SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Feb/15/24 6:50:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is no surprise that I disagree with the member opposite. I think the stats and the actual information out there actually proves the opposite. Canada is rated number three in the world in foreign direct investment. We have also been rated by BloombergNEF as the number one place for investment in electric vehicle supply chains in the whole world. The automotive manufacturers in Canada and around the world are taking major steps to transition to electrification. As a result, demand for EV batteries is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. Canada is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this transition with its existing expertise in the automotive sector, clean energy and an abundance of critical minerals and access to global markets. However, Canada will not be able to secure these investments without taking steps to remain competitive. Restricting the use of foreign—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/15/24 6:51:29 p.m.
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The hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton.

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Mr. Michael Cooper (St. Albert—Edmonton, CPC)

Feb/15/24 6:51:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise to follow up on a question I posed to the Minister of Industry in question period last November, namely which Liberal insiders the minister is protecting at the Liberals' corrupt green slush fund. The level of corruption, conflict of interest and self-dealing at the fund is staggering. According to whistle-blowers, more than $150 million of taxpayers' money has been misappropriated by Liberal insiders at the fund. An independent fact-finding report revealed that board members of the fund funnelled tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from the fund to their own companies; talk about self-dealing and corruption. The minister has the authority to fire the corrupt green slush fund board, but incredibly, the minister refuses to do so. Why does he? When the scandal broke, the minister claimed he was unaware of corruption at the green slush fund, but the minister's claims are contradicted by the facts. Here is a fact: As early as 2019, the minister's predecessor, the Liberal industry minister at the time, Navdeep Bains, was informed that the Liberal-appointed chair was in a major conflict of interest because her company was receiving millions of dollars from none other than the fund. Not only that, but the minister sent his officials to each and every green slush fund board meeting, including the very meetings in which decisions were made to inappropriately and perhaps illegally funnel money from the fund to board members' companies. According to whistle-blowers, the minister and his department are engaged in a coordinated campaign to cover up corruption at the fund, and the minister is more interested in damage control than in getting to the truth. With these things taken together, it is evident the minister knew of corruption at the green slush fund, did nothing about it and turned a blind eye to it, thus enabling Liberal insiders to get rich. When the corruption was revealed, the minister continued to stand behind the green slush fund board. Again, why is he protecting corrupt Liberal insiders?

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Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)

Feb/15/24 6:54:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am happy to respond to the comments made by the hon. member for St. Albert—Edmonton regarding Sustainable Development Technology Canada. We have taken responsible and prudent actions necessary to investigate the claims that have been presented to us. These processes are well under way. The party opposite needs to understand that proper due diligence takes time and that the appropriate measures are in place to allow the processes to play out. Innovation, Science and Economic Development has temporarily frozen SDTC's funding and has appointed a legal agent to review the organization's HR practices. The minister has also accepted the resignation of the board chair and the CEO of the organization. Funding will not be restored until the minister is satisfied that SDTC has fully implemented the actions contained in the management response and action plan issued in response to the recommendations in the Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton report. SDTC has worked diligently to provide documentation to demonstrate that changes have been made, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada is now in the process of assessing the completeness of SDTC's response in ensuring that the appropriate measures are actually in place. We cannot proceed on half-truths. Facts matter in this case. Our actions and the associated measures put in place will continue to be informed by proper due diligence. We await the Auditor General's report, the results of the legal review of HR practices and the conclusion of the Ethics Commissioner's investigation. We will take the appropriate measures in response to any findings or recommendations that may result from these processes. SDTC is an organization that wants to get back to supporting Canadian innovators in the clean tech sector. I think the party opposite should allow due process to take its course as we remain prepared to take the next necessary actions. The government is committed to supporting Canada's innovative industries in the clean tech sector. Canadian clean technology companies are crucial to ensuring that Canada and the world meet their 2030 and 2050 climate commitments. I am confident that we are on the right path with the implementation of the corrective measures, the review of SDTC's human resources management, the Auditor General's audit and the Ethics Commissioner's investigation.

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Mr. Michael Cooper

Feb/15/24 6:57:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, respectfully, the minister is wilfully blind to the facts. The facts include that $40 million of taxpayer money from the fund was funnelled to the companies of board members. The parliamentary secretary spoke about due diligence. The minister's officials sat in on meetings in which tens of millions of taxpayer dollars were inappropriately funnelled from the fund to the companies of board members. The minister knew about it. He had to have known about it, or he is completely incompetent. Either way, why will he not, at the very least, fire the board? Who is he protecting? I would submit that it begs the question: To what extent is he himself involved in this corruption?

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Mr. Ryan Turnbull

Feb/15/24 6:58:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what the member implies is absolutely false, but I think he probably knows that. I would like to urge the member opposite to exercise patience and allow the actions that we have put in place to play out. The only way to get to the bottom of the issue at hand is to have the confidence to restore funding to SDTC and to allow proper due diligence in fact-finding to happen. We set conditions before new spending can happen, and the organization is working to meet those conditions. The RCGT report did not uncover deliberate unethical behaviour as the member has implied. Nonetheless, the board chair and the CEO of the organization have resigned. We await the results of the numerous investigations and reports, and we will take action as necessary.

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Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, CPC)

Feb/15/24 6:59:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I quote: Canadians turn to GoFundMe to tackle cost-of-living challenges. Record-high inflation and affordable housing shortages have profoundly impacted Canadians, who have been turning to the GoFundMe platform to rally support. Since early 2020, GoFundMe has recorded a 274% increase in Canadian campaigns that mention “cost of living”. This is a text taken directly from the GoFundMe website, which now has a record number of Canadians, hard-working Canadians, who cannot make ends meet in spite of working multiple jobs and now feel that their only recourse is to resort to digital begging. On this particular page there is the story of Claude. Social worker Leigh Adamson set up this GoFundMe campaign to support her friend, who was forced to live in his car due to the soaring cost of living. There are so many stories about this. Also, if members go to different mom Facebook pages, instead of seeing stories about sharing vacation photos or recipes, they will see people asking for support to buy groceries. That is because, as GoFundMe said, of soaring inflation. One of the key drivers of this cost-of-living crisis is unnecessary taxes like the carbon tax. In fact, the carbon tax is set to rise as much as 17% in April of this year. Despite pleas from people across the country to axe this tax, which does not reduce greenhouse gas emissions and does not work, the Liberals are just keeping it, and it is costing people. It is making them digitally beg to deal with the cost of living. Instead of axing the tax, what the Liberals are doing is spending money on consultants to rebrand the tax. I really feel the Liberals should have some compassion for people, not make them resort to digital begging on platforms like GoFundMe. They should be looking at affordability measures. There is no way to make the carbon tax affordable. It increases the cost of everything. The Parliamentary Budget Officer, Parliament's top watchdog on public spending, said that as the carbon price is expected to increase over time, “most households will see a net loss”. People cannot afford that. They cannot afford to put a roof over their head. They cannot afford to buy food. They certainly cannot afford to pay a tax that does nothing to protect the environment but only goes to make their lives more unaffordable. Will the Liberals have some compassion and axe the tax?

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Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)

Feb/15/24 7:01:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to participate in the debate tonight and have the opportunity to highlight the importance of having an actual plan to tackle climate change. Canadians expect their elected representatives to pursue tangible solutions to combat climate change, yet the Conservative Party continues to deceive Canadians and perpetuate climate denial. In the past year alone, Canadians have endured severe climate-related events, including wildfires, droughts, heavy snowfall, torrential rain and tornados, marking some of the worst in our nation's history. Failing to take action against climate change is simply irresponsible. Let me first clarify the facts regarding carbon pricing. In provinces where the federal fuel charge applies, the majority of proceeds generated from the price on pollution is returned to Canadians. In fact, eight out of 10 households in these provinces receive more money back through quarterly carbon rebates than they pay as a result of pollution pricing. This is what the Parliamentary Budget Officer actually said. For example, a family of four residing in the member's province of Alberta can receive up to $1,800 this year in quarterly payments, so that is $450 every three months. With our plan, we are fighting climate change and returning money into the pockets of Canadians. Canadians are understandably worried as elevated global inflation and high interest rates continue to squeeze their finances. The economic environment has driven up the cost of far too many necessities, including housing and groceries. While Conservatives would have us think that carbon pricing is the main culprit, research from the University of Calgary reveals that the price on pollution adds less than a penny for every dollar spent on major expenses by Canadians. Canadians expect seriousness on affordability, not empty slogans or deceptive talking points, which the Conservatives continue to perpetuate. Our government is actively tackling affordability issues by introducing new measures to alleviate the financial strain on Canadians. In the recent fall economic statement, we unveiled a comprehensive plan to bolster affordability and support Canadian households facing financial strain. Our government has made significant amendments to the Competition Act aimed at fostering greater competition within the grocery sector to lower costs and expand choices for Canadian consumers. To help Canadians who are feeling the pressure of their monthly energy bills, we are putting money back in the pockets of Canadians by doubling the rural top-up to 20% and temporarily pausing the federal fuel charge on deliveries of home heating oil. Our government is also cracking down on junk fees, such as international roaming charges and overdraft charges from banks that are costing Canadians money. As well, we are protecting homeowners with new mortgage relief measures. Our government is moving forward with meaningful solutions and actions to make life more affordable in this country, all while fighting climate change.

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Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner

Feb/15/24 7:05:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is so expensive to live in Vancouver that people are buying flights twice a week to commute from Calgary to Vancouver, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and costing them so much money. It is unbelievable that the Liberal government has created a cost-of-living crisis that is so profound that people feel they have to fly back and forth from Calgary to Vancouver twice a week just to make ends meet. That is insane. That does not help greenhouse gas emissions, and it does not help people make ends meet. When will the Liberals axe unnecessary taxes and help people make ends meet?

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Mr. Ryan Turnbull

Feb/15/24 7:06:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it comes as no surprise that the member opposite is rich in slogans and rhetoric but short on solutions. On this side of the House, we believe in climate change. We are tackling affordability, along with Canadians, and we are listening to Canadians every step of the way. It is time for the opposition to wake up to the realities of climate change. Canadians can count on our government to keep up the fight against climate change while continuing to move forward with meaningful measures to make life more affordable for them and their families.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/15/24 7:06:34 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 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 7:06 p.m.)

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