saying it does not concern him. We cannot make this stuff up. The Liberal minister from Edmonton said that he is not concerned at all, I believe is the exact quote, about the costs that the crippling carbon tax is placing upon his constituents and Albertans. The Liberal member from Calgary has consistently run offence for the Prime Minister's failed policies in Calgary, as well as a host of other rural Liberal members of Parliament. What is interesting is that some areas of the country have traditionally had safe Liberal seats that are now in open revolt against their own Liberal members of Parliament because they are not able to afford the necessities due to the carbon tax pain that is being inflicted upon them by the Prime Minister and his Liberal leftist ideology and coalition partners in the NDP. They are in the constituencies of Sault Ste. Marie, Nickel Belt, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, Thunder Bay—Superior North, Sudbury and Saint Boniface—Saint Vital. Time and time again, we see Liberals who refuse to acknowledge the reality—

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